Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Has it really been two years since my very first blog post? In some ways it seems like only yesterday--I'm still figuring things out, learning, experimenting. In others, it's almost as if I've been blogging forever. It's become so much of who I am.

Mrs.W's Kitchen began as a creative outlet. I love to cook, and chronicling my kitchen escapades seemed a natural extension of that love. This blog has taken me to places that I never thought it would: meeting people all over the world, connecting with strangers that I might never have otherwise, and a way to touch base with my real-life friends. It's also challenged the way I think about food through various foodblogging and charity events. Overall, it's a fantastic experience.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me. Thank you for visiting, for reading, for lurking and for commenting. Thanks for your encouragement, enthusiasm, and even the sympathy you showed when we lost our beloved pet this past year. Thank you for the private email notes, too. These all enrich my life in ways that cannot be adequately described in words.

I thought I'd list some favorite posts below--some of yours (reader favorites that continue to get regular hits) and some of mine (posts, or foods, that I particularly like).

Reader Favorites


Lamb & Prune Tagine in a Pumpkin
Redneck BBQ (Years 1 and 2)
Kofte Kebabs with Pomegranate Reduction and Lentil Salad
TGRWT #10: Pineapple & Blue Cheese
Asian Noodle Salad
Poor Man's Peach Cobbler
Cube Steak & Gravy
Dessert Crepes


My Favorites

Sauteed Bananas in Coconut Creme
Picadillo, Pink Beans & Rice
Man Food Series
Adventures in African Cooking Series
Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries
Hello, Lover
Grama Roast

Happy New Year!

The ball has dropped in Times Square... the Conch in Key West... the Peach in Atlanta! Mr.W and I brought in the new year at a friend's house as I held the 11-week-old baby of another dear friend. What a sweet way to usher in 2009. There was lots of yummy food, too, brought potluck-style by various folks. I should have brought my camera for photographic evidence!

There were pigs in blankets that had evidently gotten too warm and threw them off... so I guess the pigs were actually laying ON their blankets. There was shrimp & cocktail sauce. There was cut-up pumpernickel bread with creamy dill dip, which is one of my all-time favorites. What could be better than bread dipped in creamy goodness I ask you? There was lots of hot cheesy goodness. There were stroganoff meatballs and meatballs in maranara. There were deep-fried cheese sticks and devilled eggs (of which I think Mr.W ate a dozen). I brought 3 treats to the party we attended: my chevre-mascarpone-blackberry cheese spread (this time I did 4 ounces of each cheese, then mashed 6 ounces of blackberries right inside for something a bit different with equal deliciousness factor), my famous jerk meatballs and a big platter of pajeon (korean scallion pancake)--one batch with only vegetables, and a 2nd containing also chopped shrimp. Lots of good food shared with lots of good friends.

It amazes me that we're now in 2009. It seems as though 2008 just flew by!

Mrs.W's Kitchen wouldn't be the same without you, my readers--let me take this opportunity to thank you. Thanks for subscribing, reading, commenting and lurking. Thanks for trying out my recipes and reading what I write. Thanks for your emails--they mean so much to me.

May 2009 bring you much joy, many blessings, and lots of yummy, yummy food!

Various, Sundry & Crazy

Just a few tidbits...

I recently discovered and subsequently subscribed to Google Analytics. What a handy blogging tool!

In the last few days, Mrs.W's Kitchen has had visitors from Turkey, the Philippines, Israel, India and Australia, in addition to various locations within the United States. Some of you I already knew about--but others were a big suprise!

And to all my readers, please accept a big Thank You from me. It's nice to know that someone out there likes to read what I have to say. What a blessing.

I also just discovered this handy-dandy--and FREE--banner creator tool. It's called MyBannerMaker and is pretty easy to use. In fact, that's what I used to create the banner above. How fun is that?

Finally, Mrs. Mecomber of New York Traveler tagged me for a meme and, in an effort to keep up with blogging obligations, I'm answering the tag below. Enjoy!


Crazy 8's Meme

8 Things I’m Passionate About

• the gospel
• good food
• good friends
• family
• the truth
• my marriage
• cooking
• spelling

8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die

• have, or adopt, a child (or both)
• get another pedicure (cause my dogs is nasty)
• lead a particular family member to Christ
• open a business
• write a cookbook
• have a clean house
• have an organized house
• overcome diabetes

8 Things I Say Often

• "Jiminy Crickets!"
• "Crappadoodle-doo."
• "Holy Smokes!"
• "Go lay down!" (to the dogs)
• "I'm hungry." (because I usually am)
• "Wanna go outside?" (again, to the dogs)
• "Frickin' A!"
• "Know what I'm saying?" Ugh. I cringe every time I hear myself say that one.

8 Books I’ve Read Recently

• The Bible
• The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden
• The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice
• Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques
• The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa by Marcus Samuelsson
• My South: A People, A Place, A World of It's Own by Robert St.John and Bryan Curtis
• No, David! by David Shannon
• Eating Stella Style by George Stella

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over
This is a really difficult choice for me--I love all sorts of music and have literally TONS of favorites. Here are just a few.

• Oh Jah by Paul Wilbur
• Anything on the album Glory Revealed: The Word of God in Worship
• Anything from Hillsong's You Shine album
• Long Black Train by Josh Turner
• Mighty is the Power of the Cross by Chris Tomlin
• The Potter's Hand by Darlene Zschech
• Come Away with Me by Norah Jones
• At the Cross by Hillsong - this is a wonderful one for Easter. LOVE IT.

8 Things That Attract Me to My Best Friends
This is another difficult one, because I have a number of friends from the various places I've lived and of course, made during different periods of my life.

• common history
• common interests
• common faith
• being genuine and open
• great sense of humor
• appreciating differences in each other
• learning about the history behind the exterior
• cleverness

8 People I Think Should Do Crazy 8s

• someone who needs something to blog about
• a dog-lover
• a cat-lover
• a brother
• a Dilbert-lover
• a mother
• someone who travels frequently
• someone who wants to travel frequently