Skip to main content

Saying Goodbye To The Old And Saying Hello To The New

When my daughter was two or three I started Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness.  I loved that blog.  At that time I was a stay at home Mom and desperately in need of a creative outlet and something I could look at and feel a sense of accomplishment.  So many years ago.  I poured my heart into that blog.  There were so many blogs that started at the same time as mine and seemed to sky rocket.  My blog, just plugged along.  Never reached 'rock star status'.  Many times I was bummed by that because it is how I saw myself in the world of professionals after leaving my social work job to stay home with the kids.  If my blog failed, it meant I wasn't any good.  Boy, was I hard on myself.  Many times I thought to leave blogdom, be done with it.  But I kept going, thinking that some amazing success would happen with my blog.  Something amazing would spring forth.  Some company would sign me on as a recipe developer.  Or my hits would go up and I would make money doing my blog. Or I would get some free lance gig, reviewing recipes or writing articles about food and of course make money at it.  It would reward me as a professional.  I always felt this opportunity could be just around the corner if I just hung in there longer.  Year after year.  I joined cooking clubs, like the Daring Bakers and started a cooking club called Recipes to Rival, but alas that went nowhere.

At some point, probably about three years ago I really wanted to quit my blog.  But it had become so much a part of my life and I do like to write and talk about food, I just couldn't let it go. I enjoyed it. At that point I re-framed it all in my mind.

I started to see my blog for something simple.  A creative outlet.  A place to be able to find recipes I have done over the years in a snap.  A journal of my life with food in relations to my parents, husband and children.  A place to write stories about my heritage and my heritage in relation to food. Something my children could look back on and enjoy.  I let go of all the other dreams I had in relation to the blog.  I wasn't really sad about it anymore.  I found myself in other ways.  I started to quilt. And all that creative energy got funneled in there along with a sense, a personal sense, of accomplishment.  All is good.

A new journey has begun.  I start this blog with no dreams in mind in relation to my blog but rather a chronicle of how we went from being carnivores, well, really, omnivores to vegan, plant based people. It's not a fad for me.  Although I can not speak for my husband I don't believe it is a fad for him either.
What we left behind.
The last meat meal I had was Mothers Day of this year, 2017.  We had chicken on the grill and I also made shrimp.  It was a feast.  The day after, it was  a plant based life.  My husband started the following week after all the grilled chicken was gone.

What was the spark that made me go Vegan...  a doctors lecture at a Aging Conference I was at.  A very inspirational story that moved me.  That inspired a change in me.

Stay tuned for who, what and when on my next post...
What we said hello to.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Vindaloo Sauce

I double this when I make it. I have made it twice now.  I freeze some of it.  It is a great meal to make when you are in a hurry.  You can cook some lentils and just add the sauce to it.  Or you can get all fancy and add vegetables to the mix.  I have made it both ways now and I think my favorite is just with the lentils.  I have spread it on toast, yes, seriously I have (on more that one occassion). It's awesome that way. VINDALOO SAUCE 2 teaspoons black peppercorns 2 tablespoon white peppercorns 1 teaspoon whole cloves 4 teaspoon coriander seeds 2 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds 2 tablespoon brown mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 2 teaspoon fennel seeds (reduce or omit if you are not a fan) 2 guajillo chilies 4 cloves garlic 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, mince 1 teaspoon sea salt 6 tablespoon vegetable oil 4 tablespoon cider vinegar 1 can tomato paste (4 ounces) 2 tablespoon Tamarind paste Toast the spices in a dry pan, ...

Greens and Beans

This classic Italian 'Beans and Greens' comes together really easily.  I grew up on this dish.  Loaded with nutrients and flavor. When I was growing up, the sister to this dish, minestra was served in our house on a regular basis. All you would do is add chicken broth and pepperoni chunks and turn it into a soup.  I wasn't especially fond of the soup growing up.  I would pick out the pepperoni chunks. BEANS AND GREENS 1 to 2 heads kale or escarole, depending on how much is in the head or how much you want to make. 1 can or 2 cups white beans, such as navy beans 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil S & P, to taste Cook greens in salted water  ( about a tablespoon in a big pot), until tender.  Drain and cool. Squeeze water out as much as possible.  I like to chop it up at this point. In a large skillet saute garlic in oil. When garlic is slightly golden, add in greens and beans and heat through.  Add salt and ...