When I first started cooking in earnest for my family, a few years ago, I did the work in the very early morning. Pinta had a habit back then of waking before 5 a.m. I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I headed to the stove (Santa Maria often slept in). I would cook with Pinta scurrying about at my feet.
These days she sleeps, mostly, until a little after 6, which is still early, but at least the sun is up at that point. I still do most of my cooking before going off to work, and the other day I made my favorite bolognese sauce. Pinta helped me by shouting excitedly, “wolonase, wolonase,” and pointing to the pot on the stove as it simmered, filling the house with a delicious aroma. When her older sister, Nina, who often sleeps until eight or nine, woke, she came into the kitchen smiling and said, “I smell lunch.”