Slicing the salami
Happy New Year, again! In some parts of the world there is a belief that each day of the new year forecasts a month in the year to come. By this reckoning, Jan. 1 would be the month of January; Jan. 2 would be February, and so on. By that calculation, we have already lived through 2007 and, for me, it was the worst of years. To borrow a phrase from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, this mock 2007 was an annus horribilis.
On the first, I skittered down a frozen highway from snowbound Santa Fe only to arrive in sultry Los Angeles with no luggage and a back sprained from unintentional ice dancing. The second was an intense first day back at work, double-booked, with back-to-back meetings. When I stumbled out to my car at 10 that night and turned on the ignition, the dashboard valiantly warned me of impending doom-in German! Over the holiday, my old car had spontaneously reverted to its native tongue. I drove it anyway. And, on the third day of the new year, my husband stumbled in a just-mopped hotel corridor and ripped a shoulder tendon. Surgery soon. On the fourth day, our dishwasher exploded and, on the fifth, the household computer ground to halt, blinking to blue and rigor mortis. I took it to the guru who pronounced it DOA and dumped what little was left of the hard-drive onto a single disk.
I was starting to panic and, on the sixth, I awoke convinced I was being pursued by wolves, mere inches from sharp, glistening, drooling teeth. The phone rang, a shrill signal from the real world. It was a hospital nurse telling me my nonagenarian mother-in-law had fallen on her head.
“She seems to be all right,” the voice said, “but she keeps crying. Can you come to San Diego?”
On the long drive down there, one of our young Georgian friends told me that, by their reckoning, the new year hadn’t arrived yet. In the rugged mountains of the Caucasus, calendars didn’t change 200 years ago as they did in the West. The New Year begins on Jan. 14 and their most important celebration is Jan. 15, a harbinger day that foretells everything, good and bad, that will occur throughout the year. Georgians prepare good luck foods and wear new clothes to prevent any vestiges of trouble to follow them into the future.
What a wonderful idea -restart the year! In this Groundhog Day fantasy, what could be better than to scrap the mess of early 2007 and start anew? And, if I don’t like the way the Georgian one shapes up, there’s another new year starting on Jan. 20-the Muslim celebration of a lunar calendar. If it’s still not right, I can choose to make 2007 a Chinese year, which begins on Feb. 18, the year of the Red Pig.
So far, the Georgian new year has been happy and peaceful. Mom is resting peacefully in a lovely cottage overlooking the sea, my luggage found its way home, I’m pecking on a brand new computer and those wolves that were chasing me have reverted to the sweet lapdogs that love and protect us.
Today is such a lovely day, I think I’ll trust this new year enough to make a resolution or two. First, I will forever more consider the start of any year as a free trial period. If I like it, I’ll keep it; if not, I’ll try a new one. Second, I’ll eschew big promises, even to myself. From now on, I’ll take life in increments like The Little Choo Choo That Could. With a mantra of “I think I can; I think I can,” I’ll inch up inclines. A friend calls this “slicing the salami.” Take whatever you want to do and break it down into thin, bite-size pieces you can do easily, right now. Do you want to write a book? Write for 15 minutes, then stop. Tomorrow, you can write for 15 more. No matter what happens, we can all push through for 15 minutes more.
Here’s hoping your new year is trouble-free and fun-filled. I’m counting on it, a slice at a time.
Salami Chips
This recipe is so simple, it’s almost embarrassing to publish it, but keep a batch on hand in an airtight container and your Atkins-loving friends will bless you for it.
Thinly sliced dry salami
1. Preheat oven to 325-degrees.
2. Place slices on parchment paper on cookie sheets. Cook until they curl and darken – 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Blot and cool on a rack.
Serve with a dip: sour cream blended with basil paste; Boursin cheese; sour cream and fig jam. Be creative.