2012 resolution review- what do you think...did i keep them?!

i can't believe how fast 2012 went! it is already time to consider my new "resolutions" and review the old. i always thought those old people lamenting about how time just rockets by as you get older were exaggerating. nope! zooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom.

first, let's look at last year's resolutions. the first was to implement "no lights night" once a week, and only use candles or a headlamp from 5pm on. that one went pretty well- i actually kept that resolution through may! when my roommate moved in the first of june, i didn't have the heart to tell her she couldn't use lights one night a week- at MY whim. in fairness, she'd probably do it, but i didn't want to press my luck. i need her to want to live here, since she is "plan A" for watching my  house when i move to nepal.

resolution #2 was to go on a spending hiatus during lent, not purchasing anything besides the basic necessities of food, household cleaners, toilet paper, etc... well, not only did i do that during lent, i continued throughout the rest of the year. for the first 10 months of 2012, i purchased NOTHING that wasn't a necessity (with the exception of spending money on going out to eat or the occasional movie/entertainment splurge). the last 2 months i did purchase a pair of earrings in peru and some items i'll need in nepal that i can't buy there (a northface coat, sharp knives, and a couple of long blouses that fit me) but those can be arguably "necessities", right?! not only that, i sold or donated nearly half of my belongings to make room for my roommate and her stuff, and to earn a little money for my move. so, pretty good on #2!

the nepali eating experiment was a little brutal. i have already blogged that, so won't bore you here. just suffice it to say that i completed that one with more difficulty than i anticipated. i really don't like rice!

i also managed to keep #4, which was to keep my thermostat at or under 66 degrees in the cold months. this not only helped me save money, but also helped me adjust to colder temperatures in the house. this is something i'll have to deal with in spades once i'm in nepal- there is no central heat there. at this time of year, the hospital ward gets down to 40 degrees (F) at night and not much warmer during the day. even my sleeping bag is only rated down to 45F! wow- talk about something to be thankful for here in the US! as a matter of fact, do it now. just stop, take a moment, and say a little prayer of thanks for central heat. i'll wait...

so how about 2013? what's on the resolution agenda? well, as i'm sitting here with a brown recluse bite wound that i've been battling for 20 days, a tweaked lower back from sitting cattywompas because of the bite, and a whopping cold virus, i'd say that they need to revolve around health. i am suddenly feeling my biological age and my mortality. i saw a billboard on my trip to st. louis that said "eat like your life depends on it". so wise- i need to get my healthy eating back on track. and exercise more, to strengthen my body. more yoga and meditation to ease and strengthen my mind. and guitar lessons! i have already started those. come on, some of them have to be fun!

oh- and one last one...i vow NOT to look for love in 2013. that little experiment in 2012 was a disaster (you know who you are). 'nuff said.
here we go again....

oh ghee!

so the official "14 days of nepali eating" hasn't started, yet, but the prep has. in order to do this right, i need to have something called ghee on hand, which is a staple in indian and nepali cooking. ghee is clarified butter- basically, butter with all of the water and the milk solids boiled off. what is left is a nutty, amber brown, clear liquid/oil that doesn't burn at high temps, smells like heaven, tastes even better, and can be stored at room temp in an airtight container for over a month. it can be used to cook, or to drizzle over rice or veggies. why, oh why, haven't i discovered this before?

i could purchase ghee, since it is sold commercially, but i felt that would be cheating. i decided to do it the old-fashioned way. before i attempted to make the ghee, i did a little research. first, i found a really simple recipe online. i should have probably done a little more research before just jumping in, but it sounded SO simple that i didn't realize how much i didn't know. i shouldn't make it sound like a total disaster. the results were wonderful...but there are things they didn't fully explain, like when they say it "foams" what they really mean is that "it froths and swells to triple the volume of what was originally in the pan and will surge over the edge of your pan and cascade over your stovetop if you don't use a much bigger container than you think you'll need". good info to have. you can thank me for that later!

here is the recipe:
take one pound of butter
put in a BIG pan and heat on medium high heat until it melts and comes to a boil
turn heat to medium and keep boiling
a foam will form on top (see above explanation on what to expect) which will then go away- this takes about 3 minutes
it will foam a second time (actually more dramatically than the first)
when the foam/solids settle to the bottom and the liquid on top is deep golden brown and clear, take off heat (about 11 minutes total cooking time)
strain through sieve or cheesecloth into a heatproof container, leaving solids in bottom of pan

store in airtight container and keep away from moisture. does not need to be refrigerated.

after my first attempt, i did a little more research and watched a youtube video on ghee-making. i think i will add another resolution to my list and make a teaching video myself. that will save thousands of people from having to see what i saw. the video was 15 minutes and 39 seconds of a really obese, mostly naked older man who looked like santa with pierced nipples and wearing prayer beads melting a 15 pound block of frozen butter over a 2 hour (time-elapsed) period. what can i even add to that?

if you're following along, you've got a couple of days to make your ghee. no worries, it really only takes 11 minutes. bon appetit!

resolutions. 2012, here i come!

i can never remember if i love or hate new year's resolutions. regardless, i generally make some. not actually tasks like "exercise 5 days a week" or "stop answering the phone when (insert any ex-boyfriend's name here) calls", but more of a new year's blue print for my life- a new year's plan. i try to evaluate where i am and where i want to go, and develop my plan from there. some years i add things like goals to meditate more often, or read the bible more regularly. some years i give things up, like 9 years ago when i gave up smoking.

this year, i'm struggling.

i have been putting quite a bit of thought into the coming year and my resolutions and i've drawn a big fat blank. well, until today. i've decided that this year's resolutions will be more about discipline and reflection than about set-in-stone goals. they will be more about appreciating what i have than amassing more "stuff". they will be about learning to live as others live instead of living the way society says i should be living. they will be about food. there has to be at least one focused on food. after all, i'm still ME!

my 2012 new year's resolutions, in no particular order:
-designate one night each week as "no lights night" and not use any electric lights in my house- only candlelight
-not turn my thermostat above 66 degrees all winter...with most days keeping it at 64 while i'm home and 60 at night while i sleep (you should know how drafty my house is to fully appreciate THAT resolution! the key is layer, layer, layer!)
-not make a single purchase that isn't a necessity for the entire lenten season (february 22-april 7th)...only food, medication, cleaning supplies, etc.. no "fun" stuff.
-(this last one is my favorite. since i am exploring an opportunity to do full time mission work in nepal, and have a short term trip planned there for sure in the spring, i am going to try, for a short time, to eat as the nepalis do. in the mountain region where i am going, they eat the same thing, twice a day, every day. nothing else. it is called dal-bhat-tarkari, which means lentils, rice, and curried vegetables. that sounds delicious. i am sure i'll love it! for about a day and a half... )my resolution is to cook and eat dal-bhat-tarkari twice a day, every day, for two weeks starting january 3rd.

here is the fun part- i am going to blog it! i will blog the recipe, the results of my first (and subsequent) cooking attempts, how i like it, and my thoughts each day as the monotony either bores me senseless or lifts me to a higher level of spiritual and culinary bliss. let's see what happens! check back on january 3rd for an update.

happy new year! see you in 2012.   :0)