Happy New Year

I had this great idea that I was going to cook more and write more in this blog starting this year, but there are always  a lot of other things that I want to work on too. This skirt, for example, that should have only taken one day to finish, as well as some other sewing projects that I was able to complete in a timely manner.

The skirt that should have taken 1 day to finish.

And then my schedule changed and I thought I was going to have some more time to update, but then I had to go do this activity instead with Aunt and Friends, and that took up some time, not that I'm complaining or making excuses, oh no, just letting you know why I'm so slow with the updating of the weblog.

It really is a happy place!

"He's so tall!"

Best roller coaster ever!

What a wonderful day!

So here is a quick rundown of what has been going on with the food in my house. 

I got these marvelous cookbooks for Christmas from my wonderful family (thank you, family!), all of them are so pretty and shiny and useful. 

I cooked beets for the first time ever using a recipe from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" with pistachios and garlic which was interesting. I'm not sure I like beets that much. I learned from "The French Laundry Cookbook" how to prepare pig's head and feet and sweetmeats in a very fancy way, but that's probably never going to happen in my house. I am going to have to modify the feeding of my sourdough to make it work with the recipes in "Breads from the La Brea Bakery," and it will be totally worth it, because those are some amazing recipes. That one and "The Bread Bible" are going to be so great to have in my house instead of having to get them from the library all the time, they are pretty great. 

I also acquired some kefir grains from Lovemuffin's Auntie, so I've done some interesting experiments, trying to make good kefir and almost but not quite succeeding. When I figure out a good procedure and ratio to make good thick kefir that doesn't taste like beer, you can be sure that I will post it here. Also, I think the kefir grains need a name, any ideas? 

I finally psyched myself up to go the the Whole Foods store that always intimidates me, but they have a nice bulk section and I bought some interesting grains and things, quinoa and amaranth and coconut flour and green lentils that I cannot find anywhere else. So when I do something awesome with those, you will be the first to know. 

This year I hope to be able to keep experimenting with food and keep writing about my successes and failures. I hope that you enjoy reading about this as much as I enjoy sharing it with you. Happy New Year!!