Happy New Year 2022 to all my blog friends! |
| 2021: The year of Brood X Seventeen-year Cicadas! Here: cicadas on a kitchen towel. |
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| Also this year: more vegan and vegetarian cooking. Here: potatoes, cauliflower, and peas in vendaloo sauce. |
I hope your year in 2022 will be better than the end of 2021. If you celebrate New Year's Eve, I hope you have some lucky foods like Hoppin John (lucky in the South) and herring (lucky in Norther Europe, which is what we had a year ago). For more info on this, see my post from last year: "What to Eat for New Year's Good Luck."
The year 2021 was much more varied than our locked-down 2020. We started going places as soon as we were double-vaccinated in March. Here are some highlights of year, with the emphasis on our travels and our favorite food experiences.
January, 2021: Michigan
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| Curbside pickup from the great store By the Pound -- how we lived during the long Covid lockdown. We hope things don't get that bad again, but who knows? |
February, 2021: Michigan
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| In February, I researched "The English Breakfast" for an article that was published this fall. Here are Sherlock Holmes, Watson, and a client about to eat a breakfast of curried chicken and ham and eggs. Illustration by Sidney Paget (1860-1908). |
March, 2021: Fairfax, Virginia.
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| Finally: we left Michigan! In Fairfax, Alice and Evelyn made TikTok pasta: Feta cheese and cherry tomatoes to celebrate our first trip after receiving our second Covid vaccine. The dish was very famous for just over 15 minutes! |
April, 2021: West Lafayette, Indiana
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| We finally got to see Elaine and Larry. She made one of her divine apple pies for us. |
May, 2021: Birding in Southern Arizona
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| We loved the Mexican food, as well as the birds, during our birding trip in southern Arizona. |
June, 2021: Fairfax, Virginia
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| Back in Fairfax for Alice's high-school graduation. We celebrated with a barbecue. |
July, 2021: Iceland
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| After a long, cold ride in a Zodiac boat, we were served hot chocolate by some "Vikings." One of many food highlights on our circumnavigation on the National Geographic Explorer. |
August, 2021: Bar Harbor, Maine
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| Which Maine specialty is more photogenic -- blueberries or lobster? We ate lots of both on our 10 days in Bar Harbor. |
September, 2021: Michigan
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| We didn't go far in September, but Elaine and Larry came to visit us, and she brought the ingredients for another fabulous apple pie. |
October, 2021: Oregon, Washington, Idaho
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| Traveling on the National Geographic Quest, we saw the beautiful Columbia and Snake Rivers of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. On our last full day we visited some Idaho wineries. |
November, 2021: Thanksgiving in Fairfax
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| Duck, dressing, gravy, squash bread, cranberries, vegetables, red wine! |
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| It’s been a year with some great apple pies! Thanksgiving dessert was Alsatian Apple Tart. |
December, 2021: a month at home
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| The day before Christmas: Eggs Benedict by Miriam, Alice, Evelyn, and Tom. |
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| Update: Our New Year's Eve dinner: vegan Hoppin John with cornbread for luck in the new year. |
Happy New Year! As Dave Barry says: "Nobody knows what 2022 will bring. Will it suck as much as this year? Will it suck more? Or will it suck a LOT more? These appear to be our choices." (source)
Blog post © 2021, mae sander.
Despite the shadow of the pandemic over us, you still managed to have a wonderful year. I am much taken with the traveling you were able to do. The bird trip sounds especially fun.
ReplyDeleteHere's to a happy 2022!
Mae, I love this post! You always have a beautiful outlook and it comes through to me. I will be making some good luck foods and keep traditions that will follow through the year. The one thing I do know, is that love keeps it all together. Wishing you and your family the very best 2022 has to offer.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos and memories! I'm so glad you were able to travel this year and most of all, spend more time with your beautiful family. And it looks like a delicious year, too! I look forward to 2022 and having that meet-up that didn't happen in 2021! Here's to a happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you also Mae. It looks like it was a wonderful year for you, and I hope 2022 is even better!
ReplyDeleteWow a great recap of your year! You were able to travel quite a bit despite the pandemic which is nice! I like your Icelandic excursion picture, the funny vikings. Here's to many more fun travels in 2022! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteWhat a joyful post to end the year, Mae. You were a LOT braver than I this year and you ventured a lot further than I. I remember all of these wonderful posts and I loved seeing how you celebrated 2021. I wish you a joyous 2022. Let's hope it's better than the previous two years.
ReplyDeleteI just read Dave Barry's humorous article. He is SO clever. I loved it and am still laughing. Thanks for the entertaining end to 2021.
ReplyDeleteYou had such a blessed 2021. May 2022 hold many more!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful review.
ReplyDeleteTo a great 2022!
I love your year end roundup. Lots of great food and memories. That's a very cool cicada towel.
ReplyDeleteLove that cicada kitchen towel. And it's always fun to see (and revisit) your travels. So glad you were able to get so many trips in this year! I want to make that pasta dish with feta and the vindaloo, too! :) And, gotta love Dave Berry!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I enjoyed this overview. The not ever eating out is getting old, isn't it!
ReplyDeleteThe Dave Barry quote/paraphrase made me laugh! Thank you for the chuckle and the recap of your foodie highlights of 2021!
ReplyDeleteLovely to see your round up of the year's highlights - am quite jealous of all your travels. But also very pleased for you that you were able. Best wishes with omicron! And all the best for a happy and safe 2022
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you Mae and your family. I'm here always for the vegan and vegetarian cooking that is appearing on your blog - i smiled at the TikTok pasta!; and of course your travel - into' me to places i will never visit
ReplyDeletehappy happy 2022 to you!
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