One of the key insights of the past decade: if I write it down on a list, I’m more likely to do it.
Lists enable me to dream and achieve in ways that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to. They are the structure that enables me to envision more and do more. I keep master lists, reading lists, home projects, work lists, and more. Some are written as a way to to plan, others as a way to acknowledge achievements – one of the highlights this year was my “movie consumption list” – my goal to watch 52 new to me movies! (I even have lists of lists.)
One of my favorite lists to come back to each year is my Kitchen Resolutions: my commitment to spending more time doing the things I love: cooking, reading about food, talking about food, and eating…. all of the food.
I’ve been writing these resolutions for more than a decade, and some of them pop up year after year – affirm doing good things that work – and a handful are new each year. You can take a peek through previous years here: (2012) (2016) (2017) (2018)
First, here are some of my previous resolutions I’d like to continue with:
My weekly meal planning process – this has gone through different iterations over the years – waffling back and forth between digital and paper, depending on mood. Currently it’s a revised template that ends up either in my Evernote or paper journal (which I then snap a photo of before heading to the grocery store.) Each week I sit down and assess the things in the fridge or freezer that need to be used up, plan out things to batch cook, and dream up my dinners, lunches, and snacks. Then I shop.
Bucket list restaurants – I can count the number of times I ate out on my two hands in the past year. While I’m all for home cooking, I’d like to continue to eat my way through some of the local gems we have in this area. (To that end, I use the Eater 38 as a guide.)
100(0) fruits, nuts, and seed to try – here’s my list; quite a few of these I’ve definitely eaten (but can’t actually remember eating…. hello aging) so I’ve left them on my master list to actually re-try for the record. A good friend is on a quest to fall in love and try new vegetables, so I might rope her in to some of them and see how we do.
Minimize the amount of stuff on the counter in my kitchen –I generally like access to “all the things” in my kitchen. That doesn’t mean that they have to all be on the counters everywhere. This year I added a handful of new pots and pans without getting rid of other stuff, and it’s clear that I need a better storage solution for everything. (I did however add spice racks to my kitchen, which was a good move!)
Cooking recipes from cookbooks – while I’ve never been one to actually cook recipes from cookbooks regularly (I usually read, learn, and adapt), Alison Roman’s Dining In: Highly Cookable Recipes had SUCH great recipes that I cooked many of them this year, and will concede that sometimes it’s fun to let someone trusted “take the wheel”. I’ll make an effort to add at least one cookbook recipe to my weekly meal plans, and combine this with some favorite cookbook re-reads:
What other resolutions are on the docket for 2020?
Blogging my weekly Good Things: yup, back on the wagon. I’ll note that one of the biggest differences between writing each week and not writing each week (hello, crazy back half of 2019!), was that without the suggestion of public accountability, my meals got much more boring, and not in a good way.
Cookbook Dinners: over the past few years I’ve made some half-hearted attempts to form a cookbook club, but I think I’ll take it up again this year, even if it’s only me doing the cooking. The last one I did was Zahav, and it was a good time for all. (Despite the recipes needing more seasoning, but I digress.) My goal here will be a minimal and doable 3 times this year.
Revise my backup list: (a version of it here) even when I meal plan, some days, I just want comfort food that requires little effort and really only muscle memory. A bowl of rice with yogurt, a box of Annie’s macaroni and cheese, or gasp – TJ’s chicken nuggets. I’m going to peruse Dinner: A Love Story, because I seem to recall that she has good inspiration here.
Food memoirs and literature: while I made it through more than 52 books in 2020, there was NARY a food memoir or food history, and boy do I need to change that. It’s one of my favorite genres. To do this week: add a handful of these to my January reading list to get off on a good start.
Garden 2020: this year I made the effort to grow more in my pots and had ample fresh herbs. I also weeded and tended to the back plot – and grew some medium-happy potatoes (I’ll probably go for bigger ones next year), an outsized rosemary, lavender, and more.
Other notes: taking a new stab at a Kitchen Projects list, having people over for casual meals more often, cooking with my Turkish spices more often, making a batch of ice cream every so often, baking pumpkin chocolate chip cake.
Do you have any kitchen resolutions this year?I’d love to hear about them!
Scallop and shrimp ceviche – perfect for the hot summer weather.
A little bit of a hiatus here – good things still happening! June escaped me – I ended up on a last minute trip to Istanbul (the food!), had a lovely retreat to Wanderlust in Vermont with Ompractice, and then came home to a summer cold that I have been working to shake. I think I’m about to be free from it! Here’s crossing my fingers.
Trying out AIReal yoga at Wanderlust.
At the top of Stratton Mountain
A few things that I’ve been doing the past few weeks that have had the most impact in my day to day:
Declaring Email Bankruptcy on Newsletters: don’t skip the personal emails, but if you have swathes of email newsletters you’ve intended to get read, just go ahead and delete them all. You have my permission. On that note, if you want to hire me to completely organize your 67,000 emails, create folders of the important stuff, and purge for you, just hit me up. I find the process so cathartic.
Adding some more accountability to my workflow: always a good thing! In addition to my weekly *Do the Thing Hours that I lead (virtual co-working on Wednesdays at 1:30 Eastern if you ever want to join!), I recently committed to an accountability group that has us sharing our daily stand-ups on a regular basis.
Using free-writing as a way to ease myself into doing any particular task. I find that if I’m stalling on something, a simple free write for 10 minutes or so is a good way to get myself going.
Daily time apart from this little zombie puppy. Yep, we practice separation. Usually I go to the store or the gym, and watch him staring at me on the nanny cam.
Good Things, in no particular order:
{{ Meals of Note: }}
Trader Joe’s Lemon Ricotta ravioli with olive oil, chopped cucumbers, shredded chicken, and parmesan. With plenty of black pepper.
Trader Joe’s Egg Frittatas with swiss cheese & cauliflower. LOVE these. I’ve been making them for lunches and just breaking them up over arugula salad.
Chicken sausages with kale and broccoli slaw salad. My mom makes great use of her IKEA grill pan.
Ben and Jerry’s “Pucker Upper” at Target. Raspberry and tart lemon sorbet. Very good!
Trader Joe’s Kunefe – a Greek dessert in the freezer section with crispy bits, salty melting cheese, a sweet syrup, and pistachios.
Roasted strawberries and rhubarb.
An incredible ceviche. (See the first photo.)
This Trader Joe’s beet pasta is pretty.. but a little bland?
Yellow beans and rice, with cucumbers salad and yogurt. The cucumber salad can be made in advance and lasts me a few days. Same with the beans!
{{Books}} I’m working my way towards 52? 75? books this year? as part of my quest to read rather than interwebbing during my downtime. We’ll see where I get.
Re-listening to Steven Pressfield’s ‘War of Art’. This is one of my absolute favorite books. The concept is about overcoming The Resistance – all the things that hold you back from creative pursuits. I had a bit of driving to do over the past few weeks, and so I downloaded the audio book for a refresher.
Re-reading Tamar Adler’s ‘An Everlasting Meal’. After a month away from my farm share, I returned with a large amount of produce and needed reminders about what to do with them. This is a wonderful book about the foundations of building good cooking systems.
Outer Order, Inner Calm. Gretchen Rubin’s newest book – a short read about cleaning, which actually prompted me to let go of a few extra things and get back on the tidying wagon. Recommend as an afternoon break.
A few in progress: Free to Focus (Michael Hyatt), Radical Acceptance (Tara Brach) and Radical Candor (Kim Scott) – I swear I didn’t plan that!
As far as fiction goes, I’ve been reading Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – which while highly entertaining (and bizarre) is about 782 pages and taking me *forever* to finish. I’ve been managing a few chapters before bed each evening. I’m also listening to Circe on audiobook. Similarly, a little stalled on this because I don’t find that I’m often in the mood.
{{ Activities of note: }}
Beach walks! Finally got my toes into the sand, and did a long walk on Jenness with my mom. Bonus – got in a run last week on the ocean as well.
Whole Foods Focus Group. I had a grand time at my local Whole Foods as part of a focus group – paying me for my feedback and feeding me free food? Yes, please! Plus the session was full of delightfully quirky people, and veered quickly into writing letters to Jeff Bezos and anti-nuclear policy.
Ramping up my runs: we’re three months out from the Reebok Boston 10k for Women. (This is the 43rd running of the race née Tufts10k / Bonne Bell Mini Marathon). This will be my 8th year running the race! And – I’m thrilled to be an official sponsor with Ompractice, and partnering with the race to provide Ompractice yoga classes leading up to and post-race for all runners! I’ve been running consistent miles with my year and a half long streak, but it’s been a while since I’ve run consistent long runs. I’m building back up! So far it’s been fairly low impact relaxed 2 mile runs and some intervals. I like easing into things!
A few good films: I made the point to see the new Spiderman and Yesterday (so cute! go see it!) in the theater. Still working my way through my 52 new to me movies spreadsheet this year. It’s a fun pursuit.
Gardening: I’ve been consistently weeding my plot, and my planted potatoes are thriving. Herbs are doing well in my front pots, and someone (I’m assuming the rabbits) have eaten my kale.
{{ Acquisitions of note: }}
New sneakers: on that note, at some point I realized that my “new” sneakers I acquired in the fall last year have some 300 or so miles on them, so it was time for a refresh! Proper footwear is one of the keys to avoiding injury. I went for a pair of Zoom Pegasus 36s in BRIGHT red, because YOLO.
A Nest. Which I installed myself! I love that I can manage my AC from my phone, particularly to adjust down when I’m out of the house. I also had an energy audit, got fresh LED lightbulbs to replace old bulbs, and am getting some insulation to help reduce heating and cooling bills.
A big bucket of Maldon salt. I decided to delight myself with a this large bucket that I ordered from across the pond. You can never have enough on hand.
The Turkish Cookbook. A new Phaidon hardcover, written by Musa Dağdeviren (the owner of Çiya, one of the best places I ate last spring in Turkey. Regretfully, I didn’t get to go last month, but if you find yourself in Istanbul, it’s not to be missed.)
{{ Bertram }} the majority of the 30k photos on my phone. How could I not?
This is Alison Roman’s magical roasted carrots from her book Dining In: Highly Cookable Recipes. I make a batch a few times a week when I have carrots on hand. They are in fact highly cookable!
Last week I finished reading Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism. I recently read his book Deep Work (which I’d recommend as well) – and this served as an excellent complement. It’s been one of my bigger goals this year to reduce my time spent on devices, and be more mindful and intentional with my mind spent connected to the world. (Work in progress.)
Digital Minimalism doesn’t offer draconian advice about removing all of your access to technology, but offers specific advice on reducing your time spent on devices, improving the quality of your connected time, and improving the quality of your personal connections.
A useful rule of thumb: rather than just setting limits on your devices, get a clear idea of how you actually want to spend time on the internet, your phone, etc. (I’ll note that this is a useful principle for your time in general: it’s a lot easier to live a fuller life if you know how you want to spend your time and your downtime.)
With my closest friends living all over the country, and my family spread all over the world, I’ve been laying down some better foundations for friendship and connection.
For me this looks like:
Identifying who I want to prioritize in my life: Who are the people who support me? Who are the people with whom spending time together improves both our quality of lives? Who could use a phone call? How can I better nurture these relationships? Who do I need to spend less time with? (Energy drains…)
Working to actually build and develop relationships with those closest to me – well beyond an occasional facebook like. The first step is stopping the mindless scrolling. I haven’t cut social media completely out of my life, but I’m making the effort to actually pause and use these tools for conversation rather than a quick transactional exchange of likes or hearts. Stopping to actually comment on posts, and when possible, turning the conversation to the phone, or in-person.
Getting over my allergy to the phone. I’ve started actually using this newfangled device to call people. (I also use Zoom hangouts, but the phone is great for my walks, runs, and any time I can squeeze in a quick conversation with friends and family.)
Celebrating my birthday. Last week was my birthday – I’m thankful for another year around the sun. It’s been a challenging one, but also an amazing one – I’m looking forward to the new year to come. I’m a low key birthday celebrator, but I did get to spend this year on the field at Fenway park for a few hours at batting practice yet. Also I was directly responsible for Rick Rolling the stadium, so I’ve achieved peak success on day one. (Well, to be fair, my brother helped with that one. It was a gift!)
Things I want to do more of this year (the short list):
write
grow Ompractice to support our amazing teachers and students
spend quality time with friends and family (and my dog)
travel
invest in myself.
Things I want to do less of this year: mindless time wasted somewhere in the internets, resisting delegation, wasting time before making decisions.
Good Things in Difficult Times
This weekend I sat down to write, and started this way: “It’s raining. I’m tired. Things aren’t always sunshine and good things.”
It seemed particularly difficult to write a list about good things when our siblings in Alabama and Georgia just got damning news about the stripping of their bodily autonomy, and the potential future challenge to Roe stripping us all of our human rights.
It seemed particularly difficult to write a list about good things when the latest school shooting in America was relegated to a blip in the news coverage. (Yes, there were more than one last week..)
It seemed particularly difficult to write a list about good things when world politics are at a tenuous balance, and our problems in our own backyard are growing.
But this is why I do this exercise for myself. In a challenging and difficult world, it’s important to celebrate the good just as much as call out and act upon the bad. In order to maintain the hope, energy, and initiative to fight good fights – we must top up the tank with positive inputs.
Starting the Summer Garden
It felt late this year, but I finally got my start with spring planting. I have a shaded 10×10 back plot (to be filled with zinneas, dahlias, and herbs), and I set to work in front beginning my potted garden. (Which resists bunnies, and can be moved around with the sun.)
To start: the herbs – basil, parsley, cilantro, dill, mint, thyme, oregano, lemon verbena, rosemary. I still have a few weekends of planting to go, and have yet to make choices on everything I’d like.
For reference for myself: last year’s potted garden included: mint, basil, parsley. A bowl of kale varietals, several varieties of basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, oregano. Dill, parsley, cilantro, a few basil varietals in the small pots. The metal pot had a big tomato plant that I grabbed. Then cucumber, yellow bean, Cubanelle pepper. Side of the house had sunsugar tomatoes (such a good choice!) Romano beans, zucchini, green beans.
Connecting with the past
Two of the communities that are deeply important to me, the two institutions that I feel wildly privileged to have grown up in are my alma maters: my Wellesley community, and my Exeter community.
Much of what I do in life is guided by the two latin mottos of these communities: Non Ministrari, Sed Ministrare – not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and Non Sibi – not for one’s self.
I spend a lot of quality time connected with my college both in a volunteer capacity, and because my house is 15 minutes from campus, but less time in New Hampshire, at the beautiful school I developed a deep love of learning at.
Fortunately, it was my high school reunion last weekend, a three day affair that brings us back to take classes, have conversations about our roles in the world, and inspires us to do better.
I’ll pat myself on the back because some of my best wing people weren’t attending, so I opted to head out to the three days of nostalgia solo. (Sort of my nightmare…) Not only did I make it through, I had a great time. Highlights included a crayfish lab, AP physics class, “Spring in Love”, and some deep Harkness discussions with old friends and classmates. And dining hall. Unlike your average school experience, I still *dream* of the desserts that were served, and still contemplate crashing campus to eat every so often…
More Good Things, a short list:
It was the height of spring weather – I spent a lot of time outside walking, sitting on the porch, in the grass, on my patio, and generally reveling in the sunshine. (We’ll just ignore that blip of the 40’s over the past few days.
A corgi named Sawyer moved into my neighborhood. Corgi puppies are ridiculous.
I went to the Boston Public Library for an event – it’s such a GEM of a building.
Spending time with Sara, my childhood best friend, over the course of a few evenings while she was in town. Teen movies, Game of Thrones, and Gentleman Jack for entertainment!
I got a free dinner at Cava! I’m the lamb shot girl… I’ll tell you the story some time.
I met a super FLOOF! puppy.
Cats in closets. I found one.
Research: the optimal filling of the dishwasher. Readers, I read the manual. Highly recommend.
Good Food: Of course, this wouldn’t be a sometimes food blog without me noting some of the delicious things I’ve eaten over the past few weeks.
This pasta with spring vegetables dish from Giuliano Hazan’s 30 minute pasta. (A gem of a cookbook!) The recipe is here. I usually double the amount of vegetables.
Chicken Marbella: if you lived through the 80’s, you likely had this classic recipe from the Silver Palate cookbook – a sweet, salty, sour party recipe that was on rotation at most dinner parties. (Including my aunt’s.)
The chicken is cooked with vinegar, capers, olives, prunes, brown sugar, and wine, and is delicious on day one or prepped a few days in advance. After eating the chicken, I keep any leftover sauce, and use it a second time to braise vegetables.
Elise from Simply Recipes has a simple adaptation (halving the amount of chicken) that I usually pull up to grab the recipe.
A very good snack: cottage cheese, drizzled with good olive oil, salt, plenty of black pepper, and a few soft boiled eggs.
A High-Lo Dinner: Trader Joe’s Diner Macaroni and Cheese topped with 6-8 ounces of lobster meat from Whole Foods.
Shutterbean’s Spicy Chicken with Chickpeas. Such a lovely recipe! Bookmarked to make again! (I’ll note: it’s a sheet pan recipe, but I cook almost all my meals in my Cuisinart Steam & Convection toaster oven because it’s an amazing little oven.)
Parsley Salad: I use the parsley as a green, and toss with lemon vinaigrette, chopped shallot, and chopped tomato.
The Second Lunch is a (mostly) food blog by Sam Tackeff about recipes, food writing, ingredient hunting, travel, healthy living, fitness, and everything in between.
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