I have almost completed my experiment with Hello Fresh. As we have traveled down the Parkinson’s road I have taken on the duties of chef as well as the laundry and other housekeeping activities. I have outsourced some of the cleaning duties to my niece because dust does not bother me but Cheryl likes no dust or fuzz anywhere. I have sort of honed in on baking. So with a little imagination we can center a whole meal around – What’s for dessert? I am embarking on a new twist on an old hobby, make a cake, bread, cracker, cookie or whatever each day that I have never made before.

It can be a mix, scratch or special adaptation. Tonight I have made a standard pumpkin bread mix and added raisins to the mix. Recently I read “Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook” by Celia Rees. In it the main character becomes a reluctant spy and she and another woman concoct a code of sorts by exchanging recipes. Some are detailed enough to try.

I have acquired some new baking equipment to accomplish this. One recipe requires a tube pan. Miss graham makes reference to a Sally Lunn recipe. Or more specifically she is talking about a German bread recipe and says it is much like a Sally Lunn. A quick review of the internet of all knowledge (IOAK) and several sally lunns popped up. I have selected the one linked to here to try with my new tube pan. I am unsure of what to make of the comment to split the cake and fill it with custard. I will probably make it and not do that to see how it turns out.

At some future time I will tell you how it turned out. As a caregiver I am always looking for ways to improve the experience of what can be a debilitating disease but does not have to be. Some of this is food. Cheryl lost her sense of smell early on. It was the loss of smell that in part led her to the doctor to ask the question – is it normal to lose your sense of smell when you get older? It is not, of course, but it does change how food tastes. Her smell sense is not completely gone but it is diminished to the point where salty, bitter, sweet, sour and savory (umani) jump to the fore. I do not know what umani tastes like. I keep trying new things.

What do you think? I could make bangers and mash. Ugh was the response. I might have to sneak up on that one.

Every day is a winding road – Sheryl Crowe