Tag Archives: traditions

A fun read to plan for your New Year’s Eve celebrations!

I just wanted to share a link with you, as you plan your NYE celebrations.

NPR’s food blog The Salt is always good for some interesting food news and ideas. I’m glad I stumbled on it a month or so ago.

I found this post, on New Years Eve traditions around the world, particularly delightful. Possibly because I have both lentils and sausage in my house, and the ethnicity I can most lay claim to is Italian. (Or maybe I just like the idea of throwing things, and I think throwing them off my 6th floor balcony sounds more fun than at my neighbor’s front door.)

I possibly ought to be looking for a Hoppin’ John recipe (which I know I have, as I think on it, in No Red Meat), since I am, far more than I am Italian, American.… Continue reading →

Merry Christmas

I love Christmas. I can’t lie. I think Christmas lights are the best thing ever, and I love the stories that go along with the ornaments that hang on our tree. Even the unremarkable “we totally bought them at Macy’s for our first Christmas together” ornaments. They’re remarkable to us.

Our tree has very few ornaments that are just there for filler. There’s one or two, purchased years ago when we weren’t together or that first year we were together. (Of course, those ones, over the few Christmases since, have been upgraded.) Mostly the ornaments on our tree tell the story of us. Mostly, to be honest, the story of Bill or the story of Tasha before we were Bill plus Tasha. I love it. I love that we are blending our histories together via history, Christmas ornaments & holiday traditions.… Continue reading →

Roast butternut squash the way mom used to make.

Growing up, I loved butternut squash. We didn’t, to my recollection, have it often but I thought it was one of the best things ever. Of course, the way mom made it might have a great deal to do with why I loved it so.

I have a bunch of butternut squash from my CSA lying around, and walking home today, I told Bill that I wanted to figure out how to use some of it for dinner tonight. I also mentioned I want to make some more risotto, to use up our arborio rice, but we didn’t want to combine the two. We’ve made a butternut squash risotto recipe (a “challenge” recipe, even) a couple of times, and it’s never quite right. Which is bad enough, but the recipe makes enough for a small army…

He mentioned we could just roast it, and we’re feeling a bit lazy.… Continue reading →