Year one Blogiversary & Molly Yeh’s Funfetti Cake

one year. wow. I can’t believe it. mostly I can’t believe that I was able to stick with blogging for a whole year. I wouldn’t consider myself a quitter (cough cough you know who you are) but to stick with something that has no real deadlines or accountability takes a lot of effort and discipline. Again, many a times, I have been told that “homework” is one of my strengths and when you think about it blogging really resembles homework, especially when you have a full time job.But still, I can’t believe it!  

So reflecting on this year, it’s really been an eventful one for me. I started this blog last year, right after graduating with a dual masters degree in nutrition and public health. This blog gave me something fun to do as I painstakingly applied to jobs and then all of a sudden, I was offered my current job working in childhood obesity and within a couple weeks, I had moved from Boston to Washington DC. Since then I have learned so much about blogging and cooking and am so happy to continue to share recipes with you.

In this year, I have featured 23 fruits and vegetables in over 100 recipes. And in case you missed a week: Acorn Squash, Apples, Apricots, Asparagus, Blueberries, Broccoli, Butternut Squash, Carrots, Cauliflower, Cherries, Corn, Figs, Grapefruit, Mango, Pears, Pomegranate, Pumpkin, Strawberries, Sweet Potatoes, Swiss Chard, Watermelon, and of course Zucchini! My goal in creating this blog was and still is to teach others how to cook easy healthy seasonal meals. Along the way, I hope to instill in my readers the importance of reducing food waste, how to small batch cook, and how to appreciate cooking for yourself and others! It’s really important!

In terms of blogging, one of my favorite things I did this year was attend a book talk/signing by Molly Yeh (who by the way was just named to Forbes 30 under 30) put together by an awesome group here in DC, Pineapple DC. In her book she talks a lot about how she was a very picky eater as a kid (mom-even worse than me!) And how her love of cooking & food comes from the fact that when she goes to new restaurants, she is often trying something for the first time and doesn’t have negative memories of sitting at the table until she ate the last Brussels sprout. I loved meeting Molly and could really relate to her confessions of a picky eater, though I am still hesitant to try new foods. However, similarly, I fell in love with cooking because I loved creating dishes that fit my  taste preferences.

By the way shout out to Molly who also hates Bananas. Not my cup of tea.

 So, to celebrate my first year of my blog, I made Molly Yeh’s funfetti cake! I made one small substitution, almond milk for whole milk (I just cannot do whole milk). The recipe is from her awesome cookbook Molly on the Range, but can also be found on the Food 52 website.

Have a slice and celebrate with me!