🔁 BEST OF - The Sauce

Hello! 👋 send me a text message! Tell me what your thoughts 💭 are about this episode

I'm choosing my episode S2E14, The Sauce as one of my favs.
Because I'm in Puerto Rico 🇵🇷🏝 for the winter, I don't get to see my family in person. I am feeling nostalgic and decided to share this episode to remind me of the connection I have with Joe & Sharri.🫶
When you are missing people who mean the world 🌎to you, you have to come up with other ways to still feel close, even if that means you are almost 2,000 miles apart! 😳If you are experiencing missing your family, especially during this Christmas 🎄holiday season, remember that by keeping the memories you have created with your loved ones close to your heart, that  no distance, short or long, can ever change that! ❤️
 So, come along, and let’s revel in the power of family recipes, one bite, one laugh, and one shared memory at a time! 🍝🍷😋

Links!

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https://www.speakpipe.com/NearestAndDearestPodcast ( please leave me a recorded message! 🗣 I'll send you one back! 🎤)

Episode Transcript

Julie Rogers (00:05):
No one ever said life is easy, but I believe by
giving yourself permission youwill find you have more control
over your life than you realize.
I'm Julie.
I hope you will join me bytaking responsibility for
yourself, by only controllingthe things you can and letting
go of the things that you can't.
By doing this, you will havediscovered the secret to having

(00:30):
happy, healthy and morefulfilling relationships.
This is Nearest And DearestPodcast.
I'm Julie Rogers and you arelistening to Season 2, Episode
14, The Sauce.
Woody and I spent the whole daywith Joe and Sharri recently.
Joe was ready to share with memy grandmother Mary's tomato

(00:55):
sauce recipe.
I have never made homemadesauce before.
The closest to homemade I woulddo is to add a little Italian
herbs and garlic to my old plaintomato sauce just to make it
more to my liking.
Because food is always part ofour quality time together,

(01:17):
having this moment with Joe wasvery special to me.
The cooking lesson was in Joeand Sharri's kitchen.
Our day started with a sausage,egg and cheese breakfast
casserole that I made.
Woody made stone ground yellowgrits.
He wanted to share a little ofhis southern roots.

(01:39):
After we all enjoyed ourbreakfast, we put on our aprons
and so began the learning.
Sharri has a very organizedrecipe book that she has put
together over the years with allof her favorites.
She found the sauce recipe thatshe preserved, which includes

(02:00):
the meatball recipe.
Both her and Joe respect eachother's cooking, and so she was
able to relax and enjoy a glassof wine, or maybe two.
Whenever we get together attheir home, we listen to music
from the 50s and 60s.

(02:22):
I too will put music onwhenever I'm in the kitchen
putting together a meal.
It just adds a nice touch tothe mood.
It was a sunny day, so thenatural light beamed through the
kitchen window and doorway thatleads to their deck.
Roxy, their Jack Russell, wouldcome in and out of the kitchen

(02:47):
with her little nose in the air,smelling all the wonderful
aromatic scents that flowedthroughout.
I took photos of everything weused, saving those memories.
We didn't use fresh tomatoes,but canned tomatoes that came

(03:07):
directly from Italy.
The cool part was using theItalian-made tomato press.
It was another first.
This press removes the skinsand stems.
My grandmother, Mary, would usefresh, ripe tomatoes from her
garden in her sauce.

(03:28):
That process is a whole otherjourney that someday I will
attempt.
Every Italian family has theirown secret sauce recipe.
The Storino's are no different.
The value of such a gem is theability to pass it down from

(03:53):
generation to generation.
Without doing so, the recipecan get lost, never again
cherished.
I'm looking forward to firstexecuting this recipe on my own,
then hoping to share it withAshley and Sean and my

(04:16):
grandchildren.
Sharri wasn't the only oneenjoying a glass or two of wine.
Joe, Woody and I did as well.
Woody wanted to learn therecipe with me.
He dove right in listening toJoe's instructions.
Along with making the sauce andmeatballs, the conversation

(04:41):
naturally turned to hearing morememories about my grandparents.
My grandfather, Pasquale, workedfor New York Central Railroad
when he was 15.
From 1941 to 1944, he worked ona crew building railroad tracks

(05:03):
through Pine Camp, which is nowknown as Fort Drum, home to the
10th Mountain Army Division.
He returned to New York Centralas a train operator, worked for
Penn Central and retired fromConrail as a crane operator in
October of 1974.

(05:25):
He also was a self-taughtmusician.
He played the alto horn when hewas eight and the mandolin at
age 10.
He played with many bands andformed his own band, the
Storino's.

(05:46):
My grandmother, Mary, whosemaiden name was Cirillo, also a
native to New York, was anaccomplished seamstress.
She enjoyed crocheting andembroidery.
She played the piano with herfather, J oseph, at wedding
receptions in her younger years.

(06:07):
She also was a baker at MercyHospital in Watertown, New York
for many years until herretirement.
She was an avid gardener,canning many of the fruits and
vegetables that she grew.
Both of my grandparentsdelivered their homegrown

(06:29):
vegetables door to door by horseand buggy and later by truck
until 1991.
She enjoyed cooking and bakingfor her family and friends.
She was also an artist andenjoyed drawing and sketching.

(06:51):
My grandfather lived until hewas 86 and my grandmother until
she was 96.
They were married for 63 years.
I wish I could have known them,but by Joe sharing Mary's recipe

(07:13):
with me, he has created a bondthat includes my grandparents.
Memories that I will alwayscherish.
I have numerous family photosthat include some given to me of
my grandparents that Joe gaveme.
I have added them to mycorkboard to be part of my own

(07:34):
family collection in my studio.
Photos of my mom, maternalgrandparents, my siblings, Joe
and Sharri, Woody, my kids andgrandchildren.
I love having all of themsurrounding me.
I value my Italian and Englishheritage that together have made

(08:03):
me who I am.
How lucky and blessed am I tolearn more about the family
roots that I was born into.
The moment we all were waitingfor.
Sharri uses cloth placemats andnapkins whenever she sets the

(08:25):
table.
I love that.
Beautiful cut blue hydrangeaswere in the center.
A thoughtful gift from theirgood friend, Becky.
She pulled out a set of prettyItalian made pasta bowls for
this special occasion.
She made a fresh salad with alight, delicious extra virgin

(08:49):
olive oil and white balsamicvinegar.
Joe always dresses the salad.
His go-to phrases," I only usethe good stuff.
A pasta meal would not beperfect without the best Italian
bread ever from Alteri Bakeryin Watertown.

(09:12):
Woody sliced it and Joe, asusual, picked up an extra fresh
loaf for us to take home.
We enjoyed authentic Italianlinguine, pork that was used in
the sauce, the special homemademeatballs, Basilio Buda medium

(09:36):
Italian sausage links, freshlygrated Parmigiano and Romano
cheeses.
It was so delicious! I had madechocolate peanut butter,
no-bake cookies for dessert.
We split up all the fruits ofour labor.

(10:00):
I did leave the cookies for Joe.
Sharri gave us a package ofItalian made angel hair pasta to
be enjoyed with the sauce.
I can't express enough in wordshow grateful I am for this
wonderful experience.

(10:22):
Before we left, we gave hugsand kisses.
The genuine love that was feltwas shared between the four of
us.
I added the recipe to mycollection, which is small, to
be honest.
I have my mom's peanut butterfudge recipe framed on my

(10:46):
kitchen counter.
It's in her handwriting.
Now I have the first one for myItalian heritage.
That will be the nearest anddearest to my heart.
The views and opinionsexpressed by Nearest And Dearest

(11:10):
Podcast are those of theauthors and do not necessarily
reflect the official policy orposition of Nearest And Dearest
Podcast.
Any content provided by JulieRogers or any other authors are
of their opinion.
They are not intended to malignany religion, ethnic group,

(11:31):
club, organization, company,individual or any one or
anything.
Thank you.