Food Resolutions for 2006

yoso-silly

A friend of mine Emailed me  "Food Resolutions for 2006" during the beginning of January. I thought I’d better get them done, before they became Food Resolutions for 2007! Based on the tardiness of this post, you can pretty much figure the "I’ll finish tasks in a timely manner" resolution has been pretty much blown out of the water.

So here we go…..

In 2006, I will eat… More of everything! LOL! Seriously, I think I’ll eat more fruitsResolutions14 and vegetables this year. This doesn’t mean I won’t be checking out more taco stands though!

I will make… At least one dish based on a recipe from each of my Asian and "ethnic" Cookbooks. This is something I really need to do in order to keep justifying my purchases.

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I will find… Really good La Cabeza(Beef Cheek/Head) in San Diego.

I will learn… To make some Indian dishes.

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I will teach… Myself to take better photos.

I will read… E.N. Anderson’s Book on Chinese Food History, The Food of China.

I will taste… As much as I can!!!!!

I will use… The much dreaded Pressure Cooker.

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I… Will try to cook at home more often.

We… Will take at least 1 "big trip" this year…to who knows where?

Our Kids… !!!!!, Oh, you mean the Boyz! Whew! The Boys will continue to be their own sweet, stinky, spoiled, lovable selves.

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There, it’s done! Now, will I be able to keep to this?

37 comments

  1. Those are some ambitious resolutions Kirk! Don’t worry, I’ll help keep you “accountable” and make sure you keep to your 2006 resolutions, by checking into the Mmm-Yoso!!! webpage and leaving “persuasive” comments when I see that you are deviating from them! πŸ˜‰
    Also, to help encourage you to use your new pressure cooker, here are some recipes I found on Food TV. No “pressure” though.

  3. Sounds like a plan, Kirk! I am looking forward to seeing what Indian dishes you cook because that’s something I also want to explore.
    As for the cabeza part of the project, have you been to El Gordo in Chula Vista? It’s our favorite taco place and I know they serve it. I haven’t had it, though, and I don’t know what makes good cabeza but everything else there is outstanding. I’m planning on doing a little write-up on them soon. Yum!

  4. Great resolutions and pics Kirk. Once you’ve used the pressure cooker, you won’t go back to the slow cooker I’m sure!
    oh oh and make your big trip to
    Australia!!! *grin* you already know 4 people here πŸ˜›

  5. Hi PE – Thanks for the link; those recipes look interesting. I’ll need all the help I can get.
    Hi Beth – Funny you should mentioned Tacos El Gordo de Tijuana B.C., they are on my list for this weekend since I had to drop by Chula Vista. I’ve heard good things about them.
    Hi Rachel – I know if I decided to visit OZ, that I’d have some great resources! :o)

  6. That’s a lot of cookbooks! Looking forward to seeing a dish made from each of those books!
    I notice that Blue Ginger is in that stack. My friend just about gave up on that book which I gave her for Christmas. She said it was too complicated.

  7. Hi Kirk! Great resolutions! =) I love the cookbooks…I should do the same. hehehe! They’re the first books I go to at used bookstores or garage sales. I’m going to try to cook and bake more too this year! I’ve got two of my own “kidz”…Mochi and Pumba (two of the feline nature though). Here’s to a great 2006!

  8. Hi Elmo – The stack you see is not even one-third of the books, I got tired of stacking them. I’ve made a few dishes from Blue Ginger – and the recipe for the Wasabi Oil is one of my “go-to” recipes. I find Alan Wong’s New Wave Luau to be the most intimidating(won’t count Keller’s…cause it ain’t Asian, whew….).
    Hi Kristy – I look forward to your cooking posts. I recall seeing “Mochi” but not “Pumba”, I’m sure i’ll see them soon! Happy New Year

  12. Kirk,
    WOW I love the resolutions! LOL I have to start cooking more out of the cookbooks I have, or I can’t justify more cookbooks. *sigh*

  13. Hi Mills – I really don’t want to be a “Cookbook collector” so just for peace of mind, I’m going to need to start actually cooking something once in a while.

  14. πŸ™‚ I know what you mean about cookbooks. I actually stopped buying cookbooks, and I get them from the library instead.
    Some of my food resolutions:
    — Figure out how to make a really good Japanese Ginger-Orange salad dressing.
    — Make a really good pie crust.
    — Find the perfect latte in San Diego.
    — Find out how Persians make such good rice.

  15. Hi Howie – I’ve tried borrowing cookbooks, but find if I like the cookbook, I’ll keep renewing them, so I might as well buy. Though the library is a great source for trial runs.

  16. ummm… Minato honey onion dressing is outstanding! Pie crust is a snap, I do believe you can get 2 very reliable recipes from Ono’kine Grindz. 1 is Reid’s and the other is mine. The perfect latte would be at one of these 3 shops: http://www.peets.com/stores/store_locator.asp. That’s what we always drink! Persians make such good rice by using a touch of clarified butter to sautee the basmati rice and gently seasoning with such things as saffron, toasted slivered almonds, and raisins (this is my favorite combination). Kirk, did I take over your blog nicely????

  17. Kirk, I had the same problem too, and racked up a decent number of late fees. I’ll just copy some of my favorites now. Maybe if I win the lottery, I’ll start buying everything again.
    Jo, thanks for solving all my resolutions for me!
    I love Peet’s coffee also. For my latte fixes recently, I’ve been going to Caffe Calabria, The Bean Bar, and Influx. I’m still looking for more candidates. I’m trying to find something along the lines of this:
    http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/frothingguide/examples

  18. Kirk,
    I love all the cookbooks I get as gifts, but usually I have specific cookbooks I like to add for my own reference. Usually I do what Howie does go to the library and copy some recipies down mainly because I am very forgetful about returning library books.

  19. Hi Jo – Thanks, I really didn’t have any answers anyway!
    Hi Howie – I enjoy Peet’s coffee beans, but not always the coffee that the Hillcrest outlet makes – they sometimes get it wrong and the coffee is really bitter.
    Hi Mills – I guess I should spend more time at the library, I usually just borrow the books and take them home; but then the renew/overdue cycle begins….

  20. Kirk,
    Yeah I hear ya, and that is why I HAVE to copy the recipe while there, or pay the dues…*sigh*
    I love peets too, and mostly I have been lucky in that all of the ones here seem to do it right. Once in a blue moon I will get a really bitter cup of coffee.

  21. Hi Mills – I must’ve renewed Mark Bittman’s book like 6 times, and after feeling really guilty about “hogging” the book, I finally bought it.

  22. Kirk,
    See it tells you which books you need to buy! LOL I lovethe library. I did the same thing with the Nigella Lawson book Feast. πŸ™‚

  23. Hey Kirk, if you need any coaching or encouragement on using the pressure cooker, drop me a line. I love my little cooker–makes such quick work of braised dishes and dried beans, plus fiddling with it really appeals to my inner technogeek. πŸ™‚

  24. Howie, we spent SO much money at Peet’s we finally broke down and bought a Gaggia. That was about 3 years ago. At the time CR rated it best for under $500. We figured that with time, gas, etc., the machine paid for itself in about 2 months. Mike makes the MOST incredible foam! If you go to MY blog… ::ahem:: (please forgive my shameless self promotion Kirk) In the post “Breakfast of Champions” there is a pic of my morning beverage. You would be surprised how easy a good machine makes creating the perfect espresso or espresso drink.

  25. Hi Mills – The one thing the library(here at least) is not good at are Asian Cookbooks.
    Hi mizducky – Thanks for the offer.
    Hi Jo – Mike does indeed make a “Great cup”.

  26. Hey, Kirk!
    A lot of those books are looking really, really familiar!
    And don’t fear the pressure cooker. Please. It does beautiful things in the kitchen, and the new ones do not explode. Like, okay, they could, if you really -tried- to make them explode, by tinkering with them so they -will- explode.
    But other than that, the worst that will happen is you will ruin your pressure cooker, but you won’t be cleaning whatever you were cooking off your entire kitchen.
    Don’t fear it. Embrace it.
    Trust me.
    And learning Indian food takes a bit, but it is so worth it, and it is fun!

  27. *nod* I understand. It is getting much better here, but depending on the city library you go to the asian cookbooks can be hard to find.
    Hmmm all t his talk about pressure cookers I might have to get one. Well maybe… πŸ˜›

  28. Hi Barbara I get it…embrace the pressure cooker, embrace the pressure cooker…
    Hi Mills – Unitl we bought ours, I’d really never really even seen a pressure cooker up close.

  29. Kirk,
    LOL Embrace the pressure cooker huh…Hmmm Maybe I should take up the chant too, I wonder if it would help me get rid of the fear? Well I have been debating whether to get one, expecially if it can pressure can, but I am still afraid! LOL

  31. Kirk,
    I just bought some new cookbooks via mail…Help…I need a 12 step program. Not the mention Jo bought me another cookbook…I better get hopping!
    I can just picture myself with a pressure canner…Blackberry jam all over the kitchen, the pressure canner exploded, the lid bottom pot in the diningroom, the lid molecularly fused with the ceiling, and me hiding behind the cabinet trembling.

  33. really? Interupting your thought processes at 12 midnight??? ::grins:: Don’t forget you have half ownership in the Korean desert book! Van got a brand new pressure canner for her birthday. A gleaming giant of a pot. I think I want one to but it’ll have to wait until we know wether or not we are fiscally viable following the purchase of a home! ::wink::

  34. Yeah the pressure canners are awesome. Try to make sure you get the weighted “indicator” the reason being it is easier to calibrate, and replace. The cost of a really nice pressure canner is expensive, and I rather you get a house first before the canner! πŸ™‚ There are several other brands that don’t cost as much, and then you can get a house and a canner… ;P But I am hoping you get a house soon!

  36. Hi Mills – Exploding blackberry jam? :o(
    Hi Jo – Yes, house first; exploding blackberry jam next…..

  37. Kirk,
    It is one of my fears that the canner would explode! LOL It is one of the fears I will have to get over! Yeah I would be sad if blackberry jam went exploding. πŸ™
    Jo,
    House house house… πŸ™‚

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