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Sunday, January 1, 2023

Happy New Year 2023!



 
Lentil Soup

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2023!

I follow the Italian tradition of making lentil soup for New Year's Day for 'Buona Fortuna,"  which means "Good Fortune."  Some families actually make a bowl of lentils to eat a few moments after the hour turns to midnight, but I wait until dinner the next day to make sure we can really enjoy the soup as dinner.   There are many recipes for lentil soup and it is easy to make as lentils do not require pre-soaking and cook fairly quickly. It can be made vegetarian or with sweet Italian sausage, which is the way we like it.  Here is a link for a Lentil Sauage and Escarole Soup I shared many years ago.  



An early blog header when I lived in Brooklyn, New York, and frequently explored the city.


It is hard for me to believe that I have been blogging for a little over 15 years!  I began my blog in December 2007.  I was going to use it as a way to save links to websites and ideas I liked, but it eventually became more of a journal of the places I visited around New York City, where I lived at the time, the foods I made, family events, and books I read, etc.  A hodgepodge of my everyday life.  Mille Fiori means "a thousand flowers" in Italian and I looked at each blog post as a flower I was saving... I never thought I'd pass 1,000 posts!




Driving into our neighborhood


My husband and I moved to the Denver area of Colorado 10 years ago to live close to our children and grandchildren, who had settled here. Although it was a big change we do not regret it.  We appreciate seeing our grandchildren grow up and spending time with our family, and we love the beauty of Colorado.  My blog for the past ten years has shown many places and activities we've explored in Colorado, each one more interesting or more beautiful than the last.



We love living where we do amongst nature and we even love the snow!  We see wildlife often and enjoy the hiking trails nearby.




I was busy most of December baking treats...



..and we had the traditional Italian American "Feast of the Seven Fishes" dinner on Christmas Eve.  My husband and I made our savory Calabrian-style zeppole the day before to serve with the appetizers, and I made traditional Baccala (Italian salted cured cod fish), plus many other seafood selections.



There were also many desserts that I baked!





We had a wonderful Christmas and I hope your holiday was also very special.

We can now look ahead to a new year full of new resolutions, hopes and dreams, and accomplishments. 

Let's make 2023 a great year!

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13 comments:

  1. Glad to see you all had a feast for the holidays! Such wonderful delicious dishes you served! Enjoy the next year. I'll be looking for your photos from trips you take!

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  2. Happy New Year! The soup and goodies look wonderful.

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  3. Dearest Pat,
    In the hope yours was truly a magical Christmas, I'm sending blessings on the new year just begun, may it be filled with Joy and Love for you and your loved ones.
    Hugs
    Daniela at ~ My little old world ~ (Dany)

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  4. I love your blog, Pat, and congratulations on 15 years. I love how you share your family occasions, wonderful food and all the beautiful views of Colorado, taking us to places I probably will never see in person. Happy New Year and new blogging year, too!

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  5. Welcome to the January 2023

    Getting hungry at this delicious food.

    I love all of it... than I must sure have a diet. But this is fun of course, you know. Thank you being part of MosaicMonday, great to see this lovely scenes in the wood with the deers, too.


    Happy New Year!

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  6. Happy New Year to you and yours, Pat. Oh my...that traditional Lentil soup looks delicious. Perfect for the day!

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  7. ...it looks like you have a delicious Christmas! Take care and enjoy a healthy and happy 2023.

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  8. Happy New Year, Pat! Lots of beauty in this post, from all that yummy cooking and baking to the majestic, snow-covered mountains.

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  9. Hello,

    Love your Colorado photos, the food all looks so delicious.
    I wish you and your family a very happy and healthy New Year!

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  10. A lovely post, so pleased you had a happy Christmas season.
    Your food looks delicious, especially the lentil soup.

    Many congratulations on blogging for a little over 15 years :)

    Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy 2023.

    All the best Jan

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  11. That shocked me when you said you had been in Denver for 10 year! That doesn't seem possible. But you sure have shared some amazing posts about the beautiful parks and towns there. I'm glad we've been friends for all of these years! Sweet hugs, Diane

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