Last week was bracketed by two holidays, Passover and Easter. My personal beliefs are from an entirely secular sensibility. However, I am happy to participate in any festival, feast, or other celebration that involves friends, family, or food.

For Passover, we were invited by long-time friends Howard and Debbie to a seder at Debbie’s sister’s house. In spite of the miserable weather (round 3 of the spring deluge), we shared a lovely evening with the traditional story, great company, and a plentiful festival meal. I brought a flourless chocolate cake that I’ve made for Passover before. It’s rich and fudgy. You could enjoy it any time of year. (Photo was lost…)

For Easter, we were invited to our friends April and Richard’s house. They are part of our circle friends that are like family. They were guests for our Thanksgiving meal last November. On Sunday, the weather was gorgeous. We started the evening with champagne and nibbles on their deck. (The champagne was in celebration of the other guests’ new status as first-time grandparents.) Dinner was fantastic: lamb, farro, and salad. We should have taken a picture to share. I loved April’s spring vignettes on the table featuring eggs, nests, and chicks.

Again, I brought dessert. This time, it was a Burnt Almond Torte from Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan’s The Greyston Bakery Cookbook, a new favorite cookbook for tasty baked goods. (I also enjoy following the blogs on Sara’s website The Kitchn.)

Funny that I consider myself more of a cook than a baker, but it seems I’ve been baking quite a lot lately.

So again, this week, I have the chance to reflect on how fortunate I am to have a family of friends to share many different celebrations with.