Four Years and Greatest Hits

You know a blog is in a rut when it doesn’t even celebrate the anniversary of its own creation. Yep, The Messy Apron just sailed by its 4^th birthday without even the smallest treat to acknowledge it. Not even a cupcake.

The good news is that there have been a lot of recipes posted here already (most of them listed in this index), and a few of them have been around long enough to become a “Greatest Hit” of sorts. These are the recipes in the top five most visited posts on The Messy Apron.

 

1) Barley Pancakes with Orange Juice and Vanilla

 

The popularity of these pancakes makes me think I should be making them more often myself!

 

2) Spaetzle with Cabbage, Bacon and Onions

 

Last year, I received a package of apple cinnamon pasta as a gift, and it was fabulous in place of the spaetzle in this dish.

 

3) Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Roasted Tomato and OliveGalette

 

I love these roasted cherry tomatoes, which can be used to sauce pasta in addition to filling this galette. If I have time to make it, however, I would choose to use my tomatoes in the galette over just about anything else. If only summer would come!

 

4) Pasta Salad with Cauliflower and Mustard Lemon Dressing

 

This is one I haven’t made in a long while. Perhaps it’s time for a recipe revisit!

 

5) Milk Chocolate Chip and M&M Cookies

 

I don’t need to sell you on how good these cookies are. The recipe title says it all. I’ve been making people happy with them for years, no matter the season.

As for what lies ahead in the next year for The Messy Apron, your guess may be just as good as mine. I wish I had more time to try and post new recipes, but I see a lot of working weekends in my near future. I hope to include a lot of produce from my own garden in the next several months. Unfortunately, while at this time last year I had peas and arugula coming up and making big promises, Spring 2013 is shy (or stubborn) and refuses to show itself. All I’ve got to demonstrate that I have a garden at all is an especially muddy patch in the back yard and brave but stunted clump of emerging chives. I’m afraid “seasonal” won’t mean leafy and green for some time.

Thanks for reading for some or all of the last four years. And please come again to see what kind of messes I’ll be getting myself into next.

 

One year ago: White Beans with Arugula and Sun Dried Tomatoes