StrawberryPlum Turns 2!

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Afternoon at the Kitchen TableJust like that, a year came and went and my little blog is celebrating another birthday.  2!  It’s been 2 years since I started arming myself with the camera upon entering the kitchen.  2 years of using my blog as a reason to spurge on figs at the grocery store.  2 years of sharing words, pictures, and recipes.

Let’s use this milestone as an excuse to take an afternoon coffee and cake break (like I need an excuse…) and spend a moment looking back on some of the best recipes and my favorite posts of the year.  Thank you for being here!

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Thanksgiving Away

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Paris RooftopsWelcome to what may be the only American food blog that isn’t bombarding you with last-minute Thanksgiving tips this week.  Instead of spending the week cooking, Matt and I are taking part in what has become our new Thanksgiving tradition: traveling.  

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StrawberryPlum Celebrates 1 Year!

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Blog Birthday

One year ago, Matt and I went for a Sunday afternoon fall drive.  When we got home, I set the table and started making dinner.  I got out a duck breast, Italian plums, a few sprigs of rosemary, and my camera.

“Uh, Sarah?  Whatcha doin’?”

“I’m starting a food blog,” I announced.  It’s probably worth mentioning I just barely knew what this meant.

“Um, right…need any help?”

“Nope.”

So Matt went downstairs to watch football and I went about making dinner, snapping a few pictures along the way.  When it was ready, we sat down and Matt gave me a “whoa this looks good” look and disappeared for a minute, returning with a nice bottle of wine.

The next day I sat in a gas station, waiting for an oil change, and penned out my first post.  I went home, pecked it out on the keyboard, and strawberryplum was launched.

And now it’s been going on for a year.  1 year and over 100 recipes.  1 year of late-night typing, 1 year of teetering on a kitchen chair while taking pictures of food.  1 year of tech woes, 1 year of learning lots of new things.  1 year of good eating.

So let’s pause for a moment and look back on the year, celebrate a milestone, and remember a few highlights.

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On Blogging

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Rush River Produce

I find my inspiration in wide skies.  Open water, blowing grasses.  Going to restaurants and packing picnics.  Reading books, flipping through magazines.  Hitting the farmer’s market or, sometimes, even the grocery store.

Editing css while crossing my fingers and praying my blog doesn’t explode is far less inspiring.  Exhilarating maybe, inspiring no.

Do you want to know the truth about writing a blog?  The truth is, it’s a lot of work.  And unless you know an awful lot about building websites, it’s a lot of work that exists within the framework of someone else’s work.

Which, I’ve learned, can change at a moment’s notice.

You might notice some changes around here in upcoming days/weeks.  I’m going to try my hardest to update StrawberryPlum and keep the food coming your way…

…without tearing every last hair from my head.

 

Sour Cherry & Almond Meringue Tart

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Sour Cherry & Almond Meringue TartThe first summer I lived in my house, I planted a cute little cherry tree in the front yard.

The second summer I lived in my house, I made 1 tiny jar of pickled cherries.

The third summer, I made a batch of cherry scones.

Last year, we had a messed up budding/frosting situation and I ate my yield of 3 cherries right off the tree.

This year, I was really hoping for a deep-dish, double-crusted cherry pie.  That didn’t quite happen, but I did have enough to make a pretty almond meringue tart.  Luckily, it turned out tasty enough to leave me thinking if I still don’t have enough cherries for a pie next year it’ll be okay. [Read more…]