In 2009 we published “The Holm Family Cookbook” with our mother, an aunt, and a cousin. We started this blog at that time and maintained it for a few years, so many of the posts are a bit dated, but the recipes are still good!
Our great grandmother was born Ida Jessen in 1861 in San Lorenzo, California. Her parents, James and Anna Jessen, immigrated from Denmark. They bore three daughters in the new land: Anna, Dora, and Ida. The East Bay of the San Francisco area attracted many Danes...
Maple Bacon Cupcakes! I started baking just for fun and family get-togethers about a year ago. My mother in law asked me to bake some cupcakes and cake pops for a church group event she was hosting and I jumped at the chance. She kept telling me to make up some kind...
Our "classroom" for the infusing spirits class Several weeks ago some friends and I went to an infusing spirits with fruit and herbs class at the restaurant at Wente Vineyards in Livermore. The class was interesting and the cocktail we got to drink after the class, a...
This recipe has become one of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes. It's easy, there is no baking, the cookie can be made gluten free and it looks festive! Festive Gluten Free Coconut Cookies The surprising ingredients are deliciously combined and rolled into...
Hachiya Persimmon Tree Tis the season to see Hachiya persimmon trees around northern California looking like their bare branches have purposely been decorated with bright orange ornaments. People often move into homes with persimmon trees growing in the yards and have...
My daughter, Laina, has been making the pumpkin pies for our extended family's Thanksgiving dinner for the last three years. She started making them when she was 16-years old. The tricky part about her pie making is that she doesn't open a can of pumpkin puree...
We were invited to participate in the Sunol Pioneer Folk Festival that was held yesterday at the Sunol Regional Wilderness Park in Sunol. Our Great, Great Grandmother Caroline Arnett's family moved from Missouri to Sunol and she lived there until her marriage to...
After Christmas dinner last year I served a tray of assorted mini desserts to my guests and they loved them (click here to read about them). What my guests loved about the minis was that they could say "I'll try one of each" and they would only be consuming the...
Uncle Frank and his pastry blender Our mother’s twin brother, Frank Holm, was born four minutes after she was. Although she never let him forget she was the oldest twin, therefore the boss, he continued to make her chocolate chip cookies often during her final years....
Our father, Wayne Calhoun Our father's 85th birthday is today. It will probably be his saddest birthday as our mother, his wife of nearly 62 years, died a couple of weeks ago on Mother's Day. Tonight my daughters, my sister Susie, and I will take him out for dinner....