A new word…at least to me: abscission This word appeared in an essay I read earlier this fall and I’ve been enchanted with it ever since. Merriam-Webster defines it as: 1. the act or process of cutting off: REMOVAL 2. the natural separation of flowers, fruit, or leaves from plants at a special separation layer. …
Author Archives: Jen Kuzio
Christmas 2025 –a whole season of fun.
Please enjoy this California lemon, the first of the season from Olivia’s lemon tree. Excerpts from the family group text on 12.25.25 Andrew: 5 minutes out from Sam’s. Sam: Come in through the basement, my deck is icy. Sam: Mom, please bring knives. Olivia: Sam, do you believe in bath towels or do you just …
Quiet in the kitchen
Cooking and baking always connect me to my mother and grandmother.
Most Thursday evenings Keith goes to jail.
Most Thursday evenings Keith goes to jail, as a volunteer in a prison ministry program. I used to tease him, making jokes about going up the river or heading to the big house, and other silliness, but as his steadfastness and commitment to attending this work has continued over the last year, I stopped. Instead, …
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Who was Ginny?
Many recipes at the Seaward Inn were named for the person who originated them. But who Ginny was, was always a mystery to me. I remember asking, but I don’t recall if I ever got an answer. Nevertheless, she shared a killer chocolate cake recipe, that was a favorite for many guests at the Inn. My grandfather loved it, too.
Lemon Chiffon Pie 🍋
It’s a perfect dessert on a warm summer day, but you will absolutely melt as you prepare it over a hot stove. Worth it? Yes! 🥧🍋 I was a little afraid of and a had a lot of respect for Muffie Puloni —longtime cook at the Seaward Inn—when I started work there in the summer …
Blueberries
Blueberry muffins on vintage Fiestaware – cobalt blue cake plate
Fun Day Sunday
Up at dawn. 🌞 Keith was still sleeping while I drank a cup of tea. It rained ferociously overnight, and was still dripping when I fed the cats. Keith appeared at 8:20 and I suggested a pre-breakfast swim. Why not? We have this new pool and it sure is fun to float around. After an …
Toll House Cookies
There was a cookie tin at the dessert station that never went empty. If the cookie supply ran low, it was replenished, pronto. And always with Toll House cookies —gold standard of cookies. There were very regular tasks at the Seaward Inn: spot the napkins and placemats, and place in the washer to soak overnight, …
Summer 1987
🔆🔆🔆 We are standing in the backyard of my grandparents’ Rockport home. It’s the summer of 1987. I’d just graduated with a degree in history and not a single job prospect. Liberal arts education: long on education, a little short on career counseling. Not a big deal, I’d spent my junior year studying ancient Scottish …