The Power of Homemade Food

So with my very first post, I thought I would share with you one of the topics that makes me "Truly Content".  This is a big one, homemade food.  And I have come to realise how important it is, in the last 10 years.  Having my daughter and enduring some years of ill health has made me so much more aware of the impact of what we put into our bodies. 

The Famous No Knead Bread

 Around this time, was also when I realised how much I actually enjoyed cooking.  Following a recipe (sometimes changing things here and there) and being able to create simple, delicious meals, snacks and treats for my family from scratch, was very, very satisfying.  I felt so much better that the food we were eating was unprocessed and didn't contain preservatives, colours, numbers and ingredients that were really not needed (think sugar in store bought stocks and pasta sauces).

Pumpkin, Brown Rice and Chickpea Patties

I guess my foundations were laid, coming from an Italian family, where lots was always cooked from scratch and good food was truly appreciated.  But my interest really peaked in the last 5 years.  I have learnt so much and I continue to learn.

My Famous Jam Drops

Mmmm....Melting Moments

I borrow recipe books from the library and I read them for fun!  I read blogs about healthy whole food and I am constantly trying new recipes. I watch cooking shows.  I try to plan holidays or day trips around food. I once had a job teaching children to cook.  I designed and the children made healthy vegetarian food from produce we grew in the school garden. I am toying with the idea of a home business based around whole foods.
My husband was interested in vegetable gardening, so we set up some patches, which then got me interested (I may have taken over a little bit!).  But now that we have moved into our new (old) house, we are planning out our vegetable gardens together and it has been something we both spend time doing together.   As we grow more produce, I need to use it in wise ways and that then has me cooking different recipes with lovely organic produce from our own backyard.  Wow!  And that led me to cooking for family and friends, sharing it and also having them come to our place to enjoy that food.  The power of homemade food!

Baked Ratatouille with Green Olives and Parmesan

It has opened my eyes to the fact that this is something that really makes me content.  A warm pot of soup bubbling away on a winters day.  The smell of a homemade cake or biscuits baking in the oven.  The excitement in my family's faces when I tell them, "yes" I've made your favourite dish for dinner tonight.  Even coming home from a late afternoon walk and smelling someone's dinner cooking in the house I am walking past. That smell wafting into the cool afternoon air.  Mmmmmm.

Family Christmas Lunch 2016

When I reflect back and see what cooking from scratch, has really done for me, I am quite amazed.  It has brought so much more into my life, than I really thought possible.