Lutefisk and apple doughnuts

Though I enjoyed the holidays, it was good to get back to my regular work schedule. I plan to finish writing the graphic novel script this month and am also continuing to work on the book proposal for my compilation of writing-related comics and tips.

I also went back to the gym today; the sidewalks around here are too icy to do a proper "power walk," let alone run. All the treadmills at my gym come with small tv screens and since we don't have cable tv at home, I found it interesting to flip through some of the channels to see what I was missing. Which doesn't seem to be much, at least right now.



I have very little patience for television commercials anymore, being so used to DVDs. All the commercials were new to me, and I recognized very few of the "famous people" in the snippets of entertainment gossip I browsed.

I was talking to a friend recently about stuff I had recently done or was doing, and he asked me, "How do you find time for all the things you do?" Then, before I could say anything, he came up with the answer himself: "Oh right. You guys don't have cable tv, do you?"



In my last Blathering, I posted a survey about food rituals. It was fascinating to read all your answers! I especially enjoyed the posts by debmats, whose family cooks traditional Japanese food every year. She just got a mochi maker for Christmas!

Also interesting to discover that there are more of you mochi-fans out there than I thought! :-) Anyway, here are a few of the comment posts:

I envy mdlbear, who works for a Japanese company that makes mochi sometimes. "...We get visitors from Japan every couple of weeks, it shows up from time to time. We had a traditional mochi-making ceremony a couple of years ago to celebrate the opening of a new division -- we all got to swing the hammer a couple of times. Fun!"



d-michiko-f makes her own mochi using the microwave to cook it. She's including the recipe in her Japan book! I've asked her for info about the book and will post here when it's available. Check out her drool-worthy oshogatsu post.

hvideo posted a decadent-sounding recipe for Dutch Waffles. Drool.

bigbumble's Swedish Uncle Vernor (who died a week ago :-( ) used to make lute-fisk, which is codfish treated with lye. "My father, a non scandinavian, said his version was at least edible. I never tasted it. I understand that, like mochi, it is an acquired taste."



lizjonesbooks has a New Year's eve tradition of potstickers and sushi. "New year's day is pork and kraut for my family's history, and black eyed peas for Dan's."

sdorn makes hoppin' John (black-eyed pea stew with tomatoes) to celebrate New Years.



eclecticmum and her roommate started a tradition about four years ago of getting homemade apple doughnuts from a nearby orchard in October and freezing them, then pulling them out enjoying them on New Year's morning. "It serves the dual purpose of eliminating cooking on the morning of the first and a delicious treat to look forward to starting the new year off with. :)"



maruad makes the family Vinatarta, which is a traditional multilayer Icelandic cake. "Every layer of the cake is separated from the next by a layer of boiled ground prunes (with sugar and powdered cardamom). Each cake has about 5 tablespoons of powdered cardamon. It smells and tastes wonderful."

ladymondegreen's family food traditions are "standard Jewish ones, apples and honey at Rosh Hashanna, new fruits, of which my father usually provides a dazzling array, including prickly pears, star fruit and pomegranate."



phillip2637 says his family had abominable food traditions and he's happy to have abandoned all of them. (E.g. "Is that gray stuff spinach?" "No, too stringy, must be asparagus.")

Most of today's photos, by the way, were taken at a New Year's Party that Jeff and I attended earlier this week. Many thanks to Luisa and Reid for hosting a great gathering!

The following photo was taken especially for Joey Shoji.

:-)




Above: my friend Michelle Sagara, who clearly loves to have her photo taken. Heh.



Etsy update:

I've written a mini-story to go with the painting you see above. You can read the mini-story over on the painting's Etsy page.



Above: Order more than 3 of the Screamer fridge magnets above for $10 each! Details here.


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