Every New Year begins with pasta. It's a tradition with roots in the first years of our marriage when money was tight, especially after weeks of holiday spending. We still wanted to celebrate the arrival of promise with something indulgent and delicious that could serve a crowd comfortably, without the fussiness of roasted turkeys stuffed with cranberry dressing and plates full of sides swimming in gravy. The new year should begin casually with minimal pomp and as few dishes as possible. After a week of entertaining, I've always had enough of the housework portion of the program. So simple pasta with a rich homemade sauce, side salad, and some crusty bread comprise a meal we all look forward to on January 1st.
After 31 years, that's very unlikely to change. Mike and I still pack up the Christmas tree and decorations in the morning and then move to the kitchen, where we spend quality time together chopping onions, celery, garlic, and mushrooms. We brown lean beef and ground pork (our Italian dishes routinely hint at my German heritage) and combine everything with tomatoes and an earthy blend of Italian spices. When the kids were young, we played board games throughout the afternoon while the sauce simmered lazily on the stove. In recent years, we putter, walk the dog, read or watch movies. The kids find their way to the dinner table around the same time our bellies start to rumble the dinner bell. Sometimes the table is crowded with everyone at home and other years, like this one, the party is small. But regardless of the number of plates around the table, it is always one of my favourite holiday meals. The talk is always reflective, the conversation brimming with predictions for the year ahead.
Quietly, I learn how I can help support my dreamers in the weeks and months ahead. And they help me by polishing off the last of the Christmas baking.
So much changes. As the years progress, our life and family keep evolving. Now, our children are developing lives and traditions of their own. Everything is malleable - except the New Year's pasta tradition. I wouldn't want to start my year any other way.
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