Rabbit, Rabbit

Happy New Year! I am giddysome at the tabula rasa of 2014, and the prospect of a new year of delicious food. My New Year’s resolution involves all of you, specifically posting to my blog regularly again, and exploring new flavors and foods.

In addition to kissing and Auld Lang Syne, there are a lot of food traditions to celebrate New Year’s Day. In Spain, they believe eating 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight will bring you luck in the coming year. Turkish tradition centers on pomegranates: their bright red color is reminiscent of the heart, and the plethora of seeds denotes abundance. Southerners prepare a pot of black eyed peas, and Italians mangiano lentils; these legumes resemble coins, and the way they double in size indicates wealth in the new year. Long, unbroken noodles are symbolic of a long life in Chinese tradition, and the challenge is to eat the whole noodle in one slurp. Clementines and other round foods represent the end of one year and the beginning of the next.

Yes, there are New Year’s food traditions that involve meat, but it feels like the ultimate symbolism to start your year with fresh vegetables, whole grains, and hearty legumes. These are the foods of life. These are the foods that make you feel light, energetic, and strong. I’ll be starting this new year surrounded by the people I love most, cooking a delicious meal, and reveling in the pleasure of a plant-based life. Wishing a happy, healthy New Year to all of you!