New Food Resolutions: 2012

For 2011, I listed out a few ingredients I either never cooked with or hardly did, and I thought doing a similar exercise would be good for this year. There were some dark horses that snuck their way on my list and now I would never turn back on (I'm looking at YOU cauliflower and Brussels sprouts!). Looking at last year's list, however, I didn't do all that well (we'll blame it on the ever-so-small life event that was our engagement and wedding):

• Eggplant - Yeah, I'm still not a fan.


• Tofu - I experimented with tofu during my Vegan Week and enjoyed it, though it still isn't a favorite and definitely doesn't make an appearance all that often on my table.


• Mussels - Sadly I didn't get to this one. It's going on the 2012 list.


• Tarragon - While I didn't cook much with tarragon, I had it in a few more dishes and discovered I really just don't like it.


• Fennel - See Tarragon :)


• Leafy greens (kale, mustard greens, etc.) - This was by far my greatest 2011 resolution success. Due in large part to the green smoothies Luke and I now drink every morning and to fun and sassy salads, we've incorporated more leafy greens in our diets. This will definitely continue into the New Year.

Here's to hoping the 2012 food resolutions go a bit better!

• Goat - now that this is becoming a bit more "main stream" I might need to take a stab at cooking goat. Let's see how it goes!


• Tamales - After reading a bunch of fun Christmas posts on different variations of tamales and enjoying some at my mother in law's house for Christmas, I'd like to try these this year.


• Homemade ravioli - you've seen my post on homemade pasta. Now I want to take it a step further to make some delicious homemad ravioli. Hoping to accomplish this by February!


• Indian cuisine - I never make it, that's sad. Also, I never eat it except for the Indian offerings at the hot food bar at Whole Foods. This year, that's all changing!


• Make my own tortillas - how have I never done this?! Luke and I go through taco phases, but I have a feeling once I master the tortilla, they'll be a lot more frequent.


• The whole bird: Other than occasionally roasting a whole chicken, I rarely opt for the larger cuts of meat or the whole bird. Not only is it a better value to buy it all, but often you get a great deal more flavor by cooking larger cuts.

I also realized earlier this week that I don't have a basic mac and cheese recipe on the blog (a crime considering how much I love it and make it!) anything else you're hoping will appear in 2012?

Thanks for another great year,

Apron