green smoothies with flax seeds added

When I was little dessert was a big deal. I am one of the youngest in a large family and money was tight. If my busy Mom had the time to bake we appreciated every home made morsel.

I am the busy Mom today but my immediate family is much smaller. I try to bake for my family but their reaction is different than my siblings in my childhood. The family is kind and appreciative but usually after one piece of homemade dessert, the remainder sits and grows stale. Sugary goodness has become the enemy and tends to be avoided by my adult family members.

Why is there such a difference between my childhood and now? As I watch half a double chocolate cake grow old, I ponder the reason that it lacks our attention.

Are we too busy to make our meals (and dessert) important?  I know that I search for better ways to utilize my time each day to get more work done. My "to do list" is always longer than the time allotted to complete it. I believe that is the norm. Our busyness seem to be multiplying and I question whether it improves our lives. Is more (completion) actually better for life in the big picture?

Faith, Family, Friends, Job searching, Business creation, Classes, and Volunteer work. Toss in some rowdy English Bulldogs and a Bloodhound and I think -- maybe the chocolate cake might help me handle this.  

Maybe it's my age? Am I a grown up because I mix spinach, flax, and protein powder with almond milk, ice and banana for breakfast?

 I hope that we ALL learn to eat dessert first. 

just enough cookie dough

When the kids were younger, I knew the cookie recipe by heart--- half cup butter, half cup peanut butter, half cup white sugar, half cup brown sugar, egg, vanilla,etc, etc. It was easy and I could keep it stored in Tupperware and bake as needed for a dessert or snack.The kids are adults now and I don't bake much. I feel better with less gluten and none of us need the sugar.

Valentine's Day was two weeks ago so I purchased a package of Nestle ready made chocolate chip cookie dough. The square package contained 24 cookies ready to bake. We enjoyed some with the holiday meal but I put the remainder of the package back in the drawer in the refrigerator and promptly forgot about them. I remembered tonight.

The family does not share as many meals as it did when the kids were little. With jobs, school, volunteer work, and outside commitments, there are many days that we never see each other. The stars aligned this evening where we are all in the house at the same time and we were able to share a relaxed meal.

Perhaps the snow fall made it possible for all of us to be together.

The calendar tells us that the month of March has arrived. The month is definitely "coming in like a Lion". Mother Nature thinks that this means that the Pacific Northwest must be buried in snow. Our winter has not been as severe as the East coast- or even Montana in the month of February (where Missoula received 39 inches!) but tonight the clouds are dumping and I am glad to be home.

The fish tacos were tasty and dessert was appreciated. Everyone has left the kitchen and carried on with their evening plans. The only ones with me in the dining room are (of course) the dogs. It is too bad that the cookies had chocolate in them. They were delicious, but if it was just a sugar or a peanut butter -I could have shared them with my children with fur.