One of the reasons that swimming is so helpful to my sanity is because I’m always meeting really interesting people that I wouldn’t meet if I didn’t venture outside my blogging and mom world.

I swim with an incredibly accomplished poet named Grace Cavalieri. In fact, she was up for Poet Laureate of Maryland. Grace has written several books of poetry and 21 produced plays (not in the elementary schools … we’re talking broadway!) She founded “The Poet and the Poem” on public radio now, celebrating its 33rd year on the air and now produces the series “From the Library of Congress.” She lives in Annapolis, Maryland (where I am) with her sculptor husband Ken Flynn (he also swims with us). They have four daughters and four grandchildren.

Hot off the presses is Grace’s newest book, edited with Sabine Pascarelli. An interesting concept, it is called “The Poet’s Cookbook: Recipes from Tuscany.” Grace and Sabine feature 28 poets and even more scrumptious recipes.

What does poetry and cooking have to do with each other? Grace writes this in her introduction:

Cooking speaks of community, in Italy and America; and the breaking of bread in any language, in every country, speaks of a commonality with friends. In this spirit, although the recipes are our own, we asked that the poems included be from our friends, other poets.

Regional cooking has its own style and its own season. It also has a time-honored history, especially in Italy. The first kitchens that celebrated natural foods, seasonal herbs, thoughtful cooking and a consciousness of health were in the monasteries. During Medieval times, these first true kitchens welcomed travelers into a cultural sanctuary that provided both physical and intellectual nourishment. The monks cultivated their own gardens and from simple resources provided recipes that through the ages have been embellished, enhanced, and adorned. But the basic idea of wholesome cooking was born in a place of worship. This impresses us greatly, because the study of herbs and the benefits of food are proven and fully acknowledged all these years later. The benefits of nutrition through delicious cooking now fortify the original studies of Italian agrarians.

These recipes are for the person who has a love of excellent dining and yet has only a minimal time to cook. Sabine Pascarelli and Grace Cavalieri cook in a modern moment. However the cuisine, now thought to be gourmet fare, is very much part of a long awakening from ancient origins.

Because we are writers, and share a love of poetry, we are honored and proud to present additional nourishment, 28 poets, each serving up a delicious poem.

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