Category: Food

Finding Solace in Food😋

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Cooking and baking has become a necessity now that we all take comfort and safety in staying home. Watching cooking shows has been the most entertaining and age appropriate tv time for my entire family, and has been an easy way for me learn a few new recipes.

If you have children at home you will relate to my hectic 3 meals a daily schedule. During the week lunch hour changes by the online school schedule, and only on weekends we all enjoy a more relaxed menu around the kitchen table.

Food brings us together, and sitting together for a meal for me has always been comforting, and I do confess my family is not fussy or limited by food allergies, so I have less stress preparing meals.

Since quarantine I have used my pasta maker 3 times, for spinach and ricotta ravioli, and fettuccini. Baked tart shells that everyone filled w their favorite fruits, and grilled chicken and burgers just to give myself a menagerie of recipes to prepare for our meals.

We are all doing our best during the quarantine to keep it together, and I will remember this experience as the time I challenged my family to enjoy my cooking without ketchup.🤣

Round eclairs stuffed with custard

Burgers with home baked buns

Giving up to sweatpants !🤣

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Staying home hasn’t been that stressful, what is stressful for me is keeping my family happy, healthy, focus on school work, and following a workout schedule.

Since quarantine started, we have also let go of our many daily routines. Getting up at a certain time, shaving, wearing makeup, putting on clothes, socks, grabbing our to go coffee mug.

To stay happy surrounded by our children and whoever we had to be quarantine with is more work than we are used to.

We are realizing now that Cleaning, cooking, entertaining, educating, is more work and planning than we have ever done in the past and is simply exhausting, but also very necessary.

For me making a large bowl of pasta, baking double chocolate brownies, gardening, going on long walks, watching a movie, wearing sweatpants all day long is what I need to do to stay, stress free, hopeful and happy surrounded with family. What I see for now as simply necessary.

Learned a great lesson !

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A bouquet of herbs from our porch garden
Quiet corners to relax
Everybody helped with this delicious mega nacho dish

I am sure we all have heard it, “everything in moderation” . There should be a balance with everything we do. Eat, exercise, social media, travel, and many other things we think of when treating ourselves. Too much of one thing, we are off balance.

Considering what our world is going through some activities are difficult to plan, when we are aware of the hardship, people around us are going through.

Call it guilt, but to feel happy and satisfied just doesn’t feel right. I believe we need balance in our world in order to enjoy a good movie, a good hardy laugh, or a great hug.

If there is one important lesson in this difficult time to learn, and later teach our children is to be happy with every small thing around us. Turning our home to our sanctuary, cooking a great meal with our family, plant some herbs, go for walks.

Face time, zoom, sharing photos is fine for now, they allow us to share our time at home with our friends, and family. We are staying in touch with our grandparents, help with home work, take flowers or herbs from our garden to neighbors & send thoughtful messages to our friends via email. It is our way to make others happy, and make our days special and productive.

We all must Stay positive, stay at home and healthy, until things are back to normal.

Staying entertained at Home

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Homemade pizza, making the dough was great fun

I know every entertainment idea is not a good idea for all of us, but a few can make us all busy and happy at the same time.

Here are a few fun ones :

Cooking & Baking🥖🍳🍝

Cleaning🧼🧽🧹

Organizing🧺🗂

Watching Movies🎟💽

Exercising🧘‍♂️🤸‍♂️

Gardening ( cleaning the yard )🌷

Quiet time🤫

Time on social media🤪

By now we are all aware of the fact that being cut off from all social interactions is necessary in order to stay healthy. The fact that Corona virus can seriously harm people with health issues and the elderly, is a very frightening fact. Every time I hear the number of corona virus victims I am deeply sad for all involved.

Helping others to keep their positive attitude helps us too. Checking on our elderly relatives, and neighbors, and reminding ourselves this is not forever.

Didn’t want go to store for burger buns, so we baked some
We are taking photos when we go for our long walks

A One of a Kind Farmers Market

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With unique ingredients and organic recipes, the Santa Fe farmers market is one of the most famous markets in the Southwest.

We start by strolling through the beautiful market’s pastry and bread vendors, enjoying the natural colors of hand died yarns. The fragrance of lavender hand made soaps and moisturizers is very present.

Take a large shopping bag with you because you won’t go home empty handed.

Jolly cupcakes

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Gingerly driving the Jolly cupcakes to school🤣

Every year during the holiday season my daughter’s school encourages all students to contribute to their chosen charities.

Students, bake, cook, do crafts, sell paintings, just about absolutely anything their heart desires to make some money for their charities.

Marketplace at school is an exciting day, and a learning experience. Students get the chance to learn about helping others, organizing their time, creating something that others want to buy, and learn about marketing their products.

This year my daughter with her best friend decided on baking cupcakes with flavors of the season. Minty wonderland, caroling coffee, ginger bells, and fa la la vanilla. After spending an entire Saturday afternoon baking, they had 40 cupcakes ready for sale. And the night before the market, couple of hours was spend making beautiful, delicious frosting in holiday colors.

After driving to school, very cautiously, and an hour early to grab a good table, they were ready to sell.💰

The jolly cupcakes were a hit.🧁🧁😋👍

Fresh Herb plants as gifts

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7CA49E39-CA2A-4D71-8C07-75D8F99BBBD19B152B11-4821-4D82-85C4-4D6887CB14E2Herbs have a wonderful fragrant, and add so much flavor to any food. I have used herb plants as center pieces for many years, and this year offered them as gifts to our thanksgiving guests.

Rosemary and thyme plants are two of my favorites, and have a beautiful flowing shape. To cover the pots first wrap them with colorful gift wraps, and add ribbons and ornaments for more color and shine.

Herbs are also great hostess gifts.

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