I was so  moved by a recent comment from “Lisa” I just have to share it here with everyone, especially with the holidays approaching. It’s a beautiful story of love, loss, family, and the healing power of food.

Lisa first wrote:

Made these (Lemon Brownies) for the first time last year as part of my massive christmas cookie platters for family. Huge hit! So good that I wanted them all to myself but I took the high road and added them to the platters. Just made these again for my Uncle who traveled from Colorado to NY to see family for the first time since he lost both his parents and his wife all within 3 months. I wanted to bring him some comfort as his wife (my Aunt) was such an amazing baker. I brought these to him and he just kept smelling them and then dove in. He LOVES lemon and he told me that these were an absolute blessing! It made him open up and talk about memories of his wife. How wonderfully healing is that? Jenny, just wanted you to know how much of an impact this lovely space you’ve created and your recipes that are shared with so many loved ones across the planet. Thank you so much!! Family is everything.

I responded:

Lisa, your letter brought me to tears. You are so kind to share this with me and I’m so very sorry for the losses endured by your uncle. To think that this simple recipe brought comfort and healing to someone who is suffering means so very much to me. We all know that foods can heal the body when we’re sick but you reminded us that when you cook from the heart for someone in need, there is no better gift. Thank you for sharing this with us and for showing your uncle how much he is loved. ❤️

Lisa wrote back:

Jenny, thank you so very much for your kind words. By leaving my story here in this wonderful space you’ve created, I was planting a tiny seed of hope, sprinkled with love, wishing the message would find it’s way to you and others and continue it’s journey across the world to inspire ways of keeping us all connected. I thought that with the high volume of comments here, you might not see it – but then again, you just might – and you did & responded. In this busy world, that’s a testament to your beautiful heart and a reminder that we should never lose hope. You are absolutely right about the power behind reaching down within ourselves to help others who are hurting, especially if we, are hurting as well. The smallest kindness (a tray of lemon brownies) can spark a wave of healing. How many family stories are anchored by people gathering and the sharing of food? It can also bring complete strangers together – creating a new bond over common ground – and can be so very healing to the giver and receiver.

The other end of my Uncle’s story (his wife and he had been together since the 8th grade, married 54 yrs) was that he was traveling to NY to stay and visit with his sister (my Mom). So, she also had lost her parents (my Grandparents, married for 74 years, my Grandmother from Alzheimer’s, my Grandfather from being 92 and the completely-at-home caretaker to someone with Alzheimer’s) and a very dear sister in law (my Aunt from cancer) and then, a few months later, her husband (my step Dad to Alzheimer’s). So, when I brought your simple lemon brownie recipe to my Mom’s home, for her and my Uncle – it was anything but a simple recipe – it was also for my Grandparents, my Aunt, my Step Dad and, lastly, myself. We were all burdened by loss but continue to look around us to see the precious connections that remain and by sharing our family memories while sitting there enjoying your lemon brownies, we fed our souls with the beautiful journey that is life and celebrated the connection to those who we have lost in this world but will remain forever connected to. After I left my Mom’s that day, she told me that my other Uncle (their other brother who had also lost both parents) stopped by to visit with both of them that same day. She sent him home with some of those healing lemon brownies to share with his family.

I also want to mention that I was extremely close to my Grandmother and some of the best memories were baking with her. I had her handwritten recipe for dinner rolls – that she always made for family gatherings – put onto a tea towel and gave as gifts to family members after she passed. I spoke of this at her funeral and afterwards, extended family members came up to me and asked for her recipe to share with their families. I turned my spare room in my tiny house into a baking room, filled with family photos on my Grandparent’s hutch that moved from house to house with them that now resides with me, my Grandmother’s baking apron hangs on the door, her old pyrex dishes and rolling pin, not only displayed but still very much in use. I am surrounded by memories and love in that baking room and I definitely feel like I am baking with my loved ones there.

And so, the tiny seed, sprinkled with love, continues its journey, ever upward and outward, in it’s never-ending journey to connect us all. Thank you, Jenny. You are a gift. You are that seed.

Here’s my Grandmother’s dinner roll recipe – in her hand writing that I had added to a tea towel to gift to family members. (as well as my Grandparent’s wedding photo that lives in my baking room):

I wanted to you to have it as a tangible reminder of the power of sharing recipes and stories with each other, although I know I’m preaching to the choir on that point. In one of the photos (the middle one) your one bowl lemon brownies recipe is in my go to recipe book in the left hand back part of the photo). I should make another batch of lemon brownies and put this tea towel next to the goodies and your recipe & take another photo and send that to you. (Sadly, I found the empty lemon brownie dish sitting in my sink this morning. My hubby who’s not a sweets kind of person – and who usually saves the last of something good for me – told me how great those lemon brownies were! Emphasis on ‘WERE.”) 😉  He said “Oh Wow! So moist! So light!” Back to the store for lemons!

Lisa, you’re an inspiration. Thank you again for sharing your story. ❤️ – jenny

Lisa’s Orange Brownies:

NEW RECIPE: Finally! A new recipe! I know!👨‍🍳 I hesitated to post this Chicken Jambalaya recipe because it’s not authentic and it’s sort of plain but I love it so much I’m posting it anyway. I’ve been making it a lot lately because it’s fast, healthy, and not spicy since I use my own homemade seasoning mix. The whole thing takes 45 minutes to make and I sometimes include shrimp, so there is a variation for that in the recipe. Most people use Andouille sausage in Jambalaya but I don’t care much for sausage yet this jambalaya still has plenty of flavor. These days I’m always looking to my one-pan meals when I’m busy and this is my newest addition to that list. For a Creole recipe that’s quick and easy, and healthy, and not spicy, give it a try. Click here for the recipe.

My thanks to everyone for sending in your photos of my recipes. Please say where you’re from and you can include yourself in the photo too! (I post these manually so you won’t see it right away.) Use this link to send your photo: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com

(**DON’T FORGET TO ATTACH YOUR PHOTO!**)

BETH’S GRANDDAUGHTER (from Canada) MADE MY CHOCOLATE PUDDING

“Hi Jenny, My granddaughter is watching you make chocolate pudding while she was eating lunch and then she made it for a treat. After making chocolate pudding in the sandbox she asked to make the real thing. It was so delicious and we forgot to take a finished photo. I have to say Jenny I have so enjoyed your recipes and especially baking without butter section. And now I am addicted to the bran muffins too and use whole wheat pastry wherever I can.    I could send you numerous pics since I take many food photos for reference.  Another time.

– What a joy to see this darling little girl cooking! I hope she enjoys a lifetime of fun in the kitchen. Thank you for sharing these adorable photos and tell her congratulations on such as good job!  –  jenny

p.s. I’m from Ontario too but did not realize that these flours don’t weigh the same. For other baking besides bread, I suggest trying less flour, no more than 130 grams per cup – see my metric chart above. I hope that helps.

KATHY MADE MY SIMPLE WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

“Hi Jenny, It is the best bread recipe I have made so far.  Thanks, Kathy 😀”

– That looks great and beautifully tall. Thank you.  –  jenny

BEATA (from Slovakia) MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“Hi Jenny, This recipe for the bread is my favorite. Comes out perfect every single time. I have served it with Hungarian goulash soup today. Regards, Beata (from Slovakia) 😀”

– I’m so happy to hear from you all the way from Slovakia! Thank you for taking time to share your delicious photos!  –  jenny

CLARIBEL MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“I don’t have a dutch oven and used instead a stainless steel bowl and aluminum foil cover. I turns out good just as described in your video and recipe.
Thank you so much for making it easy. Indeed this bread is very forgiving 😀”

– This is really helpful for people with no Dutch oven. They can see  for themselves that you don’t need a Dutch oven to make this fabulous bread. Thank you! –  jenny

LORI MADE MY 2-HOUR FASTEST NO KNEAD BREAD

“My daughter and I tried you quick method, skipping the extra 15 minute rise time. Wow! Just wow!  It smells so good in the house and the bread is beautiful! Thank you so much for the recipe!”

– Thank you for your great photo. I agree it is a beautiful thing! –  jenny

My thanks to everyone for sending in your photos of my recipes. Please say where you’re from and you can include yourself in the photo too! (I post these manually so you won’t see it right away.) Use this link to send your photo: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com

(**DON’T FORGET TO ATTACH YOUR PHOTO!**)

JULIUS MADE MY SIMPLE WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

“Butter waiting to soften up so I can try the bread. Thanks for your video and recipe!!! ~ Julius (Willi) Wilson.”

– Ah, yes… Bread and butter is food for the gods! Thank you for your photo. –  jenny

SOPHIA MADE MY 2-HOUR NO KNEAD BREAD

“Wonderful bread!”

– Thank you for the great photo. It’s picture perfect. –  jenny

I love seeing photos of my recipes from all over the world so please say where you’re from – include yourself in the photo too! (I post these manually so you won’t see it right away.) Use this link to send your photo: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com

(**DON’T FORGET TO ATTACH YOUR PHOTO!**)

JASMIN (from Alaska) MADE MY NO KNEAD BREADS

“I just left a review, but I’ll tell you again! I am so thankful for this recipe. My family loves it, and we can add things to it and change it up, and it always turns out great, as long as we stick to basic measurements. ❤️ We’re a military family, stationed in Alaska. Costs are so high here. Just baking your own bread helps offset some of those costs. I have to say I came across this recipe, when I was searching for a good crusty bread. We love your ribs, so I came to your page to look, and won the jackpot 😀.”

– They all look fabulous and thank you for sharing the details. –  jenny

“This was a multigrain. I swapped out one cup of flour for whole wheat flour, and added a combined ½ cup of various seeds.”

“This was a regular plain (stick to the recipe) white bread.”

“This one had ¼ cup pumpkin seeds added.”

CYNDI MADE MY CRISPY FOCACCIA

“Made your crispy focaccia- sooo good & easy too! I topped with crushed rosemary and fresh basil and green onions. So delish! Wish you had an Instagram account where I could tag you!”

– Thank you for the photo and for the inspiration to add other toppings. –  jenny

AMY MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“Thank you for being such a wholesome, sweet and funny individual. I used to watch your talk show and have been so happy to see that you make cooking YouTube videos. I am not the best cook but your sweet videos have given me confidence and for that I appreciate you. I hope that you are doing well these days. You don’t know it but you’re my “chosen” aunt (meaning that we are not related at all but you exemplify every aspect of an amazing aunt and honestly most people would probably love to have you as their aunt). Thank you for making cooking enjoyable and for being you. Your fan, Amy Smith.”

– What a beautiful crust! Thank you for starting off the month with this great photo (and for being a fan). – “aunt jenny”

Easter Sunday is just days away and I am craving my cinnamon-raisin bread. This gorgeous picture was sent in by Tabitha from Knoxville, Tennessee, and I can almost smell the tunnels of cinnamon just looking at it. It’s my photo of the month and my photo of Easter week. Thank you, Tabitha, and I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. For the recipe, click here.

I love seeing photos of my recipes from all over the world so please say where you’re from – include yourself in the photo too! (I post these manually so you won’t see it right away.) Use this link to send your photo: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com

(**DON’T FORGET TO ATTACH YOUR PHOTO!**)

LINDA MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“I made this and it is so beautiful I can’t even believe it! No Dutch oven, but I used a round graniteware enamel pot with lid and it was perfect. Put 2 stacked baking sheets under the bottom when the bread looked like it might get a bit too brown. Thank you for the great and simple recipe Jenny!”

– Your bread looks amazing and thank you for sharing the details. That will help a lot of others who don’t have a Dutch oven. –  jenny

BRIAN (from England) MADE MY QUICK & EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE

“I can’t believe how easy this cake is to bake. It’s also so delicious and I think better than ones we have bought from the shops. Thanks Jenny, I’m working my way through your delicious recipes. I thought that nothing could beat or come near to your Cinnamon rolls, but this cake is close! Love your humour as well. ~ Brian from Oxford, England.”

– Thank you for your great photos, all the way from England! Your cake looks perfect.  –  jenny

ANONYMOUS MADE MY STRAWBERRY CAKE

“Enjoyed the cake.”

– It’s strawberry season! I love this cake – thanks for the photo. –  jenny

SUSAN MADE MY CINNAMON ROLLS

(no message)

– Thank you for the photo. They turned out beautifully. –  jenny

SANDRA (from Canada) MADE MY WHITE BREAD WITH EGG

“I’m from PEI Canada. As a senior living alone I now split my white bread with egg and share with my friend.  Makes wonderful toast and sandwiches. So easy and quick. Love it. Thank you ⚓️⚓️❤️⚓️⚓️❤️”

– Thank you for this great photo and great idea, not just for sharing homemade bread (the best!) but for the clever way you scored it for easy division. I’m from Ontario and have visited your beautiful province. 🇨🇦 –  jenny

I found a way to make my crispy focaccia even more crispy. I make it in advance, let it cool, cut it into six wedges, and freeze. When I’m ready, which is almost every day 😋, I place the wedges directly on my toaster oven rack at 325° F for about 10-12 minutes and they come out super crispy. And they stay crispy longer than when served right after baking. If you like all things crispy as much as I do, try it. Here’s the recipe: https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/easy-crispy-focaccia/

I know I haven’t been around lately but we are still moving! Yes, still moving. I didn’t know we had that much stuff! (most of it’s not mine 🙂)  I’ll try to post some new recipes very soon.