It’s a new year and I’ve been taking the past few days weeks to take stock of 2016. There were lots of ups and downs for us personally in 2016 so I’m ready to start afresh. 2017 is already starting off with a bittersweet bang — beginning with a cross country move back to NYC.
Getting ready to move a family of four (plus a dog) and processing it all got me thinking about resolutions – specifically by reviewing the year’s past. As I shed our possessions to once again return to a small apartment, I’m also looking through the cookbooks, the piles of articles torn from magazines that I saved for later and never actually looked at again.
This unused pile of cookbooks and hidden inspiration in the kitchen prompted me to make some specific resolutions around the kitchen and use the resources under my nose. So this year I’m resolved to try to cook more out of my collection of someday recipes – especially out of physical cookbooks, and try my hand at some more challenging recipes that have been on my mind for a while.
Here’s my short-list of my ambitions (short, because I like to under promise, over deliver).
- Variations on Roast Chicken – Thomas Keller’s simple roast chicken has been on rotation in my kitchen this year so I’m going to explore some other spice combinations for some variety. Like this one with sumac, Zatar and lemon.
- Mom’s Homemade Kimchi – Since my mom’s generation and prior didn’t use recipes cards, cookbooks or have blogs to reference for their family recipes I’ll have to extract it from her and etch it permanently onto the internet.
- Pok Pok chicken wings – remember the craze?! I have the cookbook and used to live walking distance from their LES location so I have nostalgic cravings for this. After getting the book years ago, which was entertaining to peruse, I was intimidated by most, well all of the recipes, but I think it’ll be worth the trouble for this one.
- More plants – Kale is definitely on my weekly shopping list and here to stay but this year I’m looking forward to continuing to explore more plant-based dishes. Since living in California and being blessed with its bounty of fresh produce and farmer’s markets, its been easy to get inspired to eat your veggies. And I’m taking this with me to the east coast! The wellness trend taking the food industry by storm is also shedding light to some amazing chefs and interesting things happening with veggies. It’s an exciting time for healthy eating.
- Meal Planning – Meal planning with 2 little kids is a struggle but an essential part of eating a home cooked meal and surviving the week! I’m still finding my “system” but overall I’d like to be more intentional and make things in “bulk” for future meals.
- Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon – Mastering the Art of French Cooking is on my bookshelf now thanks to a book sale at my local library. I’ll crack it open this year and start with this classic.
What’s on your short-list? Any food related resolutions on your mind? Share in the comments, I’d love to know!
PC: Unsplash.com
Leave a Reply