Every month, I read through the new Gourmet, tearing out recipes that look appealing. I even have a couple of binders (a recent improvement over my ratty blue 2-pocket folder) that I slip the recipes into: one binder for sweets, one for savories.

The problem is, they tend to sit in those folders a long time, sometimes so long that by the time I look back at the recipe, I can’t remember what ever seemed so appealing about it in the first place.

So this year, I’m resolving to make the recipes I tear out within a month of when I do. Now this is going to be a fair challenge, especially given that Ben lately only wants to eat penne with olives, but I’m going to try. It’ll probably involve feeding our friends more often (and you know how I feel about that). Tonight, in fact, friends were planning to come over, but a big accident on the Bay Bridge interfered with those plans; we had to eat our lovely dinner all by ourselves. Tony made puttanesca, and I’d made a nice lemon-olive oil cake. The cake is lovely, fragrant with lemon and lighter than a pound cake. I made a quick blueberry sauce to go with it, but it really doesn’t need anything.

Meanwhile, we’ve rescheduled with our friends for next week, so I’ll start flipping through the binders soon to see what new thing to try next!