While texting back and forth about The Silver Thread, I invited my friend Rita Meyer to write a guest post. Rita and I met when our children were classmates at Saint John's Preparatory School, but I knew of her life before then through her monthly column in our Catholic newspaper. Her approachable writing about home life, daily running routine, and adventurous spirit had always resonated with me. Before we met, I also learned about Rita and her husband Marv's impressive feat of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail.

After we became friends, I watched in admiration as their family of six embarked on a summer adventure, living in a motorhome in Alaska from the end of one school year to the start of the next. Leaving behind her home, gardens, and routine to capture precious time with her family exemplified living intentionally and simply.

Rita is a baker and cook extraordinaire for family, fundraisers, and events, a dedicated volunteer, and a kindred spirit. I'm delighted to share her perspective with you today.

Dear Silver Thread Readers,

I can so relate to trying to live a simpler life. A more sustainable life. A life of less stuff and more peace. Margaret has come to embrace what her mother taught by both word and action. I think our moms could have been besties, such similar values. 

The more I read Margaret’s posts, the more I realize that I too have adopted a lot of my Mom’s ways and I am proud of this simpler lifestyle. Oh sure, my kids sometimes get on my case for reusing Baggies (for lunch pail packing, they definitely can be used more than once depending on the contents) or Ziplocks (didn’t know about the cool-looking wooden stand Margaret featured last week; I just put mine over water bottles sitting on the countertop) or even perfectly good containers (I buy the Quaker Oats at Sam’s Club and then pour it from the bags into the saved round containers from earlier days). Know what though? I think my kids get it and are replicating what they have seen and heard as they start flying out of the coop.

Our moms could have been besties ...

A few of the things that I do to save time and money when cooking for my family of six include:

• Batch cooking. When I brown ground beef, I don’t just do one pound but rather 4-5 pounds at a time in my Dutch Oven…that way it’s ready to go for taco meat, spaghetti sauce, hot dishes, chili, whatever the week’s menu includes.

• Stocking up when items are on sale. Ok, 15 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats (they were only .99 cents a box…the “Family Size” box!) might have been a bit much but cold cereal is a staple in this house; the ultimate comfort food and nighttime snack.

• Which brings me to my next point - proper storage is critical. A very large pantry, two chest freezers and two refrigerators are all put to good use in our house.

• Parchment paper…another staple for me as I bake a lot (having people enjoy my bread brings me a ton of joy). I use it on my cookie sheets for all my yeast breads, buns, scones, cookies, you name it! But I don’t just use it once, I reuse it…again and again…and then if baked goods start to stick, I use it as the liner for my sweet potato “fries” (cut up fresh sweet potatoes sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, cumin and Spanish Paprika…try it, you’ll like ‘em!).

• Again, that leads me to another point - maximize your oven usage. I never bake just one thing. If my oven is going, both racks are being used. Roast some vegetables on a cookie sheet (the sweet potato fries are my go to) if you only need the top rack for baking bread, bars, lasagna, etc.

I’ve got other thoughts, tips, tricks but until Margaret asks me again, here’s to a simpler life!

Silverish Simplicity Links

• Batch Cooking for Beginners
• Meal Planning for RV Trips