A brand new year!

I love January 1 and believe me, it's not because I'm another year older. I love the fact that we get to start all over with a new year. It's kind of like cleaning the closet - you get rid of all the old stuff that's hung around for a while, let it all go and start fresh. That's a really poor analogy though since my closet is filled with clothing in 3 different sizes from at least 3 different decades, and at the moment I can count on one hand the number of things that fit correctly, including that purple plaid suit jacket with the huge football player shoulder pads. Oh well, you know what I mean, right?

Part of the joys of leaving the 20's and 30's behind - (ok, who am I kidding the 40's too) is that going out to a new year's eve bash and having to kiss a bunch of strangers at midnight holds no attraction. Instead the big guy and I enjoyed a quiet dinner and an early evening together in our own home with the people we love most, each other. Oh there were plenty of fireworks thanks to our neighbors immediately to the north of us who as per normal insisted on exploding them right outside our bedroom patio. It's official - they are idiots. (Not you Diana!) I mean, we'd only been sleeping for 3 hours.

Dinner was simple too - we had some lovely little beef tenderloins courtesy of the same Omaha Steak  gift package from my in-laws. Now, three days ago the big guy would have looked at that 4 ounces of meat, and said "nice appetizer honey -now what's for dinner", but since we're on the same moderation program aka meal plan aka diet, we enjoyed our taste of beef and loaded up the plates with a ton of vegetables. Yes, vegetables.

 
I made a gorgeous Ratatouille that I've bragged about before way back in June but it's worth making again, and again, and again. In fact, if you're very careful and nix the oil you put into it and decrease the amount of tomato sauce to a half cup, calorically it runs about 40 calories for a 3/4 cup serving. That's a lot of flavor for not a lot of calories, people. Download Ratatouille Best of all, the leftovers are great recycled into an omelet or even room temperature on a salad. Best of all, if you add a little cheese to the top or some pinenuts, you've got your protein too and can forget about the meat entirely, though the big guy wouldn't go for that no how, no way.

 
  
Course I wasn't content to have only one "with" beside the tenderloin, so I also whipped up this fabulous cauliflower dish too. In the past the big guy and I tried out a "mashed cauliflower" dish that was supposed to fill in for mashed potatoes. It was gag a maggot horrendous and certainly a recipe that I would NEVER promote on this blog; however, this recipe is blog worthy and fits this special occasion.  Cauliflower is cooked in a mixture of milk and water until just tender. Why milk, you ask? It helps to keep the cauliflower white. Topped in a sauce of light mayo mixed with parmesan cheese, lemon juice,  beaten egg whites, and sprinkled with coarse salt, the cauliflower is broiled for about 5 minutes until the sauce is puffed and golden brown. It is absolutely delicious - trust me! Download Puffy Parmesan Cauliflower

So what, are we doing on this special day? We're heading out to an early movie then off for lunch to this little Indian place we've been meaning to try. I'm determined to do absolutely not one second of cookin' on this first day of 2010.

Last but definitely not least - Happy Birthday Joy. I'm thinking about you today and all the birthday's we've shared, but there's one positive thing about not spending our birthday together. At least we don't have to worry about starting a fire with the candles, never mind running out of the air necessary to get said candles extinguished and arguing over who spit on the cake where. Now, do we?

Comments

[Diana Gillihan]

Happy Birthday!!!!! Yes, the fireworks were going off like crazy....Devin was sleeping too at that time! All you early risers have to get your sleep.....

I think I can guess who the idiots were though! haha

Have a beautiful day June!!!

[June]

Thanks Diana. I figure a nap's in the immediate future - that is if their dog ever shuts up. Hope you have a great day too and happy new year!

[Lea]

Happy Birthday!

The cauliflower looks devine!!! Pretty plate - would fill me up for sure!

[June]

Thanks Lea. The cauliflower is really yummy and would be great made with a sharp cheddar too. It's proof that eating healthy doesn't have to be bland.

[Mags]

I cannot wait to try that caulifower recipe. With the big diet starting tomorrow, I'm collecting veggie recipes right and left.

I hope you had a great birthday Juney!

[June]

And I can't wait to hear what you think about it Mags. It's almost like a cream sauce, without the ton of calories or time. Yes, the birthday was great, if you can say that at this advanced age. LOL

[deana@lostpastremembered]

Beautiful photo... the plate was a perfect choice... not easy to make a cauliflower look sexy and the recipe sounds delicious!

[June]

Thank you Deana for your compliments - I am now officially glowing, and for once it's not a hot flash!