Fresh Apple Cake for My 3rd Blogiversary!

Can you believe it? 3 years ago today I felt compelled to put myself out into the universe through this blog and here I am today, transformed by the experience. What an amazing journey this has taken me on!

As the story goes, when I started this blog, it was at the beginning of my creative resurgence. My renaissance. I reconnected with an old friend from high school and was inspired once again, after far too many years of ignoring that part of me. I enrolled in a Shakespeare course. I signed up for Creative Writing. I pulled out my DSLR and got to work capturing the world. And I decided that dreaming about becoming a published author someday without actually writing was a tad ludicrous. Hence, the blog began.

It wasn’t about food at first. I was too afraid. What did I have to add to the conversation? Who would be interested in what came out of my kitchen? They say you should write what you know, so I wrote about the community around me. And soon discovered that I knew more about my kitchen than what would be the hip thing to do. As a mother to two young children, I spent more time in my kitchen than in night clubs and theatre seats anyway. And just like that, poet in the pantry became a food blog.

There have been a lot of unexpected benefits to inviting you all to my table. This last year, in particular, has been one of many exciting opportunities!

• I participated in the #SeriousSandwich cookalong in honor of the release of Emeril Lagasse’s latest cookbook, Emeril’s Kicked-Up Sandwiches.
• I attended a luncheon where I discovered another fabulous reason to visit Australia–the food!
• I joined Anna Curran of Cookbook Create and a bevy of bloggers in tours of the test kitchens at Bon Appétit magazine, The Daily Meal, and Food52.
• I attended my first conference–though it was really much more of a retreat–and was filled with inspiration at a time when I was feeling quite drained of it.
• And I won a recipe contest–something I never even dreamed could be possible!–put on by Kerrygold Cheese and Butter.

Yup, it’s been quite the year!

It wouldn’t be anything without all of you, though. This blog exists because you are here reading it. Like the tree that falls in the forest, if you were not traveling along this road with me, it would be as if none of this happened. Thank you for your continued support!

So this celebration is really more about you than me. And in your honor, I baked you a Fresh Apple Cake–perfect for this time of year! The best part? It’s a one-bowl operation. Toss everything together, spread it in the pan, and you’ll be eating in your own honor in no time! (Psst! I give you permission to eat the entire cake, if you so wish! It’s YOUR day, after all!)

Thank you! May there be many more blogiversaries we can celebrate together!