Most people make New Year’s resolutions on or about January 1. Which I did. The first day of the calendar year is always a day for looking back and moving forward. Reflecting on the past and setting goals for the future.
April 1, however, is about prank phone calls and fart noises. April Fools’ Day is as much a holiday for the lighthearted as is Halloween or Easter – where you have to let your guard down in order to have fun.
And of course, I’m fun 364 days out of the year (365 on leap years) but today, I’m skipping the games and debauchery in favor of a quick review of those New Year’s Resolutions I made back in January.
Let’s call this a progress report, shall we?
1. Host a cocktail party with fancy appetizers.
2. Cook on Sunday, eat all week. I can’t say I’ve done this every week, but the attempt has been made and my freezer isn’t empty.
3. Stop at one serving.
4. Try at least two new cuisines. I had Portugese food in February. One down, one to go!
5. Make fresh hummus.
6. Bake pasta from scratch
7. Try a new recipe that contains cardamom.
8. Beef stroganoff – I’ve never tried it! Color me curious.
9. Donate cookies to food pantries or charity twice in the next six months.
10. Cut down on the cookies and eat more good fats.
11. Buy more seasonal produce fresh from the greenmarket.
12. Eat more vegetables.
13. Polenta
14. Improve my food photography.
15. Clean as I go.
16. Make risotto at least once.
17. Panzanella
18. Roast something. A chicken? Pork tenderloin? I want to cook more and bake less in 2009.
19. Learn how to flip pancakes without breaking them
20. Take a course at the Institute of Culinary Education.
With 12 months in the year and 20 resolutions, I’m pretty confident that I’ll accomplish my list and then some. I even have plans to cross a few of them off in the near future: cookie decorating in May (#9), shopping at the Greenmarket this summer for local produce (#11), and eating more vegetables (#12)…well, that’s something I guess I could start doing any day now.
In the meantime, Internet, which resolution would you tackle next if this were your list?
9 Comments
Sarah
April 9, 2009 at 3:00 amJust catching up on the blog, Mar! Let’s plan a date for me to come to visit and we can make a bunch of this food 🙂
Joanna
April 3, 2009 at 3:00 amHaha, I’m with Heather, go for #1 and invite me 😉 – but seriously, I think you should try risotto! It has this awful reputation, but it’s really not that hard to do well. Panzanella would be a good next step too, but I think the best panzanellas are made with fresh tomatoes, and it’ll be a few more months before the best ones are available, so maybe that’s a good goal for summer. Risotto can be adjusted for the season though, I made a great asparagus version last year that I’ll have to try again soon!
Heather
April 2, 2009 at 3:00 ami think you’ve made a good dent in your list! i want an invite to the cocktail party 😉
Kerstin
April 1, 2009 at 3:00 amI would take the course at the Institute of Culinary Education – that sounds super fun!
thatShortChick
April 1, 2009 at 3:00 amwhat the hoodle is panzanella?? please explain that one 🙂
and what does one eat with polenta? whenever I see it prepared on the foodnetwork, it just looks so….mushy and unappetizing.
Lexi
April 1, 2009 at 3:00 amMy mother used to make beef stroganoff when I was younger. It’s a good wintery dish, and so good! I haven’t had it in ages though…maybe I should make it some night?
beyond
April 1, 2009 at 3:00 am4. i’m curious, where did you have portugese food? i have been wanting to try vietnamese food. 13. i always roll pizza dough out on polenta/semolina. it’s like making your very own two boots pizza. 16. making risotto isn’t as difficult or time consuming as you may think. go for it!
ksgoodeats
April 1, 2009 at 3:00 am4 – you could do an around the world dinner and try different cuisines 🙂
Erin
April 1, 2009 at 3:00 am#7 Perhaps try one of those chai spiced snickerdoodle recipes I keep bookmarking and never trying. 😀 You should be able to find one online, but if not, let me know and I can point you in the right direction.