FATHER FORLITI'S FAREWELL BLESSING IN POSITANO, ITALY

GREETINGS FROM CARMELA'S CUCINA,

I am just back from a month in beautiful Italy with 2 culinary tours. My first tour included Calabria and the Almafi Coast and the 2nd tour was of Tuscany. In between tours, Bob and I visited Bolonga and the region of Emilia Romagna. Each region is rich in history, wine and food and over the next few weeks I will be telling you about my experiences.

For today, my post is going to include the prayer that Father John Forliti wrote for our last special dinner in Positano on the beautiful Almafi Coast.

I hope some day you might be able to join me on one of my Food and Wine tours of Italy, until then below is a little something for you to think about.

A LITANY OF APPRECIATION, PRAYED IN POSITANO

1. For Carmie's inspiration, perspiration and invitation. We pray...

2. For Dario's (our driver) safe transfer, keen eyes, and steady hands. We pray...

3. For the Librandi's (our hosts in Calabria), Enza and Nico, grapes and figs, endless foraging into tastes and textures, for opportunities to graze until Martino comes home. We pray...

4. For banquet tables and accordion tunes, for octopus and sea bass, for cavatelli by the millions, and for zuccini flowers. We pray...

5. Flor flower, wineyard and more, for parsley and weal and Katrin (our tour guide): for her energy and care, and guidance everywhere, for her joyful spirit and hospitable flair. We pray...

6. For peppers, parmigiano, provola and provolone, polpette and parsley, patate, pane and pumpkin. We pray...

7. For melanzane and marmellata, meatloaf and Martino, Amarelli and Milo, and endless rolls of cavatelli. We pray.

8. For octopus and olive oil, formagio and liquorice, goat and anchovies, vino rosso and galioppo,vino bianco and water without gas. We pray

9. For cell phones that rig at the most sacred of moments. We pray.

10. We have been blessed with abundance and depart with grateful hearts; grateful to each other and grateful to God. May the blessings we have received flow from us to others, for the healing of earth and repairing of the human spirit. Amen.

Buon appetito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins