The beginning...

I guess you could say it all started the day I moved to San Francisco...a city rich with food food food...around every corner, there's a new mouth watering treat waiting to be discovered.

But, I can really trace my love of food back to my Italian roots...the beginnings of an aspiring foodie. I can remember standing over a large boiling pot of home made spaghetti sauce as an 8 year old kid in the kitchen with my mom, getting splattered with every little burst of boiling sauce. I can remember the smell. I can remember the taste. I can remember the apron she would make me wear and the way I would sing and dance around the kitchen, knocking over pots and pans and making a general mess of myself. And, perhaps most importantly, the way the food my mother prepared brought people together and how the sound of laughter and love would fill the air.

Some 20 years later, those moments cooking in the kitchen with my mother have never left me.

I find myself fortunate enough to live in a city full of bustling local markets, farm to table food around every corner, fresh produce and local, sustainable meats galore. San Francisco has nourished that budding 8 year old and turned me into an honest to goodness food lover and lover of the community you can create around food.

After much talk with my friends and loved ones about starting a blog to share some of the more memorable meals and moments created within those meals...I have finally given in. So here she is...this little old blog about food in this great big wonderful city (and beyond)...and all the things that come along with it...love, life, friendship, laughter, stories, memories, and community.

I have always deeply believed that food matters...it binds us together...it is part of a system that we should appreciate and nourish...and we should cherish and honor each and every thing that makes all of our meals happen...from the soil, to the water, to the animals, to the farmer, to the local grocer, to the cooks, to the friends that share in savoring every last bite.

I often find myself listening to people say that they would rather go grab something at that "cheap place" and spend a few less dollars on their lunch than pay a little more for something made with good ingredients and made by people who care about their food and where it comes from. I am not saying that I don't enjoy a "cheap" meal here and there...but I wonder if these "cheap food loving" folks ever consider the "why" behind their cheap food. Why is my food cheap? What ingredients have been used? Where did the ingredients come from? How was it made and packaged? Did the farmers get a fair deal? You get the point.

In the end, we are what we eat...and we get what we pay for.

For me, I would rather spend a few extra dollars and support a healthy food system, than pay a few dollars less to support all the things that have made the food we sell to the masses so "cheap".

With this blog, I hope to share some of the more memorable meals that I create or creations of others that I have the privilege of enjoying. I will share the laughter, the flavors, the stories, the brilliant people, the memories, a few recipes here and there and, most of all, the community that I come across in my daily food filled journey. And, if I'm either really lucky or really good at sharing my food escapades, I just might convince you that "cheap" isn't always the way to go.

So here's to the food that gives us life and love...the food that builds my community...I hope you savor the moments.