Guess Who's Back, Back Again? Mama's Back, Tell A Friend

The last time I posted on my blog was 2021, but it's time to revive The Yum Yum Factor. We all need a break from things that once took time and headspace. I am in a different place than during the decade I posted regularly, but I am ready to get back to writing here. Even if it's only for me to document my adventures, so be it. Back then, I mainly wrote recipes, with some travel and Toronto food-centred content thrown in for good measure. 

Where the hell have I been?

I have been cooking in a professional kitchen since about 2018, which has changed my relationship with the food world. You spend your life fantasizing about being a real chef, and then when it happens, it's never what you thought it would be. There is a world of difference between spending days in my kitchen, cooking whatever I want in my PJs and working in a catering kitchen. I have learned more in the last 6 years than in the previous 300 years of my life.

I travelled with my sister in 2018/2019 (the first time we'd done that together), visiting Portugal, Paris, and Yucatan. Then, COVID-19 happened, my life blew up in many ways, and my travel dreams were put on hold. In 2022, I grabbed a friend and embarked on my first big trip with a friend—I have always been alone or with my guys but never travelled with a friend. 

We spent a month exploring Andalusia, Portugal, and Marrakech. That was followed by two weeks in Rome and Tuscany as we resurrected our family holiday tradition of spending Christmas somewhere away from home.

Fast forward to 2024. I fulfilled my dream of experiencing Holy Week in Andalusia and tacked on a week in Iceland to celebrate turning 60. Then, the boys and I spent July in Ireland and The Algarve. They fell in love with my favourite little Portuguese town, Olhao, so we rented the same house for December and January. The plan was to make sure we loved it as much during the sleepy winter months, but, as luck would have it, Shack got a show and is now working that whole time. They will come for 2 weeks over Xmas and New Year, but I will be here on my own until February.

I will document my time in the Algarve on my little internet corner. The Yum Yum Factor has had a nice little sabbatical, but it's time to wake up. I will share my solo adventures, where I am going, what I am eating, my recommendations for Algarve travel and, of course, the odd recipe.

Like many people, the pandemic changed my outlook on everything. Add turning 60 to that, and I feel like I am in a new stage of my life. So, with that in mind, I hope you will come along for the ride again.