Do you make resolutions? I do. Every year. I don’t necessarily keep them every year though. Wish I could say that I did, but honestly like most people I fall away from the resolutions after a few weeks or months.

But this year is different. My resolutions are grounded in things that I really want and need to do to lead a healthier, happier life. That’s really important for both me and for my family. So, here they are in no particular order:

• Lose 50 lbs.: I know, it sounds like a lot but really it’s about 50% baby weight (which should melt away with just a bit of effort). The second 25 lbs will be the real challenge.
• See that darned cookbook published (and the wonderful sales that will follow).: I don’t have a whole lot of control over this one. My draft is done and it’s a waiting game until the publisher/editor returns it to me for corrections and whatnot. But, once it’s returned, it’s up to me to turn it around and approve the changes (and make my own).
• Successfully pitch a second cookbook.: I already have the idea, though it needs to be fleshed out a bit. Then it’s just a matter of pulling together the proposal.
• Buy a new, larger home.: Who doesn’t want this? But seriously, it’s a need more than a want for us. Our expanding family is quickly outgrowing the small house that my husband and I purchased when we got married. We definitely need some more room (and some more bedrooms so that the kids don’t have to cram into one).
• Buy a new, larger, safer, four-wheel drive vehicle.: A few months after graduating from college, I bought a new car that I could afford on my slim salary – a Honda Civic. Definitely not the best choice for New England where many snowstorms dot the winter. Nonetheless, I am still driving that car today after . . . several years. So, I think it’s time to bite the bullet and invest in a car that is safer for the kids and has enough room to meet our needs (have you ever tried to transport a family in a Civic? Not fun.).
• Potty train Will.: Again, self explanatory. But this is a need more than a want as well. Will is supposed to start preschool in the fall but can’t unless he is a potty-using big boy . . . heaven help us.

**BREATHE** It’s not that much, right? Totally obtainable. Really.

This particular recipe I thought of while working on the first draft of my cookbook (and yes, it’s coming. I can’t say when, but it is. I will update you as soon as I have a certain do-or-die date from the darn publisher). However, it never made it into the manuscript because my attempts left me wanting: the flavor just wasn’t there and I didn’t have time to tweak it anymore. This time though, without the pressure of a deadline looming, I just did keep adding on the flavor until I thought it would be right. And it was. I’ll have to stock this recipe away for a future cookbook (way, way, way down the line … you know after Families Eat Together FINALLY makes its debut).

Anyway, this is a quick and easy one. I recommend making your own pesto, since it’s so much tastier than the store bought stuff. But in a pinch, that could easily be used too.

1 large head of cauliflower
1 cup basil pesto
sea salt
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Wash cauliflower and cut into florets that are about 1-1.5 inches (some smaller ones are okay too). Place into a large Zip-Loc bag. Add pesto. Seal bag, taking care to remove all the excess air. Now, shake, squeeze and toss to completely coat all of the cauliflower.

Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Spread cauliflower onto the pan in an even layer. Sprinkle with sea salt (to taste).

Cook for 15 minutes, turning once about halfway through.

Serve hot.

So after fighting with the store (who weren’t too helpful), the extended warranty contract company, etc, etc, it was fixed about a week later. Or so we thought (insert dark and dreary music here). A little more than a week after that, it broke again. The repair company came back and got it running. A little more than a week after that, kaput . . . again. Repair company comes back and finally admits that they can’t isolate the problem (which is a leak somewhere in the system) and it cannot be fixed. Contract co. says that if that’s the case then they will cut us a check for the fridge so we can get a new one.

That was two weeks ago. The contact co. has since said that they will do no such thing since no one’s found the actual problem yet. Blah, blah, blah. I’ve gone nearly a month with a touch and go situation with this fridge, and you want to tell me NO?!? Well, I reached my breaking point and decided that they can answer to the Better Business Bureau and the Department of Consumer Protection. This is just asinine.

So we bought a new refrigerator. Hopefully this one will last more than three years. Guess where we didn’t buy this one? There is no way that I am EVER shopping in that store again, after the co-owner was so rude when I asked for the loaner we’d been promised (if it ever broke) when we purchased it. Yes, yes, love the truth in sales.

In the meantime, I have a beautiful new fridge and a broken one in the basement that we hope will either be fixed (so we can eventually sell it with the house and take the new one) or we’ll be given a refund for.

Say hello to my new friend! It’s spacious, and lovely and shocker of shockers: stays cold. Aaahhhh, the simple things in life. I love the style and design (sorry about the lackluster picture, haven’t been home during the day to take a good one).

The best features? Room for full platters of food, a water dispenser INSIDE the fridge, and room for many, many gallons in the doors (leaving the shelves for more important items). I am so in love.

Now, back to cooking.

Other than that, I am just working for the weekend right now. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, I just need a break. But vacation is coming so that should be a good relief.

On another note, I stumbled on a bank statement from five years ago over Memorial Day weekend. Boy, have I changed in five years. Five years ago, I was just beginning my career in journalism. I was sure I knew it all (I didn’t, still don’t) and wanted to take charge (still do). Five years ago, I was unmarried with no children. My income, which was less than half what it is now (perhaps a third even), went primarily to three things: food, shopping and my car. I paid more for insuring my car then I do now for insuring both my husband’s and my own. I went tanning regularly. And all the time, I thought I was broke (I didn’t know what broke was).

I can’t help but let the if I only’s creep into my head once in a while – if I had only saved some money instead of shopping and eating out so much (I honestly rarely cooked, because I didn’t know how to cook for one and was afraid to cook with meat). If I had only had the foresight to plan for the future.

I’m older, wiser, married and a mother now. I still spend more than I should (particularly on food, but it’s ingrediants now), but I also make a conscious effort to save money too. In five years, I would like to look back and think how smart I was to start saving. I would like to be in a good, stable financial place in five years.

Where were you five years ago? Where do you want to be in five years?

Of course, after hitting send, I realized that some recipes that my husband and I really liked didn’t make it into the draft. Perhaps on the next cut. And some stories I wrote and rewrote, while others just didn’t make the cut.

I can’t help but worry. Is what I wrote enough? I love every recipe in the book, so I am not worried about that. But what about the stories? Are they detailed enough?

I worry. I can’t help that.

But I wanted to take a few minutes from my frantic writing and editing to bring you this salad for Weekend Herb Blogging, a great weekly event started by Kalyn’s Kitchen. I’ve been developing this for the cookbook, but it was just too good not to share right away. And the dressing features oregano, making it a perfect fit for WHB.

A little about oregano: Oregano is a powerful herb that has antioxidant properties. It is used in Mediterranean cooking and comes originally from northern Europe. Did you know that in the time of Greeks and Romans, it was considered to be a symbol of joy and happiness?

On a side note, you have to make this salad. Really. You have to. It’s mouthwatering good. And Although I eat this salad as is, adding a little grilled chicken will make it a great protein- and vitamin-rich meal.

Greek Salad
serves 4

3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 ½ cucumbers, peeled and cubed
½ cup kalamata olives, halved
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup white wine vinegar (always use good quality)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small shallot, minced
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
Salt
Pepper

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, olives and feta.

In a separate bowl, beat together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour over the tomato mixture.

Serve chilled.

Still, to get that call that my cousin Grace Louise had passed on, I was caught without breath for a moment. Her words were alive in my mind. I had just been working on a chapter of the cookbook over the weekend that is based on our family cookbook, circa 1981. I had just been writing about Grace Louise, and other cousins.

Let me back up.

As a child, it was a yearly event. My family and I would pack into my grandmother’s station wagon and head north to the Cape (Cape Cod, that is). Each year, we would stay in the same blue motel across the street from the ferry landing. The Hyannis Holiday Motel. Each year, we would have breakfast at the dive across the street. And I would beg to swim in the motel pool (I love swimming . . . always have). But the point of the weekend trip wasn’t to check out the harbor or eat at the Hearth N Kettle (another yearly stop). The purpose of the trip was to attend our annual family reunion at Grace Louise’s home.

Our family reunion. It was a spectacular event. Family would fly in from the far reaches for the one day event. And my grandmother would be in her glory, surrounded by her beloved cousins. They were all close in age and had grown up together, living in the same house together from time to time. They were the epitome of close-knit. It was like they all really came alive together, sharing memories and stories of times past. And then there was the food . . . oh the wonderful food. Lobsters would be brought in, fresh off the boat, from Maine. And there would be hamburgers, hot dogs, salads . . . oh, the buffet seemed endless.

Grace Louise would make these adorable favors for everyone. One year, it was little clear jars with blue lids. A label read something to the effect of “Cape Cod air.” There were satchels and little pillows . . . I kept many of the favors for years and years (and think I might still have a few kicking around the beach house).

I was pretty young – maybe 10 or so – the last time we went. I think that was the year that I spent what seemed like hours playing volleyball with the cousins. Amid the sweat and exhausting, was the fun. It was so much fun.

It’s been ages since I last saw Grace Louise – at least 13 years (it was probably at my grandmother’s funeral, but I am not certain). In recent years, her memory began to fail, followed by her body. She was ready. It was her time.

How could I not take a moment of pause when I heard she was gone? My grandmother adored her and I adored my grandmother. You see the progression. I remember Grace Louise as a bouyant, happy, vibrant woman. That’s what she will be always be to me.

People come into our lives, and they slip away. But memories of your family built in childhood are precious and priceless because family is what you always have.

But I must ask that you bear with me while I revamp my recipe archives, update my blogroll (the old one was lost in the transition – mea culpa) and just get everything all set up. I will still be posting in the meantime, but it might take a few days to get my sidebars up to par.

On a side note, my deadline is looming. Eek. But it’s coming together.

A whole week away from my blog? I can’t believe it! So what have I been doing while neglecting this nearly daily log of eats and exploits? Well, for one, I am still editing Well Fed On The Town, Fit Fare and Sugar Savvy, so that’s a daily exercise for me. And I am writing for a new blog as well, Mad About Martha. Plus there is the book, which is coming along nicely in terms of the new recipes I’ve been developing. Of course, there is the textual other side that I still need to contend with . . .

And I’ve been working.

Back to the book for a second. I was brimming with ideas when I signed the contract and could scarcely wait to get writing. So why is it that now that I am writing, those ideas are fleeting and forgotten memories? A little writers block here, a little writers block there . . . Sometimes it’s maddening. So I try to get the ideas out – no matter where I am – when I get them so that I don’t lose any more. I can’t afford to!

I held a mini-tasting in my kitchen for some family members this weekend. I test cooked about seven recipes for the book and several were clear winners, getting instant cheers. Meanwhile a few others are going back to the drawing board because they are just missing something. Obviously, it was productive. I wouldn’t want to include recipes that only make my taste buds tingle and no one else’s.

Honestly, the tasting was so much fun that I would consider doing it every week. That sure would speed the process along too.

One thing I have discovered since I started writing less than a week ago is that if I think too much about what I am doing, I lose sight of it and have difficulty – writers block, kitchen errors, etc. But if I just do it, and forget why I am doing it, the whole writing and cooking process goes very smoothly. I guess when I am trying to write a cookbook, I put too much pressure on myself. But when I am just trying to write things are just normal. Am I making any sense here?

This recipe is from early February – don’t worry I haven’t broken my Lent. It was borne of the desire to fully utilize a roasted chicken I had made without any waste. From that 3 lb turkey, I made these chicken tacos, a chicken basil soup (that was a weeks worth of lunches for my husband), and ate the chicken itself for dinner. Talk about waste not, want not. Did I mention that the soup was made from stock from the chicken carcass?

Anyway, the taco recipe all started with this:

And a careful portion of Penzey’s Original Taco seasoning. This is less meat than would normally be used to make tacos (1 lb) so I used a lighter portion of seasoning.

I definitely recommend this taco seasoning. The flavor was excellent.

2 cups cubed roasted chicken
1.5 tbsp taco seasoning (such as Penzey’s Original)
3/4 cup water
shredded cheddar
4 fajita sized soft tortillas

In a medium skillet, combined the chicken, taco seasoning, and water. Cook on medium for 5-8 minutes, until the water evaporates leaving a thick sauce.

Spoon chicken onto tortillas, top with cheddar.

Serve these with salsa and low-fat sour cream, as well as a salad for a quick and easy meal.