And a year rolls by ...

2007 is almost done with! Quite unbelievable how quickly an entire year has gone by. Yoikes! I'm going to have to get used to writing 2008 now, that's the most tiresome part of the new year :)

The end of a year is often mired in nostalgia, soon followed by anticipation. I often spend several moments thinking about the highs and lows that went by. And then I start gleefully anticipating all the things that come with the new year - more snow, snowboarding, anticipation of spring, seasonal fruits and vegetables, suddenly everything starts to seem new and exciting! ... :)



Nupur's Best of 2007 event comes at the perfect time - I'm already in nostalgia and I'm usually thinking about food, so it seems perfectly natural to talk about AtoZ's life so far.

122 days, 58 posts, pretty much every one of them involving a recipe. Cooking has always been a passion, but the more we cooked, the more I wrote, the more we starting thinking about the "right" things. Now we spend hours talking sustainable, polycyclic, more than organic, giving back to the soil and supporting local farmers. We watch where we shop, what we buy, how we cook and what we dispose. Some awareness came from writing about food, a lot more came from reading all those great blogs out there - it is quite amazing how much we learn everyday from fellow bloggers. After all

Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
- James Beard

Speaking of a recap, this is a loose list of best picks from AtoZ - only the lentil soup and black bean burgers are old-timers, the rest are all first attempts.

Favourites

A list of 10 favourites seems too large and too small at the same time :)

Beet Orange Salad


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Moroccan Lentil Soup


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Cauliflower Coconut Stew



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Machli ka Salan

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Blackened Snapper


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Zen and the art of Black bean burgers

This goes to Zorra and Sandra for their Best of 2007 event - the first batch of burgers that I made were pretty good, but it took a few rounds of experimenting before I finally hit the perfect balance. Burger heaven is a great place to be in! :)

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Veggie Fajitas


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Roasted Vegetables + Spicy Polenta

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Sugarcane-banana cake in cashew-pistachio milk

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Date'n'Nut Candy

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Favourite Pooch Treats of the Year :)

What next?

We're excited about 2008, about a new look, more recipes and experimenting, growing vegetables and herbs, new cookbooks, travel, eating out, eating in ... everything!

This blog has consumed more time than I expected, it is probably going to take up a lot more time in the coming months, but no complaints here, this is a fabulous journey, we definitely want it to keep going!

We wish you a happy, exciting and tasty 2008 and raise a toast to all the fabulous food that 2007 has brought to us!

Eat, drink and make merry!
And don't forget to take pictures and write about it :)

Mexico y Belize - Comidas y Bebidas y los demas

I think I got that title right, it took several minutes of thinking :)

It was a fun trip replete with great food and drinks, crazy commuting (flight+bus+taxi+water taxi to get to Caye Caulker, water taxi+twin-engine bumpy plane+van+flight to get back to Mexico), warm waters, sunny skies and crazy adventures. The best street taco guy in Mexico City.


Harry (the guy who took us out on his boat off Caye Caulker) cooked up the best fish we had on the trip.


Near the split on Caye Caulker.


Sunset - from outside the Lazy Lizard on Caye Caulker.