Eat Food, Drink Drinks: A 2012 Resolution

It's a new year again, and like many a Southern lady I will be eating black eyed peas and collard greens for dinner. No, you can't get local black eyed peas, but they do have greens here, and in abundance! One of my latest food obsessions is kimchi. It's pretty much the best thing ever in all its variations. In honor of my new surroundings, I decided to cook up this year's greens kimchi-style. It was a good decision, let me tell you. The end result is a pleasant variation on my former spicy collard greens recipe, still spicy and a little bit sweet, but with a hint of Asian influence.

I've had local dishes on the brain a lot lately, so when I walked out of my kitchen to read the news I was glad to discover this article:

Artisanal And Authentic, The Flavors Of The New Year

Come 2012, there's a new food vocabulary: authentic, craft, small batch, artisanal, rustic and, of course, local. It's the opposite of processed, mass produced and factory farmed.

One of my happiest challenges over the last several years is learning to cook and eat where I am. Every move requires learning new things in the kitchen. Eating good food, locally produced and thoughtfully prepared, is one of life's most wonderful and simple joys, I think, and I feel lucky to have prepared and eaten meals in so many different places. Hoping I get to revisit old favorites and discover some new ones in the years to come!