Here we are with our end of the year blog roundup/look back tradition. 2021 was another weird year… Pandemic things were better, kind of, maybe?? A lot one step forwards, two steps back… We were privileged enough to be vaccinated in late December of 2020, along with many other American frontline healthcare workers, but anxiously waited until the rest of our loved ones got their turns. And we’re still waiting for our toddler’s chance! We ventured out of the house a little bit more, finally going out to dinner in a restaurant in the late spring and taking a vacation in the fall. Work has at turns gotten better and then much worse again. We’re keeping our fingers and toes crossed that 2022 will finally bring an end to the pandemic!
On the blog front, we’ve resigned ourselves that we’re just never going to be daily or even weekly bloggers. There’s just too much else going on, and we want this to stay a creative outlet, not a burden. Further, we’re being a little more selective with what we share here then maybe we used to be. The cookbook club has really kept us engaged in cooking and blogging more than anything else. We also finally shared Selim’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, after years of promising to do so!
So, without further ado……
2021 Year in Review
Favorite Dishes of the Year:
♥ Ally: Kofta & Potatoes in Tahini Sauce, Za’atar Chicken over Yogurt, Afghan Lamb & Root Veggie Aush
♥ Selim: Miso e Cacio e Pepe, Afghan Chickpea Curry, & Spicy Pasta alla Norma with Sausage
Visitors:
♥ 9,057 unique visitors, a record for us!
Nationalities of Visitors:
♥ Perennially my favorite tidbit to see and share: US, Canada, UK, Australia, China, Germany, France, Poland, Bahrain, India, Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Spain, Philippines, Israel, Ireland, Malaysia, Sweden, Hong Kong, Turkey, Mexico, UAE, Switzerland, Lebanon, Norway, Egypt, Brazil, Finland, Italy, Greece, Vietnam, Fiji, Latvia, Japan, Malta, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Romania, Indonesia, Kuwait, Costa Rica, Russia, South Korea, Panama, Nepal, Bermuda, Qatar, Peru, Serbia, Portugal, Oman, Pakistan, Estonia, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Luxembourg, Iceland, Argentina, Lithuania, Nigeria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Mauritius, Namibia, Nicaragua, Cyprus, Ghana, Colombia, Bulgaria, Belarus, Chile, Ukraine, Palestine, Bahamas, Kenya, Vanuatu, Bangladesh, Botswana, Ecuador, and Cameroon, plus Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, & Guam!
Most Viewed Posts: 1) Bay Scallop Risotto (the perennial winner), 2) Kofta & Potatoes in Tahini Sauce, 3) Garlic Scape Compound Butter, 4) Bacon Jam, & 5) Classic Beef & Broccoli
Number of Bucket List Items Checked Off: We added to a few, including sharing my beloved grandmother’s eponymous dip (Muzzie’s Dip), but clearly need to double down next year!
Cuisines Sampled: Palestinian & Afghan. That’s it?? Yikes! There were a few of each… maybe that makes me feel better?
Favorite Cookbook:
♥ Falastin, by Sami Tamimi & Tara Wigley, though Six Seasons, by Joshua McFadden was a close second. We adored both of these!
Goals for Next Year:
- Continue participating in the Cookbook Club
- Work on the Culinary Bucket List
- Use as many fresh/local/seasonal ingredients as possible
- Continue to celebrate worldwide holidays and sample cuisines of the world
- Hopefully return to traveling (and eating while traveling!)
Bon Appetit Baby! 
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