What We’ll Do This Year — And a Giveaway Winner!

Photo by Allie_Caulfield via Flickr Creative Commons

I wish I had dozens of gift cards to give away, because the comments on the CHEFS Catalog giveaway post were so inspiring and entertaining. You all want to do and make such wonderful stuff this year! You listed foodstuffs as diverse as kimchi, sausage, bread, and beer. (Actually, that sounds like the start of a pretty good meal, if y’all wanted to get together.)

I’m right there with those of you who want to make yogurt this year. That’s on my own list, along with homemade nut butters. All in all, however, it sounds like we will be feasting on pasta in 2011. More folks mentioned that, with a special nod to ravioli, than any other item. And of course, many of you want to brush up or enhance your canning skills this year — from losing the boxed pectin to making more pickles to mastering a pressure canner.

I don’t know this woman, but this is such a cute photo! Photo by Zane Selvans via Flickr Creative Commons

Evonne wants to breed her little goat so she can have fresh milk. A number of us want to dig into our gardens in a more satisfying way — or cook with more foraged foods. The way I see it, foraging includes mustering the courage to knock on our neighbors’ doors to request (or offer to trade for) the unharvested fruit on their trees.

The peaches I picked in July, thanks to my generous neighbor.

Let’s hope we can pull off even half of the organization and upgrading tasks we want to tackle: new kitchen floors, stoves that actually work, spice racks that make some kind of sense. I wish Karla good luck with her backsplash. Her comment made me laugh out loud because, well, don’t we all have something in our homes that makes us feel this way?

We were going to install tile to cover the whole area between the counter and cabinets, so there are lines and measurements scribbled all over the walls. But we have lived here since 2006 and, frankly, at this point, I’d settle for a 1×4 and some paint.

I think Ruth Ann was on to something, saying she’d settle for simply remembering to wipe off the stove every night. It’s a good reminder that we can start anywhere, with the smallest task. And that we’ll do what we can and it’ll all be fine.

Photo by Josh Liba via Flickr Creative Commons

I was touched by Sue’s comment that it would be nice if we could all get together and teach each other what we want to learn. (She could show you how to handle the pasta!) This is one of the things I love best about the ever growing community of bloggers and readers who are exploring, making, and sharing. We’re connecting with each other and learning from each other every day. May we continue to find that encouragement through this year and beyond.

Photo by Cooking Up A Story via Flickr Creative Commons

Now it’s time to say that the CHEFS Catalog gift card and jam will go to . . . Anduin! She has a beautiful name and promises to make some dumplings this year, among other delicious things. Congratulations, Anduin! (I just like to say her name.) If you go back and count, you’ll see that it looks like she’s #34, but she’s actually #32 because two people ahead of her commented twice.

Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to share some of your kitchen aspirations.

Photo by csyork65 via Flickr Creative Commons

P.S. A note to Liza-Bean: I love A Way With Words! I started listening just last summer. This week I picked up a new word the show that I’ve been using quite a lot: dopsy. It means awkward or clumsy. Which I so often am. Good luck with the 5lbs of red and green M&M’s you need to use up from Christmas. I’d probably just eat ’em — especially if they’re plain, not peanut. :-)