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In the past several months I have become a bit of a domestic goddess.  Yes, I do believe I have earned that title.  I have baked chocolate chip-banana bread, from-scratch cheesecake, pumpkin bread, and peanut butter cookies.  I have made apple cider, quesadillas, mashed sweet potatoes, and more.  I have thought up centerpieces and turned a patio into a quiet sanctuary.

I actually enjoy baking and cooking for the first time in my life.  I still don’t bake if it will be only me to enjoy the results; but it feels really good to share what I bake with others.  I cook for my beloved and me and have had no complaints and many compliments.

Becoming so domestic is very different from who I’ve been so far in my life.  I do understand anyone’s incredulity at this change.  I am simply evolving through positive & negative experiences, healthy & unhealthy friendships, and lessons learned.  I am really enjoying this calmer life and look forward to continuing along this path.

Incidentally:  A calmer life does not always mean a boring life.  *smile*

A couple of weeks ago Seth and I had our first cooking adventure together.  It was an adventure, because, well, I don’t cook.

It isn’t that I can’t cook.  A third grader can follow a recipe.  I simply do not have the patience for tedious activities like dicing, slicing, and sautéing or for waiting on timers or thawing.  It is of no interest to me to cook for one as it often is, either.

I quite enjoyed cooking with Seth, though.  He and I selected two healthy and relatively simple recipes found online then improvised Sunday breakfast.

First we did the shopping together, purchasing the spices, the produce, the pasta, and the poultry.  Next we boiled, grilled, sliced, diced, and cooked.

One meal we made consisted of grilled chicken with spices and pasta with broccoli, feta, and kalamata olives.  It was a delicious meal.

(photo taken by Seth)

For another meal we made stuffed zucchini – stuffed with quinoa, pine nuts, garlic, mushrooms, shallots, and ricotta cheese.  This was a more detailed recipe, with various parts of the recipe; but also nutritious and tasty.

For breakfast the next day, we took a walk down to the Highland (IL) grocery store and bought ingredients for breakfast.  We had our own form of huevos rancheros and black beans, with fruit on the side.  It was absolutely scrumptious!

Seth is quite the skilled chef and did well with teaching me what to do, when to do it, and how.  My favorite part of cooking the meals was food arrangement.  I love to put items together on a plate so as to create an attractive presentation.