Learn and Do

The new year is a time traditionally when blog people look back to recap the passing year and look ahead to the upcoming year.  They post lists of their most popular posts or projects or recipes.  They set goals and make resolutions.  I am not one of those people who is successful at those tasks.  I tried posting my garden goals once on the side of my blog.  Eventually it disappeared from there, dying from inattention.  Some bloggers are writing about their one word for the new year, a fairly new type of resolution popular the past few years.  I have not been a 'one worder' either.  But I do have some things that I would like to accomplish and so perhaps some goals would be in order. A very vague goal, kind of on the order of that one word business.  I would like to learn and do new things.

I got started before the New Year.  I decided that my  (only) bathroom could use some upgrading.  My toilet had started to leak and I was having issues with my sink faucet.  I did some research, read some articles and watched some you tube.  I bought a new toilet and a new pedestal sink and I replaced my toilet.  All alone.  By myself.  And it is working.  With no leaking.  The pedestal sink is out of the box and laid out in pieces on my couch.  It is going to be installed today.   Or tomorrow.  Sometime this weekend.  Learn and do.  Our family is replete with DIY'ers.  We all tackle projects.  It is in our DNA I guess.

I have several woodworking projects that I want to accomplish.  One of them is nearly complete.  My dish pantry.  It just needs the door.  That will happen today.  Or tomorrow.  Or this weekend.  I kind of see a trend here.  I am a bit of a procrastinator but it is time to bite the bullet and get it done.  In order to do my wood projects I needed to get my own tools.  Now that I have tools I have no excuses.  More on these other projects later.
 
Another plan that I have involves food.  I like to cook and bake.  I have a huge number of actual cookbooks, a very extensive pinterest recipe collection and more ebook cookbooks than I should and tons of recipes that show up in my inbox from other bloggers.  I am not afraid to tackle complicated or unusual recipes, I just don't.  I live alone and much of the time I am cooking just for me so it is easy to do the easy, quick stuff.  My new plan is to learn to use an unfamiliar or exotic ingredient.  Not living close to a large metropolitan city I may have to be a bit selective in what recipes I select or plan far enough ahead that my big city offspring can shop for me before they come to the farm to visit.

As a start, yesterday I made a salad using wheat berries.  My friend Bobbie discovered the recipe and was going to try it.  I decided to try it too.  I had never cooked with wheat berries  before but they were good in the salad.  Wheat berries, roasted beets and feta cheese with fresh herbs and a homemade vinaigrette.  Tasty and filling.

And today I made a soup with several new ingredients.  I am a little embarrassed to say that I am slow to the coconut bandwagon but the soup that I made has both coconut oil and coconut milk.  It also has lime and turmeric and bok choy and several kinds of mushrooms.  It did not have tofu in it since I forgot to buy it so I went without it.  It was good.  Interesting flavors.

I have several other soups on my list.  Maybe my goal should be a big pot of a new soup each week.    And a salad.  With greens from the winter greenhouse once they are ready. 

I will have to do a Part 2 of this post with other things from my To Do list.  Stay warm.