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Happy New Year.
It’s kinda amazing how much can change in a year
how much one can learn and explore about life and ourselves.
I’ve never learned so much than I have this past year, especially in regard to personal and interpersonal development. Gainesville has allowed me to appreciate the beauty of community and connectedness within a small city. The trees and springs that surround, as well as friendly and familiar faces as one strolls the streets throughout downtown. I’ve made so many new friendships and acquaintances this past year, and feel lucky to be a part of every interaction.
I don’t really make resolutions for the new year, but I suppose a good guideline for me to follow would be to keep trying new things, pursuing new pleasures, and figure out something new about myself. My recent job as a baker has inspired me to be more innovative and even a better person, to keep improving my skills and acknowledge all that is out there to still learn.
This year has a lot of promising events in the near future. I’ll be graduating this spring with my bachelors in dietetics and finding out where I’ll be for my dietetic internship, which is the next step to become a Registered Dietitian.
So ready.
I’m not sure what the future has to hold, but I think I prefer it that way.
Here’s to the new discoveries, friendships, challenges, and probably mistakes (for the better)
2015 will be the best yet
Moving on to the recipe featured in this blog post, this is one of my favorites lately and is so easy to put together. I’ve been making this for parties and get-togethers and am glad others have been enjoying it as much as I have.
Recipe inspiration was due to inconveniently being out of ingredients, as well as supermarket browsing. I generally choose dates when making these, but since I ran out and saw dried figs at the store I decided to try those out as well. Last time I made these for my birthday, I used himalayan salt and thyme and did not toast the walnuts. The recipe was tasty, you can’t really go wrong with goat cheese in my opinion, but the smoked sea salt and toasted walnuts really adds more depth to the flavors.
I love adding sage wherever I can, because it’s one of my favorite herbs, but you can omit it if you want. The smoked sea salt really pairs well and balances out the sweetness from the other ingredients, so I’d for sure recommend that.
If you cannot find some type of smoky sea salt (hickory, applewood, etc) other salt shall suffice. I found this in my local supermarket’s bulk spice/herb section. Also wildflower honey is my favorite and has a unique taste, but use whichever honey you prefer.
Sweet, salty, smoky, toasty..
Figs:
Dates:
:D
Ingredients:
dried dates or figs
goat cheese
applewood smoked sea salt
dried sage (optional)
roasted walnuts (I bought them raw then toasted them myself in oven)
local wildflower honey (you can use whatever honey you prefer, I love wildflower honey because of it’s distinctive taste mmmm)
Directions:
1. Slice each date or fig down the middle
2. Place small piece of goat cheese inside (~ 1-2 tsp per date. I was able to mold chèvre in a rectangular-ish shape to easily place in date/fig)
3. Sprinkle with sea salt and spices
4. Add toasted walnut
5. Drizzle honey on top
6. Add more spices if preferred
7. Store in fridge until ready to eat, also refrigerate any leftovers
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