Friends, where does the time go???? Once upon a time I was a recipe blogger, and one day I sat down in front of the computer and got the urge to write a weekly recap of my meals, my workouts, what I was watching, and what I was reading. That was seven years ago and I've never looked back.
Every year around the anniversary of the first weekly roundup post, I write a "Birchwood New Year" recap of the best of the best things of the year.
Weekly Eats Memory Lane
Here are the Best of the Best things that I cooked this year
I cook much less than I used to, so as I was getting ready to look back I wondered if there would be anything to put on the list. It turns out that there is! Quality>quantity.
Best Recipe of The Year Award
Ambitious Kitchen gochuang chicken bowls! Minimum effort, maximum taste. And if you're saying "wait, I know this girl doesn't like chicken" you are correct! I made mine with soy curls instead - here are my notes about my version.
Best Family Recipe of the Year
Let's give it up for Recipe Tin Eat's "Charlie" Stir Fry! You know a stir fry is good when the sauce has a name (that's Charlie as in Charlie Brown - what other name would a brown sauce have?) This sauce was a hit with everyone in my family because the flavor was complex enough for the sophisticated palate in the family (me) while being sufficiently "not spicy" enough for everyone else. Pro tips: I eliminated the white pepper to insure "not spicy" and also I used much less corn starch than the recipe calls for because it didn't seem necessary. I made this with chicken for the chicken eaters in the family and subbed in tofu for my portion.
The Contenders
Recipe Rebel's Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta FTW. This also wins the "recipe that I am most likely to make for dinner tonight" award.
Recipe Rebel's Instant Pot Pot Roast. My only change from the recipe as written was to add mushrooms, since everyone in my family loves mushrooms.
Best Staples/Tips/New Ideas
Best New Family Party Meal
Need a ton of food to impress a crowd with minimal effort? Me too! Ham and cheese sliders are an amazing party food option. I took inspo from two recipes, and here is that recap.
Best New Way to Prep Tofu
I'm as much of a know-it-all as the next person, and I thought that I knew every way to prep tofu under the sun. Watching Cheap Lazy Vegan YouTube videos keeps me humble. It turns out that if you "slice" a block of tofu with a vegetable peeler, give it a quick dusting of cornstarch and a light pat of oil, and run it through the airfyer you have yet another yummy way to get yums. Here's my recap of when I did it.
Best Way to Use Up a Ton of Fresh Garden Tomatoes
Roast them into an epic pasta sauce! Also live close to a SIL with an epic garden so that you have access to an end-of-the-season bounty of fresh garden tomatoes.
Best Trader Joe's Hack
Run don't walk to TJ's to get the toasted sesame dressing. Yeah yeah it's fine for salads but it's an even better zero effort stir fry sauce.
Best Meals on the Road
I'm really picky about restaurants and it takes a lot to impress me. With that said, I was impressed a lot during the course of this year's travels.
The Old Spaghetti Factory. Hear me out, I know it's a chain, but anytime that my family went to Indianapolis in my childhood, we always ate here. I was thrilled to learn that it hasn't changed one bit since my last visit in the 1980s. Mizithra pasta FTW!
Twisted Plants, Milwaukee area. I'm still drooling over the burger that I had at this vegan restaurant.
Pig Minds Brewing, Machesney Park, Illinois. Another vegan restaurant and brewery. Vegans made good food but who knew that they make epic beer as well? I'm a little embarrassed to admit how much of their beer that I bought to take home with me, but I have no regrets.
BTW what do Twisted Plants and Pig Minds have in common besides vegan food? Both restaurants were recommended to me by Kim, winner of the 2024 Best Blogger Food Recommendation Source.
Duff's Wings, Buffalo, New York. I failed to take a picture, but I'm still dreaming about those wings.
Strong Hearts, Buffalo, New York. Wait you're saying, Strong Hearts was on last year's list! Yes, that's how good the food is. Anytime that I'm within range of Buffalo, you can bet that I'll be stopping by to fill my belly.
Best Food City of 2024: Buffalo, New York! Who knew????
Alrighty, that's enough chit chat about food. Let's talk about other stuff!
Best Fitness Thing of the Year
The best new fitness thing that I found this year came out of boredom/local tourism. I started the year off with a 100 mile hiking challenge, which I did only because I wanted to learn more about the hiking trails near me, and also for something to kill time in the travel off season. This picture is from the first hike on January 1st.
It was a somewhat mild, very wet winter which meant that every weekend I was ankle deep in mud for a few hours. Oddly enough, I got hooked.
Between the "ankle deep in mud" thing, the "for a few hours" thing, and all of the hills, I came to respect hiking as a legit fitness outlet and increasingly I find myself repeating these hikes and seeking new ones when I travel.
Best TV of the Year
2024 was not a stellar year for TV. Part of the reason is that we have a new family member who makes TV watching a challenge.
The other part of it is that I'm finding a lack of good shows to watch. Most of my TV watching these days is random videos on YouTube.
However, for every trend there are exceptions:
Upright is a quirky Australian TV show about an upright piano and a road trip.
Jim Henson: Idea Man was a charming documentary (pro tip, if you are looking for Hot Couples TV, I recommend watching Idea Man one night and Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies, and Scandal the next night, as the Hubs and I did one weekend)
Ever since we watched Idea Man, our Hot Couples show of choice has been The Muppet Show,
Best Books of the Year
TV is on the meh side, but books are rockin' Here are the best of the best:
The Kate Burkholder Series by Linda Castillo. There's a murder epidemic in Amish country, and I rode the wave with all of the 16 books that have been written to date.
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen. This was a Jenny recommendation that really resonated with me.
The Women by Kristen Hannah. I hated the ending of the last Hannah book that I read so much that I swore I would never read her again, and here we are. Everyone on the planet has read and hyped this book for good reason.
The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves by Alexandra Horowitz. The official I Feel Seen book of the year. It turns out that having a puppy is overwhelming even for a dog expert. This book also has special feels because I came across it while browsing Arcadia Books in Spring Green, Wisconsin, which was recommended to me by Anne.
Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
11/22/63 by Stephen King. I finally FINALLY got around to reading this and now I'm mad at myself for waiting so long. Part of the reason that I waited is that this book is always checked out with a long wait time on Libby, and when a book that was published in 2011 still has a wait time in 2024, that says a lot. I finally caved and bought it after Jenny read it, and I'm so glad that I did.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens
by Ina Garten was every bit as delicious as promised. Pro tip: if the wait time at your library is too long, Audible has a "3 months for 99 cents a month" deal through the end of the year. I know I get tight with a buck sometimes, but 99 cents is close enough to free for me.
The Saddest Thing That Happened This Year
RIP, Stepdog. You led a life well lived, and your example paved the way for other dogs to have homes. You inspired many of our friends to get dogs. Because of you, we will never not have a dog.
The Happiest Thing That Happened This Year
Welcome, Doggo! Having a puppy is not for the feint of heart, but we can't imagine life without you. Right now your favorite pastime is countersurfing and you're still leary of strangers, but I have a feeling that you will also inspire many others to the path of dog ownership.
Best New Hobby of the Year
Meeting Cool Bloggers IRL!!! Shout out to Kim, Engie, Anne, Lisa, Kyria, and a few Anonymous Friends. I think the rule is that if you like the 2D version of someone through their blog, you are guaranteed to love the 4D "real" version even more.
(Shhh...don't tell anyone, but my first blogger meetup of 2025 is on the calendar!!! Squeeee!!!)
That's a wrap for year seven! What's on your best of the best list for the year?
Congratulations on year seven! I enjoyed reading your yearly roundup. All of your food photos look so delicious. I love The Old Spaghetti Factory! I've only eaten there when I traveled to Minneapolis, and it was wonderful every time. (I've been there 4 times.)
ReplyDeleteThanks Michelle! I'm just so tickled that the Spag Fact is still around and that it's exactly the same.
DeleteYay for hiking making the top of the list!
ReplyDeleteYes, hiking is a great workout, perhaps even better than running. After all, humans were made for roaming the countryside for days, especially muddy countrysides.
So now we are on the edge of our seats to see who you will meet in 2025!!
Eek I'm trying to imagine what it was like to roam in mud before hiking boots. Our ancestors had it rough!
DeleteI am so glad that you (a) met me this year (hahaha) and (b) embraced hiking as a hobby. I love hiking and getting outside and it is such an easy way to get to know a place and discover beauty about the place that you did not know existed. I did hikes in Florida, Lousiana and Missouri when I was working there and imagine the interesting things I found that I had never even known were a thing. Oh, and Iowa...has hills! The Loess hills! Who knew? I am also glad that we got to do a hike together when we were in NY!
ReplyDeleteI have a question for you since you are the tofu queen. I usually make a tofu stir fry for the girls, but one is allergic to sesame and nuts and seeds, so I generally do a sauce with miso and ginger and a bit of soy sauce. Do have any non-sesame recipes that you would normally use?
Allergies and sensitivities are rough. In the extended family we have a peanut allergy, and food labels are so clear that it's easy to work around. Gluten...not so much. I'm always afraid that I'll mess it up. I've never had to worry about non-sesame so I can't think of anything.
DeleteThe Old Spaghetti Factory! I haven't been there for...well, I don't know. I remember they have a huge menu with an all-inclusive price? Am I thinking about the right place? Everything comes with salad and bread and dessert?
ReplyDeleteYou also reminded me to try that slicing method for tofu, I completely forgot I was going to do it.
Hiking is awesome. It's one of my favourite things to do. Downside of moving: not close to the Rockies anymore. Upside of moving: mountain hiking IN MY TOWN. So it all evens out!
Yep everything comes with salad, bread, and dessert! Plus my mom only made pasta with tomato sauce at home so it was the only time I got to have the kid's ultimate dream meals of buttered noodles with cheese.
DeleteYay!! What a fun way to look back at the year.
ReplyDeleteThanks - it is!
DeleteSweet stepdog! Sweet doggo!
ReplyDeleteWe have an Old Spaghetti Factory here, but I think it's probably been 15 or 20 years since I've gone. It's dependable and tasty enough, but we never think to go there.
Hee hee it was much longer than 20 years since the time before this year that I went. My memory was 100% accurate.
DeleteSpending a chunk of time with you was certainly a high of the year for me as well! I met you, Kae, and Suzanne this year. I hope I am not forgetting anyone else I met for the first time? Meeting bloggers has never disappointed me! Everyone is just as you'd expect them to be.
ReplyDeleteYOu should check out "Will and Harper" on Netflix. Phil and I both thought it was excellent. It was a heavy topic but there was lots of levity!
You are the champ of meeting bloggers IRL, so when you say it's never disappointed you, you mean it!
DeleteI definitely took notes on your last post where you talked about Will and Harper. I'm putting it on my list for the next time that we get Netflix.
What a year! Those recipes look amazing! I feel like this was the year where we cooked more but were not adventurous enough in trying new things so we're burnt out on our regularly scheduled meals (which might inform some goals / hopes for next year). Your sweet pups <3
ReplyDeleteUgh, been there. There was a point with the boys schedule where we were so rushed that there was no room to do anything except get food, any food, on the table. Now that they're older - college and senior year of high school we don't have the same pressure but I still have the PTSD from The Busy Years.
DeleteLove this roundup! And now I'm hungry. I must come back to this post to get meal ideas soon (this week is mostly planned out, but the thing about meals is THEY ALWAYS NEED TO BE MADE).
ReplyDeleteSigh, yes meals always need to be made. I don't have the solution but I sure have the problem!
DeleteI quickly clicked on the sesame oil at Trader Joe's. But alas, it is riddled with gluten, as are so many tasty things. We probably fall into the same category as your people, we don't like a lot of spice. I think the first recipe posted is GF, but might be too spicy for us. I plan to investigate further, because the fam gets excited when I introduce new recipes.
ReplyDeleteI like hiking too. Rarely have time, but I own great boots that were christened in Ireland when I blew past Coach while eye rolling how cautious he was being. . . . only for me to get sucked into mud to the top of my brand new boots. It's fine, I lived to tell about it and even laughed at myself in the moment. Inspired by your posts, I'm thinking about taking the younger girls somewhere drivable over spring break to do some hikes. Coach and I took them to Starved Rock last year, which isn't crazy far from us.
Sorry about the passing of Step dog. So sad. Doggo is a good looking guy, and I laughed at how seen you felt after reading the puppy book.
Great yearly roundup. I've so enjoyed visiting your blog. I agree with your blogger IRL 2D and 4D assessment. So true. I've met Suz and Kari and a long-time reader, Jenny in WV. So fun.
You have me beat on hiking boots, but mine are still pretty cool. They're "hand me ups" from my stepsons. They outgrew men's size 8 a long time ago which is the perfect size for me. Hiking started as a solo thing for me early in the year since I was doing longer hikes on prescribed routes for the challenge, and Hubs was doing one specific route to train up for a big Boy Scouts trip. But lately we've been hiking together and I love it. I hope that the spring break trip works out.
DeleteThe blogger meet ups made me the happiest... taking it from 2D to 4D is not a big deal if you've been sharing your thoughts on the Internet (and books and pets and delicious food) for so long :)
ReplyDeleteI think I've told you this before - 100% of the time when I chat with a Cool Blogger and we try to figure out how we "met" the answer is: through you!
DeleteOMG! I am absolutely honored to win 2024 Best Blogger Food Recommendation Source!!!! WOW! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you loved my recs! And I am so glad I got to meet you this year too. Very excited you have a meetup scheduled for 2025 already!
ReplyDeleteThat is such a brilliant way to prepare tofu that I would NEVER think of! YUM!
I really need to get back to 11/22/63. I own it, made it to about 40%ish? Then had to take a break. Maybe on my flight this weekend!
I ate good this year because of you! It didn't make my list but I still day dream about the poutine at the Vanguard in Milwaukee every once in a while.
DeleteLove this! And now I know that I need to spend a few days in MKE and make sure I hit all of Kim's recommendations. First, though, I should probably get to Pig Minds because, well, it's not that far away. :)
ReplyDelete