Alles Gute Zum Geburtstag, Mutti. Helga's Birthday Wish!

Today is my mother's birthday.  I won't tell you how old she'd have been; she'd find a way to haunt me if I disclosed her age...even if it's one she never reached.

If you've read my book Confections of a Closet Master Baker/My Life from Scratch, you are well aware of Helga's baking influence on her daughter.  There's not a day that I don't think of her when I'm in my bakery, regretting that we never shared my professional pastry life.  She'd have been a force in my kitchen.  Perhaps she still is.

Take some time today to remember those you've lost who nourished your heart and your belly.  That's what I'll be doing today.  Thinking of my mother, my Omi and all the sweet souls who took time to feed me.

And while you're at it, you can show your love through a donation to the American Cancer Society.  I'm running as many marathons as it takes to raise $64,000 in honor of my mom, that's $1,000 for every year she lived (Sorry mom.  But you were a great looking 64, even with the crappy cancer).