Technically, this is Marjorie's recipe for cream puff filling.  I substituted corn starch for the flour, added cocoa, and omitted the eggs, too.  Let me explain.

I was craving chocolate pudding, and not the bland-tasting cups in the grocery store dairy freezer, and it had also been a while since I consulted the Marjorie cookbook.  Sadly, Marjorie does not offer a recipe for straight-up chocolate pudding, but since I am skilled at improvisation, I punted.

Raw or tempered eggs in recipes skeeve me out.  There's no rationale for this, other than the ingrained brownie batter fear from my mother.  As a child wanting to lick the batter bowl, I was told "you'll get worms from the raw eggs."  I took this warning to heart, even though I am pretty sure no person was ever overrun by legions of tiny worms after licking raw batter from a finger.

However, the image stuck and so did that fear.  So, no raw eggs for me.

The rest of the ingredients are remarkably simple.  Milk, sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa.  Marjorie's recipe makes a vanilla filling, but it's easy enough to alter with 1/3 cup of cocoa.  I prefer cornstarch to flour as a thickener, so I substituted that, too.

Into a pan, stir, heat.

When it boils, it gets creamy and smooth.  Note the steam.  Mmm.

Into little bowls or cups.  (Another plug for Monroe Salt Works here.  I love, love, love their products.)  And then, into the fridge to cool and set up.

And the best thing about this recipe?  You get to lick the pan without fear of contracting worms.

Challenge:  What irrational childhood beliefs still linger in your adult life?  How do you manage them?

Saturday, February 18
Self Editing Techniques
Writers who value the workshop process often find it difficult to implement the same system at home on their own time. This workshop will identify specific (and deceptively simple) techniques to yield crisper, tighter prose. Author and educator Shonna Milliken Humphrey’s hands-on approach is designed to reduce editing to its most basic forms. Participants are encouraged to bring a short work sample (two to three pages) to reference and mark up. You’ll leave this class with specific techniques for self-editing, as well as a take-home synopsis of exercises for future implementation. A list of suggested reading will be given upon registration.
Here's a link to the full announcement.

OR, if you are looking for something a bit more local, try "So Your Life Should Be a Book?" at the Gorham Adult Education program.  This daylong workshop will jumpstart your memoir and narrative nonfiction project, and is well worth the $45 fee.

Saturday, February 4
So Your Life Should Be a Book?
Have your friends said that your life story should be a book, but you do not know where to start? You will leave this class with a general appreciation for the prose workshop format, including specific models for giving and receiving feedback. You will also gain an understanding of memoir craft and techniques, the differences between memoir and other nonfiction, as well as specific publishing advice for nonfiction writing. Much of the writing will be done in class and all levels are welcome. Bring a lunch, pen and a positive attitude!
Here's a link to the full announcement.

Winter is all about comfort food, and one of the most comforting treats are molasses cookies.

 They come in all manner of style, and I promise a prize to the first person who can find me a box of the hard Pantry variety (were they Canadian?) that came in red cardboard packaging with cellophane, stacked up on their sides.  My mother used to spread cream cheese on them, and while I'm not a cream cheese fan, I love the snap and ginger-filled taste of those cookies.

Marjorie's drop cookies are not Pantry cookies.  Not at all.  Marjorie's drop cookies are all about soft molasses flavor and making your kitchen smell fabulous.

The recipe is easy.  One bowl, one spoon.  Note the stains on the cook book page.  I've used this recipe many, many times.  The cookies freeze and travel very, very well.

Ingredients in a bowl.  

Note: I learned this trick.  Spray the inside of the measuring cup with Pam before you measure molasses, and the molasses won't stick.  Every bit of it pours out.  I tried to take a photo, but it's harder to capture than it might seem.  Trust me though.

Mix it all up.

Spoon onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake.  And then the magic happens.

Challenge:  What foods from your childhood are either no longer available, or do you wish you could locate?

Last year was good to me.  I had an abundance of professional successes, (New York Times, Salon, Show Me Good Land, and the most fun of food writing gigs) and an equal abundance of once-in-a-lifetime personal experiences (witnessing the birth of my nephew and entertaining my niece unsupervised for 36 hours, among them).  

I received beautiful, original art from Israeli phenom, Ruth Mergi, as a present from my dear friend Anne.

In the strange experience category, I spent a weekend in New York with a friend whose professional orbit includes two of Australia's preeminent colo-rectal surgeons.  At dinner, I learned that a career high of rectal exams is approximately 15,000.

I traveled to Florida, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, too.  No Nashville in 2011, but I bring a little bit of that Tennessee spirit to my wardrobe every day with my Nashville cowboy boots.

And Marjorie!  I started my Marjorie project in 2011.

2012 promises to be a good year, and I find myself deeply grateful for the life and circumstance that surround me. 

Happy New Year!

Challenge:  What are you grateful for?