Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all My Imperfect Kitchen friends!
At this busy time of year, I want to take a moment to say thank you! Thank you for following along with me on this delicious adventure called “life.” It’s been a wild and crazy year, full of ups and downs, tears of sorrow and joy, new experiences and old familiar traditions. Some of the most wonderful people are in my life now thanks to this blog and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have gotten to know each of you!
Here’s the highlight reel from 2014 of my favorite recipes and travel adventures. Which did you like best?
We started the year with warm and comforting Meatball and Tortellini Soup…
Had some Beautiful Berry Butter with our biscuits…
And I began the San Bernardino County Master Canner and Food Preservers Class!
February came around and my mini Meyer Lemon tree produced enough lovely lemons to make my favorite Lemon Cupcakes filled with the worlds best Meyer Lemon Curd!
In March, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I made Lucky Charm Treats and they were “magically delicious!”
April and May were full of family baby showers, bridal showers, a house-warming, volunteer hours for Master Food Preservers, field trips with my students and I got to Judge (and taste) a cupcake or two for IEShineOn and Cupcakes for a Cause!
June was full of family activities too! There were also some fun-filled volunteer hours with Taste of the Nation Los Angeles and No Kid Hungry. At the end of the month, we were watching the World Cup Soccer tournaments and not-so-patiently waiting for our first Granddaughter to arrive in the world. So, I did what any anxious Oma would do, I made Sea Glass Jello.
July was both wonderful and horrible. We welcomed our first Grandchild on July 5th
We tragically had to say goodbye to a dear friend and had a funeral and family wedding, all within days of each other. Somehow I made strawberry cheesecake ice cream
and Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies too. Ice Cream makes everything better, right?
Summer was in full swing in August! The basil plant in our tower garden grew like crazy! (In fact, as I’m typing I can see that same plant through the window and it’s still producing!!) With all that gorgeous produce, Basil Pesto was a must!
And in keeping with the Ice Cream theme, I also made the most delicious Coconut and Dragon Fruit Ice Cream.
September started “travel season” and I found myself all over the country, having wonderful food-filled adventures! It started locally with a visit to Willow Brook Farm for some apple picking and cider pressing!
Then (of course) Apple Cider Caramels happened with that delicious freshly pressed cider!
My one and only contribution to the “all things pumpkin” craze that seems to take over in September, Copycat Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins!
And no month is complete without Coffee and Chocolate. Especially if it’s in the form of Double Chocolate Espresso Biscotti!
In October, I was fantastically blessed to go to Iowa for the first ever Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen Experience!
October is also one of my favorite food months! Halloween means spooky treats and frighteningly delicious scary things to make for the kids! So I made both sweet and savory. Bone Bark for the sweet treats…
And Meatloaf Skulls for the savory (and scary) portion of your Halloween meal!
In November, I was off to Las Vegas for the World Food Championships and the first annual Food, Fight, Write! Blogging Conference!
I judged the Chili competition at the World Food Championships this year! It was a delicious adventure and I got a super cool T-Shirt!
The highlight of November though, was getting to make cookies and decorate cupcakes at Le Cordon Bleu!
This brings us to December and holiday cookies and candy! I made Linzer cookies for the LA Food Bloggers Cookie Swap!
And I made Chocolate Covered Caramels for family and friends!
And these guys made an appearance again (and Alton Brown retweeted them!!!)
This year has truly been a blessing on so many levels. Thank you again for being part of it! None of this would be possible without all of your support and encouragement. I appreciate you more than I could ever describe.
To the wonderful people, groups, sponsors and brands who were part of this year too – THANK YOU!
Marie Santos, Melissa Talwar, Nerdy Connections, Organic Girl Good Clean Greens, W.I.L.F.’s, Melissa’s Produce, San Bernardino County Master Food Preservers, The Stiletto Network, Surfa’s Culinary District, The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories, LA Food Bloggers, Camp Blogaway, IACP, Cooking Contest Central, Casey Benedict, Kitchen Play, IEShineOn, Taste of the Nation – Los Angeles, No Kid Hungry, Inland, Empire Food Bloggers, Denise Vivaldo Group, Christina Peters and MDR Photography, Better Homes and Gardens, Fresh & Easy, Yummie Nation, World Food Championships, Food Fight Write
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, friends! I love you!
You have been quite busy this year! Your blog is an inspiration to beginners like myself!
Thank you Mary Ellen! That’s very kind of you! Happy Holidays!