It’s been another year of not a lot of reads unfortunately. But five books is better than none: My top two favorites would have to be A Song Below Water and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. A Song Below Water had sirens and other interesting mythical creatures. Not...

December: Gingerbread Men Cookies Many years ago, my sister, brother, and I tried to make and decorate gingerbread men for Christmas. I think this had to be around the time we were in college and home for the holidays. Those gingerbread cookies were rock hard. We decorated them but...

Author’s Note: Click Part II and Part III to jump down and read. Part I | Part II | Part III Kasha was running swiftly through the forest. Funny. She’d never thought about Zyler having forests. It’s known for its spiral oceans and sandy beaches. She didn’t know where she...

November: Sweet Potato Pie with Chocolate Hazelnut Crust The age-old rule is don’t make anything new for Thanksgiving. So I had to make a test pie before I attempted to make this pie for my family. It came out pretty well. I have some adjustments to make for the...

October: Sea Salt Butterscotch Tart And we’re back! I know it’s been a while. I dropped some cooked sweet potatoes in August for my rosemary pita chips so I didn’t bake. And in September, I lost track of time. I call this story the Belated Birthday Tart because it...

I’ve been trying to work on my discipline since my motivation seems to be on vacation. I wish it would’ve taken me with it because it’s been gone a while. Maybe it’s the monotony of life. Teaching a three year old to potty train is not fun, but necessary....

July: Zucchini Bread At my job, we have produce months. They pick four different types of produce and each week, people who want to cook it or eat it, share what they make. You can win a gift card for each week and win a grand prize for the...

June: Chocolate Chess Pie So the legend goes that the name “chess” pie came from someone hearing a Southern cook, either a freed slave or still enslaved—it’s not clear—saying “just” pie. I think I randomly tried chocolate chess pie from a store in North Carolina and I haven’t forgotten...

May: Oatmeal Cheddar Cheese Moon Pies With this recipe, all I could think about as a writer was retellings. Retellings are updated versions of classic stories or fairy tales. For example, Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. And this recipe was...

Author’s Note: This is a rewrite from the original, Selah. Nyla wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead and sighed, enjoying the shade of the mountain. The unusually hot and dry weather had slowed her down. The journey from the village to the mountain had taken an extra...