As I write this, Jason’s eating one of the last Christmas cookies his mother baked and sent home with us from Florida. They’re at least two weeks old, and unfortunately what used to be soft and delicious is now dry and crumbly. The cookies were fabulous when they were fresh; now I’m not so sure. Ghosts of Christmas-co
okies-past.
This Christmas break flew by far too fast. We skipped going home for Christmas last year, so it’s been a long time since I’ve had food cooked by my parents. I was really excited to finally eat some of the things that I loved the most growing up. Unfortunately, the flu shot I got in October didn’t cover whatever hell-bug was circulating the week of Christmas, so I spent Christmas Eve in bed and Christmas day on the couch alternately shivering and sweating with a 102 degree fever. I couldn’t smell or taste ANYTHING, which made mom’s home cooking and a much-anticipated trip to Cigar City Brewing in Tampa kind of a bust. Poor Jason came down with it too, and couldn’t even go to the brewery with me. Not to be too Eeyore-ish, but this has been the story of my year.
My hope for 2013 is that I can smell and taste everything that comes my way.
We make collard greens and black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. It’s a Southern tradition that’s supposed to symbolize money and prosperity for the coming year. Since my mom is from Wilmington, I know this is the only acceptable meal for the first day of the new year, but Jason’s family’s from New York, so he doesn’t have the same frame of reference. I don’t think he quite understood why I was dragging my hungover self to the kitchen to make vegetables after a crazy NYE party when we first started living together, but he went along with it and neither of us lost our jobs that year, so now it’s a tradition.
We’re trying a new recipe this year: Beer and Bacon Braised Collard Greens (courtesy of Food 52.com). We picked up some fresh black-eyed peas at the grocery store yesterday, and I think we’ll probably have to drink some of the Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale we brought back from the brewery, now that our noses and taste buds seem to be working again. We’ll let you know how it turns out.
Hi! We're Christy & Jason. We eat and drink a lot. Some people live for their kids. Others live for their pets. We live for good food, drinks, and the experiences that come with finding both.
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