The Inspiration of Julia Child

The Julia Child Facebook page recently shared a Slate article detailing a letter written by Child to her cookbook publisher. Apparently, Child and her coauthors were in the last stages of an arduous publishing process. Having labored for years on this project despite rejection by other publishers, she finally found herself ready to name the book. 

Letter page 1 from Slate's article crediting the Ransom Center Archives © 2012

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I distinctly remember the first pumpkin whoopie pie I ever ate. A friend's fall wedding had brought me to her hometown of Lancaster, PA, and her mother graciously treated us out-of-towners to whoopie pies, both the traditional ones and the pumpkin ones. She had a large bowl full of both varieties, all individually packaged with plastic wrap.

I had almost forgotten about pumpkin whoopie pies since immediately after my friend's wedding I met the marvelous man that would become my husband. It was a happy coincidence a year later when, after my own wedding, another friend from the Northeast shared her pumpkin whoopie pie recipe. I made them immediately, and they have since become a fall tradition for our little family.

Thrifty Thursday: Cinnamon Sticks

It's about to get ugly on this blog! That's because for this post I'm leaving the safety of precise recipes and carefully styled photographs. I've gone out into the wild of grocery store land to document some great savings and am back to report.

I just adore whole spices such as cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and star anise. Adding whole spices to a dish always intensifies the seasoning and enhances the overall flavor. However, buying whole cinnamon hits the wallet pretty hard for just being one ingredient. What to do? Time to put that home cook DIY spirit and thrifty know-how to use!