New Year Reflections

Hello Friends, not only do we find ourselves meeting at the start of a new month, but at the start of a new year as well. A time where many are making resolutions or setting goals for the new year, and yet there are a few outliers who prefer to delay their new year celebrations until spring, when the natural year begins. I find myself falling somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. This time of year I fully embrace the season of rest and slower living, preferring to wait until Imbolc to begin reemerging from my cocoon of reading and tea to bask in the lengthening days and start the garden planning. On the other hand, having children makes skipping out on mainstream festivities like the Gregorian new year difficult. And truth be told, I have a lot of nostalgia and love for these pop rituals, so I gladly encourage and participate with my children in a way that still honors the season and aligns with our values.

So while I have spent a lot of the last several weeks slowing down and trying to rest throughout the darker season, I have simultaneously been reflecting on what I want Stove & Larder to look like in 2025. After joining @therootedfolk a few months ago to collaborate with two like minded friends, I felt unsure of where that left Stove & Larder. My focus turned to building something special and new with my The Rooted Folk partners, and will remain so in 2025, but Stove & Larder is also still so meaningful to me. It feels like home, and is the community that I have nurtured and loved over the last several years.

For those who don’t know, my husband and I started Stove & Larder in 2019 as a collaborative Instagram account to establish a food path for us to maybe someday be able to work together. Since then it’s taken on many roles, and in February last year I decided to really put an effort into growing my little community and pursue content creation. In August I started this newsletter in an effort to push my boundaries even more, and to practice my writing. In the past year my community has grown exponentially, I’ve learned new skills, and was invited to collaborate with other creators.

So that brings us to today, what is Stove & Larder going to look like in 2025? I’ve cycled through so many ideas and daydreams, and what I realized is that it always comes back to food in some way. Being rooted in my love of cooking and eating is where all the other parts of me stem from, there is no kitchen herbalist or kitchen witch without my passion of cooking and eating. What I envision for 2025 is really leaning more into that deep rooted passion within me. To tell stories rather than hiding behind generic food and seasonal content. I want to share more “measure with your heart” recipes, what I eat day to day and how I incorporate my craft into those meals, while also sharing how important food accessibility and equity for farm workers is to me. But because I am a whole person, not a niche, also sharing my silly little thrifts, sharing my walks in the woods and my journey in deepening my craft within home and hearth.

I feel so lucky for what I cultivated in 2024. It was truly a year of leaning into the uncomfortable, but it led to deeper friendships, new opportunities, and a community that laughs and eats and appreciates the seasons right along with me. Thank you for being here on that journey.

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Every year on NYE Ben makes chicken parm from scratch. He makes the tomato sauce, pounds out chicken thighs as thin as he can make them, sets up his breading station and fries the chicken up to a golden crisp. Then he tops it with his tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella and melts it all under the broiler. He serves it over spaghetti with a chopped salad and usually some sort of garlic bread, then we very enthusiastically fill our bellies with all his hard work. It’s something we look forward to all year long. A few years ago I started making tiramisu to go with it, which has also become one of our favorite ways to ring in the new calendar year. This year I thought I’d share it with you all.

The energies of the ingredients for Tiramisu are so perfectly aligned with what we associate with the New Year: eggs symbolize hope and renewal or rebirth, sugar calls in sweetness, vanilla for comfort, chocolate for love (self love and platonic love included!) and happiness, plus a pinch of salt for protection. If you prefer to celebrate the new year in the spring, this dessert still makes a lovely and appropriate dessert to welcome in the energy of the waking earth.

Tiramisu for renewal

ingredients:

• 4 eggs, room temperature and separated

• 12 oz mascarpone, room temperature

• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar

• pinch of kosher salt

• 1 1/2 cups moka brewed coffee, espresso, or double strength brewed coffee

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1-7oz package lady fingers

• about 1/3 cup cocoa powder or enough for a generous dusting

method:

Brew and cool coffee, mix in vanilla extract and set aside.

In a medium bowl or with a stand mixer, whip egg whites to stiff peaks and set aside. In another medium bowl, whip egg yolks with sugar until thick and pale yellow. Add the mascarpone to egg yolk mixture and whip until well incorporated. Add about 1/3 of whipped egg whites to the egg yolk-mascarpone mixture and carefully fold in, taking care not to deflate the egg whites. Add in remain half and repeat until all the eggs whites are mixed in.

Begin dipping lady fingers in coffee mixture, and arrange in a single layer in a 9X9 inch (or similarly sized) ceramic dish. Poor about half of the mascarpone mixture over the lady fingers and spread into a thick even layer. Repeat process with dipping lady fingers into coffee and arranging into another even layer, then topping with remaining mascarpone mixture. Cover and let set in the refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours, using a sieve or shaker top tiramisu with cocoa powder until completely covered and serve immediately. Serves 8-10

Notes:

Tiramisu is often made with brandy mixed into the coffee, to make this adult version simply substitute 1/2 cup of the coffee with brandy and proceed with the recipe as written.

If you are sensitive to caffeine use decaf coffee

Tiramisu will stay good in the fridge for up to three days

watch the video here