My mom’s favorite thing to say to me was that I was the best Mother’s Day gift she could ever imagine. It was 41 years ago that my mom became a mom on Mother’s Day, forever intertwining my birthday with the holiday. Losing my mom to cancer ten years ago while becoming a mom myself…
Category: Musings
When gatherings take on new meaning
One of the last formal writing assignments I worked on as the pandemic set in last March was reviewing the cookbook Open Kitchen by Susan Spungen. The cookbook was designed for entertaining a crowd and my copy was filled with sticky notes of recipes I planned to cook for my next dinner party. I had…
Thanksgiving traditions old and new
Like so many others this will be the first Thanksgiving I’ve ever celebrated without my family. For most of my childhood I traveled with my parents and siblings from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona to be with my dad’s extended family for the holiday. My Great Aunt Liz, our family’s matriarch, held court from her kitchen…
On Mother’s Day
As I’ve written before, Mother’s Day will always be a bittersweet holiday having lost my mom 8 years ago to cancer. I’ve been thinking a lot about the approaching day and how many of us will be celebrating without moms and grandmothers this year because of coronavirus. Like so many other holidays, carrying on old…
#thestew and why recipes go viral
If you were born in 1981 (cutoff age for millennials) and/or follow the New York Times Cooking columnist, cookbook author and foodie starlet Alison Roman then you will recognize this image immediately. For those who need an introduction, this Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Turmeric was created by Roman herself, published to the New…
Rosh Hashanah Traditions Old and New
This year marks the fourteenth year that my husband and I have hosted Rosh Hashanah together. Our tradition started in Boston, where I was in grad school at the time. It was too hard to fly back to be with our families in the middle of the week with our busy schedules so we gathered…
An Ode to our National Parks
From an early age my family would spend two weeks each August traveling out west visiting a number of U.S. National Parks. I have the fondest memories of hiking, camping, and exploring all the beauty these national treasures have to offer. A wedding in California this summer called us out West and we decided to…
Tips and recipes for when all your 4 year old wants to do is cook HERSELF
I love that my four year old has recently discovered cooking and baking. It’s surprising to no one that her recent interest doesn’t just mean helping me prep meals but making her very OWN creations by HERSELF (all from scratch). I am trying hard to embrace her enthusiasm and view it as an opportunity to…
New Traditions: A Blended Family Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Growing up my family would travel from Chicago to Tucson where my Dad’s extended family gathered around my Great Aunt Liz’s home to spend the holiday. I have such vivid memories of pulling through her gravel driveway once we arrived and walking straight through her back…
Shanah Tovah – the power of food and community.
Rosh Hashanah arrived especially early this year, the end of summer and back to school rush seemed to leave little time for holiday preparations. The week leading into the New Year I received news that one of my oldest childhood friends tragically passed away. While we had grown apart over the years, I felt a…
Bedford Balabusta 