Hello there...firstly may I wish you all a Happy New Year and I sincerely hope that you all find happiness during the madness folks. I hope we all find some peace...
Those of you who regularly read my humble little blog and come back to access the archived recipes will know it's been a while since I've posted any new recipes. My health is now at a point where I never get anywhere near my much loved kitchen. In fact the last time was a year ago, a meal for my friends to celebrate 2016. And for me that is excruciating.
My health doesn't seem to be taking the turn for the better that I'd hoped and after much thought and at times tears I have come to the decision to retire the blog. I have loved each and every post and recipe on here and so I leave the blog active so the archives can be accessed. But there will no longer be a presence here to answer questions on the comments or provide new content. My little blog was a lifeline for me for many years so I am very sad to say goodbye. I hope over the years I've created some food for your tables that you have enjoyed and shared. Part of the reason to shut down is also due to the fact that blogging has moved on and now everyone seems to be busy with the video formats so my blog feels old and out of date now. I personally love watching the videos and would have loved to be able to give it a try myself. Its great fun and I have so much respect for their creativity.
I am still a vegan and I always will be because to me the most fundamental aspect for me has been I never want to kill a creature to feast upon it. Since being a very small child I have held this belief and still believe with every cell in body I never will. I welcome the changes that are being made to welcome new vegans or vegetarians every day. I don't believe being vegan is a trend because I hope that people are finally seeing the senseless slaughter of animals is redundant and cruel. I don't believe there is any validation to the belief that you can ethically eat an animal. You raise the animal...care for it..give it a good life....then murder it to eat it. Nope..no way...never will I ever be changed on this matter. And believe me many people have tried. So I am not leaving the Blogging community because I no longer believe in plant based living. Just needed to be clear on this point.
The loss of cooking from my life has been devastating for me. It was my therapy, my passion and my constant thought and friend. Being unable to cook for those I love is a terrible loss. I miss the times sat around the table with everyone after marathon hours in the kitchen to provide an abundance of foods for them to enjoy. I feel like I have lost my mojo and I haven't found anything to replace that yet. I hope I do.
This morning I resigned from the SUMA Bloggers Network which was such a personal disappointment. But I have loved being part of the original Bloggers and I hope that they continue to be a source of inspiration to SUMA customers. SUMA is a great company and I was very proud to be a very small part of it.
Thank you for reading my posts. Thank you for being loyal. Thank you for your support. Thank you for giving me a focus during years of illness. It has been said to me..."Oh its just a blog..." *sighs* but it was never just a blog. It was a creative space, an invisible support, a passion and a space where I was more than a person with illness. I was proud of my posts and recipes. If I inspired one person to pick up a knife and get chopping then it was worth every word.
I wish you all peace in the coming year. I hope you keep cooking and take the time to sit with loved ones to enjoy every mouthful of food. I hope you never just inhale your food and see the cooking process as a chore. In this uncertain future we need to come together and share a meal and find the love and support around that table...I have a feeling we are all going to need so much more of that.
Goodbye folks and thank you for one final time. You rocked!
~Red~ xx
