One year ago today I started this blog and wrote my very first post. I didn’t post again until July, when I posted my first recipe:

Chip Dip

I learned to make this recipe by observing my family. It seemed fitting as a first recipe post because it is one of the earliest recipes I remember learning to make on my own.

The posts were a bit sporadic. I posted every second week at best. I was a bit nervous about posting. I didn’t really know what to post. I was being very selective about the things I posted. Only sharing my very favourite recipes, such as:

Curried Goat

New Mexican Style Chicken Tacos

I had forgotten my original intention, to share affordable everyday foods.

I had a few pep talks from Jeanette over at This Dusty House / This Dusty Kitchen. She encouraged me to write. Not to worry that what I had to say might be boring and uninteresting. Blogging would come with practice. She was right!

I started using social media to follow other cooking blogs. This helped me to actively participate in the food blogging community instead of neing a more passive reader.

I bought a tripod and took my camera off the automatic setting. I think my photos have been getting better! (I hope you think so too!)

I went to a few cooking workshops, including:

Raw Food with Chef Renee Shaidle

We learned to prepare Raw Zucchini Pasta and Raw Chocolate Truffles with Cashew Kreme Sauce.

Raw Desserts with Chef Renee Shaidle

We learned to prepare Raw Banana Coconut Cream Cake, Chocolate Power Balls, and Raw Apple Pie in Cupcake Tins.

Culinary Tour of Thailand at Relish Cooking Studio

We learned to prepare goog kratiem (garlic shrimp), tom yum (hot and sour) soup, som tam (green papaya salad with peanuts and chilies), pad thai, and coconut lime sorbet.

Sustainable Seafood at Relish Cooking Studio

I will tell you more about this workshop later this week!

What a year! I’ve enjoyed food blogging as a hobby after getting past the initial writer’s block. My photography skills had improved. My cooking skills have improved. I’ve learned to budget our meals a bit better (blogging regularly has helped me keep on track).

Thank you to everyone who has been reading and I hope you continue to do so!

In the next year, I hope to keep blogging, learn to find more creative ways of presenting food (and thus further improving the pictures), attend a few more workshops, participate in a few more foodie blog hops/challenges, and feature a few guest posts (please contact me if you’re interested!).