Holiday Round-up ...

Good morning and belated Happy New Year wishes to all!

The husband and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home, which is just what the doctor ordered after an eventful holiday week. A couple of delicious steaks, some champagne at midnight and a few episodes of "The Honeymooners" marathon, was all this Diva needed to usher in the new year. I hope it will be a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous one for all of us!

This year we broke with tradition and dined on an amazing stuffed crown roast of pork for Christmas dinner. We ordered it from our favorite Italian market, Liuzzi's, and it was spectacular. All I had to do was pop it in the oven for a few hours ... then take all the credit! I made some mashed potatoes and steamed green beans to go with ... wow, it was heavenly! So good that we may well have a new holiday tradition in the making here. Yum!

Later there was mulled wine (pictured above) and all sorts of cookies, pies and desserts. Suffice it to say, our holiday was delicious in every way. And now its time to get back to business and back on the diet!

Stay tuned for some new and healthy recipes this week. I don't know about you, but I'm certainly feeling the need to detox a bit and return to a more simple - and sugar-free - way of eating!

Long-time readers will recall that this Diva is not prone to making resolutions. This year is no different - though I am planning to learn Spanish and have promised myself I'll finally get around to that blog redesign I've been planning for a year now. Only time will tell!

So, have you made an resolutions for the year? Or are you firmly in the non-resolution camp? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetit!

Housekeeping: Linkage Edition

First off, a belated and truly heartfelt thanks to The Vintage Kitten for bestowing her Fabblog award on me! Quite chic, isn't it? This means a lot coming from The Vintage Kitten because for my money she has one of the most interesting and stylish blogs around. If you've not been to her site, do have a look - she's funny, talented and altogether delicious. Her photography is quite something too. Kitten and I are of the same ilk ... we're both rule breakers of a sort ... so I'm not going to post any rules about this here either. I will, however, pass my award along to the following individuals:

Food for Laughter, Life, Lightly Salted, Jamjarsuperstar, Uncommon Artistic Endeavors and The Duo Dishes. Enjoy your award and feel free to pass it on, or not, as you see fit. I could have given this to literally all the blogs on my read list ... but that could take days! Frankly I think you're all fabulous. Really!

Earlier in the week, The Duo Dishes tagged me with the Luck and Resolutions Meme, in which you're supposed to list four things that you wish for in the new year and four resolutions. Well, you all know how I feel about resolutions ... but I'll make an exception in this case and offer four food related resolutions for the New Year.

Four Things I Wish for in 2009:

• Health and happiness for my family, my friends, myself and all my readers.
  

• That the economy will make a miraculous recovery and all those who lost jobs in 2008 will find even better jobs in 2009.

• Peace on Earth - yes, its a bit Polly Anna, but I'm sincere in my wish.

• More travel, more vacations. This one is contingent upon the husband, of course, but a girl can dream!

Four Food Resolutions for 2009:

• Form a better relationship with my crock pot. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

• Continue my exploration of chickpea flour.
  

• To try more new restaurants, to branch out instead of sticking with the tried and true.

• Continue to eat well with an eye toward health, and continue to create new, healthier versions of old favorites.

And there you have it, my slightly off-beat resolutions for 2009. Once again, I'm going to break the rules ... if you're reading this and would like to use it on your own blog - consider yourself tagged and resolve away! No need to make them food related either - that was my change.

So, what are your food resolutions for 2009? Hungry Diva wants to know.

Bon appetite!

Cooking Green ...

I know what you're thinking ... its a new week, a new month, a new year - so naturally, today's post will be about resolutions. Right? Not exactly. Those of you who've been with me from the beginning will know how I feel about resolutions. I don't like them and, in general, I resolve ... nothing. Its my belief that change happens when we are ready to embrace it and not because the calendar turns.

I do, however, recognize that others enjoy engaging in such folly and, gracious hostess that I am, I like to encourage them to do so at my annual New Year's Day party. Its our tradition to have the guests write their resolutions on slips of paper and place them into a bowl. Eventually, we all draw a slip from the bowl and read it aloud. My theory being that we seldom keep our own resolutions, perhaps its easier - and certainly more comical - to adopt someone else's.

Some of the resolutions are genuine and others ... mine, usually ... a bit more frivolous. In past years I've resolved to: "moisturize more" ... I didn't; "wear more hats" ... I didn't; and this year I resolved to "form a better relationship with my crock pot." You can probably guess how that will pan out ... and you can read about the only resolution I've ever kept here.

All of that to say that today's post isn't so much about resolutions as it is a confession. I suck at cooking eggs. Really. The husband is the breakfast chef in Divaland and we are all the better for it. I can tackle the most complicated recipe with ease, but ask me to scramble you an egg and you will be sorry indeed ... until now.

Much to my surprise and delight, Mama and Papa Diva gifted me with a wonderful new pan on Christmas morning and I think its going to revolutionize my breakfast cookery! This pan and I have produced two incredible, edible, egg dishes so far and we've only just met. Color me happy! The pan is part of Cuisinart's GreenGourmet line and I adore it. It has a ceramic based, petroleum-free, non-stick surface that provides quick and even heating - which makes cooking (and cleaning up) a dream. And, happily, its as green as green can be.

The stay-cool handle is made from recycled materials, the anodized construction provides superior heat conductivity, requiring less energy to heat it; and it is free from the nasty off-gassing chemicals that are typically used in creating non-stick cookware ... meaning, nothing gross or toxic will leech into your food. Bonus!

You can read more about these magical pans on Cuisnart's site and they can be purchased there as well. They are also available at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I'm thrilled with this gift and can't wait to explore its wonders more fully. I've so far used it to saute spinach, pan fry some tilapia, and have even managed to scramble myself up some amazing eggs. Will wonders never cease?! I recommend it highly and thank the parental units profusely ... breakfast is on me next time you visit!

Now, if only I can get this excited about that crock pot ... stay tuned. Meanwhile, what's your resolution? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetite!