Button Soup and Baking Bread

I am learning, and I am working on getting things done. Like retelling Button Soup, things improve over time. You keep adding to the pot, and eventually it becomes something solid.

That is what my website is starting to feel like. I am plugging away at the old blog, www.experimentinginmykitchen@blogspot.com and every time I go in to make a correction or add a post, I realize how far I have come from the early days of experimenting. I am not really experimenting anymore in the same way. I have learned enough now about sourdough baking, cooking from scratch, and building meals from what I have on hand that I can actually work with intention.

Today I am baking a loaf with grapes, onions, and manchego cheese, which I already know will pair well with seared chicken breast and an arugula salad. I can build flavour combinations now from experience. I know what works and what does not. Time in the kitchen, and the willingness to experiment in the beginning, gives you that knowledge.

I recently retold an old story, Button Soup, which is a good example of people coming together and pooling resources so that everyone benefits. I have always liked those older stories where there is meaning in the telling. I feel like we have lost some of that value since we started relying on phones for entertainment instead of reading or sharing stories with each other. That is probably my age showing.

I have also put a free version of Button Soup and a short story from the Chronicles of Ravenscraig on the website, in case anyone wants to see my writing style outside of food. I have made a dent in the recipe packs as well, and I am aiming to put at least one up a week while I finish illustrations for the other stories and continue working on Coldwater Chronicles. That is still about three or four months away from being publishable.

I am impatient to finish it, but real life needs attention too. My pets need me, and the weather has finally improved enough that I can get out for longer walks again, even in the rain. That is where my best thinking happens, walking the dog or baking.

Right now, I am taking a break from fixing things. I have added a few “doors” to the website to try and make it easier to navigate. I chose the wrong template, unfortunately, and I did not expect so many projects to be converging at once and coming so close to completion at the same time. So I am doing it the only way I can: one item at a time, finishing it, then moving on to the next.

I know it looks scattered, but there is a lot to work through, and it will be messy for a little while.

Like every good story, things come together in time.