Hello, hello everyone. This is Tanya Dalton, owner of Inquell Press, and I'm here to give you

another episode of The Weekender, a mini episode to help you end your week on the right note.

When I was little, I was that strange kid who would beg to watch cooking shows instead of

cartoons. I loved watching Julia Child, which grew into a love for spending time in the kitchen.

In college, I bought myself cookbooks as special treats and taught myself how to cook. When John and I

first met, one of the first things I made him was an elaborate cake

with layers of devil's food and angel's food cake divided by swaths of a peanut butter moose,

which is why I think he fell in love with me so quickly. And after we married, my passion for

cooking continued to grow until we had kids. Between rushing home after dinner and juggling homework schedules,

dinner time was no longer a time to experiment with new recipes or try special ingredients. Time felt

rushed and completely unenjoyable. Recently, though, I decided I wanted to bring back that passion

I used to feel, so I've intentionally

carved out time on the weekends to create a traditional Sunday dinner. Food cooked from scratch

with dessert because all really good meals need dessert. On the menu might be pot roast or

homemade meatballs or even a spread of appetizers. It doesn't really matter.

What matters is at 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoons,

I turn on some music and I give myself the space to play and explore for a little bit in my kitchen.

My family knows this is my time for me,

and they're able to join me to help me do a little chopping,

or maybe even a little sauteing, or simply

leave me alone rediscovering my love for cooking. Sometimes the stumbling block we experience is the

smoldering pile of our old passions, but we simply need to rebuild that fire. Throw a few fresh

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