Italy, I love thee...but....

 Anyone who knows my husband and I, knows we have been seriously infected by the travel bug. I will fore go iPhone's (much to the chagrin of others who detest my "dumb" phone), shopping sprees, new cars, etc. in favor of multiple vacations per year.
 In life, everyone has different priorities. For some, it is creature comforts, the latest gadgets, name brand luxury items. For me, it is experiences, places and memories I can draw from. Often times those experiences remind me how wonderful our world is all the while humbling me by realizing just how spoiled I am right here in the good old U.S. of A.
 Last month my husband and I spent nearly 3 weeks in Italy. We LOVE Italy. Our first "big" vacation together was in Italy, we were married in Italy, we feel very connected to the culture, the cuisine and the beauty. All of that being said, we were smacked in the face with a reality that I can only surmise comes from age and admittedly, a bit of impatience. We are, after all, American.
 The last time we were in Italy was seven and a half years ago. Back then, it was our dream to someday make a life there. We knew making that a reality could be tricky but we truly felt it was the perfect destination for us. Since then, we have had another child, both kids are in school, Paul has a fabulous career and as often occurs, that dream seemed to be slipping a little further away with each passing year. Obviously, we were so excited to return to the country we felt such a strong connection to. The trip was WONDERFUL. We saw old friends, we revisited Positano where we were married and we made our way down the boot and across the Mediterranean to Sicily. It was a trip we had been talking about since we first started going to Italy. The far less charted southern Italy held a mystique that we were excited to experience. It was everything we expected and more. Breathtakingly beautiful, slower paced, crystal clear Caribbean like, turquoise water. What's not to like?
 Just sitting here and rereading my description of our trip I almost....ALMOST have to ask myself the same question. Oddly, what fell short for us was the lack of variety in cuisine. Don't misunderstand me, Italy has a vast array of choices within their own cuisine and it is amazing. The bounty of which they have to draw from is second to none, wonderful seafood, produce, a zillion different pasta's. What we missed was the variety of other cuisines.
 It is no secret, based on the origin of my blog alone, that we LOVE food, all kinds of food. This time, after a couple of weeks we found we were restless of the food and wishing for other choices and taste profiles. We missed the convenience of grabbing a "quick" coffee. We missed breakfast. Not pancakes and bacon necessarily but something closer to breakfast than prosciutto and salami with little prepackaged toasts. With that realization, came the more melancholy epiphany that as our life has marched on since our last visit, the Italy that we thought should someday be our home, no longer held the same fascination. We really missed some of the minor,  yet important things that mattered to us. With that sad eye opener came another realization that seemed to numb the blow a bit. We realized for all the things about America that my husband and I abhor, there are many things such as the amazing variety in nearly everything that we take for granted on a daily basis that we love. We are spoiled, plain and simple. Spoiled, yes, but moreover, once again, grateful to Italy for yet another wonderful life lesson.
 We know a couple of things from our most recent travels. We maintain Oregon is still not our cup of tea...at all. Sun, sand and palm trees is still very much on our radar, but those things can easily be found in many areas of the southern United States. It looks as though, when the time is right, we will remain state side but we will forever be infected by the travel bug and continue our pursuit of adventure. Can't wait to see what's up next!

Till next time,

Jenny Lou

New Menu (updated 10/25/2013)

	Jenny Lou's Sweet and Savory Kitchen Menu
	Sweet Scones
	Sweet Scones come in sums of 8 regular size or 12 minis
	Cranberry/Walnut Platter	$18.00
	Blueberry/lemon zest	$18.00
	Chocolate/Filbert	$19.25
	Buttermilk	$16.00
	Savory Scones
	Savory Scones come in sums or 12 regular size or 16 minis
	Sundried Tomato/Basil/Parmesan	$27.00
	Bacon/Cheddar/Leek	$30.00
	Thyme/Chive/Swiss	$25.20
	Jalapeno/Cheddar	$25.80
	Other Tasty Treats
	Orange/Amaretto Pound Cake (10 Slices)		$22.00
	Blueberry/Buttermilk Breakfast Cake (12 pieces)		$24.00
	Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese icing (16 bars)		$32.00
	Best EVER Chocolate Chip Cookies (Dozen)		$15.00
	Peanut Butter Cookies (Dozen)		$13.50
	Snickerdoodle Cookies (Dozen)		$13.50
	Whipped Cheesecake on Walnut shortbread with
	fruit compote		$25.00
	Sampling of Cocktail Party Specialties
	For themed event dishes and additional menu items please inquire.
	I specialize in creating menus to fit your taste and budget.
	Pulled Pork Sliders with spicy slaw on sweet cane rolls (per dozen)			$25.00
	Secret Recipe Chicken Salad Sliders (per dozen)			$31.00
	Chilled Thai Spiced marinated prawns (2 dozen)			$48.00
	Stuffed Roasted Jalapenos (per dozen)			$22.00
	Fresh Dill Chevre cheese ball with Crackers			$18.00
	Smoked Salmon cheese ball rolled in walnuts with Crackers			$25.00
	Hissy Fit Dip (You gotta try it to believe it – feeds several)			$35.00
	Contact Information:		Ordering Guidelines:
	Owner: Jenny Steenson		·         Orders must be place 48 hours in advance
	Phone Number: 541.598.4216		·         Special Requests accepted but not guaranteed
	Email Address: pandjsteenson@hotmail.com		·         Checks made payable to Jenny Steenson
	Blog: justjennyloubaking.blogspot.com

 

 



Okay, Okay, so keeping up on my Blog is NOT my strong suit

 Well happy fall! I am dumbfounded at how long I manage to go in between posts. When I first started my blog I was really good about it. What happened? LIFE is what happened!
 Back in March I stopped working. It is the first time in my life I have not had a job in corporate America. One would think that would give me oodles of time to do things like, say, keep my blog up to date. Ney, ney...I have found 92 thousand others things to occupy my time.
 At the very least, I thought I would have had one day since March when I was home to just sit around and read a book or watch mindless television. No such luck. It is the detriment of being ridiculously compulsive about staying busy and keeping every facet of my life in good working order.
 No complaints though, not working has given me all the time I need to dedicate to my little business.
 My business has gone from simply baking tasty little treats to full catering jobs. How this occurred, I cannot exactly pinpoint. I will say it pleases me tremendously and I couldn't be happier about the variety.
 Really and truly though, my goal is to be MUCH better about keeping up on my blog. If you haven't heard from me in sufficient time, please, feel free to give me a friendly, yet stern reminder to get off my arse.
 My next post will be an updated menu. Please, take a look at it and remember your referrals are GREATLY appreciated.

Cheers,
Jenny Lou