by Tembi Locke
Published: 2019
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Memoir, Recipes, Sicily
Hardback: 352
Rating: 5
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First sentence(s):
In Sicily, every story begins with a marriage or a death.
It was love at first sight when Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just one problem: Saro’s traditional Sicilian family did not approve of him marrying a black American woman, an actress no less. However, the couple, heartbroken but undeterred, forges on. They build a happy life in Los Angeles, with fulfilling careers, deep friendships and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopt at birth. Eventually, they reconcile with Saro’s family just as he faces a formidable cancer that will consume all their dreams.
From Scratch chronicles three summers Tembi spends in Sicily with her daughter, Zoela, as she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny hometown hamlet of farmers. Where once Tembi was estranged from Saro’s family and his origins, now she finds solace and nourishment—literally and spiritually—at her mother in law’s table. In the Sicilian countryside, she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food, the embrace of a close knit community, and timeless traditions and wisdom that light a path forward. All along the way she reflects on her and Saro’s incredible romance—an indelible love story that leaps off the pages.
My two-bits:
Inspiring and comforting read with much love, laughter and food despite sadness.
Yummy recipes included.
PeekAbook: Sicilian Pesto recipe
* part of Reese's Book Club 2019 (here)
