You know you’re an adult when you have everything needed for chocolate chip cookies on hand at any given time.  Or maybe that’s when you know you’re a mom.  Either way, it’s a great start to my first post in a really long time because it sums up the theme of my most recent food endeavors.

Gone are the days of intricately planned out meals and Sunday afternoons spent concocting meals for the week while listening to The Head and the Heart and sipping wine.  Nowadays, the only things I listen to in my kitchen are Disney movie soundtracks and the only thought out meal I’m concocting is when I’m trying to figure out how to get my kiddos to eat a freaking vegetable.  Even still, cooking (and now baking, apparently) is still a mainstay in my life and in ways it is more important now than ever.  Nothing beats the delight I get when I cook a wholesome meal for my family to enjoy.  Extra points if it was something I either made off the top of my head, made from pantry items I had on hand, was made using produce on the verge of going rotten or made with very minimal dishes/mess. 

With kids or not, right now is a particularly exciting time in any home or professional chefs’ life as we transition into Fall.  Summer meals are hard to plan – I know I’m always thinking of ways to NOT turn the oven on, how to keep things really light yet satisfying and wondering how many more salad ideas I can come up with.  With the return of Fall comes soups, stews, casseroles and most importantly, the SLOW COOKER!  Comforting, satisfying, warm, slow foods will soon be the foundation of the meals I make for my family and I am SO excited for it.  And to top it off, I am finally part of a local CSA and will have a weekly farm share to keep me on my toes and challenge me in the kitchen.  I’m hoping that between the CSA and my need to do something creative I will post at least somewhat regularly on this blog.  Thanks for joining along! 😊