One year ago today, I hit 'publish' on my very first post on Once Upon a Cutting Board, making today my 1-Year Blogiversary!
When I started this blog, I wasn't even sure if it would last long enough to see an anniversary. At the time, I just wanted a place to keep track of the increasing amount of recipes I was trying, and to share my growing love for food photography with others, even if it was just my family reading it. One year later, I actually have readers beyond my family reading this, and my love for this blog grows stronger every day!
To mark the occasion, I thought I'd briefly look back at the past year through a series of short lists. And, obviously, cheesecake! But we'll save that until the end :)
How My Cooking Has Changed and Improved
- Blogging has forced me to actually write down what I'm doing when I cook - this has not only helped me to be able to replicate dishes I love later, but has also helped me learn more about the roles of certain ingredients in a recipe.
- I almost always adapt a recipe to my own tastes now - it's hard not to look at a recipe and immediately start thinking of ways to put my own spin on it!
- I've tried new cooking techniques and dishes that I didn't think I'd be capable of making before, but are actually easy (and I hope I've shown you how easy they are too)! Things like:
- My first ever risotto, doughnuts, bread bowls, stuffed mushrooms, ravioli, fresh spring rolls, bundt cake, mini pies, and popsicles!
- I've tried new ingredients that I hadn't cooked with before, like:
- Black eyed peas, Dubliner cheese, fresh pasta sheets, nori, poblano peppers, wonton wrappers, cherries (I can't believe I used to think I didn't like them!), and olives (I thought I hated these too but now have three jars in my fridge, and recipes to come!)
- I've created several original recipes of my own, something I never thought I'd be able to do! Some of my favourites were:
- Gingerbread crepes with eggnog whipped cream, peanut butter lentil granola bars, sesame soy spaghetti squash with broccoli and edamame, and a few copycat recipes like PC's masala hummus, and sesame soba noodle salad, a dish I enjoyed in Singapore!
How My Blog Has Changed and Improved
I've learned a lot about the technical side of blogging in addition to cooking, and have made what I think are some big improvements to the blog over the last year. Let me know what you think!
- New, cleaner design (I don't even want to show you a screenshot of the old design!)
- An Ingredient Index for an easy way to find recipes that include a certain ingredient (this took me forever to figure out how to do so I'm quite proud of it!)
- I joined Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest - Twitter took me a while to finally join but now I love it!
- I've added Follow buttons, share buttons, and a print friendly button
- New commenting system (which might change again soon, I'm not sure I like this one - thoughts welcome!)
- Updated my About Me page (this was actually only done recently, so check it out if you haven't yet!)
- Improving photography (I hope!)
A Few Highlights from the Last Year
- My very first Foodgawker acceptance - I will never forget how happy I was that night!
- My beet hummus being featured on Glamour magazine's website - that was the first huge spike in traffic I had and it was so exciting!
- My first original recipe being featured in Eat In Eat Out's premiere issue!
- My first giveaway with Aurora Importing - I loved finally being able to give something back to my readers and working with the lovely people at Aurora!
- My first time being featured on The Kitchn's Delicious Links - I never thought one of my recipes would be included in their daily picks so I was thrilled to see my popsicles featured recently!
What I’ve Loved about Blogging
- Being a part of the food blogging community and talking to other bloggers! I love the friends I've made online and the great advice and opportunities I've received as a member of the Food Bloggers of Canada.
- All the great food I've tried in the last year because I've pushed myself to try new things in the kitchen (and I've loved sharing that food with others!)
- The readers! Knowing that such wonderful people are out there reading my blog makes this all worth it, and every time I received a reader comment, it makes my day!
So THANK YOU for reading along this past year, I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have! If it weren't for you guys then I wouldn't have made it this far, so thank you so much!
To celebrate and show my appreciation, I made these festive little funfetti cheesecakes! When I tried to think of what I should make to celebrate, I couldn't seem to get sprinkles out of my mind, so I used them (and some funfetti cake batter) to make these individual cheesecakes from Gingerbread Bagels. They were so good and I loved how they use a Golden Oreo as a base! They were a big hit with everyone I shared them with, and I'd highly recommend them for any celebrations you may have coming up!
To get the recipe, head over to Gingerbread Bagels!
