Happy New Year!

A little update to the blog look seemed appropriate, as things are definitely moving toward an emphasis on  the quality of food when made from scratch using quality ingredients, as well as the increased quality when served on handmade wares. Yes, the main blogger here has a bias, being one who loves to make both handmade wares and homemade concoctions to put on and in them.

To welcome in the new year, we're spending the day focusing on the intentions for the months ahead, and enjoying a lovely beverage throughout the day to inspire those meditations:

Cooking will follow later today, but starting with a good juice seemed like a good way to enter the year. Today we've juiced collards, as that's a new year's tradition, and finding local collards made it even better. To that we added local ginger for a bit of spice and flavor to motivate us in paying attention to the subtle flavors in life, as well as those more pronounced. Spanish clementines give sweetness and remind us that while there is an abundance of goodness all around us locally and regionally, sometimes necessity and sometimes indulgence leads us to make choices outside our region. These clementines seemed an appropriate match to the lovely Prosecco that helps us remember that one of our intentions for the year is to visit and explore the local and regional wonders of Spain. For our handmade component, a 'winter tree' cup is featured, acknowledging the winter and welcoming the slight respite from a more active hustle and bustle in warmer temps, and looking forward to a coming spring to bring new growth while our roots make deeper connections and our branches reach out even wider. And receiving a New Year's card that literally emphases "Joy" over those things that can distract us from more important priorities seemed the perfect accompaniment.

So much deep meaning and symbolism for a morning juice!  Fun with more collards and lentils later today - we wish a Happy & Healthy New Year to all, and hope it's filled with much sexy food!