When I was about 12 years old, my class took a field trip to The Sacramento Bee. Though I didn't realize it at the time, that trip molded the direction of my life.

My class was taken on the usual tour: press room, newsroom and composing room where the newspaper pages were assembled. We also met "Katherine Kitchen," a staff of home economists who wrote about cooking, fashion, home decorating and crafts for the three Bee newspapers. From that day on, all I ever wanted to do was be Katherine Kitchen.

When I graduated from high school I was awarded a scholarship from Crisco. That sounds so funny today, but at the time I was extremely proud. In college I studied journalism and home economics. My mother encouraged me to have a backup plan in case the Katherine Kitchen thing didn't work out, but I was so focused that I never considered anything else.

I graduated from college and immediately headed for The Bee. It had no openings, and I was crushed. I started doing some freelance writing. Several years went by and I occasionally stopped by The Bee to update my application. In 1979 I was told it had just one opening: Katherine Kitchen. I was thrilled, and my poor mother nearly fainted when I called her from the lobby of The Bee to tell her the news.

My job was to answer phone calls from readers every afternoon. I also did cooking demonstrations and radio shows, made appearances at food festivals and wrote about food, fashion and home decorating.

I'm telling this story because I have turned in the key to the kitchen after nearly 30 years at The Bee. I am excited about retirement, but I am also very sad to be leaving Katherine behind. I feel privileged to have spent so many years doing what I love to do and working with so many talented and gifted people.

Most of all, I will miss you. I feel as though many of you are friends, and I still get a thrill when one of you calls and asks for Katherine Kitchen. You have given me millions of memories that I will always treasure. I will never forget the woman who called looking for a recipe for "quickie Lorraine"; the two men who blew up the Thanksgiving turkey because they turned on the gas, then lit a match to check if the gas burners were on; the man who baked his casserole on "self clean"; the woman who tried to cook her turkey in the dishwasher; and the woman who ordered an undressed turkey because she wanted to make her own dressing (the live turkey was not in a festive mood when it was delivered).

And, I'll always remember the first reader call I answered as Katherine Kitchen. That woman wanted to know if the goose she'd had for five years was still good to eat. I asked if it had been frozen all that time. She said, "No. He's still out back swimming in the pond." I felt so bad about that poor goose that I told her he would be too tough to bother with.

As my gift to you and a sincere thanks for all the wonderful memories, I'm leaving you with a few of my favorite recipes. The last Katherine Kitchen has turned in her apron.

– Gwen Schoen

Old-fashioned coconut cake

I found this recipe in Bon Appétit magazine several years ago, and I make it often for birthdays. I like it because it is very moist – plus it's simple because it begins with cake mix.

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

one 18.5-ounce package butter recipe golden cake mix

3 large eggs

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López)

1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon dark rum

Frosting:

two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sweetened cream of coconut

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

one 10-ounce package sweetened flaked coconut (about 3 cups)

INSTRUCTIONS

For cake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans. Combine all 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat mixture on low speed until smooth. Increase speed to medium and beat 4 minutes. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Cut around cakes to loosen; turn out onto racks. Cool completely.