Get Your Year in Gear

Various Authors                      Another Corner

In recognition of the new year, we began talking months ago about what culinary resolutions we would like to make for 2009. We agreed not to be too dreary about it (none of this "lose 50 pounds by Jan. 12" jazz), but rather, focus on what we would really like to accomplish in our kitchens and lifestyles over the next 12 months.

We also cast our net to readers and foodies, asking them to share their gustatory goals for 2009. Here are some of the responses. Perhaps one will inspire you to craft a culinary resolution of your own. You still have until midnight!

TIME-SAVING STRATEGIES

Last year's resolution, I'm happy to report, was a success — but it nearly killed me.

I had resolved to cook dinner at home nearly every weeknight, no easy task when you don't leave the office most nights until 7 or 7:30. Each evening felt like an exhausting race to the finish line — head to the freezer and defrost the meat/chicken/seafood; slice and dice; roast/stir-fry/saute/broil; make the salad; reheat the meal in microwave for late-arriving husband, who nearly always favors second helpings; sit down to eat at nearly 9.

Whew! Rachael Ray I wasn't. This year, I'm more determined than ever to stick to my resolution — it's the economy. But my new resolution is to employ some time-saving techniques that might best Rachael's 30-minute meals and save me from an early grave.

Use a crockpot, a friend urged. And I will. It may not be haute cuisine, but crockpot cooking means my evening meal will be waiting for me when I arrive home. For other nights of the week, I'll defrost my meats and fish the evening before or in the morning, and likewise for the chopping and dicing. And I'll carve out time on the weekends to make some meals ahead of time — turkey burgers, meatloaf, stews, braised short ribs, roast chicken — so they will last longer than a single dinner.

Now, if I can just get my husband to forgo those second helpings.

— Lori Weisberg, food writer

CURRIES AND COFFEE

Last year, my lofty ambitions (there were so many) included wearing lip liner every day and eschewing fast food. By March, I could be found lipstick-smeared and face down in a plastic foam trough of rolled tacos with guacamole.

In 2009, I'm going easy on myself. Ha!

I want to learn how to make restaurant-quality Indian food. Short of building a tandoor oven in my backyard, I want to master chicken tikka, naan and samosas.

I also want to learn how to brew really good black coffee, the kind that people will reminisce fondly about at my funeral. Despite my best efforts to date, I make bilge water that guests won't even drink to be polite. My mother makes better joe with already-ground, pedigree-less coffee from a can and tap water.

— Caroline Dipping, food writer

GOING GREENER

Most of my New Year's resolutions over the years have related to what my family eats. For 2008, we made a family resolution to stop eating fast food. We were successful for the first part of the year. When we did get takeout, we opted for sandwiches or burritos rather than burgers and fries. But we began to slip a bit as the year wore on.

For 2009, my resolution is to prepare vegetarian dinners at least three nights a week. Eating less meat has health and ecological benefits. It will be a challenge, though, to pull together vegetarian meals quickly on weeknights because they tend to require a bit of work — chopping veggies, soaking beans. So keeping my resolution will involve making dishes ahead on weekends for use during the week, and scouting out quick vegetarian recipes that my meat-loving husband and three children will accept.

— Margaret King, food writer

COLLEGE PREP

Teach my daughter at least 20 simple and healthy meals without wasting money before she leaves for college next summer. Buy more local food from the farmers market and support them in a time of economic difficulty. Learn vegetable planting techniques. Try to grow little green herbs and vegetables in my backyard. The first try will be chile peppers, so I can reduce the amount of salt and unnatural spices.

— Victor Zhang, San Diego

BAGGING IT

My culinary resolution is to use eco-friendly shopping bags more often. I have purchased a few, but I always forget to take them with me to the grocery store.

— Anne Stephany, Director of Public Relations, Loews Coronado Bay Resort & Spa

ORGANIC AWAKENING

Going organic has become a priority. It seems like the grocery stores are finally coming around to offering it.

— Liz Gutschow, San Diego

HOME COOKING

My goal continues to be more cooking at home. Because I cook all the time at work, I hardly ever feel like cooking, so I mostly grab stuff from classes or pick up something quick at Trader Joe's or such places. I would like to actually cook meals for myself and invite people over more often.

— Phillis Carey, cooking instructor, Carlsbad, Calif.

TOASTED TORTILLA SOUP WITH FRESH CHEESE AND PASILLA CHILE

2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 ripe, medium-small tomato, roasted or boiled, cored and peeled, or half a 15-ounce can tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 quarts good chicken broth

Salt, to taste

4 to 6 corn tortillas, preferably stale store-bought ones

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 to 2 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded and deveined

8 ounces (about 2 cups) cubed Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese like farmer's cheese, or even Muenster or Monterey Jack

1 large lime, cut into 4 to 6 wedges

Yields 6 to 7 cups, 4 to 6 servings.

In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the lard or oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and whole garlic cloves and fry until both are a deep golden-brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Scoop into blender jar or food processor, add tomato and process until smooth.

Heat remaining tablespoon lard or oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomato mixture and stir until thick and darker, about 5 minutes. Scrape into large saucepan. Stir broth into tomato mixture, partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat. Season to taste with salt.

Slice tortillas in half, then slice halves crosswise into strips 1/4 inch thick. Heat the 1/3 cup vegetable oil in skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add tortilla strips and fry, turning frequently, until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Cut chiles into 1-inch squares and fry in the hot oil for about 3 or 4 seconds; immediately remove and drain, then place in a small serving bowl.

Divide cheese among 4 to 6 bowls, and top with fried tortilla strips. Ladle on the hot soup and serve. Pass toasted chiles separately, along with lime wedges.

— "Authentic Mexican" by Rick Bayless with Deann Groen Bayless (HarperCollins)

BURRITOS WITH SQUASH AND GOAT CHEESE

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (10-ounce) package frozen cooked winter squash, thawed

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (10-ounce) package frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Coarse salt and ground pepper

4 (10-inch) flour tortillas

5 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup store-bought salsa, plus more for serving

Yields 4 servings.

In a skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion, garlic and cumin; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add squash, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in beans and spinach. Cook until warmed through, 4 to 6 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Stack tortillas, and wrap in a double layer of damp paper towels; microwave until hot, about 2 minutes. Place tortillas on a work surface. Spoon goat cheese, then salsa down center of each tortilla.

Spoon bean mixture on top of salsa. Fold side of tortilla closest to you over filling, then fold right and left sides in toward center; tightly roll up burrito. Cut burritos in 1/2, and serve with salsa.

Nutritional analysis er serving: 522 calories, 18.2 g fat, 22.7 g protein, 67.6 g carbohydrates, 13.2 g fiber.

— From Everyday Food, December 2008

(set image) cco010209-visual1.jpg (end image) (set caption) There's no need to make dreary New Year's food resolutions. Focus instead on what you would really like accomplish in the kitchen. Photo Illustration by Jacie Landeros. (end caption)

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