we'll always have Paris
In the spirit of this 25-meme thing that's been floating around, and also in the spirit of The Kitchn's post about food-related things to do in 2009 (and finally, in the spirit of my undying and irrational love of making lists, which I find far more enjoyable than actually doing the things on said lists), here is a list of 25 things I want to do in... let's say, have done before the summer. Some are food related and some are not.
1. Finish framing and hanging the wall decor I have bought recently. (This is about 2/3 done.)
2. Stencil the hallway outside of my bedroom in a bamboo pattern.
3. Redo the bathroom decor. (Right now the shower curtain, bathmats, and hand towels are a boring brown and tan, which I got in an attempt to match the hideous brown-and-tan tile and salmon (yes, SALMON) tub and toilet. I have since realized that trying to match this ugly color scheme (which I cannot change) is never going to work. Steve and I are thinking turquoise or lavender (or both!) but I haven't yet found shower curtains, mats, or towels in those colors. Granted, I've only looked at Target.)
4. Eventually have matching (or at least unmatched in an attractive, kitschy random way) dishes and stemware.
5. Own a mandolin (the kitchen slicing tool, not the instrument) and actually use it.
6. Make something (ragout? stew?) with the moose sirloin in my freezer.
7. Likewise with the venison steaks, also in freezer.
8. Make this recipe for East African Groundnut soup. (Peanut butter, mmm...)
9. Get better at cooking meals without meat. (Chicken stock is okay... my goal is just to somewhat reduce the amount of meat in my diet, for health and monetary reasons.) I am aware that this somewhat contradicts items 6 and 7.
10. As a part of this, start cooking with tempeh. Steve made this recipe for orange pan-glazed tempeh the other night and it was absolutely delicious.
11. Make this recipe for blood orange jelly smiles, preferably at some point when my brother is visiting because I think he would really like it. The local Whole Foods and Trader Joe's do not have blood oranges in stock yet, as of last week.
12. Get better at cooking without recipes. (Although I love recipes and always have a list of ones I want to try a mile long, as evidenced by this list here.) A few days ago I made a soup I'm really proud of just using the things I had in my fridge/pantry (red onion, half a pack of pepper bacon, garlic, a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce [from a can], 4 tomatoes, chicken stock, yellow squash, fresh basil). It tasted fantastic and I want to make it again, which is not usually how I feel about things that I throw together without a recipe.
13. Get better at cooking ethnic food (specifically Indian and Asian, but I'm not opposed to others as well).
14. Make homemade bread from scratch.
15. Make homemade stock from scratch.
16. Own a dwarf citrus tree (possibly Meyer lemon) and not kill it. In fact, have it flourish and bear fruit.
17. Own a rosemary bush, with the same goal (except for the fruit-bearing part). I tend to kill plants.
18. Figure out something cool I can do with or make out of the antique copper fire extinguisher in the living room that currently is just decoration.
19. See Meredith and Tanya more.
20. Go to Neighborhood (breakfast/brunch place) with Lauren.
21. Go to The Publicke House. Hopefully with Yarsky.
22. Work on my French. Possibly take classes if I can find an inexpensive course.
23. Get a better work wardrobe. Specifically a pantsuit, which I do not currently own (not for lack of trying; dress pants tend to fit me horrifically).
24. See a laundry list of classic films that I have somehow missed over the years (The Maltese Falcon, Citizen Kane, The Great Escape, The Godfather, The Sound of Music, etc.)
25. Knit more (and get better at it).
In non-list-related news, I am still at the apartment from my previous (August!) post, which is fully furnished and almost fully decorated. Once it is done, I will be sure to take pictures. Living with Steve is utterly perfect. Justin and I saw "Casablanca" last night at the Brattle theater for Valentine's, which has immediately become one of my favorite movies. I can't believe I hadn't seen it before. Afterwards we made moules-et-frites (mussels and fries) at home, which was delicious despite my accidental purchase of cilantro in the place of parsley. Dessert was a molten chocolate baby cake (individually portioned chocolate cakes with melty centers, courtesy of Nigella Lawson). It was a fantastic evening.
1. Finish framing and hanging the wall decor I have bought recently. (This is about 2/3 done.)
2. Stencil the hallway outside of my bedroom in a bamboo pattern.
3. Redo the bathroom decor. (Right now the shower curtain, bathmats, and hand towels are a boring brown and tan, which I got in an attempt to match the hideous brown-and-tan tile and salmon (yes, SALMON) tub and toilet. I have since realized that trying to match this ugly color scheme (which I cannot change) is never going to work. Steve and I are thinking turquoise or lavender (or both!) but I haven't yet found shower curtains, mats, or towels in those colors. Granted, I've only looked at Target.)
4. Eventually have matching (or at least unmatched in an attractive, kitschy random way) dishes and stemware.
5. Own a mandolin (the kitchen slicing tool, not the instrument) and actually use it.
6. Make something (ragout? stew?) with the moose sirloin in my freezer.
7. Likewise with the venison steaks, also in freezer.
8. Make this recipe for East African Groundnut soup. (Peanut butter, mmm...)
9. Get better at cooking meals without meat. (Chicken stock is okay... my goal is just to somewhat reduce the amount of meat in my diet, for health and monetary reasons.) I am aware that this somewhat contradicts items 6 and 7.
10. As a part of this, start cooking with tempeh. Steve made this recipe for orange pan-glazed tempeh the other night and it was absolutely delicious.
11. Make this recipe for blood orange jelly smiles, preferably at some point when my brother is visiting because I think he would really like it. The local Whole Foods and Trader Joe's do not have blood oranges in stock yet, as of last week.
12. Get better at cooking without recipes. (Although I love recipes and always have a list of ones I want to try a mile long, as evidenced by this list here.) A few days ago I made a soup I'm really proud of just using the things I had in my fridge/pantry (red onion, half a pack of pepper bacon, garlic, a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce [from a can], 4 tomatoes, chicken stock, yellow squash, fresh basil). It tasted fantastic and I want to make it again, which is not usually how I feel about things that I throw together without a recipe.
13. Get better at cooking ethnic food (specifically Indian and Asian, but I'm not opposed to others as well).
14. Make homemade bread from scratch.
15. Make homemade stock from scratch.
16. Own a dwarf citrus tree (possibly Meyer lemon) and not kill it. In fact, have it flourish and bear fruit.
17. Own a rosemary bush, with the same goal (except for the fruit-bearing part). I tend to kill plants.
18. Figure out something cool I can do with or make out of the antique copper fire extinguisher in the living room that currently is just decoration.
19. See Meredith and Tanya more.
20. Go to Neighborhood (breakfast/brunch place) with Lauren.
21. Go to The Publicke House. Hopefully with Yarsky.
22. Work on my French. Possibly take classes if I can find an inexpensive course.
23. Get a better work wardrobe. Specifically a pantsuit, which I do not currently own (not for lack of trying; dress pants tend to fit me horrifically).
24. See a laundry list of classic films that I have somehow missed over the years (The Maltese Falcon, Citizen Kane, The Great Escape, The Godfather, The Sound of Music, etc.)
25. Knit more (and get better at it).
In non-list-related news, I am still at the apartment from my previous (August!) post, which is fully furnished and almost fully decorated. Once it is done, I will be sure to take pictures. Living with Steve is utterly perfect. Justin and I saw "Casablanca" last night at the Brattle theater for Valentine's, which has immediately become one of my favorite movies. I can't believe I hadn't seen it before. Afterwards we made moules-et-frites (mussels and fries) at home, which was delicious despite my accidental purchase of cilantro in the place of parsley. Dessert was a molten chocolate baby cake (individually portioned chocolate cakes with melty centers, courtesy of Nigella Lawson). It was a fantastic evening.