No Turning Back Now…

First and foremost, have a happy holiday. Whatever holiday you celebrate, have a happy one. I wish you and yours the very best. I really do.



I’m pretty Christmas obsessed, so Merry Christmas to those who share my love for the holiday.




Now for the stuff we really need to talk about; food and 2012. Let’s touch on food first.



If you have a goal to try new recipes, now is the best time to start. If you wait until tomorrow, you may not want to. Start today. Make something new and maybe more difficult than you’re used to. You’d be surprised at how easy most “difficult” sounding recipes are. Usually they just take time. Sometimes you need fancy equipment, but usually it’s a patience thing. Go outside of your comfort zone and give that recipe you keep reading but convincing yourself you can’t do ‘cause it’s “too difficult.” You’ll be fine, trust yourself.



My goal is to make duck. I’ve never made it myself. Eaten it plenty of times, but always thought it was “too difficult.” Also, I’d like to make the best tasting traditional French cassoulet I possibly can. I had it for the first time on my honeymoon in France and was blown away. It was, by far, my favorite meal the entire trip. If I can get the flavors right, I would be one seriously happy camper. Okay, I told you mine, tell me yours.



We all want good luck for the new year, right? Here are some foods thought to bring good luck. Hey, couldn’t hurt, right?


Noodles In many Asian countries, long noodles are eaten on New Year's Day in order to bring a long life. One catch: you can't break the noodle before it is all in your mouth. Try this recipe.


Black-Eyed Peas A common good luck food in the southern United States, black-eyed peas are thought to bring prosperity, especially when served with collard greens. Try this recipe.

Cooked Greens Cooked greens, including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year's in different countries for a simple reason, their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune. The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, the Germans consume sauerkraut (cabbage) while in the southern United States, collards are the green of choice. It's widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one's fortune next year. Try this recipe.

Lentils Thought to resemble coins, lentils are eaten throughout Italy for good fortune in the New Year. Try this recipe.

Pomegranate Long associated with abundance and fertility, pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries for luck in the New Year. Try this recipe.

Fish In North America, Asia, and Europe, people eat fish to celebrate the new year. In some countries, people associate fish with moving forward into the new year since fish swim forward. Other people think fish symbolize abundance since they swim in schools. Try this recipe.

Go forth and have good luck!



Okay, we need to discuss 2012. Please don’t start the new year waking up on the bathroom floor with barf dried on your cheek and chunks in your hair. Let’s start the new year on a positive note, sans the barf. Well, if you’re auditioning for Jersey Shore, then the more barf the better really. In that particular case, yes, barf is apropos.

I had a good 2011. No complaints here. I mean, if you want me to, I totally can, but overall, a good year. I’m happy with it. I hope you guys had a good one too. The thing I try to remember is there is nothing we can do about yesterday, we can only look to the future. This is the perfect time to remind yourself that you can’t change the past, but make a point to better your future. We all have things we probably would have preferred to do differently, the reality is, without a time machine, there’s nothing we can do. By all means, make amends with those you’ve wronged, but other than that, not much we can do now.



I challenge you to make conscious decisions that will better your future and enhance your life in some way. Don’t get caught up in the everyday crap, think big picture here. If you’re miserable in your day to day, find a way to fix it. Don’t dwell on the negative, you’ll wind up being the person no one wants to hang out with. Find the positive, it’s there. It may be teeny tiny and seem lame, but if it’s something to get your mind off the negative, do it. Dwell on that instead. Happiness equals good health. Smile, that’s also good for your health. Wear pretty nail polish, that’s also been known to cure diseases.

Happy New Year peeps. Let’s do it up right. Be strong this year. Everyone has a story, everyone is dealing with something. Be a good friend.

If you bake a dessert and it’s a total flop, don’t go crazy over it. If you spend hours in the kitchen cooking dinner and it’s just “okay,” so what. Not the end of the world. Life goes on.



And remember, unless you’re planning on being Snooki 2, don’t start the year a sloppy, hung over mess. That is super not cute.