A big part of Plain life is food. It is not a Plain option to have take-out every night, or to microwave a Cuisine-O-Matic. Plain people, often from rural roots, or living a farming life, are good eaters. (This was a compliment in my family.)

It’s Plain, but delicious. That’s usually how meals turn out. Amish and Mennonite food has a worldwide reputation for excellence, freshness, and bountifulness. It’s an expression of God’s grace. Good food, lots of it.

I like to cook. It is not a chore. I love to cook for my husband (a good eater.) I’m disappointed when he doesn’t want a cooked meal, or I’m rushed and grilled-cheese sandwiches are the best I can turn out on short notice. Grilled-cheese is good, too, as are scrambled eggs and toast, but it’s not really a cooked meal.

On a limited budget (Who isn’t? Bill Gates?) I have to cook from basics and cook nourishing, filling food that will keep well if it’s most practical to make a large batch (pierogies, or baked beans, for instance.) We are not eating meat right now because of the high cost, and some other items have recently dropped out of the grocery list, like dairy products, unless they are on sale. Bread is very expensive here (why? this is Ontario, in Canada – wheat grows in backyards) and I am going back to baking my own despite the funky oven that refuses to hold a constant temperature. I don’t own the kitchen range so I am not going to have the thermostat replaced.

I have cooked on open fires, Franklin fireplaces, and Enterprise wood-burning stoves. I love wood cooking. But it isn’t likely that we’ll be able to install an authentic, wood-fuelled stove in the apartment, so I have to cope with the tempermental electric range.

After some consideration, I decided to start a separate blog for Thoughts for Food. have a look.