Additional testing was done and the best donor was selected.  The only information we had on the donor was that she was a female  in her early 40s who had children.  Five months later, Jess received a note via her doctor’s office from her donor.  Typically, donor-patient contact is delayed for up to five years, but the doctors let this note through because it didn’t contain any identifying information. Based on some limited information and observations of the note, we were pretty sure the donor wasn’t American.  Her handwriting and syntax hinted that she wasn’t a native English speaker; we thought she might be European.

Jess’s donor just wanted to let her know she was thinking of her and hoped things were going well for her post-transplant.  Our family was so excited to hear from this woman–a special person who had so selflessly donated her bone marrow to help a stranger–and I got permission to write her a note of my own.

Thanks to all the encouragement and support from blogging friends and other donors, I composed a note and sent it to the donor via my sister’s doctor.  For the next two years, we made several inquiries about getting the donor’s information but nothing ever came to pass.

Right before Christmas this year, Jess again asked for her donor’s name and email or mailing address; her persistence was finally rewarded.  You can’t even imagine our excitement on learning this woman’s name and email address!  Aside from my sister’s continued recovery and health, it was the best gift our family received.

Jess emailed her donor and received a response with some personal details.  This amazing woman lives in Germany and is married with two children.  My sister asked her what motivated her to register* as a bone marrow donor, and she responded:

I was registered in 2009.  So many people need a donor and it’s so easy to help…On the 6th of April 2010, I got the message that I may be suitable as a donor.  After many investigations it was clear that my stem cells are suitable.  On 29th June 2010, I went with my son (age 15) to…donate from 8:00-14:00.  A courier brought the bag to the airport quickly.  In the afternoon of this day, we went to…church and light a candle for you.  We are not religious but it doesn’t matter.  Two days later I was informed that my donation went to a 33-year-old woman in the USA.

Reading about the transplant from the donor’s perspective was amazing.  I was eager to thank her and share just how meaningful her donation was, so I decided to use photographs.  In addition to a timeline of photos detailing my sister’s leukemia journey, I included many family photos highlighting trips, holidays, celebrations, and everyday life.  My intent was to convey Jessica’s story and show the donor that her donation didn’t just save a 33-year-old woman…it saved an entire family.

*The National Marrow Donor Program collaborates with several international registries.  I’m so grateful to this program and to all the registered donors out there.

Danke schön: Belated Thanks is a post from: Book, Line, and Sinker

The first cookbook, A Year of Pies by Ashley English of Small Measure, was an early gift from Anthony.  While away for his birthday (40!) in mid-December, we visited an independent bookshop in Ludlow, Vermont called The Book Nook.  The pie cookbook was part of a lovely cookbook display, and I fell hard for the photographs and recipes.  I also thought it was about time for me to finally learn to make a pie crust.

Come to mama! (photo credit NAM, 2013)

The proprietor of The Book Nook uses some clever marketing to offer discounts to customers: At checkout, if the customer correctly identifies the literary quote of the day (written on a chalkboard above the register), he/she earns a discount.  I thought this was such a sweet idea, and liked it even more when I correctly guessed a quote from Bleak House.

The second cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by food blogger Deb Perlman, has been on my radar since Perlman announced her book deal on her website at least a year ago.  I’ve used several of Deb’s recipes–a pasta sauce was even featured for another Weekend Cooking post–and haven’t been disappointed.

These covers are drool-worthy for sure! (photo credit NAM, 2013)

I keep going back to the photographs in both cookbooks, but I’m such a visual learner when it comes to preparing food that I need to see the finished product before attempting a recipe.  A cookbook without photographs just doesn’t inspire me at all.  My culinary skills are limited and without photographic motivation, it’s going to be breakfast for dinner…again.

Can’t you just taste the delicious pie and sandwich?  These two authors aren’t fooling around! (photo cred NAM, 2013)

When I opened the SK cookbook on Christmas Eve, my mother-in-law and I spent 10 minutes flipping through the pages oohing and aahing over the photos and recipes.  She’d never heard of Smitten Kitchen but became an instant fan after seeing photos and a recipe for pasta with peas in cream sauce.

I’m looking forward to whipping up some terrific pies and recipes in the upcoming months for future Weekend Cooking posts and hope you’ll stop by to see how they turn out.

Many thanks to Candace over at Beth Fish Reads for hosting Weekend Cooking!

Weekend Cooking: Cookbooks for Christmas is a post from: Book, Line, and Sinker

Rockefeller Center Tree 2012 (photo 12/14/12, NAM)

Holiday Greetings from a Wayward Blogger is a post from: Book, Line, and Sinker

In light of the bad news that came out of Irving, Texas from the Hostess Company yesterday, I reworked my Weekend Cooking post to honor the darling of American snack cakes, the Twinkie.  While I’m not a Hostess fan–I’m more of a Tastykake girl–I recognize that Hostess has a rabid fan base, many of whom are probably clearing Twinkies, Ho-Hos, and Donettes from the shelves of their local grocers as I type.  Actually, I know this to be a fact: four stores in my area were completely sold out when I went on a Twinkies run this morning.

The Twinkie was invented in 1930 by the late James. A Dewar, then the Chicago-area regional manager of Continental Baking Company, the parent corporation behind the Hostess Trademark.  At the time, Continental made ‘Little Short Cake Fingers’ only during the six-week strawberry season, and Dewar realized that the aluminum pans in which the cakes were baked sat idle the rest of the year.  He came up with the idea of injecting the little cakes with a creamy filling to make them a year-round product.  While on a business trip to St. Louis…he saw a sign for Twinkle Toe Shoes, and the name Twinkies evolved.  –Todd Wilbur, author of A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes, pg. 73

Did you catch that line about the ‘six-week strawberry season’?  I can’t believe that fresh fruit was ever used as filling in a mass-produced snack cake.

Jokes aside, almost 18,500 Hostess employees now find themselves unemployed.  It would be remiss to blithely post a recipe without acknowledging the company’s employees.  I’ve read online that parts of the Hostess Corporation may be auctioned off and hope that employees will find work with the new company(ies).  A company that, for the last eight decades, produced such iconic (albeit nutritionally ‘challenged’) products as Twinkies and Wonder Bread shouldn’t just go the way of the 8-track player.

In the interim, those who are hankering for their favorite spongy, creme-filled snack cake can make a relatively decent facsimile in their own kitchens.  This recipe comes from a cookbook I swiped from my sister: A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur.  Covering everything from See’s Lollipops to The Cheesecake Factory’s Pumpkin Cheesecake, the book is chock full of insider information and secret ingredients.

Let’s get to it.  Here’s what you’ll need to make Twinkies at home:

Seems pretty simple, right? Not pictured: water

To make the Twinkies in their traditional shape, a bit of handiwork on your part is required.  You’ll need aluminum foil, a cylindrical spice or sprinkle container, and the patience of a saint.

The recipe calls for 10 molds, placed in a rectangular cake pan (for stability).

I tried several methods of fashioning my molds.  Author Todd Wilbur is delightfully vague on this step. “Fold a piece of aluminum foil in half twice.  Wrap folded foil around spice bottle to create a mold.”  He fails to mention how to fold the corners–I realize now I should have rounded them a bit more.  I ended up doing a modified ‘gift wrap corner’ on the edges.

I wrapped the ends like a present.

You’ll need two bowls for the first step.  Separate the eggs and beat the whites until they are stiff-about 4 minutes.  In another bowl, add 2/3 cup of water to the pound cake mix.  When fully mixed, fold the whites into the batter and incorporate with a spatula.  Don’t over mix or you’ll flatten the whites and your Twinkies will turn into lead sinkers.

This shows the whites added to the cake mix.  I then mixed gently until the whites were just blended.

I poured the batter into the molds–the recipe says it will yield 10 Twinkies but since we’re only two people, I made fewer.

They look a bit like baked potatoes…

I baked the Twinkies at 325°F for 43 minutes–13 minutes longer than the recipe called for–and they came out a lovely golden color.  The directions say to use a toothpick to make three holes in the bottom for filling, but I improvised and used a straw.

I put the icing in a Ziploc, put a few pieces of tape on the bottom corner to reinforce it. Presto! Piping bag.

While the Twinkies were baking, I whipped up the icing–marshmallow creme, Crisco, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and water.  Instead of getting my cake decorating supplies, I used a Ziploc bag to pipe the icing into the Twinkies.  Remember to add a few pieces of tape to the bottom corner to reinforce the ‘piping tip’.

Not the prettiest Twinkies on the block, but they’ll suffice!

The verdict?  During Twinkie withdrawal, these may be just what the doctor ordered!  My trusty taste tester, Anthony, declared them better than the real thing–he said they didn’t taste quite as ‘chemical’.

My attempt had some Twinkie characteristics but didn’t quite hit the mark; with a few tweaks, they might be better.  If I ever make these again, I’m going to use a smaller container as my mold template or less batter in each mold–these were just too big.  The cake was more dense than a real Twinkie.  Maybe Angel food cake would be better than pound cake?

After taking photos, I sliced a third of cake (lengthwise) from my Twinkies and filled them.  They were more palatable with less cake.

After slicing off the bottom third of the Twinkie, they were much better!

Hostess Twinkie

from Todd Wilbur’s A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes

                    CAKE

• nonstick spray
• 4 egg whites
• 1 16-oz box golden pound cake mix
• 2/3 cup water

On a personal note: Thank you so much to everyone who sent emails, texts, cards, thoughts, and left comments here in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  We are safe and our property sustained only minor damage.  Our power was restored after 9 days–with the help of utility workers from across the country–only to have a snowstorm blow through a day later, taking down more trees, plunging people back into the dark and cold.  My neighborhood was under an evacuation order during the second storm, but we were fortunate again.  Sadly, many people in our town and neighboring communities–especially Mantoloking–were not so lucky.  I’m working on a post of the aftermath and hope to have it posted in the next few days.  Thanks again for your concern and kindness. xo

Weekend Cooking: A Lament to Twinkies is a post from: Book, Line, and Sinker

We’ve had no power, very spotty cell service and no internet for 36+ hours.  Ant and I left our house today and headed 90 miles to my sister’s house in Northern New Jersey.  Jess has power and television–we spent our first half hour here watching the news and footage of the devastation that is in our town and the neighboring areas.

The night of the hurricane was really frightening –we stayed huddled in a hallway nook away from doors and windows.  Thankfully, we didn’t suffer major damage, just lost branches and a huge limb in our yard.  A neighbor had a massive pine come crashing down across their driveway and damage was apparent up and down the streets in our neighborhood.

A major thoroughfare near my house was transformed into a river by flooding from the nearby inlet and estuary

My family is safe and my parents are also at my sister’s house (they have no power in Central Jersey).  We have a family friend on the inlet on Long Beach Island who suffered massive damage to her home, but she’s safe.  We’ll get our yard cleaned up next week and know that the utility companies are working hard to get us back up and running.

On the ride up to my sister’s, we saw a convoy of utility trucks heading into Point Pleasant from Detroit, Michigan.  There are major fuel shortages because the power outages are so widespread.  There is only one station open near our house–exit 100 on the Garden State Parkway–but the line was more than a mile long.

I hope everyone else is okay and I’ll post again when I can.

Sandy: An Update is a post from: Book, Line, and Sinker