Happy New Year!

We had a great night last night. Despite the frigid weather blustering outside this week we rang in the new year warmly with good friends and fine food and drink. It was very fun and heartwarming. And now today, New Years Day things have gotten off to a good start. I hit the gym early for a yoga class this morning. I put the Christmas tree away did some knitting, more on that later, let me just say I love finishing things! And then tonight I decided to whip up some toasty soup to fill our bellies. My Christmas gift to myself this year was a little ice cream scoop. One of those that that helps you measure cookie dough just right every time so the cookies all come out the same size. You know what else that little scoop is just right for? Mini meatballs for soup!


I picked this tip up from a woman I used to work with who was a busy mom of 3. Rather than browning meatballs in batches in oil in a skillet, she just threw them on a cookie sheet and in a hot oven until they were brown and cooked through. When you're talking about mini meatballs you can make a whole big bunch and it saves you oodles of time. When I started this recipe out I really just wanted to use up some ground beef and parsley I had sitting around in the fridge. They went in the meatballs with the other usual suspects- breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, parmesan, egg. I had pasta and beans in the cabinet. All I had to pick up was some chicken broth and kale. I like kale in my soup, it has a little bit more texture than spinach and I think it holds up better. In the south people eat leafy greens like kale on New Years day to bring about prosperity in the new year since kale is the same color as money. I had forgotten that little fact until I was making this. And I made it on New Years Day. That was kind of a cool coincidence.



Hopefully everybody has a great year in 2009. Like all years there are going to be ups and downs, new stuff to enjoy and new things to endure. But if you can at least try to start it off good. Make the first day count and maybe it will increase your chances of make the ones that follow good too. A bowl of hot soup is a pretty positive direction to head in if you ask me.