The world has changed since the COVID-19 health crisis began. And one of the biggest changes to daily life that Seattleites have had to accept is that going out to our favorite restaurants and gathering with friends and loved ones over a meal is no longer a regular activity.
It’s just a fact—we’re all cooking at home now more than ever. With stay-at-home orders currently still in place, many of us are struggling to keep coming up with new and creative ideas for meals at home. Dreaming up three meals per day—and all the prep, cooking time, and cleanup that comes with it—is starting to feel exhausting to many of us.
But luckily, cooking isn’t a chore for everyone. Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty broker Fiore Pignataro is an especially talented home cook and gardener and loves to prepare fresh and colorful Italian-inspired meals with his daughters. Since stay-at-home orders have been implemented, Fiore has started publishing his cooking sessions with his family on his YouTube channel, Casa Fiore’s Cucina, to inspire his community and share his food with others—at least virtually.
In his delightful demos, Fiore shows us how to make everything from modern twists on traditional dishes like his limoncello-marinated prawns (yup, you read that right) to a classic spaghetti alla puttanesca—a pasta dish made with the kinds of pantry ingredients many of us currently have stashed away somewhere but don’t know exactly what to do with, like canned tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and capers.
His passion for authentic Italian cuisine shines through in each and every one of his videos. And the obvious excitement he has for sharing these recipes (and this time in the kitchen) with his daughters and his community is an uplifting example of how small acts of positivity can make us all feel happier, more cared for, and closer together—even while we stay physically apart.