The idea of writing a book came to me after an evening of preparing a meal for some friends. I enjoy cooking for others. It is relaxing and creative, and I find that, most of the time, everyone always wants Italian food. Halfway through dinner, I was already getting requests for another sumptuous event. A thought came to me to try to recreate the meal and write down the recipe. We do not usually cook with recipes in my family so that was a novel idea. After that, when cooking, if a dish was exceptionally tasty and looked pretty, I would try to recreate it. It was at that time that I finally realized I had a lot to say about food. I paid such special attention in preparing delicious as well as nutritious foods in not only Italian dishes but also my individual taste that I had to share them. Between learning at a young age about how food was grown, harvested, and prepared, combined with my degree in holistic nutrition, I realized the amount of information in my head was overpowering. So I decided to write The Farmer’s Daughter’s Guide to Nutritious and Delicious Eating.
I hope you enjoy my tribute to my family and my very fortunate life, including the Martino family photos. Consider this my contribution to your journey for good, healthy, and fun eating!