“Five!!” my daughter Reilly exclaimed as she set our patio table for dinner on a recent late-summer evening. Five! I shared her glee. Since early January, we had dined without our fifth family member, Sara, and at last she was home. Five. Tink the glasses, give thanks and dig in. Family dinner. For two short weeks, the table was set for five. We all embraced our tradition of dining together, savoring the bounty of the season and catching up. Two short weeks and off she went, back to her beckoning college, to the land of infinite knowledge and new best friends. But mostly a kitchen-less place.

While Sara was home she delighted in every cooking project possible, planned menus and did the shopping. She even invited friends into the mix for late night kitchen sessions. I can still hear their laughter. During her last seemingly endless semester away, she worked as an intern for Food52, the amazing recipe and happy cook website. She had mastered her way around the site and had curated a page of her favorite recipes. “Mom! Have you ever made 2-ingredient chocolate mousse?! We have to make it!” And off she went melting dark chocolate–first ingredient–with water–second ingredient, then whisking the luscious liquid into a velvety mousse. Tada! We tasted the ethereal creation and tapped our spoons together. Sublime comfort. She piped it into 6 small ramekins which we all enjoyed at her until-next-time dinner. The last ‘five’ until Thanksgiving. A week later, after moving Reilly into her freshman dorm, my heart ached. Two gone. Wiping away tears, I was poking around the fridge and way at the back, I discovered a tiny treasure. The last dish of mousse. I plunged my spoon into it, closed my eyes, and quietly savored each soothing spoonful. Suddenly we were five again and my sadness lifted. Chocolate therapy.

With tremendous gratitude to the team at Food52 for this life-changing recipe.