Italian Soul Food

This post was inspired by my cousin, Bill, who told me in an email today that he went out for his birthday dinner to an Italian bistro on Long Island... for calamari. Oh, I can taste it and smell it now...

There is something about the food we grew up with that is definitely soul-satisfying. I remember when I was young, coming home from church on Sundays, usually around noon. The spaghetti sauce (home-made of course) had been simmering since about 8:00. The whole house was imbued with the smells of garlic, fresh tomato and the fresh baked bread that we just brought home from the Italian bakery.

This was long before we were all spoiled whiny babies, eating out at restaurants all the time. There were no Macaroni Grills or Olive Gardens. There was just Mom's Sunday Dinner. A fresh salad, garlic bread, home made sauce with pasta and meatballs... Simple. Rustic. Satisfying. You can't buy food like that. Well, maybe you could. But you can't buy the feeling of coming home to a meal that you knew was prepared just for you. Sitting around the table after the meal, enjoying quiet conversation... it's family. It's home. It's love. It's Italian soul food.