The Butcher, the baker, the mess it up maker

I have fond memories of watching my mom bake and prepare special holiday meals. 

I watched intently, mostly just faking patience until I could lick the batter from the spoons, mixer and bowls and smell the pastries in the oven. 

Smell is the most direct of all the senses, and smell is directly tied to memories.  It is amazing to me, how just cooking a few of her and my grandmother's standard dishes, takes me back to so many different times and places filled with exceptional memories.

Each time I break out the mixer, sugar and flour, I travel back to my mother's kitchen, and the stress melts away immediately.

I won't claim to be Martha Stewart or Julia Child; I avoided home ec as a young feminist. 

I am a late bloomer just finding my own cooking style at 38.  

Yes, my method involves crock pots, my own version of the easy bake oven, an obsession with Top Chef and all things cooking channel, and a 2 year old sous chef, but we manage to create some incredible dishes.

It is nice while under seige from family and friends in the age old holiday tug of war (that even though you brace yourself for every year, never gets easier),  to take a minute and remember back to holiday's past, when you didn't know there was so much drama, and the first time your mama let you lick the batter right from the mixer attachments.  

Most everything else pales in comparison.

Even better; REALLY let yourself get lost in the moment.

The wise child

Be a Hero

Recession 101

An anonymous donor has created an intriguing ad campaign with the help of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.  The message has reached over 1000 billboards and nearly another 1000 bulletins and postings in train, bus stations and other public places across the country.

Their purpose?  To remind us that we have had recessions before, they have passed, worrying does not change anything, stop freaking out, and good ideas can hatch during these times too. 

As with anything, there are already supporters, skeptics and conspiracy theories about who is behind the campaign.  Surprise, surprise. 

Whatever you think, they are thought provoking, and sure beat the doomsday broken record messages that we are getting on the nightly 'news.'

 

 

To see them all, visit: http://www.oaaa.org/publicservice/recession101.aspx

Uggh, the holidays.

I know how you feel Isaac, this is how mama feels every year around the holidays. 

I hate to be a grinch, but I wish I could hide in a cave this time of year until well after New Years. 

If it were more acceptable to scream and cry in public, I would do it a lot more often myself.