Hey there, friends! It’s been a bit, hasn’t it? I feel like since we made the jump to Florida, I just haven’t been able to hit my groove when it comes to recipe creation, photos, posting…oy.
I’ve been ridiculously busy the past year, traveling almost on a weekly basis, and because of it, I’ve gone back to old workaholic habits. I’ve devoted more and more time to an ever-increasing workload and gotten away from the things that reenergize me. And I forgot just how much not having the little outlets I used to enjoy could impact my health and my mental state.
So this year, I’m committing to decluttering my schedule, digging in my heels and being more intentional when it comes to travel, and working my way back into the balance I need, not just to do my best work, but to show up for my family and make the most of the time I get to spend with them.
I’m also committing to decluttering this site! I’ve changed designs and layouts and plugins and more so many times that stuff is all over the place and recipes are unreadable. That’s not fun for any of us (and yeah, I’m a customer of my own site here – I created my first food blog just as a way of helping my family and me store and find my recipes!).
So what does that mean for Home Front Cooking?
It means you’ll probably see two posts a week, just so I can keep things manageable. One will be a new and original recipe, one will be a revised old recipe with new layout, updated ingredients, and new photos as needed.
I’m working on better refining my food philosophy here, too. As a born and raised California girl, you’ll find me focusing on things that are fresh, seasonal, and easy. I’m paring down ingredient lists to let the stars of the recipe shine and not bury them under extra flavors. I’m looking at how I’m sourcing ingredients and I’m looking forward to planting and starting up my home garden again, something I haven’t been able to stay on top of as much as I’ve been traveling.
But I’m also taking a hard look at what ingredients need to be fresh and what can be frozen or canned. In California and other places I’ve lived, you have a pretty decent window to use fresh produce. In Florida’s humidity, not so much – things spoil and mold faster here, so it’s been important for us to be more deliberate in our meal planning and our use of fresh food.
And because we’ve lived down here in Florida two-and-a-half years now, you’re going to see some Florida twists on old favorites. There’s a fusion of some very vibrant food cultures down here, and I’m interested in learning more about the accent du terroir here and how I can let that flavor mix into my own flavor profile.
Not the stars of the show, but you just might see a few home projects creep into the mix as we keep working to renovate and update our house here, because we just can’t help it!
And we’ll probably talk a little about working at home, since so many of us have been doing that since March 2020-ish and a lot of folks want to continue doing that. There are lots of benefits.
Anyway, just wanted to drop in and say hi and let you know just what might be coming down the pipe for this little site. Thanks for sticking with me, and hope to see you around!