Low Cooking Flame

Family stories25 March 20124 April 2012 Baroness Tapuzina

Losing a loved one is something that no one wishes on themselves or at least hopes that the person one has lost had a very long and fruitful life, but when the loss is a parent whose time on earth could have lasted a little longer, the pain is somehow deeper. My much beloved father died at the age of 73 after an 11 year battle with Alzheimer’s; an evil disease that removes one’s essence. He was so full of life, had so many more things he wanted to explore, meals he wanted to make, life events he wanted to experience.

He was my father, my mentor, my biggest fan, my professor of art, music and history, a lover of all things Apple, a thinker, a tinker, a gourmet cook, and the nicest, gentlest man you could ever meet. I will miss him terribly, but no one should have to suffer the cruel effects of Alzheimer’s.

So my absence for the last month was not because I haven’t been cooking, it is just that my cooking flame was set to very low for the past few weeks.

My wonderful father, Fred Kemp z”l (1939-2012) died on 24 February. May he rest in peace and may his memory be for a blessing.

Shiva, Matza Balls, and the Morpurgo Family

Family stories Italy Travel18 December 201023 December 2010 Baroness Tapuzina

A few months after my husband met his business partner, Silvano, who is originally from Venice, he told him about my family connection to Italy. Silvano’s eyes got big and he said, I think your wife and I might be related. After checking with his mother and an aunt, sure enough we are related by marriage.

Shift to six years later, and Silvano came and ate with Mr BT and me during the shiva of my mother-in-law. Silvano and I started talking about Italian Jewish holiday dishes and got to the subject of Pesach and matza balls. I told him that my family made unusual matza balls, and I haven’t met a lot of people who are familiar with them. So, he asked how we made them. I explained we make them with whole matza and add nutmeg….. he looked at me and said very casually, “What is so special about those?! Those are the Morpugo matza balls and I haven’t met anyone else who makes them that way.” We both laughed and I paused for a minute. “Wait a minute.”, I said, “we are related on my paternal grandfather’s side of the family, but this recipe comes from my paternal grandmother’s side!”

He called me a few days later to say that he called one of his Morpugo aunts to tell her the story and she said, “Who needs a DNA test, the matching matza ball recipes confirm we are family!”

A Great Lady, A Great Loss – Vera Rozsa-Nordell

Family stories17 October 201024 November 2010 Baroness Tapuzina

This past Friday afternoon, my mother-in-law, the much revered and loved singing teacher, Vera Rozsa-Nordell passed away. She wasn’t just a great artist to me, she was my personal inspiration because of her personality and energy. When I first met her, I was afraid of her awesome presence, but she welcomed me and I knew she loved me when she kept telling me I was good for her son and that she would kill for my hair. Her great love and incredible knowledge of music, especially Schubert’s Lieder cannot be replaced. Her Hungarian accent, her great beauty, her wonderful laugh, her stern look and then her lovely smile, her glint in her eyes when she was satisfied that her students were singing to the best of their ability, and her own beautiful voice will be sorely missed. But in the end, she was just Mommy to me.