Shhhh. Don’t tell her but I am about to reveal my mother’s secret for the lightest, fluffiest matzoh balls ever. Sparkling Water.

There. Now you know. Oh sure – she used to go the seltzer/club soda route but those can add a taste you often times don’t want. Sparkling water? Nada. All it adds is the fluffiness. I am addicted to my mother’s matzoh balls. They are the highlight of Passover for me.

This year there was a highlight runner up. Caramel Matzoh Crunch. I mocked her when she told me what it involved. I scoffed, “Sounds like someone bought too much matzoh and couldn’t figure out what else to do with it. But OMG! So good.

Speaking of holidays, there are some excellent culinary holidays rounding out the rest of April.

• Today – April 22 – is National Jelly Bean Day. Colorful, cheerful and they travel well. What more could you want from a snack?
• April 23 is National Cherry Cheesecake Day. Now, I am generally a cheesecake purist (mocha and Bailey’s Irish Creme cheesecakes being the exception) but I can take one day out of the year to embrace a Cheery Cheesecake. No problem.
• April 24 is National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day. Ah, another of my mother’s excellent repertoire and always in demand at family gatherings.
• April 25 National Zucchini Bread Day. Hmmm . . . Not sure I need a whole day for this. I prefer my food groups – well, veggies and baked goods – to stay with their own kind. And it’s not because I don’t care for zucchini. I feel the same way about carrot cake.
• April 26 National Pretzel Day – which should involve – at least in New York – finding a pretzel cart and feasting on one of the hot, chewy street pretzels that make Gotham Street corners the culinary delight that they can be.
• April 27 National Prime Rib Day will be celebrated with great enthusiasm by Dad provided he can have a true end cut)
• April 28 National Blueberry Pie Day. Enough said.
• April 30 National Oatmeal Cookie Day. I wish to expand on this slightly to include oatmeal raisin cookies. They add a certain chewy tang that I feel an oatmeal cook needs.

It’s good to be back, blogging once again. Apologies for the delay. Real life has such an annoying way of interfering with what one would prefer to be doing. Won’t be away that long again.