Ringing it in

I really do love celebrating the arrival of a new year. Okay sure, alot of that usually has to do with champagne, but what I like most is the idea of a clean slate - that fresh start. I'm a minimalist kind of girl, and the start of a new year always inspires me to purge the closets, organize my files, and begin again with only what I need.

I also like the idea of making New Year's Resolutions. I try to stick with attainable, meaningful goals that I think will make a difference in my life in some way.

Last year's (which were almost all attained, save one) were:

1. See 4 new movies at the theater. Check. ( I had previously thought I'd only seen three, but realized we also went to see The Future of Food at UNCW, which I think counts.)
2. Try 3 new foods. Check. (I actually waaay surpassed this thanks to our local eating. Rutebagas - who knew?)
3. Invite over/hang out with 3 new people. Also check.
4. Take a class for fun. Check - Spanish class at Centro Latino. Not the best, but fun.
5. Walk for exercise three times a week. Nope. Try again this year.

This year is a little harder. If you hate me after I say this, it's okay: I'm quite content with my life the way it is right now, and am not hugely motivated to make dramatic, life altering changes. I am happy. After much thought though, I've come up with these - may add more later...

1. Add at least 5 more vegetable varieties to our garden to expand our eating self sufficiency. Try not to kill them.
2. Call/email at least one faraway friend per month.
3. Call H to schedule at least 4 sessions of cake decorating lessons.
4. Do my best to create more good in the world. Try not to be an ass.
5. Okay fine... Exercise three days a week.
   

You may notice that I didn't say anything about blogging more often. It's a goal, but not one that I'm going to be tied to. I spend way to much time on the internet anyway.

So that being said - I hope you have a wonderful, peaceful, meaningful 2008!

Thanksgiving Prep

Hello all. It's been crazy busy around here, so Thanksgiving has kind of snuck up on me. Luckily I've been planning for it since we started eating locally, because I knew that some of our Thanksgiving favorites would be out of season in November. I've frozen corn, green beans, and chicken broth; stocked up on sweet potatoes; foraged for pecans; and put in my order with Jackson Dairy. I'll be cooking for 6 this year, so I had to consider what would satisfy everyone. After lots of OCD like organizing and planning, I've come up with a menu that's going to be local and delicious. Here's what I'll be making:

• Herb roasted turkey with homemade pan gravy
• Chestnut stuffing
• Mashed potatoes
• Sweet potato puree with struesel topping
• Baked corn
• Sauteed green beans
• Country white rolls
• Chocolate pecan pie
• Pumpkin pie
• Mulled white wine

Phew. Luckily I'll have lots of hands on deck for the prep work. I did have to make some non-local purchases to make everything come together. I bought sticks of butter, since the butter from Jackson Dairy is salted, and I need unsalted for the pie. I also picked up an onion, since my storage onions sprouted, and some shallots since my sisters rely on my shallot pan gravy every year.

The rolls and pumpkin pie are from Great Harvest - bless them for being such fabulous bakers.

I'll try to post some recipes later. Does anyone else have any delicious local Thanksgiving ideas to contribute?

FYI: My laptop died this week and my camera is broken. Makes blogging a real pain.