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Stories 2024
(Click on the photo to read a story.)
Bennett, Crystal

Passing the Ball

Crystal Bennett

Mom was an “artiste,” but art school would have been an impractical choice for earning a living, plus of course she would be getting married and “taken care of.”

Sapienza, Barbara

Her Hands

Barbara Sapienza

Hands that pinched her baby daughter’s round cheeks. Hands that were lifted to the sky as she danced around the kitchen. Hands that formed delectable meatballs.

Weiss, Debbie

Missing Chocolate Mousse

Debbie Weiss

Mom wore a pink and green quilted skirt and matching floral blouse to serve dinner the night that she went to the hospital. She did not return.

Clark, Karin and Patti

Walking Through the Layers

Karin Clark and Patti Clark

There were delicious pillows of pasta and the salty-sweet tang of focaccia at family gatherings. Something was wrong but no one would talk about it.

Snover, Dorette

Who's Milkin' This Cow?

Dorette E. Snover

Women in the family had "gotten in trouble," and Mom couldn't care less about traditional female roles like cooking, but disparaged a daughter who did.

McNabb, Susan

Mayta Gravy

Susan McNabb

When her daughter's new boyfriend moved in, Mom was polite but not much more. Until she found out he could cook.

Chambers, Stephanie

A Good Girl

Stephanie Chambers

Mom felt like more of a servant than the only daughter of Hungarian immigrants with four older brothers, responsible for meal after meal after meal.

Anderson, Elizabeth

The Party

Elizabeth Anderson

As party guests talked about the Vietnam War and the travesty of inflation, Mom, the most beautiful woman in the room, set out her famous crabmeat dip.

Cline, Rachel

Steak Tartare

Rachel Cline

Mom was eating at an outdoor cafe when she sneezed, and her earring, a gift from her daughter, flew into the nearby fountain—or so she said.

Goldman, Ilene S_

Tomato Soup for the Soul

Ilene S. Goldman

A difficult pregnancy, an emergency C-section, open-heart surgery on a tiny seven-day-old daughter—through it all, food was for sustenance, not pleasure.

Rosenthal, Leslie Dannin

Entertaining Fish

Leslie Dannin Rosenthal

Feeding a crowd was something Mom did with enthusiasm, always eager for a new challenge. But cooking salmon in the dishwasher?

Cohen, Lisa

The Farmer's Wife

Lisa Cohen

Some of what Mom prepared for holidays dated back to an older generation whose journey to America was motivated by an escape from the Czar.

DiGangi, Laurel

A Tale of Two Gołąbki

Laurel DiGangi

Within a classic stay-at-home, post-WWII mom was a free-spirit, as wacky as the actresses she adored: Lucille Ball, Judy Holliday, and Shirley MacLaine.

Miller, Celeste

On Those Ice Cream-Making Days

Celeste Miller

All married people fight—that was the message from a deeply unsatisfied mother. But a hand-cranked ice cream maker introduced some family fun.

Pia, Lally

The Light of 1000 Suns

Lally Pia

The sky might fall down if Mom (now 92 years young) stopped cooking, all through immigration from Sri Lanka, to Ghana, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

Sutton, Terri

You Don't Need to Know

Terri Sutton

A young daughter was anxious to learn what she thought it meant to be female. When her mother refused to share kitchen wisdom, it felt like rejection.

Binns, Brigit

The Comfort of Carrots

Brigit Binns

When a difficult mother was facing declining health alone, her daughter commenced a rigorous project of cooking for her mother’s freezer.

Greene, Lisa S_

Where's My Knife?

Lisa S. Greene

Mom's sense of order and pragmatism guided most everything in her life, and taught her daughter much of what she knows about cooking and entertaining.

Costanzo, Francesca

Helping My Mother Taste Freedom

Francesca Costanzo

Mom kept her rings on while baking her famous buttery cakes—and beat the batter with a spoon, pretending it was her husband.

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