Yesterday I entered important dates in a new 2024 calendar, ready to be hung in the kitchen on January 1st.
Early this morning I chose the book I'll use for my daily quiet time in 2024, God willing. I rotate between a few, this past year being one of C.S. Lewis's writings. All of December I've been using an Advent devotional of C. K. Chesterton's writings and will continue it through Twelfth Night. Some days the entries in this Advent book haven't seemed very relevant to me but others remind me of why I love Chesterton's pithy wisdom.
This year I'm putting this one on my desk, my beloved Richardson Wright's little A Book of Days for Christians, one I used in 2020.
Wright, a cradle Episcopalian, editor in chief of House & Garden for umpteenth decades in the 1900s and author of a stack of my favorite books, keeps it short, a paragraph or two, leaving time for scripture reading.
After I hit publish on this post I've managed to squeeze in before 2023 ends, I will go to the kitchen and begin cooking the pastry cream for a dream recipe I've wanted to make for ages, Boston Cream Pie.
Then I'll make and bake the two cake layers and next comes the chocolate glaze and into the fridge to chill for three hours, which may mean we'll be eating this pie/cake when the ball drops in NYC, as slow as I am.
My main dish for the evening will be easy, the salmon recipe I use half the time I cook salmon.
Starting with a beautiful side of wild caught Alaskan salmon...
and a scrumptious lemon/garlic/butter sauce...
I end up with my easiest favorite salmon recipe...
But tonight I'm going back to the first fantastic salmon recipe I tried decades ago from a Mediterranean cookbook for Braised Salmon with Caramelized Onions. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Yesterday I spent hours (I told you I'm slow) making a big bowl of potato salad loaded with celery, onions, olives, and eggs dressed mainly with apple cider vinegar/olive oil that soaks in the fridge with only a little mayo added in the end.
To me, salmon and potato salad with a little champagne is THE perfect meal and ending that meal with a sliver of Boston Cream Pie is a perfect end to New Year's Eve.
So time to snap to it. If you happen to read this, please feel free to only say "Happy New Year," or nothing at all because with all honesty I have to say it may be Tuesday and Wednesday January 2nd and 3rd before I give myself the gift of two days off to catch up on my blog world buddies.
Because there is that Boston Cream Pie to make today and a pork loin, collard greens, and black-eyed peas to cook on New Year's Day.
This was my view from the kitchen window this morning before I sat down to write this post...
I do so love pink clouds!
A very happy and healthy and safe New Year's to all of you,
Love,
Dewena
"There now, we have reached the end of our year's eating and drinking. For 1,095 times we have sat down to refuel our bodies and cheer our spirits. Fats cannot harm us. We are ready for whatever the next year brings. Allons!"
Richardson Wright
I loved this post. I'm a "cradle Episcopalian" too.
ReplyDelete"Fats cannot harm us". This is the year we learned that they really can. I'll tell you more in an email sometime. Still not sure if I will post on my blog or not. Happy, happy new year to you both. May it bring all good things.
Those pink clouds are so pretty, Dewena. Your New Year's dinner is behind you now as I write, and I'm betting it was as delicious as it looked. We stayed home as well, and are relaxing in the living room together after a simple dinner. Happy New Year! Love Wright's sentence "We are ready for whatever the next year brings. Allons!"
ReplyDeleteAll your dishes sound so delicious! That's ok that it takes you awhile to make everything...I'm sure it's all worth it to have such yummy homemade food. We ordered a pizza early for NY Eve, then ran to Barnes & Noble before it closed to look at magazines and get a couple of boxes of Christmas cards for next year at 50% off. Brian was in bed by 10, and I was in bed by 11:30. Neighbors behind us were doing fireworks at midnight though, so I didn't fall asleep for awhile after that.
ReplyDeleteI have two books of daily readings that I try to keep up with, though I fail pretty miserably at that and end up trying to place catch up: Simple Abundance and Journey to the Heart (Melody Beattie). And monthly I read one recommended by you awhile ago: Testament of Trust (Faith Baldwin).
Today has been a quiet, relaxing day except for taking our annual hike in the State Park. And this year we actually went 4 miles because we didn't have to deal with any ice or snow. May your 2024 be blessed with good health and lots of love from family and friends. xoxo
Such happy photos! Wishing you and yours all the best for this new year, dear Dewena, hope it's a good one!
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
When you didn't 'dish' on all the different dishes you were preparing for New Year's Eve and Day, last time we 'spoke',
ReplyDeleteI should have figured that I'd learn all about them here! Dewena, everything looks and sounds absolutely delicious! You have been very busy bringing in the new year with such effort, love and coziness!
There may have been spectacular fireworks exploding in the sky somewhere nearby, to celebrate the first moments of 2024, but those pretty, pink clouds seen so clearly from your kitchen window, perfectly light up the last night of 2023!
Wishing you a very healthy, happy and safe New Year!
Love,
Poppy xx
It's lovely to cook slowly, and enjoy the whole experience as long as possible, with as few mistakes as possible, the kind of mistakes that come from hurrying. I know a lot about those!
ReplyDeleteI hope we will see a picture of your Boston Cream Pie here soon. I made one of those once. If you show yours, I'll tell the funny story of what happened with mine.
Gretchen Joanna
Happy New Year, Dewena!! I hope your meal and your midnight were lovely and that 2024 brings you nothing but blessings!!
ReplyDeleteYour dishes sound delicious, and potato salad is one of my favorites. It is time consuming for sure, but I usually make the dressing first, put it in the fridge, then add it to the potatoes when cooked. The view outside your window when you blog is lovely with the pink sky. Your book, God willing, sounds beautiful, Dewena, and such a good one for quiet time and reflection. And the Boston cream pie sounds amazing. A perfect treat to start the new year.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, dear friend, and I hope it brings much goodness your way.
~Sheri
Those of you who enjoy cooking and baking - have my admiration and you seem to enjoy it. I wish I had gotten that trait from my mom but I didn't. I love reading and seeing your photos. Happy New year to you and the family.
ReplyDelete