(Chinese) New Year Resolutions

I've got to be honest, last year's resolutions didn't go so well. I kind of thought about not making any this year, then I realised I just needed to make better ones. Revolutionary concept no?

So let's review what I thought I was going to do this year.

• Teach myself SQL properly.  Yup, pretty much done.
• Learn to make Roman blinds. Hahahahahahah No
• Finally get the tires changed on my bike so I can cycle to work when the weather gets better. Half done.  The bike has been fixed, I cycled for a bit then lent it to a friend whose need was greater. 
• Find a hedgehog water bottle that doesn’t leak. Technically no, but I did give the hedgehog back to the idiot who gave it to me, some I'm calling that one as a win.  Seriously - WHO gives exotic animals for Christmas.
• Finish the bathroom. Nearly.
• Joing the WI.  Yes really.  The tolerant housemate has already been enlisted for this venture.No, not at all, this just didn't happen.
• Finish the kitchen. I need to finish a tiny little bit of tiling, make blinds (yes again) and also bribe my baby sister to make me a door curtain, fix the door between the kitchen and living room, put up some shelves for recipe books and think about some art.  I probably need to replace the fridge as well, but I am trying to ignore that at the minute. Still not done.  I am hopeful I will do this this year.
• Go on holiday.  I didn’t get a proper holiday last year.  Yup, done.
•  Buy some diamond earrings.  I’ve always wanted some. Nope.  I just always had better things to spend my money on.

So, out of last years resolutions I didn't even get half of them done.  Four out of nine, even with my slightly skewed counting.  Not really that great at all.


2013 Resolutions - only a month late. 

• Go on holiday, more than once.
• Spend more time outside
• Try and do some work to the house.
• Try not to let work get on top of me.
• Try and save on a more regular basis. 
• Try and cook one new recipe each month. 
• Try and spend more time with my friends and family.

And that's it.  Not too specific, not too stressful.  Ideas about how I would like to live this year, rather than a list of very specific things which I know I'm not going to manage to do.  Which probably means that I'm going to me less embarrassed about what I haven't achieved this time next year.

Oh and I'm one ahead already - that Bourbon Meatballs thing?  My new recipe for this month.  And I bought a new light for the bathroom.  So technically that is some work on the house.  If I get round to getting it fitted, then I'll be up to two.

101 things to do with bourbon

Well three things actually.  And two of them are "drink it".

Last night was a celebration of a new job, so I wanted to cook something nice.  The lovely Charlie sent me over a recipe for bourbon glazed meatballs that she'd found on pinterest, so I started thinking about a bourbon themed night.  Which was never going to end well.

The meatballs were amazing  Genuinely brilliant.  They do have quite a lot of sugar in them however, so they're more of a very occasional treat than a regular addition to a cooking repertoire.

Bourbon Glazed Meatballs
24 meatballs (shop bought or home made)
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
1 teaspoon lemon juice (I used half a lemon)
1 teaspoon Worcester sauce

I also threw in some paprika and would consider some sautéed garlic next time.

Mix up the sauce well, coat all the meatballs well in the mixture and put in a heavy casserole pot, cover and cook for two hours at 150 degrees.  I checked and stirred at one hour.

After two hours I took them out and skimmed all the excess fat off the surface, then left them to sit for fifteen minutes or so.  Then I served them with courgette chips and steamed vegetables.

Sticky, amazing goodness.

  Then of course, we drank some bourbon to go with them.  We made Old Fashioneds.

Teaspoon of sugar, drop of bitters, splash of water, slice of orange - muddled together.  Two shots of bourbon, top with ice.  Garnish with a cherry.

Kind of failed with the ice making last night

 The main reason we were struggling with enough ice to have with our Old Fashioneds was because we were making mint icecubes for out third thing to do with bourbon.  Freeze some fresh mint into some ice cubes and drink the bourbon neat.