It’s been two years since we lost my mom.

There was a time in my life that calling her “mom” was difficult – we had let a crack into our relationship that was so wide it started to split the familiar.

Since her death, I’ve found my way back to feeling that closeness again and a big part of that can be attributed to this recipe book project.

As I take on recipes that I fondly remember her making – she is transported into the kitchen with me. The love I feel as I pull from family recipes and serve delicious food I grew up with helps me imagine the love and joy she must have felt doing the same thing.

On the second anniversary of her death, the twins and I baked sunflower seed cookies. A recipe that looks like it was in my great grandma Linda’s handwriting.