Happy 2024! This New Years Day was spent close to home, and definitely was defined by us making three of the staples we love...
First, my honey made his famous homemade pasta from scratch, with just organic semolina, organic pastured eggs (can't wait for spring when our ducks are laying again!) and a touch of salt. While he was doing that, I came up with the idea of revamping our half-empty hall closet (hey, we downsized before moving! we just don't have the 'stuff' anymore!) to create a "pasta drying shelf" which is working like a charm. Yes, those are curtain hangers (I don't see the use in spending $25 on a dowel-style dryer) and yes, as they dry they start to fall off them onto the cookie sheet below...and yes, it tastes divine!
Next, my weekly loaf of sourdough, this one being a 50/50 mix of organic white bread and whole wheat flours and tossed into a cast iron skillet. They look and taste a little different each time as I mix up the flour ratios and flavors, but they always taste damn good. So good, in fact, I have to slow my fella down from gobbling up half the loaf the first night!
And finally, making a batch of about a gallon of veggie stock. I keep a silicone bag in the freezer to collect the scraps of onions, carrots, garlic, mushroom, ginger and the occasional parmigiano-reggiano cheese rind, and when it's full? Toss it in a pot that morning with water and a smattering of herbs, and bam! Stock by evening (or in this case, afternoon, as I actually needed some of it for a recipe so it's more broth than stock this time around).
All of this, matched with some time working on a back patio project, a morning walk in the brisk morning air, and our 2nd annual hoppin' john to bring luck in the new year? A chill day which will hopefully be the sign of a chill 2024.
“Each New Year, we have before us a brand new book containing 365 blank pages. Let us fill them with all the forgotten things from last year—the words we forgot to say, the love we forgot to show, and the charity we forgot to offer.” ~ Peggy Toney Horton
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