Cooking became a part of Michele’s life, a passion that grew from her childhood. The recipes she makes today for her family and friends are the ones she learned from her grandmother, all pulled from memory.

For years, she has thought about the significance of her “Nani” and her recipes.

“When you are surrounded by delicious meals, it’s natural to want to make them and that’s how it was for me,” says Michele. “ I never really thought about writing down the recipes, but I always knew in the back of my mind that these are amazing recipes. When I saw Heirloom on Instagram, I realized the opportunity had presented itself.”

Michele, who has been working on her Heirloom cookbook for the past two months, plans to finish creating her cookbook in December. Pulling a total of 30 recipes, Michele has been busy planning out a cooking schedule, recreating the recipes one by one and notating the exact ingredients and instructions. There have been a few recipes she’s had to redo because they didn’t turn out quite right.

“It’s tough because I’m doing it by memory, I don’t use exact ingredients,” says Michele. “Sometimes I change up the Italian marinara and make it spicier or creamy, but I had to stick to the authentic recipe my grandmother made and that was a challenge to get it right.”

She also jokes about making her husband wait to eat until she’s taken the photos she needs for her book.

The process is one that she describes as a personal and “raw experience” – putting memories to paper and seeing it come to life.

The cookbook, which is centered around her grandmother, will highlight who Maria Marano was and her journey from Sicily to upstate New York. The book will feature the most authentic Italian meals she cooked, including soups, breads, pizzas and one of the most meaningful recipes to their family – Sunday meatballs with red sauce.

“Thoughts of her are with me daily and I feel empowered being able to carry on her legacy,” says Michele. “She embodies empowerment, boldness and courage through fortitude. Watching her in everything she did, from running the family to creating these wonderful meals loved by everyone is truly empowerment.”

The book also showcases the deep connection Michele has to these recipes, her upbringing and her culture. Food has always been a big deal in her family, along with utilizing ingredients that nature provides us.

“Nani really pulled from nature, from the farm,” recalls Michele. “She would use lettuce and onions that she picked from the farm, natural mustard seed and even dandelion plants in her recipes.”

Most of Michele’s family has passed over the years, but she does plan to gift a few cookbooks to her remaining family, including her sister, her Aunt Mary and Aunt Mary’s son. However, Michele has a broader desire to share her book with others, noting that she’d like to sell this cookbook to the public.

Maria’s family was her primary love and Michele hopes others will find the love in her Nani’s recipes.