Bun in the Oven (no actual edible buns anywhere near oven)

Aspirational image of an uninterrupted cup of tea in bed (image by David Mao)

I thought it might be cute to break my blogging drought with a recipe for hot cross buns over Easter, mainly because I’d get to use the pun about buns being in the oven to let you know that I’m pregnant again. But then Easter came and went, and I was dealing with another cold brought home from child care by my 15-month-old kid, and the blog remained untouched.

I liken my first pregnancy to the feeling of being a precious, unique snowflake, growing a miracle while cartoon Disney birds tweet at my shoulder. My second pregnancy couldn’t be farther removed from this experience. Acute morning sickness timed imperfectly with my return to work, child care colds taking out our entire household multiple times, exhaustion and general feelings of overwhelm have pretty much defined the last five months. And the next kid isn’t even here yet. But this pregnancy is quite miraculous nonetheless and growing this new baby has taken priority over cooking for the blog.

Here’s what’s been going on in my kitchen lately, sans styled photos and lovely matching stories:

• Eating Kimchi Fried Rice, using kimchi from The Fermentary and eggs from our chickens
• Reading (and some cooking from) A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones
• A lot of cooking from Food Babies Love by Emily Dupuche, a book that has lived up to the high recommendation from a friend
• Drinking Cocoa and Chai Spice Hot Chocolate, my pleasure now that a glass of wine is off the menu at night time
• Making No-bake Chocolate Almond Bars for a friend that just had twins, she needs all the energy she can get
• I googled what I had in the fridge looking for inspiration and this kale salad came up, it is deliciously autumnal and keeps for a few days which makes it great for lunches too
• Have I mentioned the sickness in my house? Being pregnant, I can’t take any helpful drugs to get me through it, so I’ve been relying on Ginger Turmeric Honey Bombs
• I’ve brought the slow cooker out of hibernation and am enjoying a steaming bowl of overnight steel-cut oats for breakfast most mornings, and these chicken tacos were the easiest, tastiest thing to ever come out of my new favourite appliance

Given my current family situation, poor old Simple Provisions will continue to be a bit neglected. If you’re a regular reader, thank you so much for stopping by so often. I’d love to know what you enjoyed about the blog so that when I come up for air, I can craft something that you might enjoy, perhaps in a different form. Comment or email me at simpleprovisions@gmail.com. And also a BIG THANKS to the people that emailed me, checking to see if I was OK. You’re lovely.