GILBERT, AZ—In a semiweekly tradition, Sasha Frink, 42, delivered a 9" × 13" baking pan to her neighbor, Brinne Carlton, 47, on Sunday of this week. "I'm trying a brownie recipe this time," she said. The pan in which the brownies-without-nuts were embedded has now entered its sixth year of back-and-forth exchanges between the neighbors, with no end in sight.
Regarding the origins of this ritual, Frink remembers very little. "I honestly don't know how it started, and I guess that's the problem," she explained. "One of us gave this pan to the other, and there was something in it. It might have been a gelatin dessert, or a cake, or even some cookies at first. Who knows? So, like a good neighbor, the other one of us figured we'd return the nice pan with a different treat in it. Then, a couple of weeks later, it was back in the hands of the other neighbor, only to find its way back with a new goody."
Frink, mother of two, explains that she is not sure who is the original owner of the bakeware that has now exchanged hands approximately 130 times. "Brinne [Carlton] seems like the forgetful type, so I just assume it was hers and she forgot when I returned it," Frink revealed.
Ms. Carlton, owner of two dogs and a hamster, remembers the origins of this confectionery volley differently. She said, "Of course, I can't be one hundred percent certain, but the first dessert I remember in the pan was a peach cobbler. I don't make a peach cobbler, so I'm almost positive that this pan is Sasha's." However, the administrative assistant and blogger added, "I do also remember early on when I took her cornbread when they invited me over for Thanksgiving. Which came first, though, I'll never know."
As the pan is highly durable ceramic bakeware, it is likely to remain in play for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, neither neighbor appears to dislike the exchange. Carlton explained that "Sasha even brought me a nice casserole a couple of years back after I had an operation, so that was nice."
Although the dessert exchange has done wonders for their relationship, both women admit that it has come at a cost. "I know I've gained at least 60 pounds since this whole thing started," said Carlton. Frink added similar sentiments about her own weight gain, but suggested that Carlton was "blowing up like a balloon. I'm going to add just a little more butter next time to see if that finally puts an end to this."