May 21, 2012

Summer 2012 Goals

I have to have a summer project. Its just who I am. I can't explain it. Last year I focused on shirmp and pasta salad recipes, trying a new one each week. In the fall I focused on trying different soup recipes. This past winter has been super busy, so surviving was the only goal. Now that we're into May and things have settled down its time to focus on a couple of goals:

- Backyard! We won a professional landscaped plan from a silent auction. The plan has been made and its time to put it into action. I started this weekend by measuring out the garden area. I planted steaks in the corners to give us a visual idea of the space it will take up and what we need to do to prep it. While I realize its unrealistic to put the entire plan into action by the end of the summer (for financial and weather related reasons), I would really love if we could get the garden area completed in time to plant some fall vegetables.

- Meal planning. Since 2012 I've tried to meal plan better. Each weekend I plan out a week of meals and shop for any ingredients we may need. Its made weekday cooking much easier. Taking out the guessing and shopping, makes for a slightly less stressful evening. Over the winter I acquired a ton of new cookbooks from my grandmother's house. Let's face it, I have a cookbook problem. So this summer I plan on focusing the week's meals from one book. Hopefully this will let me spend quality time getting familiar with each book and also to clean out what just doesn't work for us.

- Homemade ice cream. Last year I sadly didn't make any homemade ice cream. For shame! This year I hope to make a batch or two every month.

- Homegrown tomatoes. Its going to happen this year. So far the plants are doing really well and I have a couple of little cherry tomatoes. If just one ripens it will be a success.

Its not much, but totally do-able. What are your plans for the summer?

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