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Dear Reader,
I'm on vacation today, but I have the pleasure of introducing you to Rae Consigli, one of this year's grand prize winners in the Write a Dear Reader Contest. When I phoned Rae to give her the good news, after she hooped and hollered just a little bit (I could feel her smile through the telephone), we got to talking like two old friends who both love bubble machines. Rae taught English for 25 years and now she and her husband run a bed and breakfast in Cooperstown, New York. I loved reading Rae's story, and I can't wait to try her 1954 recipe--Mrs. Cummings' Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
Congratulations, Rae and thanks for filling in for me today.
The vacationing Suzanne Beecher
Mrs. Cummings' Cookies
My parents owned a two family house in a suburb of New York. As a 14-year-old high school sophomore, I remember our house being rented to a succession of elderly tenants who moved in and out. In the 20 years we lived in that house, I don't remember any of them, except for the Cummings family.
Mrs. Cummings was expecting her first child when she and her husband first rented our apartment. Maggie was born shortly after they moved in. She was a sweet faced little girl, always smiling when she saw me, lifting her chubby arms to be held. I made sure to spend some time with her every day after school. When the Cummings family told us they were expecting their second child, we were thrilled. Mrs. Cummings underwent a difficult second pregnancy, and needed rest in the afternoons. She asked my mother if I could take Maggie out for regular outings when I came home from school while the weather was still pleasant. I was very happy to oblige, feeling proud that I was entrusted with the care of her little girl, now two and a half years old. Together we spent many happy hours at Bowne Park. I was pleased to report to Mrs. Cummings that I had taught Maggie several new words related to our park experiences every day. A quick learner and a chatty little girl, in no time Maggie was able to tell the names of some of the flowers and trees we met along the way.
Feeling that the Cummings were tenants, and knowing that I really enjoyed my time with the little girl, my mother imposed one condition on the daily care arrangement. I was not to be paid. Mrs. Cummings agreed, but she, being much younger than my mom understood the little needs of a soon to graduate high school girl. She "paid" me in better ways than money. On my birthday in the autumn, she gave me a lovely paisley blouse in beautiful fall colors. She seemed to know my exact size, and I felt special every time I wore it. For my high school prom she gave me a little white beaded purse that matched my gown perfectly. Knowing I loved to read, she had her husband, a college professor, bring me novels and biographies from the college library. I felt proud reading "college" books. But the best gift of all was Mrs. Cummings' recipe for Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies. These she made and filled to the brim a pretty ceramic cookie jar shaped like a chubby farmer's wife. This was her parting gift to me and my family, as Mrs. Cummings moved to a home of her own with her husband and two children. She understood that her lasting gift of cookies made the sadness of her departure easier to bear. Almost 60 years later, I fill this cookie jar with Mrs. Cummings' Double Chocolate Chunk cookies whenever my grandsons come to visit. This is undoubtedly the best and most lasting present I've ever received.
To see "Mrs. Cummings' Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie" recipe, go to: http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/node/5559
Get out your favorite recipes and photos and create a Cookbook of Memories for yourself, or to share with your family. Visit my website: www.MuffinsandMayhem.com --Suzanne Beecher
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