10 Ideas for 2024

10 ideas for 2024 (aka New Year’s resolutions) was not how this originally started out. A while ago I was jotting (can you jot on a computer?) some kitchen/blog/personal ideas to work on for the fall. Things got so busy, that the list never got finished or expanded upon and now it’s January, so here goes…

Recently I was gifted a carton of cookbooks provided I could get them home on the bus. There are some old friends, some classics and some completely new to me. Idea#1: Go through the box, peruse the cookbooks, pick out some interesting recipes, or rehome the books.
This should also be done with the cookbooks I had shipped from the US. Some just won’t work here. It has less to do with US measurements vs. metric, but availability of ingredients. Jalapenos and broccoli rabe are rare commodities here.
It also seems that there’s quite a “stealth” collection of cookbooks on Kindle. Since they’re virtual and not taking up physical space, they just constantly get overlooked. If anyone knows how to make them their own category on Kindle, please let me know in the comments and I will be incredibly grateful! Who knows, I might even start to use them, there are some good titles there.
One of the things that attracted me to our new toaster oven was the air fryer option. Having had the oven for several months, I’ve used the air fryer only a few times (if heating up spring rolls counts). I know there are some great uses for it and need to master that function. Again, if you have some air fryer favorites, please comment below.
More/some fish. This is always on my list, and the one thing that just falls by the wayside. You would think that living 3 blocks from the sea would make this easy-peasy but Nice is a pretty meat-centric town. This year I am going to make friends with the fishmonger in the marché and cook more fish!
Miso: I’ve never cooked with miso, so this is more of a curiosity thing. I’ve been seeing a lot of recipes lately and people talking about great uses for miso, so time to get some and play with it. Who knows, maybe if I open some of the cookbooks in #1-3…
“Weird” produce: I need to start exploring some of the less familiar vegetables and fruits that are in the marché. Like the Jerusalem artichokes I saw today. And the curly radicchio that came home to toss in a salad (sort of cheating, right?).
Eat Your Books: Maybe if the cookbooks were indexed, I could find recipes for stuff like miso and Jerusalem artichokes…
Spices: Do you ever buy spices on a whim? A blend looks good, or you remember seeing a recipe that calls for ____ so you decide to pick up a jar. Guilty. So now, I’m going to put some of them to use. Hello black curry and ???
Entertain! Even just apéros or a simple dinner, it’s time to set the table for more than 2. Want to come over?