From the Hartland: Recipe for a good life

January 21, 2013

Growing up in the middle of nowhere, I learned early that sometimes you have to make due with what you have. If we were out of something and the parents were out in the field on a tractor, I had to find something to substitute in its place, and if we were snowed in without electricity, we had to just eat what we had on hand and in the cabinets.
This made my young creative mind flow as I thought up new recipes to cook for my brother and sister and helped mom out around the house when she would come in from a hard day’s work. However, I feel like recipes go for a lot more than just food. Or they can be used to help describe things like the comparison of fudge and a “normal” family. They are both said to be sweet, with a few nuts. I’m sure we all can relate.
For me, recipes are fun, creative, and can be good for you, or can be bad for you once you see the finished product. In that sense, recipes can be much like some bad eggs that we run into in our lives. People that seem like they are sweet, full of goodness and potential to be amazing, but they end up being a failure. That’s when you have to decide if you would rather trash the recipe and replace it with a better one, or just start all over from scratch and try again. The choice is always up to the chef.
I would like to provide a recipe of my own to help anyone needing an extra southern spark in their step.
My recipe is simple, easy, and hard to mess up, and if you do, there is always a chance to go back and correct where you went wrong.
One good handshake goes a long way, but feel free to use them frequently.
Be sure to include a few cups of kindness for every stranger you meet, because everyone is fighting their own battle, and it is not our place to judge.
Add a sprinkle of patience for those times when you are at your wit’s end. Time fixes a lot, and rushing this recipe won’t make it any more successful.
Have a pint of laughter ready to go at any given time, because it can make almost anything better.
Make sure to throw in a handful of “Yes ma’ams” and “No sirs” along with an unmeasurable amount of respect.
Add a dash of goals and two dashes of determination, and you can be a success.
Have one large smile on the side, as it is the most important part.
Put them all in a large bowl of love and faith and mix it up well and often. Add any extra amount of each of these as you please, and spread it over each day of your life. Be sure to serve and share with everyone you come across, because this just may be the recipe they have been looking for.
Best of luck and please do enjoy … from the Hartland.