Cooking from Scratch

copyright 2010, Maria Liberati/art of living, PrimaMedia,inc
Last month while in a supermarket in Italy, I was approached by an Italian  girl in her twenties..  after staring at the rice aisle for 3 minutes,  she asked me  “what rice is for risotto?” then ..came an even more shocking question..”How do you make risotto?” she shyly asked .  Shocking because. ..it is a traditional dish, one that is handed down from generation to generation in Italy… or once was  handed down from generation to generation…
What happened to that age old art of Cooking from Scratch? Is there anyone out there that still knows what it means to really cook from scratch? Or has this art gone extinct like the dinosaur?
I can more easily tell you what it doesn’t mean..opening up a package or a box of a mix already put together and processed so it could sit on the shelf until you purchased it..just because you add in water or milk or eggs, sugar does not mean you are ‘cooking from scratch’
And once you have experienced it , you will never want to go back. It is the only way to taste the full, true flavors of real food,intense and fresh.  Don’t be afraid ..It sounds more intimidating than it really is and it is also a lot less expensive than purchasing pre-made and healthier too.
For lunch today I am making a fresh cold pasta dish…hope you can experience it with me.Get the recipe in the next post..
Maria
Find more recipes in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition– selected as the Best Italian Cuisine Book in the USA by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
Sept 9-12-See you at the Hudson Valley Wine Festival in Rhinebeck, NY at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. For info or so sponsor this appearance email: Info@marialiberati.com