And so it begins...cooking, baking, blogging

There are tons of blogs out there about cooking, baking, sharing recipes, etc. etc. In the interest of keeping anyone who chooses to follow me entertained I hope to reach you with my stories, quips, ideas in an all too familiar way, a way that says "Oh yeah, I've been there."

 Let's start with full disclosure. Why am I blogging to begin with? Honestly, part of it is self promotion, and the other part is just because I love sharing. The self promotion is solely to promote my new business venture, to get the word out about what I am trying to accomplish and the hope that anyone who cares may pass along my name. That part is the more difficult side for me. The sharing...now that comes naturally.


 Where shall I begin? I have always liked being in the kitchen but I never really pushed myself. I guess I was a little bit of a chicken. After I had my son, my second child, my husband asked what he could do to make my life a little easier. What a wonderful question right? I thought for a minute and then said "I would really appreciate it if you would make dinner so I didn't have to think about what to make everyday." Being the fantastic man he is he took on my request with gusto. Gusto, may be an understatement. I was effectively usurped in the kitchen and before I knew it he was a far better cook than me and quite frankly, I think my little ego was a bit bruised. I was barely allowed in the kitchen, he found his place and he was not about to relinquish it. I had to think about how to wiggle my way back into the confines of my own kitchen again.


  A-ha! Baking. Other than the occasional chocolate mayonnaise cake my husband is not a baker. He doesn't even really like it. So, as you can imagine, I started to bake. What I found was pure joy and serenity. Baking is precise which may not be very relaxing to everyone. For me, the exacting part of it is what I love. It's a science. You can always take creative license with flavors or consistency but there are certain elements you must stick to and for me, I find comfort in that. I learned that I like absolutes. As my journey in the kitchen continued I learned that if I could, I would bake for a living. I just loved it that much. Another fortuitous result was my husband seemed to realize that he liked having me in the kitchen and guess what? I got to start cooking again. This time around that little chicken I mentioned earlier was long gone. I decided there was no recipe that I was going to be afraid of trying if it sounded good to me.


 So, here I am. I invite you to join me on my journey, I promise to tell you how the business venture is progressing and I promise to fill you in on not only my adventures in the kitchen but on my crazy life as a full time employee, mother and wife. It should be a wild ride. For now, I am headed to the kitchen to make my first ever homemade Chicken Pot Pie and Chocolate Filbert Scones. I'll post pictures and let you know how both turned out. Talk to you sooner than later.


xo
Jenny Lou