Hale Alanna - At home with Natalie: simple recipes for healthy living from my familys kitchen to yours

Natalie Morales is the West Coast anchor of NBC News TODAY show, host of NBCUs Access Hollywood, and cohost of Access Hollywood Live. She previously served as news anchor and cohost of TODAYs third hour. She joined TODAY in 2006 as a national correspondent and has reported for all NBC News platforms including NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, and MSNBC. Morales has won three Daytime Emmy Awards as part of TODAYs recognition as the best morning news program. She lives and cooks in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

Copyright 2018 by NATALIE MORALES

Photography copyright 2018 by ALANNA HALE

Food styling by CARRIE PURCELL

Prop styling by ETHEL BRENNAN

All rights reserved.

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT PUBLISHING COMPANY, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhco.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Morales, Natalie, author. | Volkwein, Ann, author.

Title: At home with Natalie : simple recipes for healthy living from my
familys kitchen to yours / Natalie Morales with Ann Volkwein.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017059029 (print) | LCCN 2017051879 (ebook) | ISBN 9780544974562 (ebook) | ISBN 9780544974494 (paper over board)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking. | Nutrition. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX714 (print) | LCC TX714.M6668288 2018 (ebook) | DDC 641.5dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017059029

Book design by JENNIFER K. BEAL DAVIS

v1.0318

To my family, friends, and the fans who have supported me so much through the years

The one constant in life is change. And the feeling that one is home has little to do with a houseor even a country. These are lessons I learned from a very young age. My fathers job in the air force kept us always on the move. On average, every three years we would set off on a new adventure. During my first eighteen years, we moved eight times, hopping from where I was born in Taiwan to places like Panama, Brazil, Spainand we even had a few years in the United States. Fortunately for my two sisters and me, we grew up seeing the world. And I often say my childhood was what led me to my career as a journalist. Once I had a little of that wanderlust in me, it sparked my curiosity to see and do whatever the world had to offer. My love of travel, experiencing cultures, and learning languages are what grounded me, in a way. But more so, they shaped me into the person I am today.

When I started the process of writing this cookbook, once again I found myself at a crossroads. After fifteen years (the longest I have ever lived anywhere) in one place, Hoboken, New Jersey, my job was moving me across the country to Los Angeles, to become both the West Coast anchor of the TODAY show and the host of Access Hollywood. Id always dreamed of living in California at some point in my life, as had my husband, and I thought the change of pace would be good for our family. But... my kids were both born and raised in Hoboken. Theyd had a completely stable world in one place, and were none too sure about the move. I reassured the boys that life brings us change, and not always good or exciting change, but that in moving as a family we bring the comforts of home with us. And those things allow us to find ourselves again, and to grow, and, eventually, establish new roots. Home is indeed where the heart is.

Above, left to right: My abuelita Tita, my mother, me in her arms, my dad, and my sister Patricia in Guajataca (near Arecibo), Puerto Rico c. 1973 My mom, my sister Patricia, and me at the Spanish ruins, Panama City, Panama c. 1977 Back row: Patricia, my mom, Abuelita Tita, Abuelito Mario. Seated: Me and my sister Priscilla on my eleventh birthday, Dover, Delaware c. 1983 Priscilla, me, and Patricia in Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy c. 1987

Needless to say, when we arrived in California I found myself channeling my mothers ability to create home wherever we were. Growing up, I always found comfort in the kitchen. No matter whether Id had a good or a bad day at school, once I walked in the door, I was greeted with the familiar aroma of something frying, roasting, or baking. I would often join my mom at the stove or kitchen table ready to help chop, stir, or even just put out the place settings. No matter where we were, our family dinners (even if we were in a hotel for months between moves) allowed us to feel at home.

Above, left to right: Me with Duke the dog, my mom, Patricia, and Dad at Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal Zone, Panama c. 1977 Priscilla, me, Mom, and Patricia at Sacr-Coeur, Montmartre, Paris, France c. 1986 Patricia, me, and Mom in front of our house and Mitsubishi Colt, Taichung, Taiwan c. 1972 Vovo Daria with Patricia and my mother and me in Rio de Janeiro c. 1978

The simple act of gathering around the table, with no distractions or cell phones, is such a powerful, bonding experience. I know, of course, its not always possible. My kids have lots of sports and after-school activities, and my husband and I travel for work on occasion, so its not every day that we can sit down as a family. But we do manage to gather together a few nights during the week, and especially on the weekends. Its that family time, holding hands saying a prayer and telling stories at the dinner table, that centers us.

That is where this cookbook comes inits born from my many years side by side with my mom and sisters, helping cook many of the foods of our Brazilian and Puerto Rican heritage. Also featured are recipes my family and I adopted as favorites in the many places we lived in or traveled to. I learned to cook largely through osmosis, which is a good thing, because any time I try to ask my mother how she makes a signature dish, she tells me roughly a little of this and a little of that, but its never really right on paper, or tested. Hidden in her stacks and stacks of recipe index cards, with handwritten notes, torn out magazine pages with recipes, and cookbooks she hardly ever touches are a treasure trove of our own family favorites, buried deep in memories.

There is so much family history in the food we make in my house. Whether its my late grandmothers , these are recipes that need to be recorded, preserved, and passed on, to be enjoyed by new friends and their families. And these are the foods of my many homes, in many countries, over the years. If, as they say, variety is the spice of life, here you will find a very global perspective with both healthy and indulgent options. I hope you enjoy creating your own memories and family time, from my familys table to yours.