Happy New Year 2008!
I would like to wish my dear readers a Happy New Year and hope you all have a fantastic year ahead of you – not just food-wise. There is something special about starting a year afresh with a clean slate. With a marker pen we can go to our white boards and jot down our goals and aspirations, filled with hope that we will attain them all. But first, let’s reflect on what happened the previous year.
Here are Greedy Gourmet’s highlights of 2007:
Most Child-Friendly
Surprisingly, Greedy Gourmet’s statistics revealed that these little chocolate delights were one of the most sought after recipes this year. After thinking about it, it makes sense though. Whether you are young or old, what is not to like about these “Chocolate Cow Plops”? Does it remind you of the bygone days when you were small or simply puts you in touch with your inner-child? This is a fun dessert to prepare, no wonder children get excited when they hear what’s on the menu.
Best Vegetarian
Sweet Potato, Spinach & Mushroom Stew: Peanut butter is something I definitely need to use more often in my cooking because it can transform an average curry like this into a divine treat.
Best Vegan
Butternut, Green Beans, Red Onions and Tofu with Maple Syrup Glaze: Purple, green, brown and orange. I wonder how many vitamins and minerals are contained in this dish? Not only are the veggies healthy but the lure of the maple syrup may actually tempt fussy kids to eat their 5-a-day.
Biggest Surprise
I’m not going to lie. I was bowled over by this Tomato Sauce. The first thing I’m going to do in very early spring is to buy Plum Tomato seeds to grow in 2008. It would be interesting to see how it compares to the Gardener’s Delight I used this year.
Best Confectionary
After seeing the old Scrabble ladies go gaga for this chocolate I decided this is the best dessert of the year. One kilogram (2 pounds) of chocolate chunks was gone in a matter of minutes between about 20 players. Some nagged me for the recipe which I gave them later and others I saw “doggy-bagging” their sweet booty in layers of tissue paper to take home and savour in privacy. You might argue that they have probably taken some for their spouses to taste, but the sceptic refuses to believe that. Being a woman I understand perfectly what kind of effect chocolate can have on a woman’s psyche.
Favourite Dish
Oxtail Braised in Red Wine: This is the first recipe I ever posted on Greedy Gourmet and with good reason. If I could eat this dish morning, noon and night, seven days a week, I will. After a month you will ask if I’m tired and bored of it yet and the answer will be NO! (Okay, maybe. Let’s not go there, shall we?)
That’s a wrap!
Now what about 2008?
More Recipes
Since I only started blogging in the second half of 2007, 2008 will be filled with many more recipes for you to try!
New Features
More stuff like reviews on products and books. Just more, okay?
Seriously Sassy South African Cooking
After living in the UK for the past few years I’ve lost touch with my authentic South African self. At least I can still spell “bobotie“. Rather ask me about Colcannon, Piggies in a Blanket or Yorkshire Puddings. I would like to return to my roots and aim to post one South African recipe a month. I’ve got to divulge a scandalous secret… I’ve never eaten a “vetkoek” or “koeksister” in my life and hate “melkkos” with a passion. Do I hear all South African readers gasping in unison? I will try to change things this year…
Fight the Flab
While carrying Gabriel I picked up 10kg (22 pounds) and after popping him out in April 2007, I haven’t lost an ounce of weight. Afterwards, I felt like drowning myself in the pond next door every second day and went to the doctor to run some tests, thinking I might be anaemic. The results revealed that I had an under-active thyroid. Levothyroxine was prescribed and since then it’s been going much better. Happy pills I call it, because when I started taking them there were times when I just couldn’t stop giggling for no reason at all. But boy, the day I skip one I want to kick everybody’s ass, also for no apparent reason. Don’t underestimate hormones, they’re pretty powerful stuff. Anyway, my point is that I have no lame excuse anymore not to lose weight. Bye bye, chocolate! Bye bye, cream! *sniff sniff* What does this mean for Greedy Gourmet? It will stay balanced. Having read loads of diet books in the past, I am not going to jump on the Atkins or Cabbage Soup Diet (yuck). My “diet” if you want to label it that, will call for moderation with a portion of exercise on the side. So no need to worry whether you’ll never see a dessert recipe on this site again.
Crazy Competitions
For quite some time now I’ve been wondering whether I should start a monthly blog event and what better time to start than in the New Year? More details will come soon…
Are you ready for the ride?
