Remembering mom through her recipes

At first, Jeannine Ginsburg just intended to put a few recipes in writing - favorite dishes her husband, Steve, could cook for their young sons.

The year was 2008, and Ginsburg's breast cancer was back with a vengeance, metastasizing throughout her body. She began making a "bucket list" of things to do.

Ginsburg, now 53, knew the dishes her family loved: her bean, barley, and mushroom soup; her leek, mushroom, and sweet potato quiche. She wanted Steve to know how to make those for their boys.

But like so many meritorious plans, this one sprouted angel wings. Ginsburg is among those fortunate cancer patients for whom friends weave a tight-knit nest of support. Martha Rappaport, Cathy Vogt, and Kathy Einthoven, all West Chester-area neighbors and mothers themselves, solicited recipes and helped Ginsburg turn her modest vision into a keepsake cookbook with 200 recipes for soups, salads, main dishes, and desserts.

Sales of the spiral-bound book, priced at $12 ($15 with shipping), will benefit the Mommy's Light Lives on Fund, a nonprofit that helps children and teens who have lost a mother find ways to keep her spirit alive.

The book is aptly named Mommy's Light in the Kitchen.

On a recent Wednesday afternoon the Ginsburg boys, Daniel 11, and Adam, 14, joined their mother in making some of their other faves: Chicken Adobo and Asparagus Mushroom Salad (see recipes).

Monica Glass, now a professional pastry chef, was also an important contributor to the cookbook. She used to babysit for the Ginsburg boys when she was younger and lived nearby. Glass joined the cooking session at the Ginsburg house, and brought along one of her contributions to the cookbook: her lemon lavender pound cake (see recipe).

Now pastry chef at 10Arts, Eric Ripert's fine-dining restaurant on the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Glass was connected to the cause for another reason: Her own mother died of ovarian cancer in 2008. She pitched in with six recipes.

The Mommy's Light Lives on Fund began in 1997, with Mary Murphy, who was being treated for a rare form of cervical cancer. Turning to her son Bryan, then 10, Murphy asked him about "the things we do together that you will miss."

Murphy thought helping her son continue an activity they shared would comfort him and keep her spirit alive. They settled on the tradition of baking cookies at Christmas time.