The year is slipping away, and I’m reflecting on what I’ve accomplished, and what I had hoped to accomplish.
The strong momentum of early 2020 came to a halt with the arrival of Covid. A redesigned website, and subsequent plans for building my business, seemed to wash away with the new crisis. I was left struggling in the crush of change, and no lifeboat has yet to be sent out to save me.
Eight months in and my mind remains in a million places. I continue the struggle to find the calm and solid ground. While busy with work, my bigger business goals remain unfinished. There’s a strong desire to keep these goals in sight, and make the most of the 8 weeks left in the year, to log the goals as accomplished in 2020.
Pandemic Fatigue
Back here in my kitchen, I find I’m busier than ever trying to figure out this ‘feed my family’ stuff. Yes, the family is being fed, but ever since the pandemic began, I seem to be going through the motions, rather than finding joy in something that I have always found joy in doing – preparing meals for my family.
It is the fatigue – physical and mentally – brought on by the immediate switch to a new way of living. A new way of thinking of things, setting up new rules, here in our 6-person bubble. I feel like I’m losing the battle. We may all be home together, but we strive to get away from each other. We gather around the table together, but we eat quickly and the cacophony of “May I please be excused?’ comes within minutes of us gathering.
Why are we rushing away from the table?
What do we all have to do that is so important?
Why can’t we just sit together as a family for a while?
Four teens could be part of the answer.
A Late 2020 Reboot
It may be late in the year, but I’m calling 2020 my reboot year. And, perhaps I needed a reboot year: A new way of meeting my goals, new ways of living, sharing, and loving. Today, I find myself dreaming of how to reboot our lives and re-work all the boredom, when so much is up in the air.
As I try to figure this out, I realize that we’re just not fully rebooted. Yes, we’ve settled into a new way of living, but I think we still need to adjust.
Now that I’m aware of this, I’m going to focus on a series of small reboots, rather than striving for a huge reboot. The small steps, or small reboots, will eventually add up. And with each small manageable reboot, I’ll learn to adjust, and settle into things before moving on.
So, with that in mind, I made a super-small reboot this weekend. I have had a go-to homemade granola recipe I’ve been making for years. In my weekend perusing of cookbooks, I stumbled across The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee and a recipe I had been thinking about making ever since I added the book to my collection. I dove right in, not waiting any longer for the ‘old’ me to keep me preparing the same old recipe again. It was the right decision. I’m happy with this mini-recipe reboot.
Here is my Reboot Granola, (aka Brown Sugar and Winter Spice Granola from The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee)
Reboot Granola
- 1-1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1-1/2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1-1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ¾ sea salt
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and the water. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil. Allow to cool
In a large bowl, combine the oats, walnuts, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and mix well.
Add the oil and vanilla to the brown sugar syrup and stir until combined, then pour over the oat mixture. Mix well with you hands, until thoroughly combined and uniform in texture.
Transfer to a rimmed 13 X 18” baking sheet, and spread evenly
Bake for about 75 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir the granola, keeping it in as large of chunks as possible. Return the granola to the oven and bake for about 60 minutes., until completely dry and no longer soft, if you take a bite. Allow to cool before eating.
