Anne Marie Guarino-Schrank has lived in Farmingdale with her 11-year-old son Justin for the past 10 years.

Concerned about Justin not being familiar with family traditions and values, Guarino-Schrank wrote Growing Up Italian, a cookbook filled with her stories of growing up in her Italian family.

"I am a divorced mom who had an inspiration to write a cookbook of all the recipes from my childhood with all the true stories to match," Guarino-Schrank said. It was made for my son so he can always remember his mom and her good old days. He is growing up in a different environment than I and I felt it would be something he could have forever and always remember me by. Thus the reason for the title of the book Growing Up Italian."

While Guarino-Schrank is not a chef by trade, she said he would like to become one someday.

"I learned how to cook by watching my family," Guarino-Schrank said.

In early February, Guarino-Schrank was featured on a Look Who's Cooking segment on News12 . She made stuffed artichokes, which surprisingly, isn't her favorite recipe in the book. Sunday Sauce and Meatballs is.

"It always brings me back to Sundays at my Aunt Mary's in Brooklyn," Guarino-Schrank said.

The book, which took Guarino-Schrank about a year to write, was self-published in late 2005. Growing Up Italian can be purchased at www.iuniverse.com and www.Barnesandnoble.com. The author has also established her own website, www.growingupitalian.com, which tells visitors about her book.

"I also share recipes and stories and ask everyone to share their stories and recipes on it," Guarino-Schrank said.