"i'm here darling to enjoy the party"

I originally published this post last week, but Blogger decided to delete it. Hmmm...my first post in months and the internet makes it disappear? Should I take this as a sign?

the song: "Hello" Martin Sloveig and Dragonette

Well hello there, beautiful.

It has been a long time. I just wanted to check in and let you know that a) I'm still alive and b) I'm still cooking. Like...a lot. In addition to cooking with my kiddos every day and cooking at home often as often as I can, my life now also includes developing recipes for my job. 

On Monday, I taught an amazing class at a lovely school. My seven children were enthusiastic and well behaved. We started the day by making pizzas and ended with (my favorite!) carrot oatmeal cookies. The best part was knowing that they really got it. One of my little guys was adament about not trying an oat cookie with carrots until they came out of the oven smelling delicious. He then ate two and told me it was the best cookie he'd ever had. When his mom came to pick him up, he told her "You know, I didn't think I liked it. But then I tried it. And guess what? I did like it!" Four years old.

Call me sentimental. Call me a sucker for cute kids. Call me whatever you want. Moments like that make me feel really really good.

After class, my afternoon job was to test out a tortilla soup recipe. I haven't felt inspired to take pictures while I'm cooking in weeks. But the combination of these beautiful multi colored tomatoes and my first garden peppers was too beautiful to pass up. Summer food isn't my favorite, but it is awfully pretty. Fitting, too, because my very first recipe to write about was tortilla soup. (Full disclosure...the one I did Monday was better.)

When I quit my old job almost a year ago, I didn't really know what to expect. I wanted to work with food. I wanted to do something that made a difference. Something that would inspire and motivate me without exhausting me. I didn't realize I would find this. We're still a small and struggling company, so we'll see how long it lasts. But I plan on giving it everything I've got for as long as I can.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop my head in. I'm really trying to make time to write again. So with any luck, I'll be seeing you again soon...

~eeg