Where has Mimi been for the last six weeks? Why are there no new recipes? (There is a new one at the end!) Oh my goodness, life just gets busier and busier. In these last weeks, we have spent a few days at the beach, a couple of days in the mountains, attended two plays, a concert and a festival. And we have more tickets for upcoming concerts and reservations for another get-away. For years Daddy-O ran a cattle farm and farm duties kept him close to home. I would visit places but his travel away was limited to a night or two.
Then two years ago Hurricane Helene blew through here—250 miles inland from the coast—and it changed our lives. Luckily our house was undamaged, but hundreds of trees were blown down. Blown down on top of pasture fences. Blown down on our lake houses. Blown down on two barns. And finally two years later, the damage has been dealt with. One barn was destroyed and that spot in the pasture looks like a barn was never there. The other barn has been put back together. The lake property repairs were finished although there are no shade trees left in the yard in front of our cabin and cottage.
The biggest change for us was the destruction of pasture fences. You can't keep a herd of cows without fences. So the cows were all sold. We had talked for years about going out of the cattle business. We knew would happen at some point as we aged. We didn't anticipate that the "when" would be decided by a storm. So here we are now...going more, exploring places, attending events. It's good to do all these things, but I still love home best of all.
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| Assorted frozen entrees ready to thaw and bake. |
Let me tell you quickly why I haven't posted recipes lately. We have been trying some new meal options available locally. I've never tried one of the meal kit services like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron. I have friends who have loved those. But we now have two businesses within miles of our house that offer prepared meals that are cooked locally, ready to take home and bake or heat.
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| Heat and eat meals from a local store. |
The first business opened a year or so ago. Along with their freshly baked breads and other baked goods, they offer frozen entrees, ready to thaw and bake. And now a store in the other nearby town that has started a meal subscription service. Pre-order the meals and pick them up the next week. These are ready to heat and eat. So far we have enjoyed what we've tried.
It's been fun. We don't always want to go out to eat and I don't always want to cook. These new food options have given me some flexibly in the kitchen. I still make breakfast and lunch, and often cook a vegetable to go with the bought meals. But I don't have to cook supper every night of the week. This is the closest thing to having a kitchen assistant I've found.
