Pure Yummy came about from my husband and I wanting to do something together. We decided since I like to cook, and he designs websites, that we would make an online property of recipes. It took us a bit to get Pure Yummy to look like we wanted and I’m still recooking everything to take pictures. But it is fun and exciting to find new recipes and have friends sending me their favorites to try out.
I grew up eating Stove Top Stuffing and Hamburger Helper in my American household. Needless to say, I had a bit of a culture shock going to my husbands grandparents house for dinner. Always mangia, mangia. That means eat, eat, in Sicilian. When I married my husband, Nick, I received a homemade cook book from my mother-in-law, Mary, and her sister Lena. I made a couple recipes throughout the years but decided that I wanted my kids to know the dinners that I attended at Nona’s house. My kids and I have a great time learning these recipes and I hope you and yours do also. We started with the recipes from the cookbook and have been adding new recipes that our family enjoys.
Nona was born with the name of Nicolina Consiglio, on October 23, 1928 to the parents of Grazino Consiglio and Rosalia Ventimiglia, in a small town called Terrasini, Province of Palermo, in Sicily where most of these recipes come from. At age 18, Nona married Nonu – Marco Aluia on October 26, 1947. Soon there after they were married Nonu came to American. Nona stayed in Terrasini with her mother as she prepared to be a good wife. One year later, Nona moved to America to join her husband.
Nonu had a job and bought a house in Detroit, Michigan. Being young, the elder women of Terrasini who lived here, taught her to cook and gave her some of these recipes. There were many more, but Nona couldn’t remember most of them. They never were written down, but memorized in their heads. She just had the touch. She knew by feeling or taste if a recipe needed to be changed or if she had it just right. A talent that her daughters, Mary and Lena, did not inherit. Mary and Lena tried the best of their knowledge to capture as many recipes as they could. Every region of Italy has a different way of cooking. It is important for us not to forget our background and were are roots came from.
For Italians, eating and cooking express love, compassion and everyone knows how much Nona loved her grandsons. If they wanted four different things to eat she would make them all and smiled because she loved seeing her grandsons so happy. So keep the recipes and hand them down from generation to generation so we will keep our Nona alive forever. Bon appitti!
