Three years ago, on July 22, 2012, I launched My Mixing Bowl with a recipe for garlic scape pesto.  It's become a bit of a tradition for me to post an annual recap on my blog's anniversary (here are the first and second anniversary blog posts).  Over the past year, I've written 90 posts--here are some of the highlights:

Recipes

• In keeping with the fact that this is a Minnesota blog, my favorite new vegetarian entrees are cold-weather recipes: Miso Ginger Sweet Potato Soup, Peruvian Potato-Bean Stew, and Lemon-Herb Chickpea Casserole.
• Most of my cookie-baking is for potlucks, and Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Maple Glaze and Janine's Soft Sugar Cookies are perfect for a crowd.
• I usually just eat leftovers for lunch, but if I'm feeling ambitious Chickpea Waldorf Salad makes for a satisfying midday meal.
• My proudest culinary moment of the year was making a Maple-Walnut Cranberry Pie for a belated Christmas celebration.
• Although I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, Sockeye Salmon Cakes reinforced my conviction to never, ever become a bona fide vegetarian.
• I finally got around to posting a few longtime favorite recipes: Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies, Indian Pudding, and Chocolate Zucchini Bread.

Restaurants

• We had an amazing Valentine's Day dinner at W.A. Frost, and I'm saving up for a wedding anniversary dinner at this St. Paul fine-dining icon.
• The surroundings are humble, but the food at Eat Street's Jasmine Deli (Vietnamese) and Harry Singh's Original Caribbean Restaurant is top notch.
• We visited Cossetta Alimentari several times over the past year for a cheap trip to Italy, complete with pizza, pasta, fresh bread, gelato, and amazing pastries.
• I finally posted a review of the Blue Nile, one of my go-to restaurants.  If you've never tried Ethiopian food, this is a great place to start.

Travel

• Although I had some mixed feelings about the International Food Blogger Conference, I loved my first trip to Seattle--there were lots of visits to the Pike Place Market, walks along the waterfront, and a trip to the top of the Space Needle.
• Our annual trip to Boulder featured lots of ups and downs, but we enjoyed spending time with Mike's family and eating amazing chocolate from Piece Love and Chocolate and pizza from Beau Jo's.
• The major vacation of the year was to New York City, where I ate my way through lots of bagels and pizza, the Union Square Greenmarket and Chinatown, and a life-altering piece of cheesecake and amazing bowl of ramen.  In between meals, we took in non-food sights like the Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  New York is an amazing city, and we already have a list of things we want to do (and eat!) on our next trip.
• Much closer to home, we took a scenic drive up Lake Superior's North Shore on MN 61 and spent a long weekend in Grand Marais.

Miscellaneous

• I posted my annual recaps of the State Fair and summer in the Twin Cities, and wrote about my visit to the first-ever Minneapolis Holiday Market.
• I hosted dinner parties to celebrate Midsummer and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and made a chocolate pie to commemorate the Pi Day of the Century (3/14/15).
• I reviewed all 19 varieties of Ritter Sport chocolate currently available in the U.S.
• I started my freelance career with some articles in the CityPages.

This will be my last anniversary post for My Mixing Bowl--in September, I'm transitioning to a new domain name.  All of my existing content will be moved to the new site, and I'll be adding a professional design, social media presence, and a monthly newsletter.  There are big transformations ahead, and I'm excited to share them with you in the coming months.

But some things won't change--my love of CSA produce, my commitment to honing my writing skills, my passion for travel, and my contentment with my home in the Twin Cities.

And there will always be garlic scape pesto.