Reminds me of new neighbors I had some years ago. The little boy was about 8 years old and came to my house one day to bring the mail to me. He said that is a lot of cookies, I had set out to cool. I said yeah I made a big batch and was taking a pan of them out of the oven. His eye got big and he said You can make cookies at home? I never knew this before. I got to tell my mom!

Lol! That so made me laugh, Susie

I remember back in the 50’s when the farm women in our family got their giant chest freezers. How convenient for them.
I keep cookies in freezer to send home with grandchildren. I save oatmeal containers or buy containers at garage sales because they think Grandma has an unending supply of containers.
I’ve canned 50-60 quarts of tomato juice every year but this year I roasted halves with peppers, onion, cumin, even small zucchini. Run through food processor then freeze. (My upright freezer is so packed right now)
My friend gives me jalapeños, squash & sweet corn so it’s frozen too.
I canned a few jars of dill pickles. (Using Mrs. Wages mix)
Also canned 6 jars beet pickles (half for us & half for our son in law’s birthday)
I love Rhodes Texas size frozen buns. I can defrost amount I need and bake them. Works better than making my own.
Yesterday we pulled out a block of frozen soup for lunch. So handy.
Grocery store had Gala apples on a 2 day sale so I froze enough for several apple crisps.
Pail of potatoes (from friend’s garden) in the pantry too.
Thanksgiving dinner will be from above plus 18 lb turkey that’s waiting in my neighbor’s freezer.

I would bake every day if there was a purpose for me to do so. I love to make bread, pies, candies, cookies and casseroles. Problem here is that I am a singleton and unless I am going to a potluck or taking a meal to someone, I don't bake because I just can't and shouldn't eat that much. Holiday times are my favorite because there are so many potluck meals or dish to pass events. I am off to make apple pie later this morning for an event tomorrow, then potato soup and homemade bread later this week for a pre-theatre supper with friends. Yummy week for me! Oops, making jelly later this month for gift giving.

Love baking and canning, but now that it's just DH and I, I don't do much anymore. Quilting has replaced baking as my main hobby now. I tell people I switched from baking to quilting, because it's better for my weight as I'm not tempted to eat my mistakes.

Baked fruit cake end of october and in november made Christmas chutney and relish.
December will be baking some small mince pies and mini pastries.

Made a batch of "Spiced Christmas Jam" this week and gave it as favors at a Christmas Tea last evening. I think this year my neighbors will be getting jam and scones as Christmas gifts. It felt so good to make jam again that I just need to make more using the blueberries I stored away in the freezer. Still making holiday sweet breads and pies when ever I need "a dish to pass." I find it fulfilling and joyful to share food with others. Too many folks have set aside making their own foods. I can remind them of what homemade food tastes like. And like the little boy in a previous post, they can discover cookies, and other foods, can be made at home.. Who knew! Tee-Hee-Hee!

My husband's "love language" is cooking for people. He gets so much joy out of it. It's not unlike how I love making things in my sewing room for people.
We have a woman clean our house every two weeks. He sends her home with food, every single time. She's so exhausted at the end of the day that she doesn't cook much at all. This is a special treat for her and it makes him very happy to know she's getting a good meal. He's even sent repairmen home with food!!! :)

Everyone in my family canned food when I was growing up. I have a pressure canner and a water-bath canner. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was canning apple pie filling. I mention the pandemic, because there was a shortage of canning supplies at the time, so we purchased canning jars that had one piece lids instead of the standard lids with bands. While I was removing the jars from the pressure canner, unbeknownst to me the lid had started to come unscrewed during the canning process, and when I started to lift a jar out of the water, it exploded in my face. If it weren't for my glasses, I'm sure the very hot liquid would have hit my eyes. It burned me pretty badly but I was afraid to go to the hospital at the time. I had big blisters on my face, chest, and hands. I usually keep an Aloe Vera plant in my kitchen for burns, so I broke of a piece and rubbed the gel on my burns. Surprisingly I did not have even one scar from my burns. I have always wondered if it was because of the Aloe Vera. As someone who has been through nursing school,I also knew that a wound needs a moist environment to approximate and heal, minimizing scarring. So I learned a valuable lesson that day. Do not lean your face over a canner when removing lids. Now I hold the lid in front of me like I am a Viking Shield Maiden.

Also, I purchased a lot of flour during the pandemic. I used my vacuum sealer with a canning lid attachment and stored my flour in large jars to preserve it. I put a coffee filter in the top to prevent the flour from spraying back and breaking the lid seal. It worked like a charm. I couldn't find bread flour during that time, so I purchased a bag of Vital Wheat Gluten so that I could make my own. My bread seems to have a better texture now. I don't know if it is related to me making my own bread flour. I have been making bread for most of my life. I used to make it in the oven, but then I bought a bread maker and I have used that for decades now.