Cooking in Belmont

It’s always good to return to the San Francisco Bay Area where so many friends now live: friends from my alma mater, the University of Santa Clara, friend from UCB (where I furthered my studies) and friends from my jr/yr abroad/in/Rome group. My first cooking class in this area – on February 13th in Belmont – connected me yet another very special “old friend”: Katie was one of my star pupils in an extraordinary class of forty children when I taught second grade in Belmont in 1971! Her mother, Anne, hosted the cooking event in Belmont – as a benefit event for the ST. Francis center – and Katie flew in from Chicago as a suprise bringing along her daughter Kelly (age 13). Kelly wrote me this message after the class: “Thank you so much for the great experiences you taught me. I was so glad to meet my Mom’s 2nd grade teacher. I hope to visit Italy soon!” and Katie herself wrote: “It was great seeing you again and great cooking with you. I think the last time we cooked together was in spring 1972 when we cooked the Passover dinner together at your house for our 2nd grade class….” I taught at Belmont’s Immaculate Heart School, a Catholic
school, and my class loved learning about Passover and then sharing a Passover meal.

About twenty women participated in this class and three were mothers of my former 2nd/graders. As we diced and sliced, chopped and mixed, and then shared our “feast”, we chatted about my past student and the many changes in the Belmont area since I last lived there.

Hostess of the event was Nada, a lovely Croatian woman, who opened her home and heart to all of us. Mille grazie to Nada and Anne and to all our wonderful “gruppo.” I will look forward to seeing you all again next year in Belmont when we will do another benefit event for the St. Francis Center.