Welcoming the Return of my Cooking Mojo!!!!

Well I am sitting in my darkened living room with the back door open and a cool breeze wafting in, swigging ahem, sipping wine, and celebrating the return of my cooking mojo! For many weeks now I have not enjoyed cooking and have relied too much upon convenience foods which are both expensive and boring! When I have attempted 'proper' cooking it has resulted in pulled faces and being pushed around before eventually being eaten due to it just not being that great! I haven't been able to organise a decent menu plan though, let alone a shopping list and a tasty result!! From past experience, I knew that it would return and so I was patient - and return it has!

I am just waiting for the oven to beep to inform me that some rather cute and hopefully tasty little blackberry bakewells are golden brown..... it has been years since I baked after the children had gone to bed, baked for the joy of it that is rather than necessity. Yesterday afternoon, whilst Idris was snoozing, the girls and I sat in the garden and pored through the Good Food magazines that come on a gift subscription from my parents. We pulled out all the yummy looking pages and added them to a clipboard that is propped up behind my battered old chopping board.

We made yummy Sausage Pot Pies for dinner - a really versatile and easy recipe that would be fabulous with red cabbage in, or pumpkin in the Autumn.... it met with ravenous approval and I wondered about baking the bakewells when the children had gone to bed. I then decided I shouldn't - it seemed rather frivolous to cook for pleasure, just me 'by my own' (family joke, sorry!). Wasn't there something serious and important to do?

Oh hang on, there's the beep - let's see now.....

Well it turned out that there wasn't anything more important and that baking by myself was really enjoyable and I almost remember doing it before I had children and felt compelled to include them in all baking activities!! As it happened, just between you and me - I couldn't resist inviting my little willow the wisp to help me put them together - she never goes to sleep until late anyway, and she dearly loves to help me cook!!

I am very relieved to be back into cooking mode again, where I find it simple and fun to prepare and cook healthy meals for my family - long may it last!!! The recipes for these aren't available yet on the Good Food website..... I'll pop back and add the links when they are up there!