Here we are, 2011, and no damn flying cars…

And not really any different than last year.

We made it through another year. I took way too many vacations, and spent way too much money, and I’m certainly paying for it this year. We did, however, get through two major surgeries in our immediate family, a blind and partly deaf dog, a death, an estranged-family funeral, a meet-the-family “vacation” to Maine and New Hampshire, and came out intact.

Although, it kind of feels like we made it through by the skin of our teeth.

Q4 of 2010 was, shall we say, less than stellar. Oh, it started out fine, but ended with more stress than any of us wanted.

So, I’m going to skip that part and say, here’s to a good 2011. Thanks to Christmas and birthday spending, we’re on track to do more cooking than ever at home. I’ve been cleaning out the fridge to do just that, and we’re utilizing new tools like my giant cuisinart and my mixer.

We decided to stay a part of the CSA we’ve been members of the last two years, making it not so expensive by splitting it with neighbors. Hoping my seeds make it through another year so that the garden will be a big help this summer, as well.

I’ve got a goal to try a new recipe every week (on average). We got a variety of new cookbooks, and I hope that we’ll utilize every hint of a vegetable we have available this year. So far, I’m doing well in sticking to that. I made scalloped potatoes and ham (based on T’s aunt’s recipe) when we got back. For the neighborhood NYE party, I made a variation of my cheesy corn casserole that my mom had made for Christmas. I made ham salad for myself (and added sriracha – yum!). Then, I tried FabJ’s red quinoa. This week, I made bigos and tried a new recipe for Thai peanut sauce (over noodles, with chicken). T’s dad is sending a soup beans & ham recipe that his mom says is fantastic.

I’ve started (again) eating more whole grains, including cereal every day. I intend on making bread this week, after the soup beans & ham. Next week, I’ll be trying some Indian dishes with rice.

And, we’ve started adoption classes, with 5 more weeks (an tons of paperwork) to go. Oh, the scary things that creep into your head, in addition to the scary things they try to prep you for.

It’s going to be a fun year, folks. Welcome to 2011.


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