Calista Marchand-Nazzaro
Bio
Always learning and always evolving. I’m a creative, an idea person, a thinker, a dreamer, and working on being a doer. Many interests. Varied content. Food. Sustainability. Comedy. Poetry. Music.
Stories (94)
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Ellen and The Box
Ellen’s very first memory is vividly marked by the presence of a box, one wrapped simply in brown paper. She was a baby and sitting squarely in front of her carrier is that box. She remembers smiling and giggling at the sight of it. She remembers feeling a presence. Ellen wondered for the longest time why her brain has clung to that memory, formed so early that most would say it is unlikely to even have occurred. Most people don’t remember events from that early on in their lives and if they do, it is something of great significance, usually a trauma, but Ellen distinctly remembers the box, the giggles, and the feeling that it was looking right at her.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro4 years ago in Fiction
Chocolate Cake or Duct Tape
“Chocolate cake it is,” she thinks. After just having endured another torturous four-hour screaming match, Eliza comes to the same conclusion as she always does: “Greg and I are just a little upset right now, but some homemade chocolate cake will fix it.” To her, it’s really just simple logic.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro4 years ago in Humans
Musings of a Forgotten Life
One squirrel zooms through the grass, followed closely by another. They make their way up into a tree, flying from skinny branch to skinny branch until they reach the next tree and scurry straight down. Ah, they’re still growing, testing out their speed and improving their agility. Nothing does it quite like a game of tag. It’s always this way for a while. I saw it with their parents and with their grandparents even just recently; every year, a new generation learning the ropes and I’ve seen it all.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro5 years ago in Fiction
Vegan Apple Kuchen with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Cranberry Sauce
For those who don’t yet know, I am a proud graduate of The Culinary Institute of America. I spent just over three years as a CIA student, in which time I earned an Associate Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts followed by a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Food Studies with a Concentration in Farm to Table American Cuisine.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro5 years ago in Feast
The Process of Breaking Free
Time spent in a kitchen is therapy and every task completed is equivalent to an hour on the couch. Bertha is past due for a long session. She plans accordingly and tells her husband they will be having a homemade Italian meal for dinner. He does not listen as usual; either that or he chooses not to respond. There is not much of a difference. Without a word in her direction, he leaves for work, not bothering to make sure the old wooden door is fully closed behind him. Bertha locks herself into her homely retreat and, leaning against the door, closes her eyes. Bertha has been waiting for this solitude all weekend and, at long last, takes her first full breath since Friday.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro5 years ago in Fiction
Radish
The radish – underrated even by the one who named it – has been chosen to be forever known as rad-ish, not rad. From the onset of one’s introduction to this root vegetable, it is established, by name, as something that will neither disappoint nor excite. It is held in a state of never-ending mediocrity in the minds of most. While the exterior color is vibrant and striking (ranging from bright, almost unnatural, magenta to deep, solid red to vibrant purple and the more mellow shades of the plant world – whites and greens), the average onlooker is somehow immune to the radish’s commendable attempts at visual attraction. This is one rare, but consistent, instance in which people successfully avoid judging a book by its cover.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro5 years ago in Earth
What a Glass of Merlot Can Hold
Always in her head, she struggles to focus on the moment more times than not, but tonight Cynthia is making an extra effort to connect her mind with her body. It feels important to stay present. After all, James seems to be a promising candidate for her attention. Over the months spent sharing pleasant conversations in the office, they are finally taking a chance to get to know each other in a different setting.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro5 years ago in Fiction
