Author: Maria

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Review of Taste: My Life through Food

perfect for an afternoon in a cozy spot – Negroni optional

Stanley Tucci’s engaging demeanor in the documentary series, Searching for Italy, captivates me. I enjoy his performances in many films, but the documentary series reveals a charming and personable side of him. Also, his love of food is contagious. It was a no brainer that I would connect with his memoir, Taste: My Life through Food.

evolution of a fan

In recent years, I’m drawn more and more to reading memoirs and biographies. These days, I find the actual human condition far more compelling than the fictional human condition. And I am astonished to note that I am reading foodie memoirs. Ruth Reichl was my introduction into this fascinating world, and I followed her book, Save Me the Plums with a rather extensive biography of Julia Child.

Of course, I watched the film Julie & Julia. Tucci’s performance captivates the audience. In a roundabout way, I have become a fan of all things Stanley Tucci.

I confess to watching the viral video of Tucci’s Negroni recipe on loop, going so far as to replicate the recipe. I even went on a mad (unsuccessful) search for the right coupe glasses in which to serve it. It’s a different spin on the cocktail (I prefer the original recipe), but I was so charmed by his presentation that I had that fangirl moment of wanting to be friends with him and have him make me a cocktail.

setting the table for relationship

Reading Taste feels a lot like sitting around Tucci’s table enjoying after-dinner conversation for hours. This memoir captures the intimacy of sharing a meal with someone, and the loving work and effort that goes into preparing meals regardless of their complexity.

Tucci shares his memories as well as family recipes. At its core, Taste celebrates relationship. Relationship with food, certainly, but how food encourages, develops, fosters, and embraces relationship with others.

highly recommend for some light reading to mix up your usual reading

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Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers

I’m so proud to be a part of this beautiful collection of prayers for Catholic mothers. This full color hardback book is filled with all kinds of prayers from traditional to original prayers — all set up thematically. It’s a beautiful book to keep by your bed or in that quiet place where you meditate and pray.

I think this will be a cherished, go-to collection for mothers of all ages and in all seasons of our lives.

Pre-order this beautiful book for the special price of $18, including FREE shipping! You can’t beat that! Use discount code BEGOJOHNSON.

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Vivo: A Bittersweet Review

The opening scene in the Netflix animated movie, Vivo, tugged at my heart and sent it soaring. I wasn’t prepared for the flute, the Tres (the guitar-like instrument that is such a key element of Cuban music) and the nostalgic skyline in La Habana with waves crashing on El Malecón and el Capitolio in the background.

Finally, after decades of watching animated films set all over the world, I find this sweet love story set in my own backyard across the miles of the Florida Straits and into that place where love, family, separation, and hope still live.

The story is precious, starring a quirky kinkajou (Lin-Manuel Miranda) and an even quirkier kid (Ynairaly Simo) on a mission to deliver a song from Andres (Juan De Marcos – you’ll know him from Buena Vista Social Club) to his beloved Marta (the iconic Gloria Estefan). It’s a sweet story filled with wonderful music and delightful antics.

I’m not one to care what critics have to say, but on one point I agree: it veers off into Crazy Land for a long stretch in the Everglades, but it picks up again in the neon-lit cityscape of Miami.

The film is fun and great entertainment for the whole family. I adored Gabi’s anthem, “My Own Drum,” which had me dancing in my seat (and singing along with Missy Elliott at the end). Still, it was the Cuban music, the Tres, especially, that thrilled me. And who doesn’t love to hear Gloria Estefan singing in English and then seamlessly switch to Spanish?

Its message of love and family, bound together with the healing and transformative power of music, saves the day, saves Gabi and Vivo, and brings a lost love back to life.

The film’s bittersweet message of loss touched me deeply.

I still haven’t written about the current events in Cuba. To be honest, every time I try, the words fail me. In a way, this charming story and its message has given me some measure of hope. The film focuses on the adventures of Gabi and Vivo, so it doesn’t feature the suffering of the Cuban people under the communist regime, but if you know what you’re seeing, the Tres, a passing reference to “dollars and pesos” and its 60 year separation for Martha and Andres, it gets those elements right. I wept for Marta and Andres and their lost love. I cheered for Gabi and Vivo, who found each other. And I shed more than a tear or two for my Cuba in Gloria Estefan’s theme, “Presente.”

I hope you’ll watch it with your family, and know what it means to be presente, too.

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