rituals

NPR aired an interesting piece on superstitions and end of the year rituals, and I happened to catch it while at work today. Did you know that some people eat pork and sauerkraut and avoid chicken because pigs root forward and chickens scratch backward? Who knew? And, no, she did not have an answer to why sauerkraut. Where are fish in this equation anyway?

So here we are the day of letting go of the old, and ringing in of the new. I'm superstition-less and resolution-less. I’ve tried to embrace the resolution idea from time to time, but for me, it just becomes a recipe for unfulfilled expectations and ensuing self-deprecation. Not that I don’t set goals – I do – I just think I'm less likely to accomplish goals set just because of a point in time. Superstitions? No. (Except for putting my right sock and shinguard on before left when playing soccer. And, perhaps I have a lacing my shoes superstition too. There is also the whole must wear the right...)

So superstition-resolution-less. Anarchy I tell you. But, just in the nick of time, I thought of a few things I could do to save myself from utter chaos, and I implemented two year-end rituals to mark the shedding of 2009.

Ritual One: I do this at random times of the year, but it seems fitting to kick off the year on the right foot and do it really, really well. It’s something I seem to do in fits and starts or in times of a Storage Emergency Situation or Olfactory Relief Crisis; never do I do it as one big cathartic pull-everything-out-at-the-same-time-and-start-over-once-a-year event, but this year I did.

Here’s a process photograph:

2009 Year End Fridge Cleaning! That’s right, what better way to ring in a new year than with a clean, organized fridge? I can think of nothing better. Well, maybe I’d like an organized undie drawer too, but need I remind: this is about cooking and fun, not laundry and fun. Do note that no good food was killed in this process, this stuff had been in there long enough to gather some fuzz, thus was already rendered fully dead.

Ritual Two: Red leaf lettuce, Bermuda onion, honey roasted walnuts, Point Reyes blue cheese, honey crisp apples and a white balsamic dressing. What?

Embrace Something New! is ritual number two. Yes, a vague ritual and just the way I like it. But to be specific, for this New Year’s Eve I decided to embrace something that I so often turn away: fruit in dinner meals. I like fruit but have always felt there is no need for fruit to be IN meals. So I made myself the above salad and slowly (yes slowly) worked through the complexity of all the flavors separately and then together. I should get to this next sentence and say, "Wow, it was AMAZING!!" Sorry to disappoint, but that sentence is not coming next. I did like the apples and blue cheese combo, but hmmmm, perhaps my embracing will take a little time.

So here I am, ritual one and ritual two COMPLETE!

I did some other fun things to ring in the New Year, too. I saw a shooting star on a blue moon, and spent the evening with Surly, my friends’ dog. I didn't capture the shooting star by camera, but did get a few of Surly. I was thoroughly entertained by his tail chasing.

And he was thoroughly entertained by my hat.


Happy New Year to you all, I hope 2010 proves to be a fantastic year with adventure, joy, and many laughs.

a carlson and a zerger, too.

Perhaps it is the fact that light is slowly returning to our days here in Minnesota (thus I feel like my personal productivity must follow suit) or perhaps it is the fact that December 31st fast approaches (and I'm well aware I should be setting January 1, 2010 resolutions) that I find myself back here on Furlough Food. Whatever reason may be, I find myself with renewed interest in the blog-o-sphere. Forgive me, my dear readers, er, family, for such a long hiatus. But, you likely know many of the reasons, er, excuses, I would conjure. Wedding, fantastic but harried change of employment, Devin challenges, and the holidays are the first to come to mind. All these little life details have ensured months of emotions, and though it may seem that I have lost interest in culinary exploration if one were to assess such by my blog posts, nothing could be further from the truth. I've made delicious sauces and soups with vegetables from the garden, Swedish meatballs for Papa san and Melissa, cookies and candies galore for holiday treats and a few delicious experiments in between. I will fill you in on the finer details but surely need good food photos and stories to do so. For now, I leave you with a few iPhone photos...Along with a personal goal of writing more regularly, I also intend to step it up a notch and - pause - photograph things with a *real* camera, so these may be the last few from my iPhone to you.


Ah, blessed summer. Don't these look delicious? They were. The tomatoes were insanely productive this year and the size of the zuchini is a direct result of the August 1st nuptuals (read: week or two of garden neglect). I made a few delicious soups and salads and pasta sauces with the above.


Our lovely Socrates. Yes, those treaty-weaties were delicious, thanks.

Oh, and what of the title? Well, more on that later of course!