My name is Angela. I am a wife to Steve, a mother of five (ranging from ages fifteen to thirty-three) and a GiGi to our three-year old grandson. I am blessed to be a stay-at-home mother and spend much of my time in the kitchen. I, also, revel in kitchen and household organization, and I dig DIY projects. I started blogging in the spring of 2012 and it has been an amazing journey thus far.
Food has always been a very important part of my family. I grew up with grandparents who had huge gardens. I spent a good part of my summers each year helping to plant, weed and harvest. We canned for weeks each fall. We processed corn, beans and lots of other fresh produce for the freezer, as well. We'd go apple, pear, peach and berry picking, then spend an entire weekend making jams.
My mother always cooked from scratch for every meal. And, she is a fabulous baker. I learned lots of scrumptious Southern recipes from my "granny" who was born in Kentucky. And, another grandmother often let me come to her work with her ... she was a private chef for years.
Every holiday, birthday, anniversary and special occasion was a huge event on all sides of my family! We'd spend the day cooking together, then sit around the table for hours sharing food, stories, laughs ... and making memories!
I am blessed to have in my recipe arsenal many of those same recipes from my childhood that have been passed down through my family. I revel in the fact that I can now spend time in my own kitchen with my children sharing many of the same recipes that I was taught to make from my grandparents and mother.
In addition to being my recipe taste-testers, my husband and some of our adult children operate a demolition business. Besides cooking and blogging, some of my other passions are music (I play piano and guitar, and I write music), party planning, shopping, home organization and snuggling with our ginger kitty, Frank.
I am a firm believer that food can be more than just nourishment for our bodies. It is a beautiful thing when it is, also, nourishment for our souls. It is something that connects us on so many levels. I grew up with a mother who was regularly taking dishes to someone who had just had a baby or had just had surgery. She'd spend weeks at Christmastime making candies, cookies and breads to deliver to our friends and family. And, my Southern grandmother never let anyone leave after a visit to her home without a "care package" of canned goods, leftovers and freshly-made baked goods.
I grew up being taught that feeding someone is an action of love. Food brings people together. When someone takes the time to pour passion and love into a dish, the results are tangible.
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2023: As Joyously Domestic has aged throughout the years, I, personally, have come to favor a more plant-based lifestyle for health reasons and find myself leaning more towards a healthful approach to cooking, Sure, there are times when we all crave those "down home" comfort food recipes of our childhood. But, I am excited to share more of my plant-focused recipes and lifestyle with my readers. You'll still find all of my original recipes that you've come to love here at JD. They're not going anywhere for now. But, you'll see some new favorites of mine interwoven into the mix, too, going forward.
I am thrilled to share a plethora of amazing recipes and ideas with you. It's my desire that you will take time to create your own memories with the ones you love through food and fellowship.
What You'll Find Here on Joyously Domestic:
I started this blog mainly focusing on family-friendly food. So, you'll find lots of recipes on here. But, I, additionally, sometimes share some ideas for crafting projects, parties, print projects ... and thoughts and musings on my family life.
I believe in finding the joy in everyday tasks, so it's been my goal from the inception of Joyously Domestic to truly encourage the home cook to try new things, go a little crazy in the kitchen once and awhile and to embrace the joy in cooking.
I strive to provide valuable, inspiring recipes for the home cook here on the blog. We're all trying to get wholesome meals on the table each day and it can be a struggle to come up with new, creative ideas that bring some excitement to our everyday recipe rotation. It's my hope that you'll be inspired while visiting Joyously Domestic. There's a little something for everyone here. I invite you to browse through my recipe links ... I'm sure you'll find a few things that will get your culinary juices flowing!
~ Angela
Updated February 2, 2023
