Setting 2021 Intentions (+ cookie pictures)

Maybe it's the large amount of yoga I've been doing in the past week since the year started, or the fact that the first week of 2021 has felt like a decade already, but I'm feeling the need to set intentions of what I want to get out of this year. I hesitate to call this a "resolution" - to me this implies an overall goal, which if I get to December and haven't accomplished will make me feel a little inadequate. So, intentions it is.

Pretzel Potato Chip Moon Pies - best cookies of the season, hands down. Recipe from Bon Appetit/Sohla El-Waylly

This write up is not about a recipe - this is for me, to hold myself accountable to use this space + Instagram as a place to share one of my favorite hobbies. Documenting every recipe allows me to learn much more from them. It allows me to keep track of my mistakes and come up with ideas about how to fix them. I'm writing this and realizing that maybe no one will read it, but this is not about who's reading. Let's call this website a journal for myself to take notes and keep track of experiences...which I'm hoping to use at least once a week this whole year.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints. Recipe from NYT Cooking.

What I learned throughout 2020 was that creating of any kind brings me a huge amount of solace. Baking something that I can share with the people I love, even if that's just the one other person I live with, makes me feel inspired and confident. It helps me to process emotions, no matter what kind they are. There's a big reason I spent Wednesday of last week making bread - what better way to cope with watching the insurrection in DC? Later that night we watched the Senate vote and ate fresh bread. While baking bread doesn't truly fix anything, it did make me feel slightly cozier, slightly more insulated against the world for a while, even if it was just a mirage.

Gingerbread Macarons. Combinations of many recipes and a few of my own ideas.

Right now I have focaccia in the oven and a stew slowly cooking on the stove. Later tonight I'll hopefully do yoga and check in with how the Bridgerton's are holding up. These are all things that make me feel full, cozy, and warm. I hope that throughout the next 12 months this blog can hang out right alongside. Happy 2021! Here's to hoping it is only uphill from here.

Christmas Cookie roundup. Clockwise from left: Moon Pies, Thumbprints, Peppermint Merignues, Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread (NYT Cooking/Sohla El-Waylly), Gingerbread Macarons, Orange Almond Snowballs (Adapted from NYT Cooking).