2014 was a ridiculously great year. I started it hugely pregnant and quickly found myself with a newborn, which was unlike anything I had ever imagined. The short version, it was better. The long version, read past posts. Professionally, I had my first journal article published and spent my time at the museum working on big projects that matter. We traveled a lot, celebrated friends’ weddings and accomplishments, spent time with all of our big family, had fires in our backyard, drank wine, started and finished home improvement projects, cooked meals and were generally blessed.
I have no idea what 2015 will bring. I know that in a few days, I’ll have a one-year-old who is close to walking. I know that we will start and finish projects, make meals and hang out on the couch binge watching TV episodes. I will read books and try to exercise more. I will consume more caffeine than I did last year largely thanks to Greg’s new espresso machine.
I’ve never been big on new year’s resolutions. January is a hard month for me, which makes it a bad time to try to change or create new habits. In the past, it has lead to frustration and made my mental state worse instead of better. So instead of resolving to massively change something, I take on a project. In college, I did a 365 day photo project, which resulted in a visual journal of the year I was 21. Last year, I had a baby. 2015 is the year that I will learn how to cook Asian food.
For those of you geographically inclined, you know that Asia is an extremely large continent. The sheer amount of land mass has resulted in varied food cultures, some with overlapping flavors and others that are quite distinct. That means that saying that I am going to learn how to cook Asian food is ambitious and includes Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese cuisines among many others. I want to learn how to make the noodle dishes I like to eat and expand what we have for dinner. Our first dinner of 2015 was chicken apple curry, a very mild curry that the kid loved. Authentic? Probably not. Different and delicious? Definitely.
Anybody got any cookbook recommendations?
Caroline Mitchell Carrico 