Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Happy New Year everyone.  I’m not sure about everyone else but this past year has been a complete whirlwind for me.  The New Year reminds me that so many wonderful things can happen in such a short time.  This past year I finished my Master’s Degree and welcomed a new baby girl into my family.  As if that wasn’t exciting enough,  I decided to start my food blog and ended the year by moving across the pond to England.  What!  When I look back at those major events and the not so major events, I’m amazed by what I was able to accomplish.  I hope 2018 brings many more personal victories for not only myself but for you, my readers.

This year I am tossing around a few things I’d like to accomplish but there are a few headliners.  For starters I want to attend culinary school.  Honestly, I don’t think this will happen this year because it is expensive so it will probably be a 2020 goal lol.  But lucky for me I’m in the center of food awesomeness.  Destinations like Tuscany, Sicily, Germany, Spain, and France are literally a few hours away.  A quick train ride and I could be eating warm croissants in Paris.  How lucky am I right now?  Sooo one of my goals this year is to travel more so I can expand my palate, learn some new cooking techniques (like how to make my own croissants) and up my food blog content.  When traveling isn’t feasible (schedule or money) I plan to attend some smaller classes where I can learn how to make Indian food or North African cooking in a matter of days.  Finally, I’m working on three cookbooks…mostly in my mind lol.  I’ve only physically started writing one but I have concepts for the other two.  My first cookbook is centered around soups because this cold UK weather has inspired me to eat more soup than usual.
A last minute addition to my cookbook is my Hoppin’ John soup.  I first made it two years ago for New Year’s Day Dinner.  If you are a southern girl as myself you may know the old tale of eating black eyed peas for good luck and greens for money.  As silly as it may sound to some, it is a tradition that is alive and well in many households.  Hoppin’ John soup takes both of these and combines them into one yummy soup.  My husband LOVED the soup, my daughter not so much.  It is very easy to put together and can be made to suit either the vegan/vegetarian diet or carnivorous diet.  Last night mine was vegetarian based because I didn’t use any meat.  Look for the recipe in my upcoming cookbook but for now I will leave you with a Soup Selfie to satisfy your curiosity.
 

Hoppin' John Soup
The soup of good luck and finances

 
If you don’t believe in the superstitious tales then I pray you are still blessed with achieving your goals you set for yourself this year.  Be sure to stay tuned as I plan out an exciting food experience this year and join me on my journey.  If you are up to it, share some of your goals for the New Year.
 
Happy New Year from MettleFork

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