toronto, part 1

i have split up my toronto visit into two posts due to the sheer quantity of photographs. this one is about food and family! the next one (due tomorrow) will be about neighbourhoods, sunshine, and friends!

kai and i spent time with my family.  we stayed at my mom's house. kai loves nonna's house, especially when his cousins show up to stay with us. thank you, thank you, thank you domenic for taking the time from work with your two boys to hang out with us! the three boys get along wonderfully year to year as though no time has past them by. i love watching kai interact with my family.  i love that he feels comfortable with them.  and i love that he eats his nonna's cooking!  we ate alot of pasta.

nonna and kai eating freezies

i think kai has realized that my parenting is null and void while in toronto. my siblings (i have three of them!) tell him that they are his "boss" while he is on the east coast, not me.  here is a typical scenario, i say at 8pm, "kai, it's time for bed."  one of my siblings says, "kai, tonight i am the boss of you and i say you go to bed later like 9:30pm, okay?"  so, kai indulges daily in things that he normally wouldn't at home like candy, television, hand-held games, and late nights.  at least i was able to get him to do some math worksheets!  i actually don't mind so much.  it's a treat that happens once a year. and most importantly, he feels special, he develops a bond with them, and we laugh about it.  btw, he's on a cleanse now :)

   

thanks uncle sam!

here are some highlights:

tomatoes
home grown tomatoes are the best.  my mother's garden is overflowing with tomato plants (among others like cucumber, beans, peas).  i can still smell the tomatoes cooking over the stove top. she turns them into sauce and uses the sauce for pasta, pizza, and polpette (italian for meatballs).  a home grown tomato salad is perfect too, especially with fresh bread to dip into it! 

    

nonna's little helper, picking tomatoes

 

aside from pasta with tomato sauce, i ate pasta with beans, potatoes, sundried tomatoes, broccoli, fish broth, and peas.  sometimes more than once and all in twelve days. yes, i did put on some weight but not as much as i could have because i brought my running shoes with me! smart, yes? anyway, for those readers who don't know, i am italian. pasta is in my blood yet i don't eat much of it at home and i don't usually frequent italian restaurants because i compare the food to my mom's and often it's not as good.

grape tomatoes eaten straight from the vine!

 

childhood foods

i also indulged in other childhood foods including snails, rice balls, artichokes, green salad with homemade vinegar, mortadella, and fresh ricotta.  dessert included canoli, sicilian lemon sorbet,  tiramisu and mister soft twist (which is unavailable in vancouver).





 





        

family dinners
a sunday family gathering is what i miss the most. although loud and chaotic, i nevertheless enjoyed those evenings.  we would sit down to a multi course dinner and there would always be leftovers because of the abundant of food made. during dinner the television would be left on, especially if there was some kind of sports game on.  afterwards, the boys would sit, the children would play and the women would clean up.  the evening would always end with dessert and coffee.

the spataro boys

the spataro girls

mary, sam and domenic, my siblings

 

kai with his nonna and his cousins noah and jonah

silliness courtesy of the annoying orange (not recommended)

tickles by uncle dom are an expectation, kai loves it!

 we also visited some other equally lovely (and very polite) cousins for an afternoon of play, ice cream and cake. 

flowers
my mother grows an abundance of flowers. i wish i had inherited her green thumb (my dad too was an avid gardener).  here is a small sampling:

 

        kai with his nonna now and back in 2006 at age 3. with her rose bush behind them

  

grazie!