Looking Forward, Looking Back

Gadzooks! Already the last day of 2007...amazing! This year just flew by, although a check of posts from the year show that at least I showed up a little over 11 times a month on average.

This blog has been a blast to do, and I've 'met' wonderful people virtually, especially the Daring Bakers, plus met a few people in person. Anna of Anna's Cool Finds lives near enough that we have been able to meet and enjoy a few restaurants this year together here and here and here and here and here. I met Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody last year in Seattle at Christmas time and have visited her blog the most often of any just to see what she is baking today. Her humor is stellar, her photos mouthwatering, and her recipes pure delight. There are dozens of other blogs I visit regularly. You can find them to the right of the posts at Likely Links. Check 'em out for food blogging fun.

When many people around the blogosphere were posting every day in November 2006, I was too new to blogging to attempt such a thing. In February I did my own version, blogging each day from February 1 through Valentine's Day. To up the ante, I also themed the posts toward love, and added another numeral each day. By the end I was lining up teapots and mugs, just to have enough things to meet the number, ending up with a wheel of spices.

Belonging to the virtual community of the Daring Bakers has been an inspiration. Almost every challenge brought a new skill and I was able to try something I wouldn't have tried before. The support and fun that this group has is a wonder and just as valuable as learning to make cream puffs or the best buttercream for the Buche de Noel. This year I've also made a Red Velvet cake, suffered through the Chocolate Crepe Cake, enjoyed the whole process of making the Gateau St. Honore, found out that making real Bagels isn't hard to do, and that Potato Bread is delicious. The layers of the Strawberry Mirror cake and the Bostini probably make them the most fun to photograph. My favorite to eat was probably the Chocolate Caramel Tart

As far a cooking goes, I really enjoy putting two or more recipes together and seeing what I come up with. A good example is the fresh fig with Italian prune plums and dark chocolate made into a clafouti.

The garden was also an inspiration this year and it has been fun to photograph the vegetables, especially those heirloom tomatoes. In fact, photography is one of the driving forces of doing the posts. If I couldn't photograph the food, I doubt that would enjoy blogging very much. Might be silly, but still feels true right now. I'm also happy that some of my graphic arts training is being used as in the post for the Bostini cakes and even a graphic for Chard nutritional information.

Probably the best part of blogging is reading the comments from those who choose to comment, and hearing from others who 'lurk' that they enjoy the blog and sometimes find a recipe on the blog that they make themselves. The sharing is special. I look forward to more of that in 2008. Thank you for reading, commenting, making the recipes when you do, and lurking, too.

Happy New Year! Here's to a new year full of new taste experiences, learning new techniques in cooking and baking, new friendships and lots and lots of photos!