The Saucy Soprano

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT DURING THE PANDEMIC!

What began as a project to preserve my sanity during Covid evolved into a journey filled with love, learning and incredible food. I fulfilled my goal (cooking all 425 recipes in The Jewish Cookbook), and along the way, reconnected with family around the world, built a tremendous community and learned that when one door closes, an oven door opens. I am now back to singing and coaching full-time, but I will never forget these precious two years. Thank you for being a part of it.

Hello, my little knishes!

My name is Melina, and I'm a pandemic-furloughed opera singer. This project is born during a time in which the world has completely ceased to make sense, save for one thing: feeding people. For me, cooking has and always will just make good sense.

Jewish communities throughout the centuries have lived, cooked and shared festive meals, forming a cuisine that is both intensely regional and profoundly global. I'm putting on my balabusta apron (and possibly twenty pounds) and cooking my way through the 400+ recipes of Leah Koenig's The Jewish Cookbook (2019) in hopes of sharing the variety, the flavour, the history and the love that is interwoven in what we Yiddishe Mamas call "Jewish food."

With Jewish food - the food I grew up with - you (almost) always know what you're eating...it's simple, it's tasty, and there's always plenty of it!

Step into my kitchen