I RESOLVE:
...to do better.
:-)
Really -- this past year has been amazing, and I've followed up with my resolution to learn to cook everything I could find at the Farmer's Market -- except that I've been too busy cooking to blog about it.
In all honesty, I've had a pretty steep learning curve this year, and was very unprepared for all there was to do. In 2012, I think I may have it figured out.
Maybe.
But what a wonderful year it has been for me! I learned so much, and doing the project not only led me to change my habits in the kitchen, but extended to areas that I never expected and has left me with a richer and fuller life. Who would ever have expected that?
In June, when produce was at its peak and I was scrambling to learn all I could as fast as I could, I had a couple of weeks when I just didn't watch television. Once I realized that I hadn't watched TV for two weeks, I decided to try and skip it for the entire month. Two months later I realized I no longer watched TV at all, and this much healthier habit continued until not long ago when the new Survivor season started. (Let me just say, we ALWAYS watch Survivor.) But that's all I watched, pretty much, and have continued to be off the couch. Surprisingly, or not, I've noticed that I sleep better now. Is there a correlation? I don't know.
Without planning to, my husband and I started eating our meals at the table, rather than in front of the TV. (I'll admit it -- that's where we tended to eat!) I'm not even exactly sure how it started, but it did, and now we set the table together, put the meal in serving bowls, and sit down to eat and talk. That's pretty good stuff, people, and I highly recommend it.
I've also learned to clean the kitchen as I go. That may sound simple or like not much, but it is an incredibly good habit to develop. If you wait until after the meal to do all the cleaning, it is overwhelming and you begin to dread cooking. If you clean as you go and then can finish up the cleaning in about the same amount of time as it takes to make a cup of coffee, you're much more likely to feel good about cooking again the next night. And you'll feel better about your evening. AND you'll have more energy to go for that mile walk before the sun goes down.
Now if I could just get myself in the habit to sit down in front of the computer and talk to you folks once a week...
I'm going to try. I really am.
Happy 2012!
