Heart Homes and Hearty Soup
Hi friend,
Stuart and I left for Italy yesterday — I’ve sent this email somewhere in the air between Seattle → Frankfurt → Florence. I either have an espresso or a glass of Prosecco in my hand, depending on what time zone I’m currently flying through… both are equally welcome.
During COVID days, when Italy was closed down and strict regulations were in place, I wept — fearing a future where I could no longer visit my second-favorite place in the world (my first being home, of course).
I’d argue that we all need a second place — a place that swells our heart and expands our life in meaningful ways. I call these places our heart homes. A place you can feel at home and all new, all at once. For my mother-in-law, it’s the beach. For my dear Angela, it’s Paris, of course. For Stuart, a proper pub anywhere. And for me? Italia.
I’ll love you always & forever.
I know that many of us can’t just up and go to our heart homes when we feel like it. Life stages at home with children, financial ebbs and flows, health flare-ups and setbacks… sometimes home has to be enough.
So, for any of you for whom travel must remain a dream a little longer, I’m sharing my week in my heart home through daily diary entries where I share what I’m doing and seeing, and how it’s changing me. I don’t want to bombard your inboxes uninvited, so if you’re interested, simply enter your email address here and you’ll receive all the emails.
Speaking of heart homes…
Readying our home to visit our heart home has me thinking of all the contrasts between who I am — and who my family is — in each place. Enjoy these scenes from both of our homes.
Private places, please.
Do you remember when we held private things? Just for ourselves and for the sake of the joy they bring us — no photos or sharing necessary? While there are still plenty of private moments I hold in the garden, in the kitchen, and in my mind, the places I used to go for my own inspiration are now infiltrated by work.
To me, scrolling on Pinterest is like going into the office on your day off.
It’s not that I don’t love these pieces. It’s not that I don’t care about them.
But lately I’ve felt longing for a place where I can go to be completely alone and lose myself in my own thoughts for no purpose whatsoever. A place where I could slow my mind and feel disconnected from the hum of work, of digital anything.
So, this past weekend, I decided to learn to paint. No, I’ve never painted before — ever. However, my many years spent in photography have provided me with a foundational knowledge of shadow, light, color, and composition.
The point isn’t being good — it’s about playing, creating, and disconnecting for brief moments to somewhere beautiful, setting productivity aside. It’s about getting out of my own head. It’s about not being afraid to begin something new.
“Many painters are afraid of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the truly passionate painter who dares — and who has once broken the spell of ‘you can’t.’”
Thank goodness for Hobby Lobby’s 40% off coupon that helped me build up a quick stash of paints and brushes. I wonder where Van Gogh bought his paints…
Have you ever started something completely new like this? Tell me more about your experience, please!
I’ve got this coffee and piano playlist on in the background while I tinker away…
I love the idea of producing something, for no practical reason other than beauty.
Travel Food
I never travel without food. Ever. It drives Stuart positively mad as I’m whipping up this and that in the kitchen when we’re trying to get out the door (but he’s yet to complain when I hand him snacks mid-flight). My podcast followers know this as “purse meat.” I’m never without it.
Because Stuart and I are both intolerant to potatoes and white sugar, it makes it very difficult to account for food to eat on the go. Airport food is often costly and not great (at all).
I’ll share more on this in the future (along with a big update on our food intolerances), but in the meantime, here’s what we’re packing for our 18-hour travel day to Florence:
Empty water bottle (flights are terrible about giving you water now)
Grass-fed beef jerky
Homemade ciabatta rolls with ground beef patties + tomato jam
Hummus + carrots
Whey protein bars, sweetened with date sugar
Because our travel day also included a 3.5-hour drive to the airport in Seattle, we ate the rice salad and chicken after arriving at the airport parking garage. That way, we headed into the airport calm, fed, and satiated before beginning the arduous task of international travel.
I am much better at completing challenging tasks when I’m well-fed. Amen.
Lasagna Soup
As I prepare to cook supper for our group of 14 in Italy next week, I’ve been combing through new and old recipes alike — ones that have stood out in a particular way as being absolutely devoured by those at the table. This is one. It’s perfect for crisp October nights and feeding crowds (and is also adaptable to food intolerances).
Oh la la — what a treat this soup is! It’s so rich and satisfying! The best part is that you get all the wonderful flavors of lasagna with a bit more ease for weeknight or quick-supper cooking. I love to make this soup with lasagna noodles or even mafaldine, a thinner lasagna noodle with a ripped edge that looks beautiful in the bowls. Don’t skip the torn mozzarella on top! It melts into the soup and exponentially increases the pleasure.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ pounds loose Italian sausage
1 onion, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 32-ounce jar tomato passata or sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried chili flakes
8 cups broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ pound pasta (use gluten-free if desired)
15 ounces ricotta cheese (omit for a dairy-free version)
Torn mozzarella and Parmesan, for serving (omit for a dairy-free version)
Instructions:
Add the olive oil into a large soup pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the Italian sausage, breaking it up into small bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook thoroughly.
Add in the onion and cook with the sausage for an additional 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
To the sausage mixture, add in the tomato passata, tomato paste, dried oregano, dried basil, chili flakes, and broth. Stir the soup and bring it up to a low simmer.
Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the pasta and allow it to cook in the soup until al dente. Finally, add in the ricotta and stir it into the soup to combine it all together.
Serve the soup hot with pieces of torn mozzarella and finely grated Parmesan cheese.
Cultivating the beautiful life is beautiful indeed. Italia, here we come! Join my diary here.
