A Recipe (or Two) for Disaster.

Well, it’s been a rough couple of months (See "Cry January?") And now, the cherry on top? I feel rotten in a way that I haven’t in a couple of years. That weird headache preceding cold-like symptoms. Yup: Covid.

Thanks, Universe!

But… outside my window, there are hints of spring (magnolia buds, fat robins and the hopeful green stems of jonquils against the winter-browned earth). And since I am stuck at home, I’ve been tackling a project that has comforted me immensely by reminding me of how many friends and family members have cared for me over the years with the gift of their cooking. And recipes!

That’s right: I’m paring down my recipes (those not found in one of my cookbooks) and organizing them in one place. It is a daunting task. I last attempted this about ten years ago when I tried to put everything in a three ring binder full of plastic sheet protectors. I snipped and trimmed and glued all of my recipes (both those I used regularly and those I aspired to use) to 8 1/2” x 11” sheets in what I might call “recipe collages” and slipped them in the protectors.

But now, that neon green binder is stained and crammed to the breaking point with loose recipes, some printed out by the computer, others torn from the cooking section of the NYT or other paper. In fact, there are entire newspaper cooking sections and ancient copies of Southern Living or Bon Appetit shoved in.

Flipping through the pages, I realize — not for the first time — that I have reached the point in my life where certain things just aren’t going to happen. Am I going to make all seventeen of these beautiful cabbage salad recipes? No. Will I make the cheesecake with the spooky spiderweb design on top? No. My youngest is graduating from college in May (!) and my room mother days are long gone. How many of “the world’s best chocolate chip cookie” recipes do I need with their slight variations on the basic theme? (Here’s a hint: one! There’s only one ‘best’ by definition, and I have it! Thank you, Tammy Reeder).

The ugly, decimated binder contains a messy (and frankly, grimy) archeologic dig of our lives; the places we’ve been and cuisines that feature prominently there. From Palo Alto, CA to Denver, CO to Houston, TX and back to Missouri, where both my husband and I were born and raised. But most importantly, the people we knew and loved — and shared meals and celebrations with — while we lived in those places.

And while I’ve amassed some new favorites or “go-to” recipes, printed from All Recipes or another similar website, my absolute must-keep recipes are those that are completely handwritten or embellished with side notes or a signature. A few are emails with a personal update that takes me back to that year in my life.

Back to Tammy Reeder, of the aforementioned best chocolate chip cookie. She was a wonderful palliative care RN who worked with my husband when we lived in Columbia, and — when our kids were small — she would babysit so we could have a night out, baking all manner of delicious treats with and for them. Tammy was incredibly popular with the trio of Anderson kiddos!

Some of my recipes are from family members that are no longer with us. And making a particular dish or dessert that they were known for makes me feel connected to them, even though I can’t share a meal or coffee with them any longer. My grandma Vivian’s pound cake recipe, for example, I have written in her own hand.

I have recipes for soups that can heal a world of hurts, including what we call “Maglich Soup” — a creamy chicken and rice concoction made for us by the boys’ amazing first grade teacher, Susan Maglich. There’s also my sister Dacia’s White Chicken Chili, signed “Love, DJ” (for Dacia Jill) and a mouthwatering Texas sheetcake recipe from Jan Moore, the beloved neighborhood babysitter from the Old Southwest neighborhood in Columbia. And I can’t forget the World Famous Peanut Butter Balls from — who else? — Peggy Ball, the head administrator from Kinzley-Hughes, the Denver ad agency where I worked for several years. There’s Cold Sesame Noodles from my friend Catey Terry, stained with soy sauce and peanut butter, which I believe is a testament to the number of times I’ve made it and its yumminess! There’s even a recipe from my mom, who although she was the very bestest of moms, was not much of a cook. Her contribution — Fresh Strawberry Pie — needs essentially no baking at all!

See? I’m feeling better already just looking at these recipes — but mostly from remembering each of the friends and family members who loved me enough to share them.

What recipes comfort you on a cold, rainy February day? Or when you’re under the weather? Which friends always manage to give you a lift?

Wishing you an overstuffed binder filled to bursting with good recipes and even better friendships.

Until next time.

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What I’m reading:

• I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman. Why is this slim post-apocalyptic novel written in 1995 (translated from French) getting so much hype? Apparently it’s been given new life thanks to TikTok/BookTok, and for that, I can only say thank you and “amen.” I hadn’t read it before — and once I started, I absolutely could not put it down. This is a story of a woman who has spent her childhood and adolescence imprisoned in a cage with 39 women in an underground bunker, guarded by male soldiers. Because she was a toddler when she was captured, she has never known men — or the feel of wind on her face, the beauty of a sunset or the joy of reading a book. A crisis occurs and the women escape, free at last… or are they?

• The Wilderness, by Angela Flournoy. The novel follows the lives of five Black women friends over two turbulent and life-shaping decades — their twenties and thirties — through marriage/relationships, economic instability, career changes, motherhood and political unrest. I loved the writing, so sharp, with unique slants in her descriptions. But I have to admit I found the time jumps with five viewpoints hard to follow and keep track of what each character was dealing with concurrently. And the final crisis — a timely one, given what is happening in Minnesota — takes place too much off the page. BUT: I am glad to have read it and was delighted to meet Flournoy at Left Bank Books. She signed my copy “To Friendship!” Hear, hear.

• Vigil by George Saunders. Oh, how I love George Saunders! I discovered his short stories when I was learning to write my own and I was smitten with his quirky, intelligent, snarky yet full-of-heart characters and tales. His unusual style is a combination of magical realism, teenage boy humor (i.e. farts plus punching and kicking) crossed with workplace woes and existential angst — typically set in a futuristic world which is bleak but not quite irretrievable. Yet.

His first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, was strange and strangely moving — and I was hoping for the same from Vigil. Jill “Doll” Blaine, is a woman blown sky high into eternity in an unfortunate case of mistaken identity and roams the earth as a spirit offering comfort to other dying humans, helping them come to terms with their mistakes and shortcomings. But her latest charge is KJ Boone, an unapologetic oil tycoon who has made billions from not only pooh-poohing climate change, but actively lying about it. She and a host of other spirits have their transparent hands full wresting him from his smug self-satisfaction before he croaks. But unfortunately, I found too much waffling and confusion in the story, which meant this didn’t have the usual Saunders snap for me at the end (KJ’s or the book’s). Alas!

Update on THE MOONSHINE WOMEN: We are fewer than six weeks away from Pub Day on March 31, 2026! And there are several things that you can do to help me out if you are willing:

1. Preorder the book, if you haven’t already! Let’s show the publisher and bookselling community that you’ve got my back. There is truly no better way to support your favorite authors than ordering ahead from a favorite indie bookstore or online. Here are some favorite links:

Bookshop.org - Michelle Collins Anderson

Left Bank Books - St. Louis

Main Street Books - St. Charles MO

Neighborhood Reads - Washington MO

Skylark Bookshop - Columbia MO

2. Join THE MOONSHINE WOMEN Friends & Family Launch Team! It’s easy to show your support with social media shares and other means of boosting the book as publication day nears! Simply fill out this form Moonshine Friends & Family As a thank you for your help, you can request a digital download of the novel and start reading well ahead of pub day! LET’S DO THIS!!!

What I’m listening to:

• Bad Bunny. Me… and everyone else who watched boring Super Bowl LX! Yay, Seahawks? I was blown away by the performance and the music. Could I understand all the words? No, Duolingo doesn’t go that fast! But I LOVED the culture and spirit of the place and people of his native Puerto Rico depicted in his songs.

What I’m watching:

• The Australian Open, ESPN2. I love tennis and kicking off the new year with the first Grand Slam event “down under.” But I HATED the way ESPN required tiered payment plans to see many of the best players and matchups, either an additional $12.99/month for the “select” package and a cringe-inducing $29.99/month for the “unlimited.” I, for one, did not partake. Isn’t it enough that we already pay for our ESPN channels? Good lord. The best matches were the last ones, with an epic five-set semifinal featuring a cramping, crippled Carlos Alcaraz hanging around until his legs came back. He endured and beat Sasha Zverev after the German had served for the match in the fifth set — and failed to close the deal. Epic!