Happy New Year! I know
I’m a little late to the game here, being that we’re already half-way through
January, but I took the last few weeks to recharge, and I’m excited to be back!
I have a lot of fun ideas planned for this space in 2015… starting with a
facelift!*
Showing posts with label new year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new year. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
New Year Goals: 2015 Style
Happy New Year! I know
I’m a little late to the game here, being that we’re already half-way through
January, but I took the last few weeks to recharge, and I’m excited to be back!
I have a lot of fun ideas planned for this space in 2015… starting with a
facelift!*
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Sarmen (Pork Cabbage Rolls)
The holidays were hard. Really hard. And the new year feels bittersweet. On one hand, I’m looking forward to putting a painful year behind me. On the other hand, this will be a new year without my dad. 2015. A year that he’ll never see a day of. I’m moving into this new year without resolutions, but with purpose. I want to live fully and love deeply, like he did. Like he would want us to do. I’m going to focus on health and wellness, to get out and move around more. If I've learned anything in the last year, it’s that these bodies are the only ones we have, and they can break. Our bodies can betray us. The worst thing we can do with a working, healthy body is to take it for granted.
The last few months I’ve grappled with whether or not I want to continue blogging. My priorities just feel different now. Writing about the joy of a good cookie when my heart is breaking feels fake. But I also don't want this to be a sad place that brings you down with each new post. So, I’m still figuring it out. Figuring out how I want to use this space and the time and effort I put into this blog.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Cheers to the New Year: 2014
Christmas is over, and my house is, for the first time in months, cookie-free. My tree is still up and there are gifts strewn about the living room, but that's another story. Here are some phone pics of my Christmas vacation (we went ice-caving!).
I don't know about you guys, but I'm beyond stoked for 2014! In 2014, I'm getting married. WHAT!?
2013 has been a wild year. I got engaged and wrote a 50,000 word novel for NaNoWriMo. And that was only the month of November!
I rang in 2013 at a snowy cabin with some of my favorite people. I went wine tasting in Sonoma, house-boating in Shasta, hiking and exploring in the Gifford Pinchot, and camping at the Oregon coast. We celebrated our nephew's 1st birthday in New York, and my sister's Masters graduation from UW. I won a quinoa recipe contest and this blog turned four years old. Evan and I bought a car together, and (after almost a decade of dating and several years of living together) our parents finally met. Some good things happened in 2013.
2013 also had some bumps, with health scares and hospital visits for people I care very much about. I'm crossing my fingers that 2014 is a happy, healthy year for everyone I know and love. And for all of you guys, too!
So, here's to the new year! I'll be back in 2014 with great new recipes, photos, and stories. Until then, here are my top 20 of 2013. Some of these were the most visited posts, and some were just my favorite to write, eat, or photograph in 2013. Cheers!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Another New Year
It’s crazy to look back and see how much has changed in one year. Sure, 2012 was a lot like 2011—weddings (not mine), babies (not mine), and great vacations (mine all mine!). But, remember last January, when I wrote about how stressed out I was at work, and how much fun I missed out on by working non-stop? Well, it took almost a full year after writing that to make a change. So here I am, ringing in the new year with a new job and a lot less stress. Feels good, man.
So, last year’s theme was to not waste time. This year, my theme is to be awesomer. That’s right, I didn’t say more awesome, I said awesomer. Awe.some.er. (adjective) The act of being your most impressive self. That’s my theme: to be my most impressive self. Feel great, do great, look great… be great.
Step 1 in my 2013 theme: eat right. Ok, so everyone has some health related resolution, old news, I know. And I definitely think we should resolve to eating healthy every month, not just in the new year. But ya know, we all need to reset sometimes, and I think January, right after all that holiday indulgence, is the time to do it. So to go along with my new year's theme, each January I have a goal for the month, a way for me to reset and really focus on being healthy. In the past this has included giving up booze, meat, and sugar/baked goods for the month. This January my goal is to bring my lunch to work the whole month. I tend to get caught in the take-out rut for weekday lunches, which tends to drain the heft from my wallet and add it straight to my thighs.
So this month, it’s all homemade sandwiches, salads, and leftovers for this gal.
Switching from weekly lunches of sticky sweet teriyaki, cheesy burritos, and spicy gyros can be tricky, so I wanted to start off right with fresh tasty food that would get me stoked to eat my homemade lunch. That’s why I made this super chunky and thick hummus—it’s really simple, substantial enough to fill a sandwich, and delicious enough to keep me from straying.
Super Thick & Chunky Hummus
Inspired by Evan's dad's recipe!
Inspired by Evan's dad's recipe!
2 cans chickpeas, drained (around 4 cups)
1 cup tahini
Juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon parsley (dried, or finely chopped fresh)
Add half of the chickpeas, the tahini, lemon juice, and sesame oil to food processor and blend until pureed (don't worry about getting it super smooth). If needed, add a splash of olive oil to make blending easier. Taste, and add salt as needed. Lightly smash second half of chickpeas with a pastry blender, fork, or other smashy tool (barely smashed). Stir together with the rest of the hummus and the parsley. Enjoy with crackers, veggies, or add a hearty spoonful to a sandwich.
PS: Top 12 of '12!
Some of these were the most visited posts, and some were just my favorite to write, eat, or photograph in 2012.
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