A little history…

I’m from an Italian family in northwestern Pennsylvania…

and much of my childhood memories revolve around Sunday dinner at Non’s house. Everyone got there early and did their best to not miss a meal, Noni made some amazing meals, but that’s not why… If you weren’t at the dinner table, you were often the topic of conversation! Mostly it was an average family dinner, tales of people who were no longer with us and stories of our parent’s youthful mischief; followed by memorable times with my brothers and cousins, exploring the Amish countryside.

Noni lived on a horse farm with a big barn and a small garden…

most of the herbs she grew were in large pots on her back porch and we were always excited to see them planted! Twice a year, Non harvested her herbs to make a batch of her seasoning salts and distributed them to the family in a big mason jar. This was a really big deal. By the time we got through the Winter and Spring, when her garden was starting to show promise of harvest, all of us were out of salts.

It made an impression on me how this small act helped to tie our family together…

almost as much as those big family dinners we were so careful to not show up late for. My friends would come over to our house for dinner and be introduced to this precious jar of salts and it’s fair to say most of them remember it. Many years later, my dad and I discovered a small handwritten page in her kitchen and realized what we had found. The recipe goes back four generations to a little town in northern Italy. Although I’m sure it’s changed a little over time, I’ve noticed since I started to make it as a yearly gift how the flavors subtly change with each crop of fresh ingredients, these small changes seem part of the tradition.

Over the years I had occasionally made small batches to share with friends…

and even considered developing it commercially when I was very young, Nons Salts really started for me in 2015 when my husband and I moved to Raleigh. I fell in love with the farmer’s market, the sense of community that seems to tie the area together, the neighborhoods and our neighbors. I started making a yearly batch that first year and shared it with my new friends, I guess I was a little surprised that it went much the same way as it had in our family all those years ago. Since then we have been producing small batches of the original recipe, as well as some new recipes we are pretty proud of, with the hopes of adding a little something to the community we love. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see my family’s tradition begin to take root here, I hope you enjoy the recipe as much my family has and I hope to hear a few stories about your experiences as well.