99 COOKING CAPE

Inspired by a friend, I've decided to make my list of 100 wishes for 2011.
It is not a "to do list". It's just a way of putting things in perspective.
There are many things I would love to do, and sometimes I even forget about them.
This way I can always look at my list and feel inspired :)

Do one yourself, it's good fun :)

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01 - Begin each day with a smile :)
02 - Read more poetry
03 - Be kind to myself
04 - Be kind to others
05 - Visit Tapada de Mafra
06 - Spend a weekend at Geres
07 - Go to Cinema from time to time (I forget to do it...)
08 - Start painting again
09 - Buy frames for my postcards and prints
10 - Learn how to sew
11 - Learn crochet and knitting
12 - Take some driving lessons
13 - Start driving again
14 - Learn more about photography (and photograph more)
15 - Draw a character a day
16 - Read a book per month
17 - Go out with friends more often
18 - Visit Bucaco
19 - Go for a walk every morning
20 - Have a relaxing massage
21 - Take my son to parks and funny places on the weekends
22 - Organize a picnic during Spring
23 - Organize a themed party for my son
24 - Explore some shops at Bairro Alto
25 - Be more organized
26 - Go to the Theater
27 - Keep creating my 12 wallpapers calendars
28 - Take good care of my health
29 - Let beauty enter my life (be aware of little simple things)
30 - Renew some things in my kitchen
31 - Buy those sandals that I love!
32 - Buy a lovely skirt
33 - Drink berries sangria again
34 - Learn embroidery
35 - Dance more (when nobody's watching :P)
36 - Make a cloth doll
37 - Bake more cookies with my son
38 - Organize my inspiration board
39 - Go shopping with my girl friends more often
40 - Quit nagging
41 - Learn to let go
42 - Visit my Father and Grandmother once a month
43 - Organize my iPod play list
44 - Subscribe to one of those wonderful Stampington mags
45 - Keep up with my art journal
46 - Visit flea markets more often
47 - Drink more water
48 - Stop "thinking too much" and relax
49 - Display my collections (buy a cabinet)
50 - Learn how to meditate
51 - Ride a bicycle more often
52 - Take a walk at the beach by night
53 - Buy a bread making machine
54 - Have fresh flowers at home more often
55 - Make more clay dolls
56 - Pick fruit from the tree
57 - Hmmmm, chocolate fondue
58 - Make my herbs garden
59 - Go to Quinta da Regaleira again
60 - Go to Gulbenkian to see Lalique's exhibition again
61 - Try some new crafting techniques
62 - Send a brown box from CTT (post service) filled with goodies for children in need
63 - Be kind to my phone, and start enjoying using it (I hate talking by phone :/)
64 - Make some Christmas postcards
65 - Draw a 2012 calendar
66 - Sing more
67 - Have more fun :)
68 - Visit Berlengas again
69 - Make my new website
70 - Make more surprises to my loved ones
71 - Eat broccoli >_<
72 - Organize the list of blogs I love to follow
73 - Organize my ribbons and lace
74 - Create more paper dolls
75 - Learn how to make patterns for dolls clothes
76 - Remember that everyday matters
77 - Buy some lovely new mugs
78 - Plan more vegetarian meals
79 - Make some Moo cards
80 - Try a Polaroid camera
81 - Go to 1 or 2 doll meetings
82 - Buy a Dal
83 - Buy another Blythe :)
84 - Watch "Chocolat" again
85 - Take my son to the cinema to watch "Cars 2" (during Summer)
86 - Buy a lace shirt or blouse to wear with "those" sandals
87 - Stop drinking coffee (I don't even like it)
88 - Eat strawberries with cream without feeling the guilt
89 - Dry wildflowers and make a herbarium journal
90 - Try to reply messages in the same day
91 - Watch New Year's fireworks live
92 - Get those books from my ever growing Amazon wish list
93 - Send messages more often to friends I can't be with
94 - Keep writing in my journal
95 - Feel grateful
96 - Use the Wii fit when it's raining outside and I can't go for a walk
97 - Read the "Wuthering Heights" again
98 - Buy new glasses
99 - Use more herbs in my cooking
100 - Don't forget I can do it!

My friend Eddie and I conjured up a meal for our friend Fan for his 23rd birthday that held no reservations. Listed below is the menu (cook in parentheses):

Appetizer:
- Olive baguette with aged direct-from-the-farm Wisconsin white cheddar (Eddie and myself)
- Beer pairing: Red Hook brewery Late Harvest Autumn ale, a 5.9% ABV American Red/ Amber ale with fall foliage and apricot aromas and a smoky, nutty, buttery taste.

Main course (pictured):
- Aged Kobe-style New York strip steak, cooked rare with olive oil, cracked peppercorns and herbs (Eddie)
- Asparagus risotto with white wine, shiitake mushrooms and parmesan cheese (myself)
- Mixed greens with cranberries, walnuts, and red onions in a balsamic vinaigrette (myself)
- Sunflower-seeded bun (Eddie)
- Beer pairing: DeuS (Brut des Flandres), an 11.5% ABV Biere de Champagne that's rare to find and expensive to acquire. The aroma bequeaths sweet notes of pears, coriander, cinnamon, and saffron, and the taste is somewhat phenolic with a Ya pear juiciness and hints of cardamom, lilac/lavender, and peppercorns.

Dessert:
- Buttered sourdough English muffin with cinnamon, topped with Courvoisier-soaked blackberries, apples, and white peaches, and whipped cream. (Eddie)

Needless to say, it was delicious.