Happy New Year!

My, it has been a long time. I didn't realize how long, until I logged in and saw the date of my last post. Sorry, 11 faithful followers.

Aside from a wild foray into truffle-making and a couple of slow-cooker successes, I have not been cooking all that much - or all that creatively. Considering that I am eating cold lo mein straight from the box and planning on combining a jar of pesto and a box of pasta for dinner later; cooking starts again tomorrow, for real.

I just wrote a really long post about where I was ten years ago, and then realized that I was off by a year. It was really emotional and nostalgic and everything. I honestly can't remember what I did for New Year's Eve 2000. I think I may have even fallen asleep on the couch. Cammy had just turned two, Eliza was just about to turn four. That was the winter that I was a baker/barista and would walk to work at 3 a.m.

What I do remember about that time in my life is that I baked my own bread every day and made everything from scratch. It was partially a personal challenge, partially because we were super broke and I wanted to be able to feed my family well on what we had. I still feel a twinge of guilt when I rip open a box of Trader Joe's mini-tacos, thinking how a) I could totally just make tacos and b) $4.99 used to be a huge splurge. I can't imagine doing that today - between running the business, the kids' schedules and my need to sit down once in a while - but I still try to keep it as DIY as possible.

So here are my food resolutions for 2010!

1) Eat breakfast. I am terrible at eating breakfast. I am also turning 35 this year and need to knock that shit off. Fortunately for my health and my pant size, I don't like sweet things for breakfast so you won't find me chowing down on a donut on the way to work and calling it good. I'm going to keep yogurt in the fridge, hard boiled eggs on hand, and bagels at arm's length unless there are veggies tucked inside. Bagels are not good for you.

2) Eat local! As I have mentioned, we have a share at a local CSA for veggies. We get our milk and eggs from another local farm, and I just signed us up for a meat CSA. We got our first share last week, and could not be more excited. I like knowing where my food comes from.

3) Bring lunch to work. There is no good reason that I should be getting takeout four times a week, and the fifth day is the one where I forget to eat lunch. Mind you, our town (though it is wonderful) does not have many choices so I mostly get sandwiches and pizza. I'm going to add lunch planning to my weekly meal plan. It will be better for the kids as well, and save me about $150 a month on school lunches.

4) Learn more about Japanese food. I looooove Japanese food, and there's so much more to it than sushi. There are two good Asian markets right near me, and I'm going to spend some serious quality time roaming the aisles and trying random pickles. This blog is an incredible resource, and I was lucky enough to meet Harris. He is a stand up guy and a wealth of information.

5) Update this journal! It's fun for me, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Have a wonderful, healthy, happy year!