recipes

i think last year i made a resolution to make one new recipe every week. that lasted until i moved and didnt have access to my kitchen or cookbooks for almost two months. i probably made at least 40 new recipes last year, and am trying to continue with new recipes this year. so far i have made three dishes that were new to me: french onion soup, potato soup, and turkey meatballs. all three were good and things that i would cook again.

i got all kinds of new kitchen gadgets for christmas, some of which were essential in my new recipes, or on new takes on old recipes. the kitchen aid attachment that chops and shreds vegetables is pretty much amazing, and i had been wanting a stick mixer for ages.

santa brought me new kitchen scissors and a fancy peeler in my stocking, and although those sound majorly unromantic i was thrilled. i didnt grow up with kitchen scissors or a kitchen aid mixer but i find both of those things to be pretty much essential nowadays. i definitely have certain techniques that i have learned from my mom though.

one thing that jeremy and i always fight over is how you put spaghetti in a pot. my grammer taught me to break it in half so it all fits in the pot at once, and he leans his so it gradually softens and all gets below the water level.

any tips, techniques or gadgets that you couldnt live without in the kitchen? we have appointed rumpy "head dishwasher" because he licks everything clean when we are finished eating. (don't worry though - we aren't that family - we definitely still wash everything before suing it again.)