While everyone is out there tweaking and comparing their best of 2012 music lists, I’m sitting here wondering If I’ve even heard 10 new albums this year. I did see Roomrunner like six times, but the only record I bought that I actually had to peel shrink wrap off of was that Metz self-titled one. I did do a lot eating though. A lot. Probably more than most people. Some of it was amazing, some of it wasn’t, most of it was grilled cheese, but looking back, here are the highlights.
Coffee with butter – My relationship with coffee has been pretty troubled this year. In 2012 alone, I broke three french presses and tried quitting a couple times after a rough stomach ache. I managed to go all summer without coffee, but then I got a second job and a dog that violently wakes me up at 6:40 a.m. every fucking day, so I caved. All the food blogs I read that are written by moms say not to drink coffee at all, but all the food blogs I read written by jocks say to put unsalted butter in it. I’ve found a happy medium by having coffee a few times a week, and sometimes putting butter or coconut oil in it. It’s pretty good.
Sea salt – It’s a natural preservative, makes literally all food taste better and contains a ton of minerals, but it took four days at my reduced-salt-diet parents’ house over Xmas to fully comprehend how important it is to me.
Delicata squash – Edible skin and hands down the easiest squash to cut made this baby shine at 2012 farmers’ markets.
Any shit out of a mason jar – This year saw my first ferment in an actual fermenting crock–five serious heads of cabbage worth of sauerkraut. But I just can’t eat kraut fast enough to have it not make my apartment smell kind of gross. I’m sticking to mason jars from now on. They also housed a lot of homemade tomato sauce and stock this year.
Breakfast – I ate over-easy eggs 360 days this year. I ate sourdough pancakes four times and once I had miso soup. Life without breakfast is fucking miserable.
Concord grapes – Strawberries totally blew it this year and while blueberries were pretty good, best fruit has to go to the concord grape. They just smell and taste perfect. Like the jelly you had as a child, but not at all. I’ve got a couple bottles of wild yeast wine fermenting in our backyard too.
Cheddar cheese – People who go so hard about eating local but then only buy chee$e from Europe… wtf? Give me a New England cheddar and I’m good. There’s a 99 percent chance I’m just going to put it between two slices of bread and fry it in butter anyways.
Buffalo chicken pizza – The I hate myself food of 2011 was doughnuts but I’ve seen a lot of people that look like they love themselves eating doughnuts this year, so in 2012 it was all about the buffalo chicken pizza.
Coca Cola – I didn’t drink any this year but two liters are going to be hard to come by in NYC pretty soon and Bolivia is banning it on the Mayan new year, so now is their time to shine I guess.
Broccoli stalks – This one is for our little puppy Frankie who literally tore open a grocery bag on our walk home one night so he could steal my broccoli. He leaves the heads all over the floor though. As I type this, he’s sitting on my lap, biting my hand.
