Happy New Year 2009

It is that time of year when we forget what day of the week it is, forgive ourselves a little indulgence and reflect on the past year.

Best of all it is a time for lists. There was a great article on lists in the Age newspaper on the weekend (Your list is on my list – Mel Campbell, A2, p 9) which talks about how lists help to process the every day and create a cultural capital. I can’t find it online so I will just share my favourite line– at year’s end we all want lists ‘to knit diverse, bewildering and random events into an overarching and comforting narrative’. Oh yes!

The past year was a hard one but blogging has brought much joy and support. I thought of lists I could write to sum it all up and in the end I had lots of lists so I have indulged in three lists.

Blogging highlights in 2008:

- I celebrated my first blogiversary with a Green Gourmet Giraffe Birthday Cake
- My first blog event – A Neb at Nutroast
- Participating in inspirational blog events – with special mention going to Holler and Lisa’s No Croutons Required vegetarian soup and salad event which I was voted winner, not once but twice
- Making smoothies regularly – my favourite being variations on a berry and banana smoothie
- A new interest in food history
- Discovery of purple asparagus
- On the stereo, it has been the year of neofolk and exotica (probably E's highlight rather than mine)!
- Compilation of lists – Blog Index, My Cookbooks and My Personal 100 Foods

Best of 2008:
(*E says that I should keep this list to products of 2008 but I have taken it to mean the best I have encountered which is my justification for picking a CD and book which were not produced last year.)

- Best film – The Bank Job
- Best TV show – Life on Mars
- Best CD – Songs for the Young at Heart by Various Artists*
- Best book - The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards*
- Best new cookbook – Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me by Denis Potter (a gift from my sister Chris)
- Best meal eaten out – Vegetarian banquet at Rumi, East Brunswick
- Best café out of town – Sirens, Hobart
- Best cake – Melt and mix chocolate chunk mud cake (a sentimental favourite)
- Best new kitchen implements – two little black and white bowls (bought by my dad for us in his football team colours! See photo)

Posts of the month in 2008:
(I have seen other bloggers who have listed their favourite recipes for each month. When I looked at my month by month list, I found it hard to decide on a favourite recipe but some posts leapt out at me for more personal reasons. So this list is one which reflects how food has a far deeper meaning in our lives than just fuel for the body. Of course, even this list seems arbitrary because some months had far more interesting posts than others. But I can’t resist a list!)

January - Gorgeous grubs
February - Queen Victoria Market - day and night
March - Pomegranates - the cruelest fruit?
April - Happiness chowder
May - What does a pagan eat anyway?
June - Novel Food 4: Drowned broccoli
July - Tabouli from the tree
August - Do I dare to cook with one less pear?
September - Pudla – for when your team lets you down!
October - Lentil Salad and the Dream Festival
November - Ripple in Still Water
December - Memories, BBQs, and Bangers & Mash

As for New Year’s resolutions, I haven’t made any. I like the quote in the article above which says ‘change either happens slowly and predictably or quickly and unpredictably’. I also like Sophie’s post about Groundhog Day Resolutions which I would prefer to follow if I really did want to plan ahead. But if my life went to plan, I might have managed to get this post up a few days ago!

Thanks to all of you who are taking the time to read this - your support, inspiration and kind comments are much appreciated. I would list all the wonderful bloggers out there but that would be a long list. Thanks to family and friends who are among my readers and who enjoy sharing food with me (especially my mum). And a special thanks to E for all the dishes, music and support this year.

While I might not have plans, I do have hope. I look forward to more friendship, good food and entertaining blogging in 2009. Happy New Year one and all!

On the stereo:
Mia Runa (commemorating the first birthday of Mia Runa Presch, daughter of owners of Steinklang Industries) – Various Artists