I learned so much about my self during the "stay at home " order, mostly about  the strength I have not tapped into yet and the hope I have for my future. 

If I were to listen to MSN, I would live in a travel trailer and only eat in restaurants, probably get a cat.  Then I would move into a studio apartment in assisted living. I would only have friends my own age and I would be ashamed of aging with my children, every day being concerned with being a burden.  I should have no hobbies, no joy, no enjoyment of household activities, no identity. 

Well as one of those folks that is at the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation, I disagree. I have hope, joy and dreams, with  I believe that nutrition is one of the leading concerns for late middle age and senior citizens.  Due to busy lifestyles and sometimes health concerns, many of us stop cooking and learning about nutrition that feeds our souls and life.  

The "stay at home order" was the first time I faced being by myself and getting to define me.  What I decided was that my food was going to be excellent. I was going to use my china, my silver and make beautiful, nutritious food ( and sometimes naughty food !) for myself.   It was life affirming!

Allow yourself to create a more simple life with cooking for yourself.  Healthy , simple food.  When we are cooking for ourselves, we do need to change the amount we cook, but we also get to rejoice in the putting up of food for later and making our food dollar stretch ( I will be discussing food preservation in another blog).

I invite you now to go into your kitchen, open your fridge, take a look at the contents and take a deep breath in.  Do the contents of your fridge represent who you see yourself to be now?  If not, time to clean out and begin the fun.  ( and yes, it is FUN!) Experiment and you won't love everything you try, that is the FUN! Bring life into your kitchen!

I will enjoy sharing my journey with you, as well as hearing your freeing yourself from the perceived dictates of society and into your best life without apology.   Enjoy !

Dutch Babies with Homemade Blueberry and Cherry Syrup.

I used to make a big pan of this when the kids were still home, my daughter taught me this recipe when I visited her in Utah a few years ago.  But now as the kids are leaving, the recipe needed to be downsized for only two people.  ( or one and leftovers).   I have fallen in love with using my cast iron skillet for most things and it did not disappoint!

Dutch Baby

Preheat the oven to 450 , place 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of butter in the bottom of the pan and place it in the oven.

In a mixing bowl, melt 1 and 1/2 teaspoon butter , 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 tsp salt.  Mix well.  Then add in 3 eggs , mix, add 1 teaspoon vanilla or your favorite flavoring.   

Pull the cast iron pan out of the oven and pour the batter in.  Return to oven and bake for 13 to 18 minutes.  You will know it is done when you pull out this beautiful , puffy , amazing smelling dutch baby!  ( it is normal that it will lose it's puffiness as it cools.  So if you are trying to take a picture, take it fast before it cools !LOL)

For the topping, I heated cherry syrup that I had made and canned, put in blueberries that I had in the fridge.   I had the burner on high and kept stirring until the blueberries began to be easy to squish.  Then I turned the burner down to low until  the Dutch Baby comes out of the oven.  I seriously don't add more sugar or anything else.   So look in your pantry and see what jam, jelly or syrup you have, add fresh fruit and you will have a delicious topping.

Serve quickly , just so you get the oooh's and ahh's.   This does keep overnight in the fridge, just know that it becomes flat as a pancake when cold....lol!

Enjoy!

This has been a long time coming, me sharing a big part of who I am .  I really am a homekeeping kind of nerd.  ( and getting to be more so!)  I love to preserve food , bake, make things for my self and home.

Here is where it came from.

When I was growing up, Foxfire and Mother Earth News were all the rage in my home. My mom was forever trying her hand at something new, which made life always interesting. ( no carob chips though, those were gross!)  I grew up in the hippy era , where living close to the land was important.   We never gardened or farmed, but tried to make things ourselves.  It often saved money and the learning was wonderful.

My father used to be a survivalist.  He told me that once he put his hands in the dirt, he went from a survivalist to being concerned with all living things. 

Coming from these two people, my heart has always been homemade. 

Now that my 6 kids are grown and with lives of their own, it is time for me to share my knowledge and talents with others.   Articles on MSN would tell me to downsize, get rid of my interests and live in a studio apartment.   But my heart is different than that.   I want to explore more and share that knowledge.  

Some of what I will share with you will be about how to's, some will be lifestyle choices.  All of these things create a lifestyle of recovery for myself, my family and the world around me.  I can only do a little bit, but if we all do our parts, the world might just get better. 

It is with this prayer, that I will be offering you, Simply Sandy Lee.