I resisted Facebook for years, but the ease with which I could share and view pictures of a high-school reunion compelled me. So like most
people my age, I found myself using the site to
reconnect with a past I had previously ignored or forgotten. Then, when
my husband passed
away suddenly a little more than a year ago, Facebook became a strange
lifeline during my first
year of grief. Frankly, being on Facebook makes me think about what it
must be like to be dead,
floating like a ghost into and out of people’s lives, into and out of
all the worlds we’ve inhabited. The compression and conflation of time
that Facebook provides makes way for the beguiling draw of nostalgia.
Nostalgia, like grief, is essentially homesickness, and we tend to get homesick when we want to restore the parts of ourselves we think we are losing or have lost. Soon enough, I found myself looking up my old summer camps, my old junior high school (that’s what we New Yorkers called middle school), and inevitably I discovered a Facebook page dedicated to Riverdale, the small northwest Bronx neighborhood where I spent my formative years.
Move over...there's a new "crack" in town. And this dip is definitely it. Don't make it unless you plan on over-indulging or you have many friends around to help you eat it. I promise you, there won't be any left.
My current comfort food of choice is chocolate. It seems to sooth all muscle aches after a long day in the vineyard. Don't worry if you've never attempted a souffle, this recipe is easy and foolproof and it doubles nicely if you want to serve it at a dinner party. The souffle rises very nicely, it was even higher than is shown but souffles do start to shrink if you don't serve them right away.
You’ve seen recipes for triple chocolate cookies, right? Well, why not triple peanut butter cookies?
While I don't like to rush the holidays, I do welcome them with open arms. To celebrate the season, my lovely friend Holly (of Turquoise Autumn) invited me over for treats and talk of wintry recipes.