For the past 4 or 5 years, one of my New Year's resolutions has been to cook more. Each year I plan to cook one new recipe each month, and in ambitious years one new recipe each week. I would always start out all gung-ho, making shopping lists and browsing through my cookbooks for new exciting things to cook or bake, but inevitably, my resolve and excitement would soon wear off and I would be back to either:
A. Not cooking ever or
B. Making pasta with red sauce and pesto every week or two and calling it good.
I could always get away with it because I tend to live with people who both like to cook and are very good at it.
However, it looks like things are changing. For Christmas this year, my parents gave Mark and me the 'Joy of Cooking' and it turns out, cooking can be a joy. So far this year I have made: Banana, walnut, cranberry muffins; Hoppin' John (for good luck and a prosperous New Year); apple, cinnamon, walnut muffins and chutney turkey burgers. Currently, I am making Hoppin' John soup, as I made a ridiculous amount of Hoppin' John and it's time to diversify its flavor profile. Maybe, just maybe, I actually like cooking.
On the list of things I thought I didn't like but am actually starting to, right underneath cooking, we can add Winter. Much to my surprise, I'm kind of digging it. Perhaps it's being surrounded by people who moved to Vermont because they love winter. Perhaps it's the beauty of a snow covered landscape. Perhaps it's because, as Mark has told me over and over, Winter isn't that bad if you dress appropriately, get outside and keep moving. Whatever it is, I'm glad it's affecting me. I just got back from an hour and a half long walk with the dogs out in the woods and I was reminded of one of my favorite childhood winter activities: walking on top of the frozen snow for as long as possible before falling through to the powder underneath! I love the challenge and anticipation of avoiding a boot full of snow.
The next thing I hope to add to my list of things I thought I didn't like but actually do is Los Angeles. I've never had a desire to go, but now 2 close friends, Ivy and Sierra live there and it seems like it's probably time to check it out. I've always bagged on L.A. but until I've actually been there, I guess I don't have the right to. Though I'm a little wary, I have complete faith that Ivy and Sierra will both show me sides of LA I never knew existed. Plus, the idea of sitting on a beach in February and all the amazing Asian and south of the United States food Sierra has promised to take me to leads me to believe that this trip will be awesome. Granted, it may not be warm and sunny in February, but I bet it will be a hell of a lot warmer than Vermont!
