Plant a seed and watch it grow

.When the Irish Eyes Seed Catalog arrived last week, I stayed up late thumbing through it, dreaming up my fantasy garden.

It was like a Julia Cameron artist date, but I didn't go anywhere. Lush vegetable gardens start with seeds, but once planted, it takes work keeping the weeds and pests at bay. And when your produce doesn't quite look like the high quality stuff at the market, you realize hard work and plant and soil knowledge are essential ingredients for good produce.

From gardens to projects

It's the same way with projects. Like gardens they start with ideas and I've got plenty of them this year. Not that I haven't in the past, but I'm thrilled to have a long project in mind, and since part of it involves this blog.

Here's what's coming down the pike for early 2012:

1. Book reviews:

The Essential Wines and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest by Cole Danehower

The Rancho Gordo Heirloom Bean Grower's Guide: Steve Sando's 50 Favorites and Varieties by Steve Sando

2. Food Budgets--I dropped the ball on my $100 a week food budget way too many times in the summer, but I haven't given up. In 2012, I plan to explore a budget that accommodates more fresh vegetables and fruit in the summer. I also plan to explore alternatives such a dumpster diving with freegans, though I could never give up fresh food from local farms.

3. More farm, farmers' market and food news. Plus at least one post about what's happening with the honey bees.

4. Meatless Monday's recipe blog post for 2012 will be a year-long guest post by my Cooking Assistant (aka the dog picker or Finn) because I think food deserves a fresh point of view. And he's definitely got his own point of view.

5. A look at what other food bloggers are talking about. In reality, 5 numbers look better than 4, so this idea doesn't really have priority yet, but I love to check blogs like this one and this one, and I can't forget this one. So look for an upcoming post on on my favorite food blogs and if you have ideas about who to include, let me know.