By Week 524. Spring 2026. I am 43 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like fresh herbs and possibility and this is my life. This is the life I built.
The garden is just planted, full of promise, and I stood in it this week and thought about dirt and time and the way both of them turn nothing into something if you're patient enough.
Mason is 15 and navigating high school with the quiet competence that has always been his way — focused, kind, certain of who he is in a way that took me thirty years to achieve.
Lily is 13 and competing in equestrian events and winning with the Dawson stubbornness that I recognize because it's mine.
I made sourdough with butter this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.
The sourdough was already made — that slow, patient loaf that had been rising since the day before — and I needed something worthy of it, something warm enough to match what I was feeling standing in that kitchen at 43, watching the garden wake up outside the window. Parmesan Fondue felt exactly right: rich and communal, the kind of thing you pull toward the center of the table and everyone reaches in together. Mason and Lily on either side of me, bread in hand, and the house smelling like something good. That’s the whole story, really.
Parmesan Fondue
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Sourdough bread, cubed, for dipping
- Optional dippers: steamed broccoli, roasted potatoes, apple slices
Instructions
- Prepare the cheese. Toss the grated Parmesan and Gruyère together with the cornstarch in a bowl until evenly coated. Set aside.
- Heat the base. In a medium saucepan or fondue pot over medium heat, combine the white wine, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, about 3–4 minutes.
- Melt the cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the cheese mixture a handful at a time, stirring in a slow figure-eight motion after each addition and waiting until it is fully melted before adding more.
- Season. Stir in the white pepper and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Keep warm and serve. Transfer to a fondue pot with a flame or keep on the lowest heat setting on the stove. Arrange sourdough cubes and your choice of dippers around the pot and serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 290 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 9g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 580mg