Making a comeback!

It's been a while. Oddly enough, I've been kind of busy. Who knew a baby would take up so much time? He's a pretty cute distraction from the blog, though.

Our food adventuring ground to a halt before and after Luke arrived, and I've just regained the energy to play around in the kitchen again. I've got itchy feet, but since we won't be travelling anywhere soon, I'm planning to continue exploring the world of food from my kitchen and neighborhood.

This blog started in January 2009, when I was an antsy, vaguely unmotivated grad student. I got the idea to set a cooking challenge for myself, selected 20-odd dishes to learn how to make, and muddled my way through fun dishes such as tamales, mole, dolmades, and potstickers. It was fun, and overall (I think) a success- I learned a lot of new techniques and more importantly- I gained a lot of confidence in the kitchen. I was enthusiastic about food before, but I think learning how to make seemingly complicated dishes has heightened my appreciation of various cuisines.

Then, we moved. To rural Kenya. It was a challenge to cook fancy and familiar foods there, but I enjoyed having something to do while Nathan worked and I job-searched. Then I got pregnant and my enjoyment of food disintegrated into a sad, dismal heap. It took a while to regain my tastebuds and a stable stomach, but in the mean time, I enjoyed blogging about horrible train rides, Kenyan weddings, and hyenas.

But now! I'm back! I'm hungry, I'm slightly less sleep-deprived, and I have a baby who is about to start eating solid foods! Not only that, but I'm living in a house with a gloriously huge kitchen complete with a 6-burner gas stove. Six burners! Imagine!

Needless to say, I'm inspired, and I'm looking forward to lots more food explorations in 2012. I've been concocting a plan for the next year's worth of culinary adventures and I'm excited to learn more kitchen-y tricks this next year.

Did you notice a difference in the blog? It's pretty, yes?! I gave Nathan free reign over the design of the blog and he cooked up this beautiful design. I love it, and the new look makes me look forward to more blogging. (Unfortunately my photo quality probably won't get better anytime soon, since my best and most convenient camera is my iPhone.)

I'll be back soon to share my personal food challenge for 2012- I'm looking forward to exploring food from a range of experiences: from my stovetop to restaurant visits, from the farm to my kitchen, and exploring new (to me) cultures, food-related books, and some ethical food dilemmas as well!