But never have I had a dinner that started off … meeting chickens.
My friend Kate found about the dinner at Goat Lady Dairy, and told us about it and as soon as I read about it on the website, I was in. Actually, all I had to read was “goat cheese truffles” and I was in. So last night, Kate and Charlie, Anne and I (husbands were working, sadly) and Anne & Kate’s parents, Linda and Eddie, packed ourselves into the car and made the 50 minute drive out into the country (and it was indeed) to have dinner at the Goat Lady Dairy.
Our evening started off, as I mentioned, in the chicken coop. Steve Tate, one of the owners of the 15-year old goat farm, assured us that we would be better off not looking down at our feet while he chatted. We happily complied. Steve gave us a little history of how Goat Lady Dairy came to be, but more near and dear to my heart, he waxed poetic about sustainable farming.
If you’ve seen Food Inc, you know we’re in a tad bit of trouble – food wise – in this country. And I’m not just talking about the stuff that I usually talk about – weight loss, obesity, health. We’ve got totally disconnected from where our food comes from… and what our food is – and what that is doing to all of us. There’s a whole heckuva lotta stuff in the grocery store that your great-grandma wouldn’t even know how to identify, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. Cheap food comes at a great cost.
Oops, guess who else can wax poetic about sustainable farming? Sorry, I’ll just to keep myself in check here… Anyways, the point I was going to make is – I liked Food, Inc. I thought it was informative. But it was also a little bit IN YOUR FACE, YO and I know a lot of people had a hard time stomaching the film. Steve was pretty much the opposite, but with the same message. He spoke from a place of passion and purpose. Here we all were to have a delicious farm fresh meal, and he had recognized an opportunity to minister to a captive audience about a simple idea: “Food is the problem, but food can be the solution.” (His direct quote, but I loved it.) And we were a captive audience – indeed, we were in the chicken coop. See if a bunch of us city folks can figure out how to work that pen latch.
Genius. But genius delivered with a side of earnest, heartfelt truth about our food.
Oh and the food! The food we had for dinner last night was one of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life. Everything served came from the farm we were on, or a nearby local one. Considering March isn’t exactly known to be the most generous garden month of the year, I was a little curious as to what we would be served up. Here’s the blow by blow:
A cheese tasting platter, all the cheese coming from the goats on the farm. (They are, after all, a goat dairy. Their cheeses can be found at Reynolda Farm Market year round, as well as I think the Krankies market in the summer.)
The top cheese was a chevre mixed with carrots and a little bit of, I think dill? It was called the “spring garden goat cheese.” Amazing. And then the next one was called “Farmer’s Cheese” – a bit similar to a feta. The bottom one was called the “Smoked Round” which I will be buying in mass quantities to dollop generously on top of a tomato-basil-salad. I bit into that piece of cheese and my mind went “mmmm, summer.” The fourth one was a sweet chevre with honey and fig, and could pretty much have been dessert.
Course two was a roasted sweet potato soup with a hint of thyme. I hadn’t had enough wine to throw my manners out the window yet, or I’m certain I would have tipped the entire ramekin up and slurped it clean.
The third course was a cold kale (although previously sautéed?) salad with a sundried tomato lemon vinaigrette. This wasn’t my all time favorite, but that’s because I’m still learning to like greens. Not being a natural born Southerner, my palate still doesn’t quite know what to make of collards, kale and turnips. But I want to like them – hello, nutritional powerhouse – and this was certainly a step in the right direction. Fortunately Anne, Southern born and bred, finished off my plate for me. I informed her that she had gotten her fair share of vitamin K and her blood would be clotting well. “Uh huh, okay, but did you try the flower? It tastes like PURPLE!” was her response.
It did, surprisingly, taste like purple. (And yes, we checked. It was okay to eat them.)
The main event was venison and pork ragu served over a bed of polenta. Funny enough, we often had venison at my family Thanksgivings thanks to uncles who were handy with a shotgun and had a few too many Bambi’s in their backyard. It amuses me that I now see venison on some nicer restaurant menus as a “delicacy.” But, you can’t argue with good tasting meat right? Right.
The next course (I know, right?!) was the infamous goat cheese truffles. Oh my souls. Goat cheese and chocolate? Amazing.
And then finally….
Pound cake with dark chocolate sauce and an orange whipped cream. I was too full at this point to actually eat much of the dessert, but I do love me some real whipped cream. I now pledge this: I shall forever add orange zest to my whipped cream.
The food was amazing. I wish I could go back weekly, because the menu changes each week with whatever is in season. The setting was perfection – simple, rustic and wholesome. It’s obvious that everyone who works there believes in what they’re doing and why they are they, and it shows.
And the goats!
How could I forget to tell you about the goats? Well, for starters, they were all pregnant. Like, due any day now pregnant! After our session in the chicken coop, we were introduced to the goats.
I am quite certain Locke is going to have to buy his wife a goat this summer or else she is just not going to ever be happy again.
Although, I believe she said she’d be okay with a few chickens, too.
SO! If you live in Winston-Salem or Greensboro, make yourself a date with some goats and chickens and truly amazing meals. Gather up some friends, bring a couple bottles of wine (it’s BYOW) and don’t wear your favorite shoes.
If you don’t live here, read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Watch Food, Inc. Find a Farmer’s Market. Cook seasonal. Get a goat. Do what you can do – I think a lot of people get stuck because they feel like if they’re not going to go 100% organic, local, whatever, then they shouldn’t do it at all. I’m a far cry from eating “ideally” all the time (I’m certain the “Pirate’s Booty” I’m eating as I write this is neither local nor organic nor…gasp… nutritious…) but whatever small steps you can make towards eating in a way that supports your health and yup, the planet’s health, count.
And I mean, if eating sustainably means eating goat cheese truffles for dessert from time to time, well I’m sorry, that’s just the price you’ll have to pay.
I’ve known a couple people who do the “cook all your meals on Sunday” thing and I’ve always had a mixture of apprehension and hesitation about it. It seems like a tremendous amount of work (is it really a time saving?) and that it would be difficult to make healthy meals, as I’ve always pictured casseroles and other dense heavy meals sitting in the freezer.
But lo and behold, here I find myself with 4 recipes on the counter, along with 5 onions, 8 pounds of chicken, and just about pot and pan in my cupboard out, ready to be put to work. I genuinely love cooking, and furthermore, believe that most of the time, home cooked meals are healthier than restaurants meals. (They are, certainly, exceptions to this. Especially in the South.) BUT, as of March, I’m going to be switching to a 4-day work week and the 10 hour days, combined with a 40 minute commute both ways means I’ll be getting home pretty late most nights. Add a trip to the gym or an errand after work, and I could already forsee it was going to become quite tricky to assume I’d be cooking on a regular basis at night. Lest we become on first name basis with the folks at Jersey Mike’s down the street, I decided to tackle the Sunday cook-a-thon – since I will now have a 3rd day off every week (woohoo!), I figure it could very well be a good time investment.
I gave it a test run this weekend, and while it didn’t go perfectly, it was overall pretty successful. I cooked for 7 hours, used every pot and pan I own, chopped enough onions to give watching Stepmom a run for the cryfest title, and had to run the dishwasher twice. I didn’t quite pick out enough variety in my meals (all chicken, oops) and they weren’t the healthiest things in my repertoire BUT….
When all is said and done, I had 5 meals with 4 servings (10 meals for 2) PLUS I was able to take 3 2 servings meals to my next door neighbors, who just had a baby. So, 16 meals in 7 hours? Not bad.
Kitchen: After…. Oh dear.
It’s going to take me a while to perfect this strategy, but overall I think it’s going to work and I’m pleased with the solution instead of subjecting us to takeout or quick heat meals because “we’re busy.”
Here’s what I made:
6 grilled chicken breasts to top on salads or chop up and take for lunch w/ some pre-cooked whole grain pasta
Since it was the Sunday before Valentine’s Day, part of my prep was also making our Valentine’s Day dinner: seared steaks, roasted asparagus with proscuitto, twice baked potatoes and this delicious chocolate espresso cheesecake that was made mostly of cottage cheese. Not kidding. And I’m telling you that now, because my hubby has already eaten it and now he can know. Hi, honey!
All in all, this actually ended up being about 2 week’s worth of food, because we’re starting the 2nd week and we still haven’t finished it all up. I’ve even taking it for a lunch a few times, and it’s been a nice change of pace from my usual winter meal, turkey sandwiches.
The key to being able to do this, I think, is to be okay with eating the same thing a few times during the week. (Or making smaller portions, or freezing 1/2 of each dish.) I have no problem eating the same meal a few days in a row, but I’ve definitely talked to a few people about this strategy who were horrified at the idea of having chicken tetrazzini more than once in a week. *Shrugs*. If you’ve got the time to cook every night and have that variety, then there’s probably no need to attempt this. I never did, until I was faced with the alternative of not having time to cook and knowing that we would get into the habit of picking up meals or relying on quick and easy, more processed foods.
Some tips if you attempt this:
Plan ahead: Pick your recipes ahead of time, and look for things that have overlapping ingredients. I definitely took this one a bit too far with all chicken recipes, but besides that the ones I picked out also all had green peppers, chicken broth and onion in them. This allowed me to use up ingredients among the recipes easier.
Start with an empty dishwasher: Keep it open and load as you go. This helps keep clutter off the counter and it will make clean up less daunting.
Batch task: I learned this skill when I worked at GapKids and it has helped me in so many situations! Group like tasks together. For example, pull out all ingredients first. Measure out dry ingredients. Chop all vegetables at once. Then prep all meat. When you have a break (when something is cooking or simmering) wash dishes as you go.
Prep snacks and other meals too. You’ve already got the kitchen duty. Now is a perfect time to pre-chop veggies or salad mix. I bought a 3 pack of a peppers and only needed the green pepper and half the red pepper for my meals. The yellow and other half of the red ended up in strips to go with hummus for snacks later.
Listen to music! Whenever I have a long task to do, like cleaning the house or walking the dog or cooking, my iPod has been my saving grace. A little music, or even a book on tape can distract me enough that the hours fly by and the job gets done. I spent the first hour of my cooking bonanza listening to a church sermon, the middle 3 listening to Pandora radio (“Club Can’t Handle Me Right Now” station – hello, dancing in the kitchen) and the last 3 listening to the book “The Help.” I also like to download (free!) lectures from iTunes University or interesting podcasts. But that’s just me. But whatever you do: dont watch TV and cook. I have learned this over and over again. Well, again, maybe this is just me – but I get so distracted by the show, I end up working slower and it takes me twice as long to do everything.
Have an assistant. Even a furry one.
Keep your eyes on the prize. Even though I wasn’t working later yet this week, it was still so nice to do things after work and know that there was still a home cooked meal to be had that night. On Monday and Thursday, I went for a run. On Tuesday, I did my last Christmas return and went to dance class with Jamie and Anne. On Wednesday, I worked til 8 and on Friday, I crashed with a DVRed How I Met Your Mother and some crafting. Tonight, we’ll probably go out for dinner… because we want to. Not because we have to. And that’s exactly how I’d hope it would be.
This is another recipe from my Aunt Jennifer’s recipe book. I really like white chilis, and this one looked like it packed a little heat. It actually made a ton of soup, too. We had about 4 servings that I put in the fridge, 3 servings in the freezer and 3 to give to my neighbor. (I’m approximating a 1 cup serving.)
Here’s the how to. I don’t have any funny inside jokes about chili yet… so feel free to share yours if you’ve got one. No “beans, beans, they’re good for your heart” please.
I think you probably could use the pre-cooked shredded chicken for this, but I ended up dicing and cooking the chicken so it would get the flavor of the onions and garlic while it cooked.
The recipe also called for cumin, which I left out because, eww. That’s how I feel about cumin. If you like it, add a shake in. I think it was 1/2 tsp.
Aunt Jennifer’s White Chicken Chili 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 med onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves minced 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 14 oz can chicken broth 2 15 oz cans cannellini beans 1 4.5 oz can green chile peppers 1 tsp salt 3/4 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp pepper 1 dash cloves 1 dash ground pepper
1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. 2. Add chicken to brown and season. 3. Add all ingredients to a large pot. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 4. Serve w/ sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. If you’re going to freeze, allow it to cool first. Pour into glass jars or tupperware and leave room for it to expand.
Diced chicken to cook. (Sometimes I use scissors to dice. It’s faster and I’m lazy.)
Chicken, onion and garlic cooking in the back – the pot I cooked it all in front.
Cooling before it goes into the plastic tupperware.
I would serve this with a small side salad, or maybe a nice crusty whole grain roll. Between the chicken and the beans, it’s got protein and fiber galore so it should be super filling. Everything seems to settle a bit, so it will need a good stir before serving if you’re reheating.
I’m gonna go ahead and apologize, because I have yet another recipe that triggers an immediate inside joke… ‘cept this one is between me and anyone who watched the soup in 2010. If you’re one of those people, I’m willing to guess you couldn’t help but hear this in your head when you read this title:
I’m not going to link the longer clip (just look up “chicken tetrazzini” on youtube if you’d like), but be warned it’s NSFW. Or children. Or your sanity.
chick-en-tet-ra-zzini.
So, where were we? Oh yes, chicken… chicken tetrazzini. Despite the fact that The Soup has pretty much made this dish a joke in our household, it is DELICIOUS. And it’s easy to make ahead of time, freezes nicely and travels well. The recipe came from Wino Emily and she’s made it for us on many occasions. When I was getting married, I had a kitchen/recipe shower and this was the recipe she gave me.
It makes a lot – you could do either one big lasagna dish or 2 small 9×9 dishes. I did 2 small ones, so we could eat one and give one away. I again used my big serving of pre-cooked shredded chicken for this one.
4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can cream of celery soup 16 oz sour cream chopped pimientos, drained and rinsed small container of fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 small box of spaghetti noodles 2 c shredded cheddar cheese 1 onion chopped 1 green pepper chopped
1. Cook and shred chicken. 2. Cook noodles according to box’s directions. 3. Mix soups, sour cream, and salt and pepper. 4. Saute onion and green peppers. Add mushrooms. 5. Add noodles to soup mixture. Stir/toss (it will be very thick.) Add sauteed veggies and chicken. Pimientos are added last so they don’t color the sauce. 6. Place in a greased dish. Top with cheese. 7. Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour or freeze uncooked to be baked later.
I actually made a double batch to have some more for our freezer, and it was so big I had to get out my giant salad bowl to mix it in.
Unless you’re feeding a crowd, you don’t have to double it. We’ve got chicken tetrazzini to spare. (Luckily, it freezes beautifully!)
I forgot to take a finished product picture, but to be honest – it’s not the prettiest dish. You’re just going to have to trust me that it’s a crowd pleaser and easy to boot. It’s obviously a pretty calorie dense meal, but a small serving goes a long way. Pair it with a simple side salad, and you’ve got dinner – for a few nights or for a big group.
Or, to seduce your best friend’s boyfriend.
The next few day’s posts will be featured in one post at the end of the week explaining how I cooked *all* these meals in one day. Yea, I’m superwoman. No big deal.
My Aunt Jennifer is one of the best cooks I know, so when a few years ago when she passed down her old recipe binder to me (I guess she was updating her recipes into a new one), I felt like I inherited a treasure book of secrets. I always think of Chicken Pot Pie as the quintessential meal that people make to fill up someone’s freezer when they’re going through a rough time and so it was no surprise to me that Jennifer’s recipe was for 2 pies with the directions: “Make one and freeze one to give away.”
Yes ma’am.
This recipe is super easy, but I was really happy with how it tasted. I put in a few more veggies than it called for, and it made for a very filling meal.
Side bar: I literally cannot eat or make CPP without singing a little diddy to myself of “chicken pot chicken pot chicken pot pie.” My HS best friend (Hi, Kris!) and I had this as an inside joke, and like most good inside jokes, I had no clue where it originated from. Enter google. It took me about 3 minutes to find out it was from an episode of Just Shoot Me, where David Cross pretends to be Slow Donnie in order to get attention.
It’s at 0:57. And now, it can be stuck in your head too. You’re welcome.
Anyways! Cooking, right? Yes, cooking.
For most of the recipes I made this week, I had boiled a lot of chicken and then shredded it. This went into these pies, the tetrazini and the buffalo chicken sandwich.
Aunt Jennifer’s Chicken Pot Pie 14 oz frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas & green bean mix) 1/3 C butter 1/3 C flour 1/3 C chopped onion 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 3/4 c chicken broth 2/3 c milk 3 c cooked shredded chicken (approx 2-3 chicken breasts) 2 pie crusts*
1. Melt butter 2. Add flour onion, salt and pepper. Stir quickly to dissolve flour lumps. 3. Add broth and milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. 4. Add chicken and veggies. Stir for a minute to thicken. 5. Pour mixture into 2 pie shells. 7. Bake at 425 for 40 minutes. After the first 15 minutes, put tin foil on the edge of the pie crust to keep it from burning.
*I buy the Pillsbury pie crusts that are in the fridge/dairy section. Take them out of the fridge before you prep to come to room temp. Directions are on the box. You will need a pie dish to make this in, and if you’re giving one away you can usually find a disposable tin one with a lid in the plastics aisle. You can also buy the frozen pie crusts already in a tin (buy 2) and 1 box of the Pillsbury dough as the top crusts for each of the pies.
I have also seen CPP recipes where, instead of using a top layer of pie crust, you use the Pillsburgy crescent rolls and lay it out in a lattice shape across the top. This is intended to cut down on how much pastry dough is used in order to make the recipe a little healthier. I’ve done this in the past, and it does turn out fine. So if you wanted to healthify this a little bit, you could do that.
I decided to make it the traditional way this time though.
Before & After. The after-after? An empty pie plate. Yum!
If you freeze or give-away, include the instructions to reheat in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes. For a truly authentic experience, be sure to add a Well, bless your heart as you deliver it to a friend or neighbor in need.
The next few day’s posts will be featured in one post at the end of the week explaining how I cooked *all* these meals in one day. Yea, I’m superwoman. No big deal.
Something fortuitous happened to me this week. I had been couponing a little too aggressively and as a result, I ended up with 7 cans of crushed or diced tomatoes on my shelf. I don’t really like stockpiling food, and all these cans of tomatoes were bugging me. Since I don’t really care for pasta dishes, I wasn’t sure how I was going to use up all the tomatoes. I went to AllRecipes to do a search by ingredients for crushed tomatoes when I came up on this recipe for Tomato Basil Soup.
It’s no secret I love tomato soup. But I’ve gotten picky. I don’t really care for the Campbell’s condensed version (although in a pinch, it will do… especially if there is grilled cheese to dunk in it.) My craving is best satiated by Panera’s version – slightly creamy, a little hint of basil, and great tomato chunk texture. This recipe looked like a perfect replica.
I only made a half batch to see if I liked it, and I made a few tweaks by cutting back some of the butter that seemed extraneous. It was so good. I know exactly where the rest of those canned tomatoes are headed.
Here’s the half-batch recipe (made 4 1 cup servings), with my tweaks. You can still see the original in the link above:
1 (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
8 oz chicken broth
10 basil leaves, minced**
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 T butter
**I didn’t have fresh basil on hand but I had minced, frozen basil on hand. I get it in the freezer section of Harris Teeter. This is the brand I use.
How to:
1. Add the can of crushed tomatoes to the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add basil and sugar. Reduce heat to low and stir in cream and butter. Stir until butter has melted.
3. Serve with homemade croutons! (See below).
Homemade Croutons
This isn’t really even a recipe… just a quick how to. Cut up any stale bread into bite sized pieces. Put in a ziploc bag and add just a drizzle of olive oil. Add any type of seasoning you want (I like just a pinch of salt and dried basil). Pour on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Flip, and bake for another 10 minutes. They’ll keep in a tupperware or plastic bag for about a week.
Enjoy! I apologize in advance to Panera on Penny Rd. You will probably see a substantial drop in your tomato soup business now.
****
(Oh hey, stats! In case you’re counting. Per 1 cup serving: 217 cals, 14.5g fat, 628 mg sodium, 6g fiber, 6g protein. Croutons will depend on how much bread and OO you use. I used 3 oz bread + 2 T olive oil. Per serving (4 svgs): 116 cals.)
On a wall in my living room hangs a rural scene A structure so sturdy in a field so serene The brush stroke that rendered the settings precise Its value incomparable to any asking price I imagine the artist as she selected the frame And in the lower right corner, she signed her name
A painter, a quilter, a gardener and cook Her talents have always demanded a look But her greatest creation hangs not on a wall Nor covers a bed or grows in soil so tall Its cultivation took years and hard work and love And support of someone who smiles down from above
Her masterpiece can’t be seen, touched nor heard Its description requires more than a word There are seven in fact that she gave herself to Gave love and belief in all that they do That first clan has flourished to nine and twenty From New York to Georgia, love and laughter are plenty
The artist’s hand, both gentle and sure Has created a piece that through time will endure I imagine the artist as upon us she gazes I wonder if she will ever fully hear all our praises Just like her name on that lower right side Her name and her touch we all carry with pride
written 12/25/07 for Grandma
****
On Monday morning, I came back in for a run and saw I had missed a call from my Mom. No one ever calls at 5:30 am with good news, so I had a feeling I knew why she was calling.
My Grandma was, as my Aunt Patty put it, the original superwoman. She had 5 kids by the time she was 25, and added two more to the clan a few years later. She could do anything around the house, and she was creatively talented as well. She could paint a masterpiece inspired by a pot of flowers sitting on her kitchen table while a carrot cake from scratch baked in the oven, and finish it off by hand stitching a quilt for someone’s Christmas gift. We ran into one of her best friends at the grocery store today, and woman who had known her for more than 60 years, and she told us that she used to iron diapers. I’m honestly not surprised.
My Grandma was a fiercely independent and extraordinary competent, but she wasn’t what you would call a "warm and fuzzy" woman. In fact, my siblings and I often quote one of her most famous lines spoken to my brother one Christmas a few years ago when the cousins took over cooking. "Michael, this bruschetta is terrible."
You could trust Grandma to always tell it like it is, like it or not. She may not have always been right, but I can assure you, she was never wrong. Her love was not doled regularly in platitudes, but measured in acts of service – a pot roast delivered to your fridge, a hand painted Christmas card, a made from scratch Boston Creme pie every birthday, a washer and dryer found for a struggling young mother. Grandma’s love language was doing, and if you were listening for that, she never stop speaking it. When I had been out running on Monday, I saw a shooting star drop from the sky. I literally stopped in my tracks and said "Buddy, LOOK!" (He didn’t, of course, as he was much more interested in dislocating my shoulder in an attempt to sniff a nearby tree.) I’d never seen one before and I was awestruck for a second at how bright it burned, yet fell so quickly and disappeared. Once it was gone, there was no physical evidence that indicated it’s path – just my memory of it.
When we gathered on Saturday to say our good-byes and remember her life, I think we all felt a bit like I had felt on that street corner Monday morning.
Gone are any physical reminders of the path of this fiery, bright life. Now we stand together, a bit bewildered, reminding one another of all the memories that we collectively share that prove that she was there, she touched each one of us, she burned a path through this Universe.
Goodbye, Grandma. We will miss you, and your love will burn brightly in our hearts.
This is my 3rd year filling this out (see: 2008 and 2009 here if you want) and every year I love taking the hour or so it takes me to write it to just think back to what’s transpired in the past year, and my expectations and hopes for the future year. To give credit where credit is due, I originally found it on this blog.
1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before? Traveled to California. Twice. Made sushi. Got air on the wakeboard. Hosted Christmas. Took engagement photos. Twice. Took a yoga class.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn’t post my resolutions anywhere public, but I had jotted these down at the end of last year and stuck them in my journal. I came across them a few weeks ago. Here’s how I did:
- Try yoga: I took a beginner’s class with Anne and Crystal in January. I liked it, but never did anything after our 5 classes were up.
- Shoot more people: I do believe I meant photograph more people… and if so, I did this. I shot Katie and Dylan’s engagement photos, and Jess and Charlie’s. Jamie and I also spent an afternoon doing headshots of each other. I loved every moment of these shoots, and I definitely want to do more in 2011.
- Try 12 different wines: I am 100% certain I achieved this goal.
- Make my blog look the way I wanted it to: Well, I didn’t do it but Heather, and then Loren, both made my blog look like I wanted it to. And Loren has made me a logo, so next up is a Facebook page.
- Exert the willpower to be kind: I honestly did try to keep my mouth shut whenever I felt like I was going to gossip or judge. I can’t say that I always did this, but I know I was more conscious of it than I had been in the past.
- Read the books I have: I only bought two new books this year, and I made a good effort to read the ones I had borrowed or bought before. I didn’t read all of them, and I returned a few that I knew I probably wasn’t going to.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes! This was quite the year of babies. Let’s see… I’ll apologize in advance if I’ve gotten birth months wrong. My grad school friend Ellen welcomed twins Haley and Spencer in January. Jamie’s Aunt Gig and Uncle Jon, who Matt and I want to adopt as our own family members after visiting in Utah and Toronto, brought Georgia into the world at the end of January. My cousin Danielle had her fourth(!!), a little girl named Riley in February. Another Baltimore friend, Katie, had her sweet Madelyn in February as well. My bloggy friend Kathryn introduced us to precious Quinn in September, and I love getting to see his days captured in her amazing photography. Another blog/Twitter friend Lindsay had her sweet Claire in March, and I love seeing her grow each month via good ol’ Twitpic. Our residency friends Tim and Crystal had their little boy in November, and that was especially fun because she’s the first friend I’ve ever lived in the same place with during a pregnancy. And lastly, our next door neighbors Clay and Mindy welcomed their Christmas gift, Mason James, into their lives just 10 days ago. 8 babies? That’s a lot of diapers being changed in 2010.
4. Did anyone close to you die? One of my research participants passed away, quite unexpectedly, in late summer.
5. What countries did you visit? My passport sat in the safe deposit box for the entirety of 2010. Now that’s just sad.
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? More appreciation for the present moment. Starbucks gift cards. More locally grown food.
7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Feb 14th – my baby sis called to tell me she was engaged
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Tripling the number of coaching clients I had in 2009. Finished writing my book. (Don’t ask me what the next step is. Unless you know what the next step is, then tell me.) Interviewing and getting a new job. Was I supposed to choose one?
9. What was your biggest failure? Not being more in the moment / wishing time would hurry up.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I did not. 2010 was healthy – my colitis was in remission and I made it through half marathon training with just a few aches and pain. Very thankful for this.
11. What was the best thing you bought? an iPad for my hubby, a bunch of delicious wine in Sonoma County and lift tickets in Park City
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My hard-working husband. I am hoping that in our 4th year of marriage his “never complain” policy will finally rub off on me. He was also super supportive when I was going through a rough patch earlier this year, he’s not afraid to use a vacuum and he never erases The Office or The Soup off the DVR before I’ve watched it. How could you not celebrate that?
Also, those Chilean miners were pretty awesome too this year, eh?
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Dooce taught us all an important lesson on “topics of which we shall not blog.” Moving on.
14. Where did most of your money go? According to Mint.com, Harris Teeter and Wells Fargo Mortgage.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Jess’ wedding. Travels to California and Utah. Hosting our Christmas party for the 3rd time. Running on the Lowe’s Motor Speedway for my half. (Which turned out to be not nearly as exciting as one would hope.)
16. What song will always remind you of 2010? Free by Zac Brown Band. Anything by the Glee cast (sorry co-workers.) Forget You (or you know, that other version) by Cee-Lo.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder?b) thinner or fatter?c) richer or poorer? a) I wouldn’t say sadder, but I feel like this year had some growing pains for me. Martially and socially, I am happier than ever. I have been healthy, which always begets happy. Professionally, it was just a challenging year in many ways and I feel a little ruffled from that still… but not sadder. Maybe just pensive and hopeful about change and what’s to come. b) Thinner, considering this time last year I was on prednisone. Hello, chipmunk cheeks. (Otherwise, the same.) c) Slightly richer, thanks to no longer working in the public sector.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Traveled. Wrote. Prayed. Listened. Blogged.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Complained. Judged. Whined. Cleaned out Buddy’s crate.
20. How did you spend Christmas? My in-laws came up on Christmas Eve for dinner and exchanging gifts. I spent Christmas Day like a regular Saturday – folding laundry, cleaning, working out – while Matt went to work. My parents and brother came on Sunday, Katie and Dylan came on Tuesday and we did “Claffey Christmas” on Tuesday night.
21. Did you fall in love in 2010? I think it’s fair to say I went head over heels for a little house named “Jimtown” located in Sonoma County. I just pray that it’s not an unrequited love, and I shall see my beloved again one day. (Too dramatic?)
22. What was your favorite TV program? Glee and How I Met Your Mother
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I will be really disappointed in myself if I ever answer yes to this question – I’d like to make it a lifelong goal to never feel hatred towards someone. Yuck. (So the answer is: no.)
24. What was the best book you read? Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. The Hunger Games series.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Vampire Weekend (I heard them on M+K’s blog, loaded them into Pandora and fell in love.) Zac Brown Band. Phoenix. A Fine Frenzy.
26. What did you want and get? A new job. A new camera lens.
27. What did you want and not get? Work from home privileges. Buddy to chill out. Frye boots.
28. What was your favorite film of this year? The Blind Side. (It was excellent, although to be fair I only saw that and Eclipse this year in the theater.)
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 28! We went down to Myrtle Beach for a few days, and then came back to Winston and met friends out at Foothills.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A hefty dose of patience and maybe a less anxious dog.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Ann Taylor Loft + Ebay/Goodwill + Target. Skinny jeans with flats or riding boots. Lots of scarves.
32. What kept you sane? My hubby, gratitude journaling, wine, best friends, monthly wine nights with best friends, my mom, running.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I fancy Oprah, with a side of Jamie Oliver.
34. What political issue stirred you the most? I don’t really follow politics due to the teeth clenching it usually provokes, but I have to say I am still scratching my head that we’re debating gay marriage. I’m quite certain we’re going to look back at this issue in 20 years and think we were ridiculous for not making it legal sooner.
35. Who did you miss? My parents, my sis, and far-flung friends.
36. Who was the best new person you met? I can’t remember if it was the end of last year or early this year, but we met our friends Kate and Charlie through our friends Anne and Locke, and I’m thankful for our friendship with them and I’ll be doing my best to make sure they intend to be long-time Winston residents like us.
I also met a number of friends through Twitter first, and then in real life. I love when social media turns real life social.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. Happiness is an act of purpose, a result of intentional thinking. It doesn’t just happen and it’s not about luck or circumstance. And it’s not about stuff that happened in the past or is going to happen in the future, it’s about being grateful and present in the right this moment now. I hope I carry that lesson with me firmly into 2011.
Should old acquaintance be forgot and ne’er brought to mind…?
(Um, no? I should hope not. I must say I never quite understood how such a sad song became the way we kick off each New Year.)
We rang in 2011 with good friends and a good meal. The Meyers hosted our little gang for a potluck dinner. As we ate, we all discussed how happy we were to be in a cozy home with good friends instead of corralled on a cold New York City street with strangers and porta-potties. At midnight, we gathered round to count down for the big drop. Happy 2011!
On Christmas Eve, we hosted Matt’s parents for dinner and a gift exchange. I had had a hard time deciding what to cook for dinner until I saw that prime rib was on sale at Harris Teeter, and knowing that was a favorite of Matt’s, decided to go with that. The day before, I emailed my Dad to ask for directions since it was my first time cooking prime rib.
Or so I thought, until a few days later when I looked back at a post from Christmas last year and saw that was my first time cooking prime rib.
Not only that, but the battery in my meat thermometer died again this year.
Or more likely, I haven’t used it since then.
I don’t know why but 2010 seems to have gone so fast. Maybe because there weren’t as many hugely significant events this year as last year (2009: buying a house, getting a dog, graduating from med school.) When I think back on 2010, things like California in March, or going to Utah in January, or running my half in September all seem to have transpired in just a few weeks time. In fact, it seems like Christmas 2009 was just here, and yet somehow the calendar tells me it was a full 365 days ago. When I was looking back on last year’s post (and discovering that my memory is not so sharp), I felt like I was reading something I had just written a few days ago.
Anyways, I’ll save those musings for my year end review post.
I didn’t attempt to make homemade yeast rolls again this year, but otherwise the menu seemed to be quite similar from last year’s: roasted asparagus, roasted sweet potatoes, salad and rolls. I guess I have a go-to Christmas menu now. (No one seems to be complaining…)
I also added a new dessert to my repertoire: jam cake. I had never heard of jam cake, but Matt’s Dad had asked me a few weeks before Christmas if I knew how to make it and said it was something his Mom always had at Christmas, so I set off on a mission to make it. Matt enlisted the help of his Dad’s former next door neighbor, and she sent us a recipe via Facebook. Using that recipe, and a few iterations from ones found online to make a brown sugar glaze (heaven), I made jam cake.
I was so excited for my big reveal…. until I learned that Matt’s Aunt Paige had also made jam cake the night before! She had come across a recipe in a cookbook, so we’ll have to compare notes later. Anyways, it wasn’t quite as exciting or nostalgic as I had hoped, but Matt’s Dad seemed pleased to have a second crack at it. After dinner, we did a gift exchange with Matt’s parents and sent them home with hugs for Nanta and Pa, and of course, the remainder of the jam cake.
Christmas Day turned out to be rather quiet and uneventful. Matt and Buddy snoozed for most of the morning, so I did laundry and cleaned the house, just like a regular Saturday!
After Matt went to work, I was feeling sort of low that it was Christmas and I wasn’t really doing anything Christmas-y so after far too long reading about other people’s Christmas on Facebook, I shut down the computer and picked up one of my favorite books, Two From Galilee.
Matt had been given this book from Nanta a few years ago, and I stumbled upon it when we were packing him up to move in together. It’s the story of Christmas, but it’s told from the perspective of Mary and Joseph. I remember picking it up to read one night when I was looking for something to read before bed, and becoming totally transfixed. I never had really given much consideration to what Mary and Joseph must have experienced. I think about the stigma that’s attached to unwed, teen mothers today and imagine that it must have been a thousand-fold worse for Mary. And for Joseph, to have believed that she hadn’t been unfaithful to him and to stand by her, was incredibly courageous, and then the way he falls in love with his infant son despite it not being “his” is so endearing. The story moved me the first time I read it, so I decided that it was the perfect way for me to remember that while there’s Christmas (celebrating with family, opening gifts, eating sticky buns), there is also December 25th: the birthday of Jesus. We celebrated Christmas with Matt’s family on the 24th, and were going to celebrate with mine on the 28th, so this ended up being a perfect reminder of what December 25th is really all about.
My parents and brother arrived Sunday evening, after a harrowing 12 hour drive through some major snowstorms. We had a nice dinner together, and sadly, an early evening as I had to go to work the next day. Katie and Dylan arrived on Tuesday, and when I got home from work, we kicked off our Claffey Christmas. It was an odd mash-up of traditions: Dad wearing the Santa hat handing out gifts one by one (although we always claim he does this to save all of his for the end), opening our stockings, getting a new pair of PJs, laughing and making fun of each other. But there was much that was untraditional: for starters, that we were celebrating at night time and took a break when dinner was ready. (Prime Rib, round 2.) Instead of our breakfast Bloody Mary’s, we had vino and beers that were kept cold in the snow drift on our back deck. And of course, that we were at our house instead of home in New York in our living room. But the most important pieces were there: we were all seven together, celebrating Christmas and Dad got a Dilbert calendar.
My favorite gift was to my parents from all us kids. At home, there’s a picture of the 3 of us – Michael, Katie and I – on the mantel that was taken in 2003. It’s a nice picture, although Katie doesn’t like it because it was during her Barbie-blonde hair and super thin eye brow stage. Guess I wouldn’t have wanted a picture from my senior year of high school captured forever on our parent’s wall either: my Fiona Apple middle part hair and penchant for tube tops were no better. Anyways, my mom has been saying for the last 2 years that she wanted an updated picture, now that Matt and Dylan were part of our family. (Well, to be honest, Dylan still has 6 more months to decide if this is in his best interest.) So I enlisted the help of Jamie over Thanksgiving, and us kids snuck off to do a little photo shoot. Jamie was a trooper, because it was dark outside and there were five of us to round up. But with a heavy dose of patience, a good use of flash and a little photoshop to lighten, we got a good shot and had it blown up on canvas and framed to give to my parents. Here’s the pictures we used. And my favorite, an outtake.
On Wednesday, Mom made her traditional sticky buns and we tried to create some order out of the wrapping paper chaos. Matt hit the slopes for some snowboarding on Wednesday, so the rest of the clan got ready to head down to Charlotte to spend the rest of the week since I was still working. We hit the road at the same time, and I waved good-bye to them as I took the exit for 40-East and they went 40-West. I got a little knot in my throat as I watched them drive away in the rearview mirror, because the holidays were officially over.
Fast as they got here, the holidays seemed to go by even faster. I’m thankful that both sets of parents, Matt and mine, were accommodating to our crazy work schedules (mine was the unforgiving one this year!) and were willing to make the trip to see us, or celebrate on non-traditional days. It was nice to extend our celebrations out over almost a week, and sure helped delay the onset of post holiday blues for a couple extra days. (Although it does make for one long blog post!)
Merry Christmas, ya’ll. Hope that no matter what day(s) you celebrated, you were with loved ones!
