How 'Cooking with the Nelsons' makes my quarantine happier

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Brady and I love to entertain! At our first home, we would have people over for meals often and to spend the day outside by the pool. After having Elijah, priorities shifted, and we weren't having guests over as often. We recently bought a new home, and a deciding factor was the space available to entertain. Fast forward to March 2020: We're stuck in our home — alone.

Once the restaurants closed, we began meal prepping. Brady is a phenomenal cook, and it's something he is truly passionate about. After a few days of cooking on our own, we decided to share his passion virtually and "Cooking with the Nelsons" was born!

It's been a lot of fun creating this "show" with my husband. We have been getting creative and eating a lot more plant-based dishes, which has been one of our goals for 2020. I usually stay out of the kitchen during meal times, so it's been fun to "help" Brady cook. Believe it or not, there is a lot of work that goes into something like this. I am treating it like it's a daily appointment, which has allowed me to feel positive and productive — an added bonus during this tricky time.

So what does this "show" consist of? Brady and I hanging out in our kitchen, with Elijah, making dinner each night shared through Zoom on Facebook Live. Our conversation topics range from the restaurants we can't wait to visit again, to new music we're listening to, to the 1998 Chicago Bulls, and pretty much everything in between.

I love interacting with our friends who tune in and leave comments. During the second week we did this, we shared our Zoom link and had surprise guests hop on throughout the show. It's been such a joy to grow our relationships with friends and family using technology. We have had people join in from all over the country, friends from high school, and our family members. This weekend, we are going to be hosting our first ever virtual dinner party, and I cannot wait!

Remember, if you do watch, we are not professionals! The whole idea came from us missing meal time with friends and wanting to be able to still somehow share that. "Cooking with the Nelsons" provides us that opportunity virtually, and right now, we are grateful for the connection we get!

If you like laughter, connecting and fun, with a little bit of food and drink mixed in, tune into "Cooking with The Nelsons" on my personal Facebook page around dinner time each night.