Hey Y’all!
 
It’s cold but sunny here in Central Mississippi, and I’m moving slowly this morning. I recently added a weight routine in addition to my daily swim or walk, and my nearly 50-year-old body is reminding me I’m not 18 anymore.

From the Blog This Week:

I blogged every day of November and December of last year. While I like the routine of having to write something every day, I’m still feeling out what schedule feels right for me. For now, I intend to take Sunday’s off going forward.

Writing Hopefully – I was afraid I had lost my voice.
Cooking From The Pantry – From nothing to supper in 20 minutes.
The Journal – When Dad died, we discovered his journal.
Rituals Hold Us Together – They are like hooks on which we hang our lives.
Why Do You Like to Cook? – My 13 year old niece asked me this question I had never really thought about.
2021 – No goals, but lots of intentions.

Things I wanted to tell you about

When we lived in Raleigh, I did as much shopping as I could at Trader Joes. For people who have never been, it is an … experience. Sadly, the closest one to here is three hours away. Earlier this week I made Salisbury Steak and Gravy, and my secret ingredient for the best gravy is Trader Joe’s Mushroom Seasoning Blend. And I’m almost out of it! Luckily, some entrepreneurial soul is selling it on Amazon, albeit at inflated prices.

I have a lot of recipes for pies that go back generations, but most of them make 8 inch pies. These days, pie pans tend to be 9 or 9.5 inches. I’ve been on the hunt for some nice 8-inch pie pans – preferably ceramic – but keep striking out. I bought these, which at the time were labeled as 8 inch, but turns out they were more like 6. However, they were so cute I decided to keep them, and use them as small casserole pans. This year, I served my homemade cranberry sauce in one of them.

We are in the early stages of planning a kitchen renovation this fall (this is what we do instead of vacations these days) to replace our 1950’s era kitchen with something more attuned to the way I like to cook. I’m especially having a hard time deciding on flooring types. If you have advice, suggestions, or things that make your kitchen special, please hit reply and share them with me. 

And just a reminder that my writing is all reader-supported. I spend an average of 20 hours a week on writing my various newsletters and blog posts, and while I have been approached by advertising networks who want to put ads in my newsletters, I am committed to the reader-support model, where some of us make it possible for all of us.  If you want to help me finance this project, you can become a monthly patron (in any amount from $3 a month upwards!), or send a 1-time infusion of cash, or you can support my book habit by going here.

And as always, thank you for reading my stuff and for forwarding it to your friends. Word of mouth is the way this list is growing, bit by bit, every week. And if someone did forward this to you, you can get your own subscription here.

Take care, 

Hugh

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