FEATURING 160 RECIPES and Recipe for a happy family: Start with a lot of love.

Mix in some firm rules, respect, a willingness to share, and a willingness to listen.

Season with lots of laughter, more than a few pets, a lot of extended family, and frequent meals together.

Stir and mix frequently. Gets better with age.

When good friend Sheila Taylor Wells said, half jokingly, We should write a cookbook together, I took her seriously. I think she was probably dismayed at the time, for I immediately sat down and pounded out five thousand words about my childhood. For me, food is also about continuity–and change. I bring to the table today the recipes of my mother, still often used and some, I’m sure, from her mother. I bring a few from my ex-husband’s Jewish tradition. So my cooking preserves the past and carries it on for my children and grandchildren.

Experience the author’s life through her personal stories laced with family recipes. This untraditional cookbook includes over 160 recipes, from appetizers to desserts.