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New year, new kitchen, and more changes to come

I’ve been out for a while. Really. I’ve been thinking about checking back in here, thinking about the recipes and writings and thoughts I wanted to shared- but life got frantic and I didn’t write and I didn’t post. And then the blog when berserk and some of my more recent posts vanished into the ether and I cannot get them back, despite my efforts to recover them. Grr. It was not encouraging, but I needed this space back. Somewhere to write and share the things that are so central to me, that I couldn’t stay away forever.

So, I’m back. And now for some news. We bought a house. Really. For the first time ever in my adult life, my little family has a place to live and establish a home without an expiration date on it. We don’t have plans to move, and instead making this place the kind of home we want to stay in for a long while. Which, of course, means we have some work to do. Continue Reading →

Tonight at a Relief Society Meeting, we talked about 72 hour kits. The teacher stressed putting in things that your family likes to eat and do. A bit of something reliable, when really a 72 hour kit is all about planning for the uncertain. And while there were lots of ideas and suggestions for packaged and processed food that many people are happy with, I can’t say that those would be my first choices.

The thing is, you do get to eat what you put in. Most likely, you may never be stranded on your roof with your bucket or backpack waiting out a flash flood, you probably won’t see a tornado take down your neighborhood like a house of cards, or be displaced from your home for fear of horse fever with nothing but what you can carry on your back. Yes, you have your 72 hour kit for if and when any of those happen, but there is no guarantee you will need those 5000 calorie lemon pudding flavored energy bars for those desperate moments.

Chances are, you will remember every now and again to check those things, to see that they are there and haven’t become the life sustenance for a rodent colony in your garage.  Then when you check, realizing that everything is still in fact just the way you left it, you realize it is time to rotate it all out. You need to eat the food, or throw it out. Few things last forever, and the last thing you want when horse fever comes trotting into town, is to discover all of the food is bad and you are left to forage in the suburbs. (No, hatred to foraging, you know I love it.)

The point is, pack the bag, pack it with things you actually do want to eat, since you do need to change it out regularly, and no one wants to waste it. Continue Reading →

Traditionally, most religious or spiritual people offer thanks prior to eating each meal. Many mormons call it “asking a blessing” on the food. Personally, I’ve never favored that term preferring to place the emphasis on the thanksgiving part, and because of the utter irony of “asking a blessing to nourish and strengthen our bodies” on refreshments of cookies and punch the color of finger paint. Not that that always happens, but it does. I’ve stood witness to it.

Typically we say a prayer over each meal, or three times daily. Sometimes with one person speaking for the group, and sometimes silently to ourselves. Other people in other cultures and faiths recite a set prayer together. My daughter does this at her Baptist preschool. She loves praying together, and in song- which from what information I can get out of her- they also do. Some people join hands to pray, and others do not. However you pray, most  typically for two reasons: 1. to remember and thank God for what we have before us 2. to ask health for our bodies from the food we are to eat.  Many also add in thanks to those who have cooked the meal. However, in recent years I have been adding in another component. Continue Reading →