Memory Lane

On this day, the Autumnal Equinox and my 600th post, I wanted to take a little time to reflect on my little piece of the internet. I started this blog on March 17, 2007, which means I have been blogging for 2.5 years. The blog resulted from asking Paul how hard he thought it would be for me to create and use a blog. He suggested we look into it and, less than 15 minutes later, I had this blog.

The original motivation for having a blog was to create a place to record my completed projects. I wanted an intangible place where I could post project information and photos to share with others and to record it for my own reference. Two and a half years later, I still post about knitting projects. However, with the existence of Ravelry, the need to record knitting projects on the blog is lessened. Ravelry records it in a way that it is far more superior than my blog posting records. Project posts are still a part of the blog, but are not what drives the blog at this moment.

Last year what drove my blog was cooking with some splashes of daily life. Many of the posts were a result of my New Year's resolution to cook new recipes. Since then, I have gone back to those posts countless times in search of a recipe that I discovered during that year. It is a great reference when trying to pinpoint the magazine, book or website it came from. The year of structured exploration has definitely instilled some new habits for seeking out and trying new recipes and it greatly expanded my arsenal of go-to recipes.

My passion for cooking and food has not dwindled, but this year's drive is about Project 365. My version of the project has definitely achieved the desired result of inspiring me to post regularly. At over 170 days into the project, I will admit that sometimes I am tempted to excuse myself from the task. But, like with exercise, sometimes you don't want to do it, but you have to do it anyways. And, normally afterwards you are glad you did it, because it is good for you.

I have never been one to write in a journal, so it is actually quite a surprise to me that I have stuck with blogging. I really find value in recording parts of my life in this space. I do it for my benefit, but I also do it because it is fun for me to share with you, the blog visitor. I do it because it is nice to show you things and to read your comments. And, just like with looking at old photo albums, sometimes it is really fun to take a little trip down memory lane. This blog is becoming my ever-evolving Memory Lane.

(The photo in this post is a snippet from my pre-blogging days. Paul and I participated in The Photo Booth Chronicles. We were 23, baby-faced, dreadlocked and newly in love. The photo was from an actual photo booth where you have to hang around and wait while the print gets developed inside of the machine. So old school!)

Resolutions Past

In 2007 I made the first New Year's Resolutions of my adulthood. I found them to be great motivators and they provided me with focus. Granted, a few of the resolutions were vague and sort of fell by the wayside, but I largely felt the experience was beneficial.

I continued the tradition in 2008 and made the resolution to cook at least 3 new recipes each month. Paul had agreed to be a part of it, but as it turns out he wasn't really that interested when the time came to plan, shop and cook. I was fine with going solo, so over the past year I have been making tons of new recipes and, in the process, feel more comfortable making up my own dishes, deviating from recipes and have broadened my knowledge and use of spices.

Luckily Paul WAS interested in eating new foods, so I shared them with him and with friends and family. Many of the recipes I tried throughout the year have become new go-to favorites of our house. I also realized this year how good soup can be. Soup made from scratch tastes infinitely better than soup from a can! I received an immersion blender from my mom and Roger this Christmas, so I foresee making many batches of soup in the future!

The other component of the 2008 resolutions was that Paul and I declared it to be The Year of Honesty in our home. I wrote at the beginning of the year what that meant in terms of possessions and knitting, but that declaration came to mean something totally different towards the latter part of the year. After our move from Boston to Minneapolis and the subsequent uphill and still in progress job search, we needed to be honest about what our true needs are. Together we have tackled the concepts of "need" vs. "want", evaluated the careful balance between money-making and mental health, and have questioned many of our assumptions and perspectives about our place in the world. When we get down to it, the honest truth is that our needs are being met, but we both have many desires that are not. We have come to the conclusion that we can exist how we are right now, but we are both eager for the growth we were seeking when we planned our move. The latter part of the year has been full of love and at the same time it has been a bit harsh to us. I guess, if we are honest, that is what life is, isn't it? We struggle, but if we are lucky, we are loved and we get through it with eyes set on bigger goals.

December Recipes

Wow! What a year of cooking. I am not ready for a total recap, so for now, I'll just post the December recipes and you can tune in later for a recap and a new resolution for 2009.

White Beans with Rigatoni
Delicious! This recipe has a lot of subtle flavors. Nothing really hits you in the face, but there are so many tasty aspects to it. It reminded me of the meals my Italian host mother made us. I will be making this again, for sure!

Caramel Corn
I saw this posted on Angry Chicken's blog and immediately made it.

Roasted Garlic Hummus from Vegetarian Times, October 2008
This recipe caught my eye because Paul and I had tasted a garlic spread during a Monday Night Dinner at Veggie Planet. I am not sure if this is the same recipe, but the portions are 1/3 roasted garlic to 2/3 chickpeas for the main substance. You can't go wrong with that much roasted garlic!

Winter Squash Risotto
I am not sure if I overcooked this or if it was because of the squash, but the texture of this risotto grossed me out. It was mushy and gunky. The flavor was fine and Paul didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with it, but I was a little put off by it.

Baked Apples
This recipe was the one I followed for our Christmas Eve dessert. I heavily modified the recipe to suit the ingredients I had on hand and to compensate for the lack of apple bakers, but followed the basic frameworks of the recipe. They were delicious paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.