General

I’m celebrating with dinner and a poem…

S**t happens when you get older, you’re suddenly free,
You can swear and get away with it, just like me.
We all get older, you just have to prepare,
If you want to know what’s coming, pull up a chair. 🪑

There’s a parade of horribles coming your way:
Your ears get longer and your hair turns gray.
Every problem feels like a panic attack,
Like needing a cushion with a space for your crack.

Seniors, it seems, are always feeling cold.
Losing some fat happens when you get old.
Not me. I never admit that I’m freezing at all…
OMG! I actually own a shawl!

My body is changing, it’s just not fair,
My hips are thinner, but so is my hair!
Some places on my body suffer wear and tear,
Other places – I’m afraid to look down there.

My husband tries to show how much he still loves me,
So he playfully grabs my butt where it used to be.
When I stretch, all he hears is snap, crackle and pop.
“Making popcorn?” he says. “Put some salt on the top.” 🍿

Memory is a challenge when you watch TV,
When you can’t remember… did it start with a C?
Can’t find our favorite show as hard as we try,
“Honey, let’s watch that show with that guy!” 📺

Scrolling and searching is always a dread,
When we finally find it, it’s time to go to bed.
Another thing that bothers me, it really does,
Sorry… I just can’t remember what it was.

My workouts are changing, it used to be biking,
These days, sitting down is more to my liking.
Some things are a rite of passage for little old ladies.
Do I have to crochet? Just send me to Hades! 🔥

There’s always a test – MRI’s, X-rays & scans…
Well that sucks. I was making other plans.
Fixing unexplained cuts & bruises are just routine,
My bathroom counter looks like a crime scene.

Joints are a bit stiffer – I knew they would be,
So decisions I make are important to me.
Like when I drop things, say a spoon or a cup…
Is it really worth kneeling down to pick it up?

Right now, there’s a spoon, and a tea bag on the floor,
I think l’ll wait until I drop a few more.
Then I’ll get down there – I’m sure I’ll survive,
Or maybe just stay there ‘til paramedics arrive.

I don’t care much what people think any more.
Don’t like my stretch pants? There’s the door!
Now I’m driving too slowly? Stop honking at me!
It’s not that I’m old – I just can’t see. 🤓

I’ve lived 29,221 days!
Seeing that number means healthy living pays.
If I make it to 31 thousand I’ll be 85 and thriving,
Don’t panic or anything, but I’ll be 85 and driving. 🚘

The truth is I’m actually fine and still holding up,
No issues, no problems, I just made it all up.
My sense of humor is what’s helping me thrive,
Let’s see how funny things are when I turn 85. 😀

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Removing the tendon is easy, they say. Just grab it with a paper towel, they say. Just pull it through a fork, they say. They lie! I have never been able to remove the tendon just like that. I tried the fork thing with a paper towel. I tried the knife thing and sliding it down the tendon. Tweezers. Pliers. Scissors. Gloves. A giant fork. A serrated knife. I thought about calling 9-1-1. Hey, they should have a special phone line for chicken tenders, like they do for Thanksgiving turkeys. 🦃 Can’t remove the tendons? Just dial T-E-N-D-O-N-H-E-L-L and we will talk you off the cliff. And remind you that you are a good and capable cook. Then suggest a tendon support group to know you’re not alone. They meet every four hours. ⏰

Maybe it’s just me but I give up. I will cook them and my husband will remind me that he still loves me no matter what. ❤️ Then he’ll offer to take me out to dinner.

Here is an un-retouched photo taken at home. I was anxious about showing myself at this age but I want to be transparent with this new Health and Beauty section and all the things I plan to share. I have so much I want to post here, I didn’t know where to start. So I will start with this morning. Here’s my typical morning routine:

• We all wake up a bit dehydrated so I drink a few sips of water, not cold but lukewarm water, which feels kinder to the body. I then use a moisturizing lip balm (no Chapstick), and spray my face with a facial spray. It provides a little moisture until I wash my face.
• Still in my pajamas, I follow that with a big cup of warm green tea while I check my emails & comments, here and on YouTube, and answer what I can.
• After that, I wash my face and put on a serum followed by moisturizer.
• While it sets, I get dressed, put on my walking shoes and put on sunscreen. Sunny or overcast, I always wear sunscreen.
• Wearing a wide-brimmed hat, long sleeves, and carrying water, I head out for a brisk 10 – 12 12 – 15 minute walk (*updated Jan 3rd). Some of it is uphill (I hate that part!) so when I come down that slope, I do a light jog because stressing the bones helps with bone density. (It’s easier to do that going downhill). It’s not really jogging it’s just pounding the pavement to create a weight-bearing effect.
• Back home and cooled down, I’m ready for breakfast.
• My typical breakfast includes a hard boiled egg, a slice of my whole wheat bread, a cup of warm black tea, and 1/2 slice of apple bread for dessert. 🍏
• Now I’m ready for another, always full, day.

I hope this little start is helpful. I plan to post more on what we eat and drink, or never eat or drink, what about snacks, what’s in my fridge and freezer, specific exercises, supplements (you might be surprised), my skincare routine, and much more. I can’t wait to share more and hope it’s helpful. Experts believe that up to 80% of chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes are preventable with a healthy lifestyle and some cancers as well. I believe that.

I make pretty much everything we eat from scratch at home and I can tell you that we never ever get colds or the flu. Not in decades! My grateful husband is a beneficiary of my healthy cooking and the standards I maintain in the kitchen. He loves me for it and shows it with his pet name for me…. “Warden.” 😍

This is my most treasured cookbook, the one I learned how to cook with. It was published in 1968 and is still a classic today. I often refer to it and this time, I came across an old recipe for prune whip. I see a lot of people ask about how to make prune whip so I took a picture of the recipes (2 actually, one stovetop and one baked) and am posting them here for anyone who wants to make old fashioned prune whip, or maybe can use this recipe as a base for your own creation.

Prunes provide more than just fiber. They are full of nutrients like potassium, iron, vitamins B6 and K, lots of polyphenols, and boron for bones. Enjoy!

If this looks like the perfect apple, it might be too good to be true. Apples in their natural state are not glossy. So if you see an apple like this red delicious, don’t take a bite just yet. It might be like snacking on a candle because some apples are coated with wax to keep them fresh longer. It’s called “food-grade wax” but I’m not buying it. That’s like saying, “food-grade dirt.” It won’t kill you but do you want to swallow a spoonful of dirt? How about a spoonful of wax in your stomach?

I love red delicious apples and bought a few last week. When I ate the first one, I had a hard time chewing the skin. I couldn’t remember red delicious skin being so hard to eat. Then I remembered reading about wax on apples and I was sure this apple was coated so I decided to try removing it. I scraped it with a small paring knife and was shocked to see how much wax came off this small 3-inch apple.

Imagine how much is on a big apple! So when you see a glossy, shiny apple, it just takes a second to scrape it once with a knife to test for wax. No wax? Enjoy the apple and the skin, which has more nutrients than the inside. If you see wax, you can scrape it off with a knife or you can drop the apple into boiling water for 5 seconds to melt the wax, then rub it off with a coarse towel. Keep the wax away and eat an apple a day. 🍎

Wondering why you aren’t getting notices? That’s because I haven’t sent any! I’m busier now than I’ve ever been and can’t figure out why. I’m supposed to be retired. There are so many new recipes I want to share but there’s always something else I need to do… like making all of our meals from scratch, then cooking for the hummingbirds (every day!), grocery shopping, laundry, stretching and exercise, daily walks, counting grey hairs, tweezing, inspecting, “Is that a mole or skin cancer?” “Where did this bruise come from?” “What’s that thing on my foot?” “What happened to the hair on my legs?” These things take time.

For these reasons and others too embarrassing to explain, I have removed the “subscribe” button. It’s a complicated process to send those notifications. I will continue to post new recipes when I can but you will only see them if you occasionally check back. Every new recipe will always be posted here in the blog, just like my new apple bread.

I’m really happy that so many of you are continuing to enjoy my recipes. Did I mention that trying to do your own highlights takes a lot longer than you’d think? 😀

It’s like breaking up with an old boyfriend, that one who all your friends told you was bad news. Sure, he was handsome and drove a nice car, and he was so sweet, but I always knew I needed to move on. I decided the best way forward was to start seeing less of him and eventually, maybe we could just be friends and see each other in smaller doses.

That’s how it is with me and sugar. I love sweets but I also know that the less sugar I consume, the better. So every time I bake something sweet, I try it with less sugar and it always works. I’ve been noting this in the recipes so if you’re using an older recipe, please check the latest version to see if it works with less sugar. The less sugar, the better… just like bad boyfriends. 😍

I couldn’t understand why nobody was sending me photos any more and then found out that the link I was providing went bad. (YourPhotos@JennyCanCook is no longer valid.) I’m not sure why but we just created a new link for sending photos. If you tried to send me your photo in the last month, please send it again using this link: MyJennyRecipe@gmail.com

The new link also appears on the YourPhotos page. I love seeing your photos so please keep sending! Thank you.

The world needs more people like Rhonda! She made my recipe for white bread into dinner rolls, but look how she shared these rolls and how much good she did in her community…

Rhonda wrote, “I prepared four batches for a total yield of 36 rolls. We made them to share with residents in the 55 and older mobile home park we live in for our first “2nd Friday Soup Social” held this February.  My son suggested we do this dinner event a few months ago as a way of sharing and getting to know our neighbors. He moved here a year ago and has since realized many of the residents are well over 55 years old and don’t socialize much. We posted our invite in the monthly newsletter that is distributed to all 155 homes in our park. Everyone was invited with us knowing the usual turnout for activities is less than 12 people. We provided two homemade soups to choose from – Minestrone and Chicken Noodle – with a homemade roll.

We made enough soup for 24 thinking some might take some home to their neighbor. We provided cardboard soup containers with lids so they could transport their soup easily if they chose to take their soup home to eat or to share. Eighteen people showed up! All 18 stayed to eat their soup and socialize! Several had seconds and a few took soup to their neighbors. We also took soup to a couple of neighbors we knew were convalescing. We had a great time preparing the soups and rolls. We enjoyed socializing with neighbors we knew and met some new people, too.

We plan to repeat this event in March and April, at least. Given the thanks and the compliments we received, we anticipate needing more soup and rolls. Thank you for a delicious and simple recipe for the best rolls. After trying several recipes, your’s delivered the easiest, tastiest and most versatile rolls for our crowd.”

Rhonda is a gift to her community. I’m so proud that my recipe was a part of this generous and welcoming event. Isolation is common with seniors and can lead to numerous health problems. Bringing their neighbors together is such a wonderful thing she and your son are doing. Homemade food is a gift from the heart and by simply bringing people together, she might also be saving lives. I hope others might be inspired to share food and kindness with those who need it.

Easter is just a few weeks away and this photo of my bunny buns makes me smile every time. Jane, from Kansas City, Missouri is an artist. She made a cat and a dog too! How cute are those?  “I made your bunny buns and added cat and dog buns,” she wrote. “Our grandchildren loved them!” I can only imagine how any children or grandchildren would love these adorable buns. It makes me wonder what other animals can be made? Please send a photo if you make some “fun buns.” I’m going to try a frog. 🐸

p.s. This is one of dozens of photos that were lost in my spam folder for a year but finally found. (from Feb. 2022)