About

Home, Heart, and Hearth

By formal definition these words are rather sterile and are simply functional places/objects. Hestina’s Kardia will explore these words beyond the dictionary and wiki definitions.

This blog is about discovering Home, Heart, and Hearth through the exploration of food – creating emotions through smells and flavors, memories through sharing, and euphoria from the experience.

From a very young age I remember watching “hands” – my mother’s hands shaping cookie dough into balls and pressing an almond sliver into the centers; my grandfather’s and uncles’ hands deftly mincing vegetables or cleaving through a slab of meat; my grandmother’s and aunts’ hands nimbly forming delicate pleats in disks of soft dough. Along with these images I remember wonderful smells that conjure senses of comfort, serenity, and security.

I have been blessed to be raised by a community of amazing culinary experts who openly shared all their knowledge and secrets with me. These experiences are what define the words Home, Heart, and Hearth to me. Home is not simply the place where we dwell but the place where we gather to share in the enjoyment of the meal and to feel safe and loved. The creative process involved in cooking and the aromas created in the Hearth is the Heart of my home. It is never stagnant. It permeates the soul and radiates warmth.

I hope the recipes in this blog create these experiences in your home.