Skip to main content

Featured

Reflections: What Grows in Silence - I Sepolcri di Grano

Today, as I prepare i sepolcri di grano - those tender shoots of wheat grown in darkness for Holy Week, I’m struck by how much of our heritage is cultivated in shadow. These small grains of wheat will in time sprout into humble and symbolic tender shoots; grown quietly in cupboards and cellars, much like the family stories carried in silence. They belong to rituals that travelled across oceans with our families, reappearing each year in kitchens and parish halls far from Basilicata. I remember my maternal grandmother, nonna Carmela preparing them for Good Friday. I watched her soak the grains, spread them into shallow dishes, and hide them away in darkness. She had carried this tradition from her village to Australia, recreating it in a suburban kitchen that bore little resemblance to the world she left behind. For her, it wasn’t nostalgia; it was devotion and continuity; a quiet way of keeping the rhythm of faith and the old world alive in a new one. I didn’t fully understand the sy...
Post a Comment
Read more

About




Hello!  My name is Carmen author of The Heirloom Chronicles.  The intention for this blog came from a desire to document my family recipes and traditions along with their related stories.  I am an Italo Australian born in Domodossola, a small city in the Piedmont region in the north of Italy.  My parents and sister are from the Basilicata region of Italy – papa` from Acerenza, mamma from Montemurro and my sister from Potenza.    

We migrated to Australia in 1970 and with this great move we brought with us as many of our heirlooms and maintained food traditions that have kept us connected with our family back home.    I married an Australian who is of Sicilian descendant and with these three regions of Italy coming together in our family, recipes with related stories have evolved.   Through my writing, I preserve the voices and dishes carried across oceans.

The ingredients I cook with and write about are those that my grandparents grew and cooked with, maintaining this philosophy of 'cucina povera' that my parents still live by. Making do with humble seasonal ingredients and transforming them into memorable tasty dishes resonates with my idea of cooking.   These most treasured heirlooms are the sweet memories of our family that I write about and wish to pass down to my children.

The Heirloom Chronicles blog has been inspired by my varied interests in cooking - researching recipes and ingredients from the past; gardening - learning to grow, preserve and cook with fruits, vegetable, herbs and wild greens commonly used by my parents & grandparents.

 For more than three decades I've worked in fashion and textile education, building bridges between classrooms, industry, and community. My leadership in collaborative, government-funded international programs and industry partnerships was recognised with a university award for enhancing student learning.

I also love to travel, have an appreciation for art and photography, so occasionally you will see this interwoven through my blog posts, and Instagram. I cook from the heart and hope you enjoy reading my blog!







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts