I Am Going To Do This, Damnit

I don't make New Year's Resolutions. Sometimes I set goals, sometimes not, but they're more general things, most of the time, and not so much linked to the turn of the year. Things like 'try to get more sleep,' or stuff like that.

But this year... I am setting a solid, concrete, no-dodging-this goal for 2010. I am - we are - going on a vacation, come hell or high water. A real, far away, relaxing, go-somewhere vacation. Where we go is probably going to depend on when umbran gets a job; we can't afford the week-long Galapagos cruise I just saw if he stays unemployed for another six months. But we're going *somewhere.* I'm starting now, setting aside a little bit of money every time I get paid, and we can afford this. I want to go in the fall, and by then we should have saved up enough.

This is scary in a lot of ways. I've always had a problem spending money; growing up poor will do that. There's the deep-down-inside fear that if I throw that money away now, on something that isn't a necessity, it won't be there if and when there's a crisis and we need it. And it's even harder spending it on myself, because there's a strong feeling that I don't deserve this, haven't earned it, there are more important and worthy things that I could do with that money.

But I've spent years telling myself that we'll do this some other year, next year, later, when we have the time and the money. And if I keep doing that, and don't put my foot down and tell myself that this *IS* going to happen here and now and no arguing, I'll never actually get around to it. So. This year. Europe if we're shorter on cash, Galapagos if we're not. For real.

I feel bad, and wasteful, and overindulgent, but it'll be worth it.....

Cookbook Project, Books #132 and 133

"The Frugal Gourmet Cooks With Wine," Jeff Smith

This is another one of umbran's cookbooks, and another one that I've never used before. This project has left me well enough acquainted with the Frugal Gourmet and the quality of his books, though, that I've been looking forward to using it. I've come to realize that they have a wide variety of good recipes, and they're well-written and just fun to read - his love of food and cooking shines through, even when there's not a lot of surrounding text.

This book didn't let me down at all. There were so many recipes that looked delicious, and it was hard to choose between them. Eventually, time was the deciding factor, and we wound up picking the recipe that looked like it would be easiest and quickest to make on a work night. So dinner was Rigatoni Con Pepperoni.

There was just one confusing thing about this recipe - there's no alcohol anywhere in it, despite the book's title and theme. This isn't a good or a bad thing; while I don't drink alcohol, I cook with it fairly often. It just boggled me a little, since I'm not quite sure why this recipe is in this book. I'm not complaining, though, since it was absolutely delicious. Pasta with a quick pepperoni and cream sauce, with sauteed garlic and onions. I cannot begin to describe how mouth-wateringly scrumptious this was, and how I want to make it again right now. I'll just need to find another occasion to make one of the winey dishes from this book. Because it's sure as anything sticking around.



"Catfish: An All-American Restaurant & Recipe Guide," The Catfish Institute

This is a booklet that I got for free many years ago. I can't remember exactly where and how I got it; I think I had to check a box on a web page or something. Either way, it's pretty spiffy for a free book. It's bigger, thicker, and better put together than most of the other ones I've gotten, and it actually has a bunch of useful information. There are write-ups and descriptions of a bunch of restaurants, with featured recipes from each restaurant, ranging from the super-fancy to the super-simple.

I've used this book before. Catfish is both inexpensive and easy to cook, and I like it well enough that it became, if not a staple, at least one of my go-to foods when I was in vet school and was tired of ground beef or chicken breasts. There's a pecan-crusted mustard catfish recipe in it that's just excellent.

I wanted to make something new, though, so after flipping through repeatedly and lamenting the fact that it's not grilling season, I ultimately wound up making Sesame Fried Catfish with a ginger-soy dipping sauce.

This was another phenomenally excellent dish. The fish was perfect, the sesame crust stayed on and was crisp and savory and complemented the texture wonderfully, and the dipping sauce made it heavenly. Victory again, and another recipe in my will-make-again pile.

The downside of all this, of course, is that I've found so many excellent recipes that I'm going to spend the next year just re-making them all, and I have no idea when I'll find the time to try new ones again....