Picture of Grandma and Grandpa with Louie and Angie

Family Recipes & More

With the advent of social networking sites like Facebook, this blog site has seen very little activity. We certainly hope that anyone who has a memory to share will continue to add updates here. In the meantime, Denise and I have taken up the cause under a new venture.

We started a blog to record the recipes and tricks we use in our kitchen for our boys to have as they grow up, and for the time when they want to learn how to cook in hopes that eventually they would have their own kitchens and families and traditions.

If you would like to follow our culinary adventures, visit us at We Like To Cook!

Aunt Rose's 90th Birthday

Happy New Year everyone!
We celebrated Aunt Rose's 90th birthday with 92 family members from her family, my father Vic's family and the Classic Cruisers (Joe Warino's band )on Dec 27th. It was a wonderful family celebration and reunion. There were family members that had not seen each other for years! Aunt Rose looked beautiful and she had a wonderful time. Grace and Isabella Huston ( my granddaughters) played a duet of Happy Birthday on the harp and violin for " Rosie" and we sang along as they played it a second time. We enjoyed a wonderful sit down dinner, were entertained by the Classic Cruisers and even Dana ( my sister Phyl's daughter) did her rendition of Amy Winehouse for the crowd. Aunt Rose's birthday celebration continued for a month as her actual birthday was January 20th, when she was officially NINETY YEARS OLD! You would never know if by the way she looks and ACTS. The birthday celebration has ended but I hope the memories and my mother will live for years to come.
JoAnn

Hello Family and sorry I have been missing in action lately! I have been busy since finishing my Masters getting things squared away with taking my boards to be a certified nurse practitioner and the new job! Things are finally dying down though! Just had some free time today and was updating myself on the blog! As we do every year, the family got together for Thanksgiving! Uncle Jerry, Aunt Jeanne and Jen visited and it was a wonderful time and great to catch up! Nun was thrilled to have everyone together!! I keep joking with her that I need to get her a computer to check the blog but I know she would never get off the blog site then!!! Anyways, thought I would share a picture with everyone. Hope everyone is well and wishing you a Happy and Safe Holiday Season from the good ol' C-land! -Ally

Grady won at Regionals!

What a day... in the pouring rain and cold, seven teenagers ran their hearts out. After waiting for an additional 2 hours, the winners were announced. With the top four teams winning a seed in the State Championships, the Grady team was hopeful. When their team was not named, the team was deflated. The coaches asked for a recount of the scores and low and behold, they judges had made a mistake. Grady was the 4th place winner! In a heartbreaking show of sportsmanship, the (now) 5th place team came across the field and handed over the trophy with handshakes and smiles. Better than winning was the lesson learned by all the runners today!

Next stop State Championship Meet in Carrollton on November 7th!

Question from Billy C.

I received an email from Bill Canacci: what do we know of the parents of James or Fanny?

Fanny, left Italy to my recall to get away from her mother. Thus there was little I ever heard of her mom and dad. Her brother Jim is documented in a post to the site (see the first post in December)was a sour son of a (you get the point), think sit still little boy and dont talk.

Grandma would listen attentively as he would read letters from there other sibling still in Italy . I was never filled in on the message. Note: she couldnt read and I wasnt allowed to be in the room win her brother would read to her the letter. I still remember the envelopes where trimed in red and blue stripes.

On one of our trips to Italy we ended up in Salerno kind of by accident. It was not that far from Tursi on the map and I wanted to make a side trip to see grandmas home city. Apparently the way in and out as of about 5 years ago was still not easy, read mules on the roads. So I didnt attempt it. Not sure what I might do when we got there anyway.

James was from Calabria, and I never heard of any family on his side.

So my long-winded answer is ask your grandmother over and over. She knows everything (trust me), its just getting it out of her thats a challenge.

Cross Country

Grady HS won the city of Atlanta championship for cross country. Nic ran the 5K race in 20.03. Regionals on 10/31, fingers crossed.

Letterman as a freshman. not bad given I never got one....

Warino descendent in the News!

Dominic Romeo was featured in the headline of the Sports section of the Grady High School newspaper, The Southerner. It was announced Wednesday that he will be the only freshman running Varsity for Grady in the City Cross Country Championship meet next Wednesday, October 14th.

Save The Date!

Hello all,

I hope everyone is well and that you have enjoyed the summer.

Some of you may have received a "Save the Date" announcement for Aunt Rose's 90th birthday party. Since my children and my sisters' children will be home for the holidays and won' t be able to come back in January (Aunt Rose's actual birthday is January 20th) we have planned the party during the holidays (December 27th). Because of the economy and since it is just after Christmas, we are requesting no gifts. This is to be a celebration of Aunt Rose's life with her family and it will be great to see everyone. I did not send the announcement to the out of towners but if you are going to be in town please let me know so that we can include you in the guest list. We would love to have you bring your memories and an old picture(s) of Aunt Rose with any of your family to share with everyone. Aunt Rose is very excited and I think it will be a wonderful celebration. We are just in the planning stage so more details will follow in the future. Save the Date - Sunday, December 27th!

JoAnn

Back-to-School 2009

This was the first week of school for us in Atlanta. Dominic had spent a day last week in freshmen orientation and was well prepared for his first week of High School. (Yes, we have a high schooler - Yikes!) He actually came home smiling the first day! He was recruited by the Cross Country team last Spring and has been training all Summer. The training is intense, but he is meeting lots of new friends.

Sonny entered 8th grade and is very happy with his teachers. Homework assignments have been light and easy. Looking forward to celebrating the end of the first week by going to the Paul McCartney Concert at Piedmont Park tomorrow!

Hope all the Warino families have a great first week of school as well!

Black Belt

Dominic (my son) did indeed get his black belt on July 17th. We are all very excited and proud of him. Sonny is not too far behind....

The picture was taken shortly after the test on Amelia Island.

Sorry I haven't written in a while.

Happy 4th of July!

Up early this morning to take the guys up to the starting line for the Peachtree Road Race. After a long jog through Piedmont Park, we made it to the finish line in time to see Dominic and Sonny cross the finish line! Each runner got a timing chip this year so we knew their official times within hours of the end of the race. Dominic ran the 6.1 mile race in 47:03 beating his previous year's time by 4:43! Sonny finished with a time of 53:37 - pretty remarkable for a 13-year-old in his first 10K!

We spent the afternoon at the pool and then home for grilled pulled pork sandwiches and corn! Happy Birthday America!

Paparul Crushk

I read the same article Jeanne did. It really brought back memories. I tried to order the peppers from the website the article mentioned but no luck. Sooooo, I bought the dried red Anaheim peppers and gave it a whirl with them. They where/are really to dark and thus once they hit the oil get even darker. Not bad, but not what I recall them tasting like.

I discussed the how-tos with Aunt Rose and tried again with some different peppers. Although they came out better, the frying intensified the heat of them so much my boys and I where wrecked. May be only a memory, but its a strong one.

Update:
For more information about paparul crushk, please visit http://romeocucina.blogspot.com/2010/06/fried-italian-peppers.html.

Fried Red Peppers

I just bought the May issue of Saveur magazine. The front cover caught my eye because it was titled The Real Italy. While I was paging through the magazine I noticed a section on Basilicata, Italy. The article mentions the sweet fried red peppers that many of us remember from our childhood and talks about how salty and crunchy they are. There's also a store where you can order the dried peppers by the pound.

I wanted to share this with those of us who remember eating the peppers with fried eggs or as a snack like potato chips.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Jeanne

The Shrub

Aunt Rose remembers the shrub but does not know what it was. We both loved the fruits of the garden and the trees.

Great videos Dominic.

JoAnn and Aunt Rose

The Shrub in the Back Yard

Do any of you recall the shrub/bush that was in the back yard of Truesdale? The yard had a sweet plum tree, a Bing cherry tree, a peach tree (that never produced a single peach in my memory) and a Bartlett pear tree. I ate those pears all winter long from the jars Grandma would put up. Grandpa could grow anything. I digress....

Back to the shrub...
It was about 2/3rds of the way to the back fence from the house on the DeCastris side of the property. The following is what I remember of that odd plant and its history.

I used to have to plow the back yard each year with a pitch fork (twice because that is what it took). Then we would rake the plot with a hard rake and plant tomatoes and peppers. We planted (for reference sake) about 40 tomatoes and 25 peppers. They (the Warino patriarchs) where very dependent on the garden for food and that carried to my childhood. The need for food production from the yard was clearly very real to them. The plantings where done from the prior year crop's seeds and raised from seedlings in the "hot box." I believe the original seeds came from Italy with one (or both of our grandparents.)

The shrub was an odd plant, as it was wild in a place where all was tame. Once while I was working the plow, (read pitchfork,) I kept running into a stray branch of said shrub. Irritated I reached out and broke off the branch. Grandma gasped, in a way she rarely did. When she could speak again, she explained the bush was very special and that I should be more careful. The bush it seemed was a combination of many varieties of flowering shrubs which Grandpa had grafted together. The bush was ALWAYS in bloom. Various blossoms of yellow, white, pink, but mostly red. Just when the blooms of one branch would being fading away, the flowers of another would be just about to pop into full view. The bush was clearly visible from the window in the pantry. I was never sure if the shrub was purely utilitarian to draw bees to the garden or designed to make Grandma happy as she washed the dishes. James had a special knack with gardening. Clearly he could grow anything (see above). What he did grow is fascinating.

This story remains perhaps the most practical and romantic I have heard of the "Gid" and "Fanny".

First Black Belt in the Family?

Last evening, after a marvelous display of talent and skill, Dominic was approved to test for his black belt! Dominic has been working toward his black belt for almost 5 years which of course, is based on far more than his physical abilities. His black belt will exemplify the qualities of discipline, perseverance, respect, leadership and humility as well. The video shows Dominic doing his black belt form during last night's test. Dominic will test for his black belt on Friday, July 17th, and we invite all the Warinos to join us in Atlanta to celebrate Dominic's accomplishment!

Have there been any other black belts in the Warino family? I couldn't think of any.

Easter and Birthdays

I know I'm late with these wishes; But Happy Birthday Nic and Sonny. May God grant You, both, many more happy, Holy years. Our grandson, Luke Gabriel turned 4, on April 13th; and our son, Gabriel, turned 30 on April 14th. God is wonderful in giving us grandchildren, children and families. Also, since Father Trimbur, at Saint Joseph's said the Easter season is till Pentecost Sunday, which falls on the feast of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth; May 31st, this year; a very Happy Easter to our Cousins, Aunts and Uncle. Love from the Whorten Family

Grandpa Warino Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of Grandpa Warino's death...........or should I say life. Does anyone no how many years though? Happy day Grandpa Warino!

Love, Joyciexoxoxxox

Karate Tournament Highlights

In late March, Dominic and Sonny participated in a karate tournament. Some of the highlights are included in the video listed below. The video shows Dominic in a sparring match with another student. At 0:50 in the video, Dominic performs a very difficult technique. This move has come to be known as "the kick" at his karate studio. This is a good example of Dominic's ability in an action setting rather than a choreographed form or routine. Dominic won 1st place in Adult Traditional Forms, 1st place in Adult Weapons Forms, and 2nd place in Adult Sparring. Sonny came home with 2nd place medals for Junior Traditional Forms, Junior Weapons Forms and third place in Junior Creative Forms. A strong showing for both Romeos!

You can view the highlight video on YouTube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXnSzZ4FkvY