Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I really want to post about my jam making experience.

Hmmm... not sure if I should post about that... it's probably not that interesting...

Maybe someone wants to know about how to make jam, or at least will be entertained by my clutzy adventures in the kitchen.

Nope... too boring... I'm too tired... I should really just think of something better to write about...


Three days later:

DARN IT!!! So-and-so just wrote about making jam and now everyone is excited about making it! I should have gone with my gut...

Then again, who really wants to read about my jam anyway? I'm not a real cook or baker, and ugh... I'm a stepmom... does that diminish my credibility when it comes to "family fun"?



Ohhhh, self-doubt, you plague me. I've had hundreds of these battles with myself over the past few months, which explains why my new posts have been absent. Change "jam" to any other recipe or idea that I've had, and change "so-and-so" to any chef, blogger, or friend, and there is my constant issue. Combine that with months of too much stress, not enough down time, and a lot of "it's ok that you spilt your coffee on my face... here let me help you order another", and you've got one stressed out woman.

My dear husband and I had a chance to slip away to the Caribbean for a week, just returning this past Saturday, for what I like to call our "second honeymoon". It was a life refresher, and a great reminder that no matter how full we choose to make our lives we must always take time for ourselves together and individually.

Upon returning home I realized, among other things, how much I've been missing being creative in the kitchen AND sharing my adventures with others. The weeks leading up to our vacation were filled with mediocre dinners and tired deserts, and I've been craving to dive back in a la Julia. In the past few days I've experimented making pesto courtesy of the overgrown basil in my Aerogarden, a dutch oven chicken (the most moist chicken you'll ever eat -- recipe soon!), and yes, jam.

It feels good to be back in the kitchen... I've missed it.

Thank you, dear husband, for encouraging me to always do what I love... even if you and I are the only ones who take pleasure in my cooking and in this silly little blog :)