Toti Nonna has been gone since January 28th and I have cried every morning just as a matter of course. She’s my first thought and my last thought every day, no exception. Six weeks ago today I took myself over to Rbari, Ramapo Bergen Animal Refuge to see an available for adoption “in training” dog named Hilda.  First, who the hell names a dog Hilda and second, please define in training…  She looked like my Lina who, along with Toti Nonna, was put into training almost immediately upon arrival on Stowe Lane fourteen years ago. So I know my way around a crazy dog or two.  I could ..read more

In the infinity of life, where I am, all is perfect whole and complete.   Louise Hay Hello February, I didn’t think I’d give a damn whether your notorious reputation for love and the promise of warmer weather came through or not. But here I am ready to move forward. Forward from what?  Just shy of fourteen years ago, two fearful, beautiful, lost, then found, dogs made their way from Little Rock, Arkansas to Mahwah, New Jersey via the universe is unfolding in your favor express.  They were a handful in the best of circumstances, these were really the worst of circumstances h ..read more

Welcome to January, happy new year? I’ve long ago given up on making/breaking resolutions, so if you’d like to tell me about yours have at it.  Perhaps one that’s worked, or was personally kind, or didn’t cause you undue stress…I thought so.  Instead I’ve chosen a word for the upcoming year.  It’s been part of Susannah Conway’s December daily reflections recap on Instagram.  I’ve participated over the last three years and found a lovely online group of people in return. Some of the prompts repeat year after year and many of those I find my answers also repeat. Such as: A w ..read more

Welcome to December, I’m not entirely sure how that could be but welcome anyway. It’s always been my time to take inventory of my freezer in anticipation of those fabulous snow days…turns out I have no Mirepoix in there. None, zero, one good snow storm and I’ll starve to death without it. So today was the day. Onion, carrot, celery the magical base of almost every winter recipe either full or speed scratch for one. You already know which way I’m leaning. In keeping with the speed scratch way, I long ago stopped chopping those fabulous veg in lew of pre chopped. Where is it written that you mus ..read more

I’ve been talking about writing this book for years, Speed Scratch Cooking for One, thinking I wanted to stop people living on their own from eating cold cereal for dinner.  What I’ve come to realize is that I want to honor all the women who’ve lived on their own and taught me many of these concepts, they would call them tricks and wink. I’ve got hundreds of stories from these women, “my Aunt’, my beloved Jeanette, and yes Rere with all our stuff made a wonderful and enduring food impact. I’ve learned from many other women, not just my own, and really those are also stories worth telling ..read more

Good question. Several places since April of 2018 when I discussed bread from the bakery and my thriving Red Bud. It was a moment in time for that Red Bud, about to enter its second decade on Stowe Lane; never once threatened by the roving maniacs otherwise known as landscapers. How, was I to know there was another moment in time waiting just around the corner in July? That’s when the inimitable Rere went by Daddy.  She’d been threatening to go for several years but phoenix that she was she defied the odds until she didn’t. It was an exhausting year and no words would come. Most of that ..read more

I’m sure there isn’t any aroma quite like this fresh baked bread straight into a brown paper bag. The the drive home surrounded by it. But there is so much more in that bag, the nostalgia is even more overwhelming. When we were growing up my mother made a pot of sauce every Thursday. I don’t remember how, I don’t remember the smell of it or the pot it was made in. What I do remember is my father walking in the back door with this bag of bread. I remember putting my face in it to catch the aroma. I remember pulling the soft inside out so the meatballs fit just perfectly. I remember laying that ..read more

This year marks the beginning of the next decade for this about to bloom red bud tree. I bought this as a shrub when I first moved to Stowe Lane ten, yes ten, years ago and it has thrived. Shrubs don’t normally reach for the skies and become trees unless the stars align, they are properly pruned and fertilized with all the best nutrients. There is love involved and crossed fingers and sighs of relief when one realizes that the blizzards and winds, and blights have left you, I mean it, unscathed. Of course there is no way to know what lies ahead in the upcoming decade, no way to know where one ..read more

It’s no secret that many people are motivated by the almighty dollar.  It can sometimes drive them to distraction, make their head spin, and keep them up at night.  Me too.  But I’m not talking about THAT almighty dollar.  I’m talking about the dollar I found in the parking lot of the mall during the Christmas return season. Not kidding you…it seemed innocent enough on an incredibly bitter cold day hustling back to my car to just scoop down on the run and snatch that crumbled up dollar bill and throw it in my purse.  I was the only one in the parking lot because I am ..read more

Today is our birthday.  No I don’t know exactly when they were born but the girls came to me on 11-3-08 at approximately 18-19 months old, or so the vet thought, so do the gizzintas… Now just Toti and I celebrate together.  She gets a special treat and I get to stay in my pajamas until 2 (even on a work day). My text message alert, my IM alert, Facebook alert, email alert, IG alert all have different ring tones so this morning sounded like a symphony of love. Complete with crescendo, overture and finale. I am grateful for every one of those notes. I get to hear people’s actual voice ..read more