The 2010 Cookbook Challenge

New Year's Resolutions seem to be considered boring by quite a lot of people. I approve of them: when made sincerely they can be the start of real changes, and even if it's just something small, it's an opportunity to show yourself that you have the strength to improve things in your life. I heard a story on the news today about a couple who gave up smoking at New Year two years ago. With the money they've saved, they're going on safari, which is pretty impressive, but to my mind the most important thing is that they have shown that they are in charge. This can be applied to a number of aspects of life. Cigarettes are not in charge. A lack of fitness is not in charge. An unhappy relationship is not in charge. A spiralling overdraft is not in charge. YOU ARE. To make an official promise to yourself at the start of a year, for some, is the start of a commitment to change.

My one formal New Year's Resolution for 2010 is rather more modest: to cook at least one recipe from each of my cookery books during the year. My reasoning behind this is as follows: I like to cook and have quite a number of cookery books which I haven't used (or don't use very often). I don't want to get rid of them, so this is my opportunity to make them earn their keep and try out some new recipes in the process (I suspect that this may also prevent me from buying too many more of the blighters).

This then begs the question: what counts as a cookbook? Do cocktail books count? Does Heartburn count because it contains recipes? I've decided that these are optional additions to the challenge.

I can, so far, strike two dishes off the list: Hoisin Pork with Leeks and stir-fried Greens and Split Pea and Vegetable Soup. The former was actually cooked in the dying days of 2009, but there's nothing wrong with giving yourself a headstart, is there?

It might not change my whole life, but it will make my food more interesting.

You've got to start somewhere

Welcome to my new blog. At the moment, it feels like a crisp new school exercise book that's full of possibilities but doesn't yet contain any crossings-out or missed pages. I used to like my exercise books when they were unblemished like that. It never used to last very long- by the end of the first week they'd be a mass of mistakes and the card cover would be beginning to dog-ear. This blog, on the other hand, needs a few scribbles and rips around the edges, so that it can be mine.

My main reason for beginning to blog is to give myself some writing practice (and now that I've said that, I can see that all sorts of grammatical errors and unstylish writing are creeping in). I've been writing in my spare time for the past decade (on and off) but now I want to do something about it, to see if I can one day write something worth publishing. This is my training. It may be a bit clumsy to start with (if so, please be kind and remember that I'm still learning to write for the public domain), but my intention is to improve my skills. The mention of Mount Parnassus in the title isn't intended to be arrogant, but rather to challenge me.

I also knit a lot and am interested (to a lesser extent) in other crafts, so they will probably creep in at some point to provide the occasional pretty picture.

I feel that I ought to be saying something more momentous to start my blog, but- for the moment at least- it's a start.

Thank you for reading, and do stop by again.