Let’s face it.  Traditional pumpkin pie is in the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” category. Every Thanksgiving I embark on yet another futile effort to find THE pumpkin pie.  You know where it is?  On the back on the Libby’s pumpkin can.  Sure, go ahead and roast your own pumpkin or get all […]

My host son is a pie fanatic. He would eat a pie everyday if I let him.  In fact, twice now he has taken a whole pie to school for lunch.  If he appreciates one thing about America during his year here, at least I know that pie will be towards the top of the […]

The Republican National Convention is about to invade my city in a matter of days. Politics is in the air and I want to crawl under my bed and hide. It’s my least favorite subject and I avoid it at all costs. I’m the mushy middle. Hopelessly moderate on just about everything political and non-political. […]

I purposely don’t spend much time scouring the internet for recipes. I feel like they hinder my creativity by planting preconceived ideas in my head. That’s kind of the way I feel about toys for my kids – we don’t have many because I’d prefer that they figure out how to play with something by […]

The Wallpaper Factor I saw an article recently about a woman who wore a hidden camera to show how many times she received harassment from men in a day. The article brought back a memory of some advice I received from an elderly woman not too long ago. Before I go any further, let me […]

I don’t regard myself as an entertainer. I lack the skill or the energy to plan parties with thematic decor, parchment wrapped mini sandwiches, and coordinating signs on chalk boards. In fact, I get very overwhelmed when I see blog posts or magazine articles telling me how easy it is to create the perfect summer […]

From This Mom To Her Village: Mother’s Day feels like a very linear holiday for a role that is so dynamic. I celebrate my mom, my kids celebrate me, and so on. We go to brunch and plant flowers in a domino effect of celebration and admiration for our respective mothers and mothers’ mothers. To […]

Peaches and dreams. That about sums up my experience making this pie. What was intended to be a simple summer pie ended up being a catalyst for summoning some of the best summer memories. As I was preparing my peaches, my mind wandered to the summer I spent working at a local road side fruit […]

I dread baking during the work week for one simple reason – dishes. I love the baking part, but the aftermath is just so overwhelming when all I want to do is call it a night and go to bed. My M.O. each time I’m in the kitchen is to use as few utensils and […]

According to me, you get total pie street credit if you’re from the South. If you have an accent and hail from any of the states below Ohio, I automatically assume that you are harboring your Great Grandma’s family pie recipe and that you know some worldly secrets about great pie making. After all, don’t […]