Grit Magazine - America's Rural Lifestyle Magazine for 125 Years

I am so pleased about my soup article in Grit. First of all, ya gotta LOVE this magazine. It's been publishing for 125 years and has refashioned itself several times over the years. When he was a boy, my father sold subscriptions to it and that was the only was to get your hands on it. When I started writing for them about five years ago, it was in a newspaper tabloid format. Now, it's a glossy, well-designed magazine and you can get it on the new stands. My article is in the current issue. You can check it out online at www.grit.com. It's in the Comfort Foods section. Enjoy!

Pizzelles

Okay so my pizzelles are not perfect looking--but they REALLY taste good.

Pizzelle Recipe

Christmas would not be the same in my house without the pizzelles my Gram made every year. I make them now, with a non-stick pizzelle iron--so easy. I wonder how my Gram did it with her old clunky iron.

Here's the recipe:

This is the basic pizzelle recipe. You can substitute virtually any flavoring instead of the anise extract. But for those who prefer the authentic, the anise is necessary. To soften the anise flavor, add a tablespoon of vanilla.
6 eggs
3 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup cool melted butter
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons anise extract
Preheat pizzelle iron. Beat eggs, add sugar gradually and beat well. Add butter and anise. Sift flour and baking powder and add to creamed mixture. Dough will be very sticky. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto pizzelle iron sprayed with Pam, if it’s not a non-stick iron. Cook until steam stops and cookies are a rich golden color. Lift the top of the iron carefully. Remove cookies with a large fork or spoon. Cool on wire racks and store in airtight container. Makes five dozen.

First-Grade Food Writer?

I volunteer once a week to work with the children in Tess's class. I am at one of the "rotation" stations. The children are divided into groups and rotate between activities. It's very different than when I did the same thing for Kindergarten, where I was just doing a craft or reading a story, while the "real" instructing was going on in the other groups. This year I am really helping the kids work on important skills. Last week, I was working with them on a writing project. One little boy and I had a meeting of the minds. He grinned ear-to-ear because I showed interest in his story and asked him questions. This week, the activity was writing a Thanksgiving menu. When his group came to me, he pulled on my sleeve and said, "Remember me? I am the good writer." (My heart burst!) This week, I paid special attention to him and praised his menu. "Of course it is good. You are such a good writer," I said. He looked up at me and said,"Yes, I know, but does it make you hungry?"
Great. Just what the world needs. Another food writer.

Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook Signing at Sam's Club—Success!!!

What is a Narrative Cookbook?

I am often asked what a narrative cookbook is. And I smile.
A narrative cookbook is a cookbook that tells a story. If you think about all the different kinds of cookbooks there are, you'll note that some of them just give recipes and hints about food. Narrative cookbooks have recipes, along with stories about the food, history, the people making the food, and so on. The Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley tell the story of Mrs. Rowe's life, restaurant, food, and give some local history. It tells the story through overlapping techniques—the main one in the narrative that flows throughout the book, which is accented by photo captions, sidebars, recipe head notes.
So.
A narrative cookbook is what it says it is. ;-) A cookbook that tells a story. Any other thoughts about that?

dreams, art, business

Dreams are funny things. Last night I dreamed about my friend Jennifer Ledford’s best friend Robin Goering, who is an artist. We stopped by her studio yesterday. Let’s just say that between the incredible art and the magic of her space, she filled my dreams most of the night. (Check out her new blog! http://robinstudio6.blogspot.com/) On top of that, Jennifer has created a nifty space all her own in downtown Waynesboro, as well—forged with her own blood, sweat, passion, and you guessed it DREAMS!
Kids and Sew On, Jennifer’s custom embroidery company, used to be a home-based company. It has grown so fast and so incredibly that she decided to take the leap and rent a store front. She embroiders bags, shirts, hats, well, just about anything you can imagine. Now her store is located on Wayne Avenue. You can still order her products online at http://www.kidsandsewon.com.
We visited both places yesterday during Waynesboro’s Fall Foliage Festival where artists set up their wares for sale. Okay, so I can never afford to buy what I like, but still, it’s always inspiring to see the art, but more importantly, to see the dreams become reality in front of my face.
For me this year, it was so satisfying to see these two women, Jennifer and Robin, fulfilling their passions. Interestingly, they both spoke of how nice it was to have their own space, how it made them feel whole again. (Jennifer has four children; Robin five. And both have been stay-at-home moms, while pursuing their businesses and art.)
Things do and can fall into place. Often, it’s not the way we imagine it will be when we are young women pursuing our careers—or when we are struck utterly, profoundly, with the need and the desire to have children. How will it work? Will we have to stop painting? Will we have to stop dancing? Acting? Writing? Often the answer is “No, but…” That is to say, “No, but it will just take rethinking, reshaping, reforming. I know that my writing career is nothing like I had imagined it would be. Still, it ain't chopped liver. I am still finding my way. Who knows where I will be 10 years from now? Even though they are not writers, women like Robin and Jennifer are lighting a way for me. I am grateful for them.