The Scroll #191 New Years Eve Snacks, No Resolutions and Eat Your Veggies

​ ​ HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! What's not to be happy about? We've put another year to bed, we've made it through and at least a few times this year, we did it with panache! Right? No? YES! Of course we did! Do you spend time looking back over the year? Make resolutions? Agree to avoid resolutions while deciding that instead you'll make positive changes? I'll tell you what I've decided. I have a friend who makes a concerted effort to eat his vegetables. I've watched him many times choose the sauteed spinach over the mashed potatoes, choose the collard greens over the mac and cheese and the "seasonal vegetables" over the baked potato. I didn't make any of those choices this year. I ALWAYS choose the mashed potatoes, mac and cheese or the baked potato (usually loaded). Instead, I have to choose "just a few bites" while he eats everything in front of him. I'm going to try, at least for a few days, to choose the green and fiber filled vegetables. Last night, I went out to dinner with some friends and rather than choosing the ribeye or the pot roast (which I wanted), I asked for a vegetable plate made up of collard greens, squash and some mashed potatoes (it's the holidays after all and no one can change over night). I ate every bite and was completely full. It was delicious. I didn't have indigestion at bed time even though we ate later than my usual dinner time. (HOW GLORIOUS!). Maybe I'll make it. We shall see. That said, its' party time and you need something you can take with you to a New Years Eve gathering, right? Here's a few ideas.... ​Sausage Balls are always a hit and the cream cheese in these makes them perfect! ​Green Chili Cheese Bread is a Winner every single time! ​Pizza Nachos will have the crowd drooling! This Hot Bacon Dip, Oh man! ____________________________ HOT COOKING TIP OF THE WEEK This week I had the good fortune to visit a friend who tries very hard to avoid salt. That made it a real challenge to cook the beautiful cabbage that I had picked up at the grocery. Here are the tips I used to get as much salty flavor as I could out of what was available in the cabinet without adding the salt I usually would. Add a little fat. Fat helps flavors slide around on your tongue better so a little fat will help get as much natural flavor as possible out of what you are cooking. In this case, she had olive oil on hand and that's what I used. Umami - umami is the "tastes so good" flavors that are packed into certain foods. In this case, I added a squirt of tomato paste to add a powerful punch. Sugar - Cabbage has some natural sweetness that is brought out by just a spoonful of sugar - not even enough to notice. Acid - A splash of cider vinegar gives the feel of salt without adding salt. Broth - Cooking in chicken broth added a boat load of flavor. Smoked Turkey neck - a few bits of smoked turkey neck added some smoky flavors . Heat - a few shakes of pepper flakes gave some good flavor. Pepper, Garlic Powder and Onion Powder - because they taste good. I hope this helps you if you are trying to avoid so much salt. _________________________ THREE LITTLE THINGS I'm trying to be more thankful in my day to day life and sharing some of that here so that maybe you'll be more thankful too. This week, I'm thankful for... Good friends - as I look back over the year, I couldn't possibly have made it through without the care and love of good friends. We've done all kinds of things together from kayaking on the river, to hiking, to sharing meals to sitting on the deck together to playing with dogs. Thank you. Family - What would I have done without my little family? Who knows. I think I would just shrivel up without them. Peace and Quiet - if there is one thing that the pandemic has taught me is to value my peace and quiet. It makes the noisy times with friends and family even more valuable. Love - There's so much love in my life that I could just about burst. The hugs of grandchildren, the smiles of special people, the companionship of every day. It's all love I know, that's 4 but I could go on and on. ___________________________ A FINAL WORD Mostly I'm thankful for YOU! We've spent another year together and I couldn't be more glad. Thank you for being you. You are special and beautiful and all the things that are right in the world. Please know that you can write to me any time at all, just click reply to this newsletter and it will come straight to my inbox. I do my best to answer and sometimes I am super duper slow, but I do my best. I'm wishing you the Happiest New Years ever, if that is partying like it's 1999 or if that is snoozing away on the couch or anything in between. For you, dear friend, I wish the best. Much love to you! See you next year. Love you! Wendi Jo ​Unsubscribe | Update your profile | PO Box 82 , Danbury, NC 27016