Essentials

It’s Not Always Frosting and Sprinkles

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

img_1501I know several ladies right now that need to hear this message in this picture. I truly share this with every ounce of love I have to give you and from a place of having been there.

This post is a personal one and “scary” to post, but if I truly want to give you strength and courage, and ask you to be brave then I need to be brave and honest enough to tell you my story. I had to jump in the dark off a deep cliff once and I was surprised to find a soft landing. Fear can be crippling but the relief that comes after the first steps and jump are made is so indescribable.

One of the lessons I am still working on is if you don’t make yourself a priority and love yourself first – no one else will. A very wise person recently told me “you have to take the flight attendant’s instructions – ‘put your oxygen mask on first and then help others.'” I had to learn to save myself first. I had to overcome my thought process that saving myself first was selfish – but what good am I to my beautiful little girls if I am falling apart at the seams from the inside out? I am not. It is a falsity. I am not teaching them strength and independence that way.

I have laid in bed sobbing thinking how did life get like this? Where did I go wrong? What did I do wrong? Why am I not good enough? Telling myself over and over that I am not strong enough for this.

I made it through. It wasn’t easy, but it was way less harder then I had thought it would be. I had to learn to ask for help and learn also that it wasn’t a weakness to do so. I had to learn how to remove the voice in my head telling me I was worthless and stop it from repeating every negative name I had been called. I learned to breathe again. I learned to give myself permission to live my life the way I wanted.

I will always be here to listen 💗 XOXO

Simple, but key ingredients.

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

imagesWhenever I stumble across a recipe that I fall in love with, there is usually one ingredient that makes me say, “Wow, using that made a difference.” For instance, I don’t drink coffee and I never have. Seeing that many dessert recipes that are chocolate based used hot coffee to melt the chocolate or had espresso powder in the batter, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I mean, I don’t drink coffee or like the taste of it, so why on earth would I put it in my dessert? Well, I had been doing it wrong for so long! I finally tried it when it came to making a Pot du Creme. I had such a new love for how coffee really does enhance the chocolate flavor.

There are so many basic ingredients that enhance the flavor of what we eat tangerine-19062_640without us even knowing it or giving it much thought! For example, berries are so much brighter in flavor with some lemon or orange zest and some fresh squeezed juice of either added to them. Many sauces that adorn your dish when eating in a restaurant “finish” that sauce with a some butter to give it a glossy shine, a rich flavor and even at times to thicken.

a-glass-salt-shaker-100311902Many people also overlook salt. I understand that people have diets that require them to reduce salt intake or remove it completely from their diets, however, if that isn’t you, then don’t skimp on seasonings, especially salt! There are many dishes I make that I season throughout with salt. It may be that I am sweating down or caramelizing vegetable, and then I will season the protein that goes into the vegetables, and finally the sauce that will go onto the protein and vegetables. Many think that this may create a dish that is too salty. The key is knowing how much salt to put in at each stage so that it doesn’t overpower the dish. Salt is just as essential to many baking recipes as it is for cooking recipes. Adding a touch of salt to many dishes gives it just what is needed to bring out the best in the dish.

There are hidden surprises in many dishes we know and love, and sometimes they are not so hidden; regardless, never under estimate a simple ingredient, as it just might be your key to success.