I’m delighted to announce that my essay “Miracle Whip” has just been published in Local Honey | Midwest. Last summer, I responded to a submission call from Local Honey | Midwest requesting pandemic inspired essays. Local Honey | Midwest is an online literary magazine for midwest writers. I’m not from the midwest, but my mom was born in Rochester, Minnesota, and my essay is partially about my grieving her death, so I guess I snuck in by association!

Just to add legitimacy, here is a picture of my grandfather and mom in Rochester back in the late 1930’s.

My essay details the difficulty I had with the sense of taste after my mom’s death, specifically how I could not manage to recreate the way she cooked. I write about how the shuttering of the buffet-style restaurant, Souplantation, triggered similar feelings of grief.

I talk a bit about the controversial condiment “Miracle Whip,” which was a staple in mom’s cooking. I realize that Miracle Whip is on par with the “Does pineapple belong on pizza debate” (for the record, a resounding yes- it’s delicious.) Yet, I hope that wherever your opinions on Miracle Whip or pineapple on pizza fall, you’ll give my essay a read. Thank you!