commentpete’s culinary resolutions for 2009
it’s time, once again, to get wrapped up in the fervor of the season and make resolutions we will probably never keep. and although i’ve only actually kept one (to walk more and take the bus less), it’s still not a bad idea to reflect on the past year and think about what we can do for ourselves and others to make this new year the best yet. so without further ado, here’s what i’m looking forward to changing in my life in 2009:
be a better grocery shopper
have you ever heard of the method of shopping around the borders of the grocery store? that way, you hit the fruits and veggies dairy and meat counter, but skip the snacks, soda and other preservative-laden junk. yeah, i don’t do that. i rarely have a balanced collection of food in the fridge, and it’s time to fix that.
cook more seafood
fish is great, but i only know a few simple recipes. i’m slowly getting over my fear of screwing it up (and making the apartment stink for days afterward), but i need to kick it up and experiment with different flavors and ingredients.
eat at thai x-ing
i keep hearing legends of how great this restaurant is, but i still haven’t experienced it first hand. thai x-ing is basically a basement on the edge of NW DC where one guy cooks everything and there’s only one table. you have to call hours beforehand just for pickup so he has time to get to your order. we must go.
bake a bastilla
bastilla is a traditional moroccan dish with layers of chicken, eggs, almonds and a ton of fragment spices like turmeric and ginger, wrapped in dough and topped with cinnamon and sugar. it’s been on my recipe list for months now. edit: i finished this one! check it out!
a few blog-specific resolutions:
post more often
i’m not setting a number for myself, but i want to get a couple of recipes in each week, along with at least one post a week on techniques, equipment or anything else i can offer (advice, cookbook reviews, etc).
actually learn how to use the settings on my camera
i know the best way to learn about photography is to practice, but i also know my camera probably has a ton of handy features that could speed up the learning process. it’s time to figure out how to take pictures in my low-light kitchen so i’m not limited to the few hours of daylight i have after work to bake.
all recipes will be in american and metric measurements
this is a simple one. and with a new baking scale, i’ll probably actually keep this one!
check out more resolutions from luke at cookography and nick at macheesemo. what are you looking forward to in 2009? any resolutions?
stumbleupon
I’m especially excited about that bastilla!
Thanks for the mention Pete. Four days in… so far so good on my resolutions.
I agree with liz. I can’t wait for that bastilla. Can we make that a January resolution?
Bastilla is AWESOME. It’s one of the first things I ever cooked (with plenty of my mother’s help). Looza juices are excellent for marinating the shredded chicken in. Just a suggestion. Love your site.
Apparently I’m with everyone else and want to see/eat the bastila! That’s sort of one of my plans for ’09 – to cook the things on my to-cook list. I have such a long list of things I want to try, but it’s very easy to go to the old standbys when you’re tired. Time to ramp it up! And eat bastilla!
I have negative associations with bastilla, after an unfortunate bout of sickness following a meal at Marrakesh on NY Ave, like, five years ago. Probably unrelated, but the feeling lingers…
BUT I totally second your resolution to eat at Thai X-ing. Everyone says it’s the best-kept secret in DC!
I’ve also been trying to “shop the borders,” which I sort of did today, though there are areas where it doesn’t make sense – there’s no reason not to eat bread, pasta, and rice, after all, and for vegetarians like me who aren’t visiting the meat counter I need to duck into an aisle for my protein. That said, I’ll join you on the balanced shopping attempt.
I’ve never heard of “shopping the border”, but love the idea. It will make me think a bit more when I shop. Thanks for the idea!
[...] Pete from Pete Bakes – I think I have to steal the item about visiting Thai X-ing. I am also jealous because his list got tons of comments!
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So am I the only DC food lover who doesn’t know where Thai X-ing is or the hype around it?
I’m going to try more vegan baking and incorporating more whole grains into my cooking…the holidays hit me right on the hip!
I’m totally with you on the seafood thing. I love to eat it, but I’d much rather have someone else cook it. I almost never get cooking anxiety – in fact, I’ve been known to try out new recipes when I’m having company over. But cooking seafood? Forget it, I’m a wreck! I have my safe shrimp recipes and a few tilapia recipes and that’s about it. I hate making the house smell like fish. What to do…I guess I need to just get over it and buy some air freshener!
I could do with a few of those myself – especially the bastilla one, and learning how to use my camera.
this looks delicious, you’re super adorable.
grill seafood! shrimp on flavored wooden skewers, bake it in tinfoil with a good glaze…mmm boy.
Fabulous! Love this website, Pete. Very (very) rare to find a young man your age with such an enthusiastic passion for baking or cooking. I’ve already printed up several of your recipes that I’m gonna give a try! One day you’re going to make a wonderful husband…my husband is a phenomenal cook, so I know what it’s like! Keep up the good work! I’ll be back for some more recipes!
Very creative photography.
Your moroccan pie took me here.
I will try and attempt it!
Stacey Snacks
PS good resolutions. I am sick of hearing about weight loss!
[...] one week ago, i made a few new years resolutions, and baby, i intend to keep [...]
[...] Pete from Pete Bakes – I think I have to steal the item about visiting Thai X-ing. I am also jealous because his list got tons of comments!
[...]
oh, I read the bastilla recipe and now my mouth is watering and my heart is longing for a trip to my home town and a visit to my favorite morrocan restaurant….
it looks like that took hours and hours to make, but maybe i should give it a try.
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Seafoods are very rich in Iodine too.-,*
what i like about seafoods is that they are tasty and very delicious.’-*