I've been taking a photo a day for all of December, and today will be the last one. "Fun." I'm thinking of stacking some board games that we're going to play with the kids later. Though I could take a picture of my new camera. Teehee!
Traditionally I suppose a New Year's Eve blog post should be a reflection on the blog year past. But this blog has been very quiet of late. I do apologize. I guess my inner foodie had more to say than I thought. Though to be fair, I've only got just over a dozen posts on My Edible Journey so far. But it's only been going since July.
Showing posts with label new year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new year. Show all posts
Monday, December 31, 2012
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Temple Food
That is the name of an episode of Nigella Lawson's show that I love. Nigella describes Temple Food as the kind of thing you want after a night (or several weeks) of rich food and drink. So it's no wonder that my mind always comes back to this concept at the beginning of every year. Actually by Boxing Day (day after Christmas for my non-commonwealth readers) my mind was there. Hubby and I dropped the kids off with the grandparents and went shopping. Afterwards we hit a local Vietnamese place for some Pho.
Ahh, Pho. My idea of Temple Food perfection. A light but extremely flavourful and healthy broth, with tender filling noodles (yeah, they're a simple carb, but that's besides the point), thinly sliced onions and (as per my preference) rare beef. Then I get to doctor it up with things like hot sauce, lime juice, fresh Thai basil, sprouts and a little Hoisin sauce for balance. A small bowl is almost a meal for two. And nothing more is needed. It is warming. It is nourishing. It is Temple Food in such an approachable and simple form.
Thinking about it, I tend to gravitate towards Asian flavours when I think of Temple Foods. There is something about the balance of hot, salty, sour and sweet that makes Asian dishes very appealing. And the fact that so much flavour can be brought to a dish as simple and humble as soup or salad means that healthy can be tasty first and good for me as a bonus. Shredded cabbage and carrots, with thinly sliced shallots and cucumber, dressed simply with rice vinegar, grated ginger, garlic, a little sugar, soy, sesame oil and hot sauce can be a whole meal, especially if a little leftover shredded chicken finds its way into the bowl. Heck, the same dressing turns a simple bowl of sliced cucumber into a wonderful treat that feels so cleansing.
As the winter progresses, soups are still a favourite for me. I love pureed vegetable soups the most. Of course, once things like bacon and cream are added, they aren't quite as health conscious. But moderation makes such indulgence quite alright in my book.
I'm always looking for more ways to incorporate the idea of Temple Food into my diet. I'd love to hear what others turn to after holiday indulgence. What comforts you and clears your diet conscience?
Ahh, Pho. My idea of Temple Food perfection. A light but extremely flavourful and healthy broth, with tender filling noodles (yeah, they're a simple carb, but that's besides the point), thinly sliced onions and (as per my preference) rare beef. Then I get to doctor it up with things like hot sauce, lime juice, fresh Thai basil, sprouts and a little Hoisin sauce for balance. A small bowl is almost a meal for two. And nothing more is needed. It is warming. It is nourishing. It is Temple Food in such an approachable and simple form.
Thinking about it, I tend to gravitate towards Asian flavours when I think of Temple Foods. There is something about the balance of hot, salty, sour and sweet that makes Asian dishes very appealing. And the fact that so much flavour can be brought to a dish as simple and humble as soup or salad means that healthy can be tasty first and good for me as a bonus. Shredded cabbage and carrots, with thinly sliced shallots and cucumber, dressed simply with rice vinegar, grated ginger, garlic, a little sugar, soy, sesame oil and hot sauce can be a whole meal, especially if a little leftover shredded chicken finds its way into the bowl. Heck, the same dressing turns a simple bowl of sliced cucumber into a wonderful treat that feels so cleansing.
As the winter progresses, soups are still a favourite for me. I love pureed vegetable soups the most. Of course, once things like bacon and cream are added, they aren't quite as health conscious. But moderation makes such indulgence quite alright in my book.
I'm always looking for more ways to incorporate the idea of Temple Food into my diet. I'd love to hear what others turn to after holiday indulgence. What comforts you and clears your diet conscience?
Friday, January 1, 2010
Welcome
Well, welcome to 2010. Is that Two Thousand Ten, Two Thousand AND Ten or Twenty Ten? I haven't settled one one yet. Whatever you call it, welcome to it.
I'd like to have some introspective, retrospective blog post. Something witty and engaging, with the power to motivate readers to stick to resolutions to change their lives, while simultaneously feeling good about past mistakes and looking realistically at the challenges ahead.
Who am I kidding? I can read that stuff on a hundred other blogs. This one is and always has been just about me and what's going on around me. And right now not much is going on. The Christmas decorations are down. The eve of the new year (and decade) was spent eating tacos and creme brulee with hubby. We watched the annual Air Farce special (the F-bomb sucks... bring back the chicken cannon) and played Wii. Then we watched Larry Gowan and Styxx from Niagara Falls until the new year crept in. Went to bed about half an hour later and woke up to light snow and a fairly normal day. Dinner at the inlaws in a while. And my soon to be brother in law will be home from the hospital after going in on Christmas day with some kind of bowel obstruction and emergency surgery.
The new year brings new hope, new promise and a lot of other hype. But for me it's fairly low key. I don't do resolutions. I don't have a special, super healthy breakfast as a way of symbolizing what I want me year to be like. I do what I do each day. I surround myself with my family, I go about my business and I enjoy the little things, like listening to hubby and the little mister challenge each other to MarioKart DS.
But on a day like today, I do a little more looking forward to the future. The flow of the year stretches out before me. Gardening is in my mind now, as my little veg and berry patch is slowly (ever so slowly) being covered in snow.
And so it goes. January into February into March and so on. Only this year I hope it goes by a little more slowly. 2009 somehow melted into a homogeneous mass of days that just slid by rather quickly. And we're back to January again.
I'd like to have some introspective, retrospective blog post. Something witty and engaging, with the power to motivate readers to stick to resolutions to change their lives, while simultaneously feeling good about past mistakes and looking realistically at the challenges ahead.
Who am I kidding? I can read that stuff on a hundred other blogs. This one is and always has been just about me and what's going on around me. And right now not much is going on. The Christmas decorations are down. The eve of the new year (and decade) was spent eating tacos and creme brulee with hubby. We watched the annual Air Farce special (the F-bomb sucks... bring back the chicken cannon) and played Wii. Then we watched Larry Gowan and Styxx from Niagara Falls until the new year crept in. Went to bed about half an hour later and woke up to light snow and a fairly normal day. Dinner at the inlaws in a while. And my soon to be brother in law will be home from the hospital after going in on Christmas day with some kind of bowel obstruction and emergency surgery.
The new year brings new hope, new promise and a lot of other hype. But for me it's fairly low key. I don't do resolutions. I don't have a special, super healthy breakfast as a way of symbolizing what I want me year to be like. I do what I do each day. I surround myself with my family, I go about my business and I enjoy the little things, like listening to hubby and the little mister challenge each other to MarioKart DS.
But on a day like today, I do a little more looking forward to the future. The flow of the year stretches out before me. Gardening is in my mind now, as my little veg and berry patch is slowly (ever so slowly) being covered in snow.
And so it goes. January into February into March and so on. Only this year I hope it goes by a little more slowly. 2009 somehow melted into a homogeneous mass of days that just slid by rather quickly. And we're back to January again.
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