Happy New Year!

I’m trying not to get too bogged down by thinking about the past year and what I didn’t accomplish, what I wish I’d done, etc. For the most part I don’t like resolutions either, especially since I’m not good at following through. I do like the idea of the chance of a fresh, new start, full of hope, and leaving the things that weigh you down behind.

Anyway, one of the resolutions suggested in the January/February 2008 issue of Eating Well is to "make 10 new recipes a month." They suggest that "trying new recipes will help you become a better and healthier cook while keeping those at your dinner table happy."

We try to eat salad for dinner every other day, so my goal is to make 5 new recipes a month. I get so many magazines and dog ear pages of recipes I want to try but never get around to. I’m hoping to make more of an effort this year to try them.

This week the grocery ads here have black-eyed peas, collard greens, cabbage, and 10 pound buckets of chitlins on sale. I've never had chitlins (chitterlings) and it sounds gross (intestines with all the poop washed out - although since I eat hotdogs I can’t really say anything). I guess that's what they eat here for New Year's. My aunt & uncle used to have a Japanese New Year party with similar foods (oshoogatsu ryori). We used to have to get a taste of this & that for health, money, etc. for the coming year.

My favorite quote I’ve seen recently is from the same issue of "Eating Well."

"To change one’s life:
1. Start immediately.
2. Do it flamboyantly.
3. No exceptions."
--William James
(1842 - 1910)