When I was a little girl I used to walk down the street to a teeny tiny small candy factory (the size of a walk in closet) that sat at the end of my block. For some reason the woman who worked there by herself took to me and my hundreds of questions. I was that kid, I’d knock on the door and ask if I could come in and watch. As time passed the woman looked forward to my visits and we became friends. She schooled me on the world of Mexican candy making. In the midst of making batches of cocadas, and cajeta… she would also make candied fruit. On the days when I was lucky she would have left over pumpkin and make calabaza en tacha and send me home with a batch for my family. My grandfather used to get so excited when I would arrive home with it. I ate mine plain and he would pour a little milk over his. Those were some of the most impressionable moments of my young childhood that will stick with me forever.

Halloween is clawing it’s way closer, and the horrific truth is… it’s not safe with a deadly pandemic looming to celebrate the way we’ve been able to in the past. Wouldn’t it be absolutely FANTASTIC FRIGHTNENING if we could all come up with ideas of how to celebrate #Home4Halloween with #SafeScares for our favorite gruesome goblins. Let’s flood the IG feed with great ideas so no one feels like they are missing out. The point is we can still celebrate at home with our families, since group festivities are not recommended for Halloween 2020.

The biggest adjustment for my son’s  distant learning BACK TO SCHOOL route has been the lack of in-person social interaction with his friends. He’s told me he misses recess and the conversations they had as they dug into their lunch boxes. I heard what he said and came up with a way to make his lunch time special here at home. I decided I would make a deluxe dessert every week and during his mid–day break away from the screen,  him and I would have daily heart to heart chats (where no topic was off the table) while eating our dreamiest sweet treat.

This is the first time I’ve ever made a galette. I wasn’t sure what to call it but settled on Peach Berry Almond Galette. Love how easy it came together and the fact that I was able to use up the last of the summer fruit I bought a few days ago. I didn’t have all the ingredients I wanted for my galette, but I made due with what I had on hand. HOT DIGGITY DOG it was insanely delicious.

Sugar Top Blueberry Muffins – Making my sun rise from the highest heights.

Since the pandemic, I started hiking a few times a week in a place where I virtually see hardly anyone else. It’s a great way to unload some anxiety and replace it with endorphins. It elevates my mood, allows a little bit of adventure to my life which was once upon a time jam packed with experience, AND it gets my heart racing. <3

Pan Dulce French Toast: I’m officially that gal that uses every little scrap of food in the house. I’ve learned a few tricks during this pandemic of how to preserve and make things stretch for longer than usual. My grandfather was raised during the depression and was seriously the master of conserving food. Thankfully I remembered a few of the things he taught me that I used to take for granted, and didn’t pay much mind to. He would freeze bread or tortillas if we had too much in the house. Or toast bread that was a few days old and then dunk it in his coffee. He was so crafty that way.

I’m talking Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies today. Since I have been home bound due to Covid-19 I have fallen into complete comfort food zone. I need something to cradle me through this tough time, and these cookies definitely are doing the trick. I like using salted peanuts and both milk and semisweet chocolate chips. They crisp up nicely on the outside and keep moist on the inside. The classic combo of peanut butter and chocolate take their love affair to new heights in cookie form and makes staying home a lot easier.