Writing blog posts during Spring of 2020 with the Covid-19 virus impacting every one of us is bittersweet to me. I struggle with balancing an upbeat and positive message of having fun with food and drink, while thinking to myself, “Am I respecting the feelings of others while they may be experiencing loss, fear or uncertainty? Will I offend anyone because I am finding solace and even joy in cooking for my family, friends and those in need of the comfort of good food?”

So, it is only with the best intentions and love that I write about how cooking and baking positively impact me and the lives around me, now more than ever, as I hope it can do for you, too!

How many times have we heard, “Food brings people together, Food is love. A way to someone’s heart is through his/her stomach.” Well, I believe all this is true! There’s no better excuse than to use food (and in my house drink, too) to have a family or friends gathering.

Years ago, I would stress out about have everyone over. I’d be panicked about how clean and straight the house looked, if all my decorations were in the right place, if I was ready when everyone started coming in and if the food and drink were outstanding at best! My husband and boys can certainly attest to it! I remember I was ready to pounce on my sons when they went to get beer and ice one Sunday afternoon and didn’t come back for an hour! The beer distributor was literally 4 minutes away! Little did I know they ran into their cousin Dave and ended up visiting with him and had a couple beers never thinking they were doing any harm by not bringing the ice back based on my timeline! Well you can imagine how that went over when they got home!

On a side note, why is it that most men never get frazzled or worried about everything working out as planned? Maybe it’s because in my house I wouldn’t let them because I was always trying to be in control! Although I still like to maintain control over my kitchen and entertaining, I hope I have relaxed enough where I don’t get as stressed when preparing for family and friends to come over. No comment, John, Andrew or Mike.

But now, I so miss the gatherings I love to have at our home in Harleysville during this time. I’m sure each of you do, too. My house used to be flooded with people on a weekend or even a weeknight when we would plan an impromptu gathering with family and neighbors. But we are finding a way to social distance carefully (gosh I hope that saying doesn’t become permanent in our vocabulary) in our yards, cul de sacs or garages. All while sharing good food and drink with one another until we can be with physically close with each other by hugging and kissing one another, sitting next to each other, passing food around a table, and gathering around my island in the kitchen where I have to claim my work zone and shoo everyone away so I can put out our feast before everything gets cold! (Oh, you know who you are!)

So I’m sending a message of hope and faith that we will all come through this with grace, love and a renewed intention to leave your stress at the door, gather together with whatever food and drink you have and just enjoy the love and laughter of good friends and family. I’ll continue to share some last-minute dishes with basics in your kitchen that will surprise you and your guests! I’ll help you to go from “Corporate2Culinary” by teaching you some tricks to always being ready for friends and family to stop by and linger through the dinner hour for the best meal they’ve had all week! I promise you there’s nothing better! So stay tuned and…..

Let’s Get Cookin’!

Madeline