With all the champagne gone flat, all the merriment makers gone home...well except for that guy, and where did he get the street sign, jumper cables and blow up doll from? Anyway, It's time to dig in and start on those New Year's resolutions....Or...Maybe we'll just wait until next week...don't forget we still have half of a cherry cheesecake leftover from your aunt Boopy!
Well here we are again fine people. With the holidays officially behind us, not to mention our behinds behind us. Wow, you can almost see it can't you...aunt Martha's feast of the seven fishes, cousin Tammy's 16 layer chocolate fudge cake surprise that you only had a sliver of....right?! All those wonderful cocktail parties, dinners, lunches, brunches and 3 mimosa breakfasts... forcing us one notch closer to the end of the belt. So what are we gonna do about it?! Well if you're like most most people you're gonna go on a diet. (Don't you lie to me, I know damned well your resolution wasn't to make sure the poor children of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan have new hockey skates this year!) Well, not me...and I'll tell you why.
Dieting after the new year just doesn't make any sense to me, especially being in New Hampshire with shorts and T-shirt weather still being a good 5 months away. I've got plenty of time to enjoy all the wonderful things winter has to offer in the way of food...Besides, I'm not planning on wearing a bikini anytime soon. So grab my hand and walk with me through the wonders that are winter foods.
1) BRAISES- pot roast, beef stew, carbonade flamande, coq au vin, beef bourguignon, short ribs, etc...
Seriously, if you want carrot sticks, be my guest...I'll have what he/she isn't! Gee whiz Pav, you can make these dishes anytime of the year! Really...well, maybe a steaming plate of Lancashire hotpot at a 4th of July picnic might sound like a good idea to you, but by eating that, I'd be sweating like a whore in church on payday! That's not my idea of a swell time.
2) SOUPS- French onion, loaded potato, consommé, mulligatawny, cream of .....well cream of anything really....
The point is soups are meant for this time of year, let's go ahead and eat some. I know what you're thinking and I'm way ahead of ya. Gazpacho, cold cucumber melon soup, and all those in their ilk are meant to be eaten in summer...so in 7 months, I say dig in!
3) MAC n' CHEESE- Right?! It's comfort, it's trendy, it's versatile....wait, did I say it's trendy?! You're damned skippy I did! Prepare it with bacon and onion, mushrooms, peas shallots and prosciutto, lobster, queso fresco and choriso! Come on people, I'm gonna need another 5 or so months just to get through the Mac n' Cheese recipes!
4) CASSEROLES- Enchilada's, baked spaghetti with salt pork, turkey tetrazzini, shepherd's pie, lasagna....yes even the tuna noodle casserole get thumbs up in my book. Again here we are in the comfort zone of winter and most, if done correctly (sans the can of soup or heavy mayo hand) are freakin delicious! Besides, you still have that oversized sweatshirt in the closet right?!
5) STUFFED- UHHH....STUFF- OK, skinny in shape 5 miles before 5am people, this one's for you, it's where you do fat guy food and yet still get to feel all self righteous. Let me get one or two out of the way really quick, Stuffed shells, manicotti...those were for me, not you...ok here you go, stuffed squash, stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed eggplant...really just take a veggie, hollow it out, and stuff it with something delicious. I'm a meat n rice kinda guy, but you could do all rice, other vegetables even...errr...I guess.
There are so many more that I can't even begin to count them but here's the point people. Eat these great foods while you can, It'll be 105 degrees soon enough and nothing short of ice cubes and a dry salad will even sound appealing....so eat now, slow up a bit and cut out some carbs say... about March so you don't feel like a complete disaster. Diet in the summer, so you can make room for all the delicious goodies that start coming back in the fall!
I hope this has inspired you to give up the silly notion of dieting... at least for a little while...don't forget, you got that cheesecake to finish up....and we do want Auntie Boopy to be proud of us don't we?...I'd write more, but I'm off to the market to get some things for a delicious shepperd's pie....What's that?! You're damn right it's got lamb in it.... if it had ground beef it would be...I dunno...cowboy pie?!
I never resolve to diet or exercise although breathing seems to be one I have managed to keep every year.
ReplyDeleteWhen that one falls through for me Lauri, that's when my big diet will start....until then, everything in moderation....
ReplyDeleteI never make resolutions. I refuse to set myself up for failure.
ReplyDeleteI don't diet as it is. But I appreciate your recommendation for those wonderful rib-stickin dishes! Bring on the lasagna!
ReplyDeleteOther than the awesome coldness, which I do truly love, the reason I like the colder months is the food. Because, yeah, come the dog days, even a salad seems challenging. I start my diet in April, like a sane person. Tonight's dinner, as example - big old bowl of chili (with beans as god intended), over rice, with cheese and sour cream on top. This is not an August 115o heat index Kinda meal.
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