A note about the recipes in this book:
Anytime you decide to cook, please do me a favor and start with clean hands. I’m serious. Go now. Wash your hands with soap and hot water. Sing “Happy Birthday” in its entirety during the soaping. And sing the whole thing again for the rinsing. It’s what my brother Max does, and he’s an awesome cook and never gets sick.
Please make sure that you are supervised by an adult in all cooking activities. Learn the proper way to handle knives and to work around a hot stove.
Some of the recipes in this book include uncooked items. Be aware that there is always risk associated with the consumption of these things.
Be aware of food allergies. Replace any allergens with ingredients that you and your parents know are safe for you.
And lastly, this is what I think. Be happy. Eat well. And try to do everything in moderation. For the sake of the very specific personality of one character, Mama, in this story, ingredient choices were made according to her history and preferences. Please feel free to replace high-fat ingredients with lower-fat ones. Sometimes you might need to buy fresh cherries in the middle of winter, but do try to shop locally when you can. Learn about what is best for your body, and make healthy choices on a daily basis. But also, I think that sometimes you have to have real butter.
Play with these recipes. Have fun. Make them your own. It’s your Basket of Ingredients. What you do with it is up to you.
Enjoy!
P.S. The amount of maraschino cherries it would take to make whipped cream the actual color of Cherries in the Snow lipstick is terrifying. I know this from experience. So I will ask for a little leeway with this bit of fiction.