Sometimes you have to admit that you cannot escape your destiny. Which is the only way I can explain that I ended up in the kitchen tonight baking bread, making homemade tomato soup, canning crabapple sauce, and planning a blog post in my head. Yes, my kitchen is as messy as (or perhaps worse than) you are imagining. Even so, I feel right at home with it.

Three years ago, I had to give up gluten. It was my miracle healing that resulted in the nearly total elimination of my once daily migraines. I discovered my gluten sensitivity through the paleo diet and I stopped baking altogether. From a person who baked fresh bread every.single.day. to a person who couldn't have gluten and didn't know how to bake a thing...overnight. The change was a shock to my system, but I felt so healthy that I didn't mind a bit. Three weeks ago I discovered the gluten free crusty boule from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. That discovery changed my life. Can I mention, they are coming out with a new book Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (Due Out October 22, available for preorder).  Guess what this girl asked for as a birthday present.

For the past several years, I hadn't been able to do any canning.  When I found out I was pregnant with #2, I actually gave away most of my canning supplies to a friend who is into the homesteading thing.  I felt good about it all, until fall came around.  We harvested 3 laundry baskets of pears off our pear tree.  After freezing about 10 gallons, I gave in and canned 7 1/2 quarts of cinnamon pear sauce.  Several weeks later, the crabapples have been calling to me.  Today I could not resist their siren song anymore.  It's 9:30 p.m., my kitchen looks like somebody murdered a baker, and I feel peace with letting myself be Suzie-homemaker in her country kitchen.  I come from a long line of them.

On the other hand, I feel no regrets about not planting a garden this year and instead tilling up my garden plot to turn it into a playing yard and giving our chicken shavings to the neighbors to put on their garden.  They said, "We have been gardening this plot for 30 years and have never had as good a year as this one."  With all their extra produce coming our direction, I think it is a perfect gardening plan.