Making Stock and Taking Stock

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted.

Never mind, I can believe how long it has been since I posted.  October, November, and December were incredibly busy months for me.  I taught and finished up the 8 classes I took on for the fall semester.  I applied for a full time teaching job.  I auditioned for one play, and rehearsed and put on 2 plays that overlapped with one another for about 3 weeks, then got a role in the play I auditioned for and overlapped rehearsals with that one for about 2 weeks.  This meant I was busy 4 nights a week for most of November and some of December.  I did one tech week during finals.  I did Christmas shopping, cooked a lot of meals (though ate a few too many on the run) and was sick for a week during all of this.

Can you forgive my absence?

So here I am, making garlic broth for the week, feeling satisfied after a nice meal of Italian potato salad with parsley and cabbage and kidney beans (both from Vegan Italiano).  I tried the potato salad for the first time last week and loved it, and wanted to try a new cabbage recipe tonight.  Seasonal eating, to a degree, appeals to me and my pocketbook and now is the time of year to snuggle up to some cabbage.  Cabbage, beans, and potatoes were a satisfying meal on this winter day, despite the fact that the weather was incredibly mild.

My present intent is to make good on my new goals, dare I say resolutions, for the year.   Some of those involve cooking, some blogging, some involve fitness, some are professional, and some are theatrical.  Since this is a blog mostly about my cooking exploits, I'll share those that involve cooking and blogging.

• Post new entries 1-2 a week.  I'd like to keep this puppy more updated.  I follow cooking blogs as well, and I connect with people the most when they add new entries regularly.
• Become more proficient with some cooking tools like the food processor, the new ice cream maker we got this Christmas, and knives.  I'm tired of cutting into my fingers.
• Make another 150 new recipes this year.  I'm actually guessing about my total last year; I usually make at least one new recipe a week, and some weeks it is as many as 4-5, so in addition to my summer challenge it is a safe bet that the rest of the year I made another 50-100 recipes.  While doing that, I discovered some new favorites, likes, dislikes, became more proficient, and learned new techniques and to use machinery I'd been afraid of or avoided previously.

It's been an interesting year in food and in life.  I became vegan, and celebrated my 1 year vegetarian birthday.  I am a tester for a cookbook author I admire (although the aforesaid busy 3 months really hit my participation levels hard).  I was in 4 shows (including one I'd dreamed about doing for over a decade).  I lost another 7 pounds, getting within a hairsbreadth of my first goal weight.

So here's to 2011.  May 2012 be even better and bring new blessings and adventures.