The Birthday Blog

Tomorrow is my blog's first birthday ... wow. How did a year pass so quickly???

My first post was a bit of an introduction to the stream of consciousness and cheerful babbling that readers would find, a rambling and tangential discourse from someone who has a nasty tendency to be verbose and who wasn't quite sure how to present herself to the world. After all, there are how many blogs out there, and blogs devoted to food? Why would anyone read mine, follow mine, care about mine? I have no particular pedigree or claim to fame; I just love to cook, to bake, to eat and to write!

And yet, I built it and you came! As of this morning, I have nearly 600 followers (not that everyone actually reads what I post each day, but ...). Of all those followers, I have a coterie of very dear friends whom I try to check in with daily, who offer encouragement and praise and -- most importantly -- their hearts; and you're people I would never, ever have had the joy of knowing without this little platform of mine. Too many of you, unfortunately, live just way too far from Ann Arbor!

I've always maintained that people bond over food, even in cyberspace. Even if we're not sharing a table or kibbitzing over choices at a buffet, we're still sharing recipes and stories and friendship ... and these, of course, are the vital ingredients (pun intended!). Because I always want people who come to visit me to feel as though we're in the kitchen preparing food, gossiping, laughing, and enjoying nourishment not just for our bodies but for our souls.

So thank you -- thank you far more than I can convey in a blog post -- for having taken time out of your busy lives, with so many other blogs and media competing for your attention, and sharing my food adventures with me. You've been with me through holidays, through ups and downs in my life, through happy occasions ... it wouldn't have been the same without you, truly ... :)

So rather than a toast to my blog, here's a toast to all of you! May we all share many more birthdays together!

Image: maple / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Our First Anniversary

Tom and I corresponded for a long time before we finally met each other face-to-face; he first contacted me on November 20 of last year, after some intervention from our guardian angel -- his sister Anne. But we didn't officially meet until after Christmas, several weeks later. We had breakfast at The Broken Egg, a comfort-food breakfast/lunch restaurant of supreme excellence, on December 26, 2009 ... which means that this past Sunday was the first anniversary of our first date.

So, of course, we went back to The Broken Egg for breakfast!

Neither of us could decide what to eat last year, and ultimately went to opposite extremes: Tom ordered a huge plate of bacon, poached eggs, toast and fried potatoes which was too enormous to finish, and I ordered oatmeal with fat, juicy raisins after he mentioned it as we perused the menu and it just sounded good.

The menu is extensive, God help me, with everything from standard pancakes and waffles to 4-egg omelettes and specialty items. Sunday's features ranged from Elvis French Toast (the famous peanut butter and banana sandwich immersed in custard and fried 'til golden) to the Devil's Breakfast (eggs and vegetables with spicy chorizo and jalapenos). What is an indecisive girl like me to do???

Tom indulged in a repeat performance of last year's feast, as I debated the merits of the Peruvian Breakfast Stew featuring chicken and green olives. But knowing that the portions are huge, I vetoed this excellent-sounding dish; I can't bring fleishig ([FLAY-shig] = flesh, literally) to work because of Jewish dietary laws and the potential mixing of meat and dairy. Therefore the inevitable leftovers would have to stay at home, and we still had plenty of cinnamon rolls and fish pâté and deviled eggs and roast beast and potatoes and gravy and cookies and candies from Christmas. We didn't need to contribute further to that cause.

So I chose the Vegetarian Breakfast Stew, which isn't really a "stew" (but that doesn't matter because it's delicious): scrambled eggs sauteed with red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, sweet caramelized onions, and hash browns. Oh, and both meals came with multi-grain toast, because stingy portions are not something The Broken Egg offers!

Tom ate everything but a few of his potatoes and the fattiest parts of the bacon (he's very conscientious about such things, always checking fat and sodium and sugar contents while I'm shoving anything into my mouth that tastes good!). I, on the other hand, despite a truly noble effort -- and anyone who knows me knows I'm an excellent eater who can consume far more than most people believe I can -- still had enough of the stew staring back at me to provide lunch for the next two days ... and we all know, I don't do stingy portions either!

So, here's to the first of many anniversaries, and to Tom's and my 2nd Annual December 26th Breakfast at The Broken Egg ... :)