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I found this whoopie pie recipe among the many recipes my grandmother left behind. It is easy to whip up and sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. The cake is light and perfectly chocolatey and the filling is not overly sweet despite the addition of marshmallow fluff. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. Be sure to check out the whoopie pie links listed below. More stories to come… Jerry’s Whoopie Pies Makes 12 Ingredients for Cake: ½ cup unsalted butter ¾ cup sugar 1 large egg 1 cup of milk (any kind) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups of unbleached, all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking p ..read more

The Colorado sun blinds Ann. The colossal Rocky Mountains frosted in bits of snow stand in the distance. Such a tease to see them and not be able to touch them. The land leaving the airport is brown and flat. Ugly. Ann finds this unnerving. The flat land and muted colors are disorienting. So, unlike what she knows, what she has always known. New England. A place she both loves and hates, a place that holds her captive and tells her history. History and home. Home and history. How easily they tangle together choking each other so neither can thrive on its own. Ann notices how efficiently the t ..read more

The robin makes eye contact with me. Our neighbor’s porch light illuminates half of her body, the other half is consumed by the night. It is 1 am. Dirty water bottles sit in the sink, and half-eaten airport snacks decorate the counter along with boarding passes we no longer need. I stare at the robin from inside, a closed window separating us. She watches me and cocks her head to the side as she balances delicately on the fence. It is odd to see her standing on the old wooden fence so late at night. Are you welcoming me home? Do we know each other? I know her. She has visited me before. A re ..read more

I found this cake recipe in my grandmother’s binder of saved recipes. This recipe was likely cut out of newspaper- maybe The Boston Globe or the Lowell Sun. It appealed to her and she kept it. I wish I knew more about her process of what hold onto and what to release. Not just her recipes. Drawings, cards, photos, and holiday crafts given to her as a present. Clothes, jewelry, and books. Mass cards, wedding invitations, and birth announcements. Love letters and apology letters. Save this, toss that, keep it forever. How did she discriminate between things that were hope-chest worthy and thing ..read more

I found this chocolate chiffon cake recipe while shuffling through some of my grandmother’s recipes Though I do not remember her making it she had it cut out and taped to a weathered and stained piece of paper. Maybe she hoped to make it one day, maybe there would be an occasion for it, or maybe she intended to make it on an ordinary day that called for chocolate cake. I don’t remember it though I wish I did. While I whisked together the dry ingredients I thought of all the things she may have intended to bake but never did- something unexpected came up for her as those things do. So many ..read more

“Hold your breath…good.” “Breathe.” “Doing ok Ann?” Not really. Four MRIs in a year, same result, still no answers. “I’m good.” “Ok, almost done. You’re doing great.” Ann forced her eyes closed.  Staring at the white ceiling just a foot from her nose was more than she could handle at 6am on a Tuesday morning.  Maybe it was the exhaustion from the 4:30am wake-up time or the restless sleep she just endured but Ann found herself wishing for her mother. Tess would provide comfort once she endured her own anxiety.  Medical issues were avoided by Tess. And Tess tended to assume the w ..read more

My classes have started again so I have less time for writing but will get back to it soon. I made these cookies three times over the last three weeks. They are big, chewy, and full of chocolate flavor. You will not be disappointed! Dark Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies Makes 2 dozen Recipe adapted from Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking Ingredients: 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour 1 + ¾ cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon espresso powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature 1 cup sugar 1 cup packed light bro ..read more

Ann ended 2021 similar to the way she began 2021 in bed at 9:30. A few drinks eased the annoyance of the holiday but didn’t compel her to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Twenty years ago she loved New Year’s Eve, celebrating with friends, bar hopping, and drunkenly making out with her husband. Out with the old and in with the new. And yet twenty years later out with the old and in with the new seemed harder to achieve. Letting go was harder. Ann wondered if her age was to blame as she smeared overpriced eye cream over her dark circles and plucked stubborn little hairs from her chin. M ..read more

This ice cream cake is based off the of my grandmother’s coffee ice cream recipe. Though I always enjoyed her pistachio ice cream the most, her version of coffee ice cream is excellent. This version of coffee ice cream is for coffee lovers. The flavor is strong but not overwhelming. The addition of the Oreos is inspired by my youngest son’s love of coffee Oreo ice cream. He has a surprisingly mature palate for a seven year old. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Coffee Oreo Ice Cream Cake Makes 1 8×3 inch cake. Serves 6-8 Ice cream recipe adapted from my grandmother’s coffee ice crea ..read more