Getting rest and trying not to be too productive

Hello 2023

Hope you are having a good start to the new year! I’m getting over the worst cold I’ve had in the past several years, honestly it has floored me since before Christmas and I’m barely resurfacing, but, like getting shingles a couple of months ago, it forced me to slow down completely over the holidays and take some time to rest. I don’t really do new year’s resolutions but if I were to make one, it would be to switch off and rest and relax more (and not just when I’m not well); to convince myself that I don’t need to be productive 100% of the time. To take and enjoy naps or time off with my family sometimes without feeling guilty.

I’ve also been drawn more and more to people who talk about not being perfect, like

Sarah Petersen

who writes In Pursuit of Clean Countertops and

Virginia Sole-Smith

who writes Burnt Toast, to people who advocate for more rest like The Nap Ministry and Nicola Jane Hobbs aka The Relaxed Woman, and to those who celebrate being just who you are, appreciating your body, eating what you like without judgement and nourishing yourself. So I am taking this as a sign that this is what I need in my life: simply to be, but slower. 

emikodavies

A post shared by Emiko Davies (@emikodavies)

So in that light, here is a precious moment that I shared on Instagram yesterday. I was testing and photographing a recipe for my newspaper column for Corriere della Sera’s Cook — and as soon as I set the pasta machine on the table, Luna piped up, “Can I help you?” (not really a question more a request) and before I knew it my little helper was there rolling out the pasta for me. She was so happy, I bent down to kiss her and we continued rolling out pasta. I didn’t know Marco was filming it — Luna did though, she winked at him and gave him her now obligatory backwards peace sign (all my photos of her now have her posing like this!).

It’s just a really funny, sweet moment for me and even though I am a mess in my oversized grey sweatshirt, no make up and frizzy hair that I had just pulled back without looking in the mirror, I posted it, unfiltered and all, because in 5 or 10 or 15 years time when I look back at that memory, I just know that none of that will matter at all — what does matter is that precious moment with my sweet 4 year old that will always make me smile.

So this is a message that it’s ok to not be perfect and post or do perfectly curated things sometimes — you might miss out on the little, special moments for yourself or waste time worrying about a bit of mess.

Some of what I’ve been up to:

I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. A dream that we have been talking about for years, Enoteca Marilu will be opening this spring — it will be a wine shop and culinary space where we host cooking classes, workshops and wine tastings. You can take a peek at the website here and the info on workshops we plan to hold, market classes and wine classes HERE. Can’t wait to see you there!

I’m cooking linguine with vongole — or rather I’m eating it, Marco is cooking it but I and am about to delve into Irina Gorgescu’s new Romanian baking book, Tava, which is full of wonderful baking ideas from an area that is a crossroads of culinary influences. I have my eye on the Moldavian cornmeal cake and the apple and walnut pie, that has an appealing crust made of clotted cream and creme fraiche, two ingredients that I cannot easily get here in Italy so will try with mascarpone and some yogurt instead.

I’m dreaming about escaping Tuscany during the incessant, debilitating summer heat — I just cannot live through another summer like last year’s. I’ve deliberately not put on any workshops for July because if all goes well, I will be somewhere much cooler (suggestions appreciated)!

I’m reading Alice Feiring’s To Fall in Love, Drink This. It’s a memoir, written in chapters that feature not only wine’s to try and their stories but snippets of Alice’s life, finding herself as a wine writer. It’s written in a way that is making me think differently about wine writing (and food writing) altogether. A great one to dip in and out of, as you can just flip and pick an episode. Also loved reading the latest piece by

Anne Helen Petersen

on archiving her teenage self — I so relate to this, right down to keeping every single folded note from 7th and 8th grade (thanks mum for not throwing these out)!

I’m eating Panificio Moderno’s salted caramel panettone (which I brought back from a recent trip to visit Foradori winery in Alto Adige) and it has ruined me for any other panettone for life! Seriously, if you ever come across it in Trento, do yourself a favour and try it. I’ve been desperately trying to order more of it with no luck.

I’m planning a family weekend in Torino in a couple of weeks (here are some favourites from an old blog post — still good ones!)! It will be our first experiment traveling on the train with the puppy too.

I’m getting inspiration from

SFGirlByBay

for ideas for the Enoteca Marilu workshop kitchen -- we are hoping to create a memorable kitchen on a budget. Wish us luck!

How are you spending these early weeks of the new year and do you do resolutions?