A Taste of Haldimand – September 12, 2024

In past columns I have featured some of my Haldimand Press colleagues in order to get to know them better. I have strayed from that over the summer so it was time to start again!

I reached out to Mike Renzella, who is the assistant editor and a senior reporter at The Haldimand Press. Mike has been with The Press since 2019. 

He also looks after the weekly deliveries to the vendors and the post office, while maintaining the Press’ website and social media account. Although Mike lives in Brantford, he really enjoys working for the small Haldimand paper and reporting on local news.

Mike Renzella and his Nonna.

Mike stated that he wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to his “Nonna”, Carmela Renzella. I could feel the respect and admiration he has for his grandmother when I read his tribute: “She passed away nearly 20 years ago, but I can still taste her excellent food in the back of my mouth to this day. She was everything you could imagine an Italian grandmother to be – cheek-pinching, big-hearted, always loving, short in height but giant in stature, and the beating heart that held her family together.” I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it was that Mike still had such a vivid recollection of his grandmother after all these years.

The recipe Mike shared is the Special Christmas Soup. He explained, “This special soup was served once a year on Christmas day. It was a soup we all looked forward to with great anticipation. It is as much a part of my appreciation for the holidays as the trimmed tree and twinkling lights.” He said he double checked with his Aunt Cathy to make sure he got it right. 

There are a number of specific things that makes this recipe distinct. It consists of the chicken soup broth, meatballs, and croutons. Be prepared to spend a significant amount of time making all the elements. Mike’s Nonna always used three meats to create her meatballs. The bread is quite a large loaf and tastes the best when cut into croutons, added to the soup, and has absorbed the broth. Enjoy!