Ya Gotta Eat!
Catherine Ring Saliba
A Collection of Family Recipes and Stories
About the Book
Ya Gotta Eat is a warm invitation into a family kitchen where generations have gathered, laughed, and shared meals that nourished both body and spirit. From the zucchini “avalanche” of summer gardens to the hearty dishes that comfort on winter nights, each recipe carries its own story, memory, and sprinkle of humor.
Whether you grew up on a farm, in a bustling city kitchen, or simply love the art of home-cooked meals, this collection offers tried-and-true recipes that are easy to prepare, endlessly adaptable, and steeped in family tradition. Alongside the culinary instructions, you’ll find the stories behind the dishes—celebrating friendship, love, and the occasional kitchen disaster that became legend.
Perfect for women seeking inspiration for their own families, seniors who savor nostalgia, and men who enjoy cooking with heart, Ya Gotta Eat reminds us that good food—and good stories—are the glue that holds us together.
About the author
Hi all!
I grew up in a house that my father built in 1938, near Red Bank, New Jersey. I graduated from the University of Vermont with a BS degree in nursing, a career spanning over forty years. During that time, I also pursued one of my great loves…acting…arranging my nursing hours to accommodate this, and finding it a wonderful counterbalance to the stresses encountered as an R.N. I acted in soaps, films, TV, commercials, did voice-overs, and sometimes was the real nurse on the sets.
I began writing out of sheer boredom while recovering from surgery, and found great joy in the process, especially writing about some of my “life experiences “for my three children and four grandchildren. To my delight and surprise, Chicken Soup for the Soul published two of my stories, and magazines began to follow suit. Among them were Women’s World, Reminisce, Country, Good Old Days, More, Pulse and AJN.
Cooking is also one of my favorite activities. I raised my children on a farm in northern New Hampshire and learned so much about cooking the food we grew from the wonderful folks up there. I started documenting our family’s favorite recipes, a very eclectic blend of my mother’s hearty plain meat and potatoes dishes to Italian and Lebanese/Syrian foods gleaned from my mother-in-law, which eventually evolved into my first book, “Ya Gotta Eat!” To this day I can hear my father’s voice exclaiming “Ya gotta eat!” throughout our childhood…first to get us to eat, then to get a job after college graduation.
I found that I loved to write, and more books will follow!
Praise for Ya Gotta Eat!
