It was kind of a surprise when Jes tagged me for the 7 posts meme that's been going around. Thanks, Jes!

LET'S DO THIS

Most beautiful post

All the posts I think are beautiful seem to involve pictures of tomatoes. Look, here are tomatoes at the Santa Cruz farmer's market, and in an awesome pasta pomodoro, or in a massive salad of excellence.

I'm defining "beautiful" with respect to the pictures, not the prose. It's always super gratifying when I get a picture that turns out really well--like this one--because I am not a particularly good photographer.

Most popular post

Yam fries and coffee for breakfast. I went back and checked my stats for the entire 4.5 years of blogging to find this one. Slowest loading time ever!

This post is popular because I give away the secret of the yam fry dipping sauce from Seva restaurant in Ann Arbor. The secret is very easy! It's just mayo mixed with Ann Arbor's special local hot sauce, Clancy's Fancy. Of course, if you live in another part of the country, getting your hands on some Clancy's Fancy is a little difficult...or it would be if they didn't have an online store. Go forth!

Most controversial post

I honestly don't generate a lot of controversy over here. I mean, I'm an omnivore who eats vegetarian or vegan a lot of the time, but I've never been in a situation where I have to balance between those camps. I don't discuss politics much, and don't get any disagreement even when I do. I don't take militant stances on nutrition, restaurant eating, or sourcing food, though my opinions clearly inform my prose. I don't have any trolls to feed; I don't do corporate sponsorships.

The only post that's provoked any real vocal objection is Crispy crunchy soggy spicy, in which I advocate the use of plain yogurt on top of apple crisp. Yogurt is actually very good in this application. Perhaps you are horrified, but it's true! Besides, we never have any vanilla ice cream in the house.

Most helpful post

I think the big veg broth FAQ is a huge deal. Making veg broth is awesome! and easy! and practically free! So few people know how to do it, and so many people should. Make all the vegetable broth, & your food will be so much better. Don't worry; you can still compost all the vegetable scraps when you're done boiling them.

A Post Whose Success Surprised Me

Hmm. The response to Kale fagioli was a surprise, mostly because it seems like such an obvious idea to me. Doesn't everyone make huge, burly pasta sauces with winter greens and/or white beans? Isn't this the main way to make vegetarian pasta a feasible meal?

A Post I Didn’t Feel Received the Attention It Deserved

Well, since I'm not going to cite the great veg broth FAQ twice, I will say soup with popcorn garnish is the big one. Popcorn on soup! Why is everyone not making popcorn and using it to garnish soup (that's totally made with your aforementioned homemade veg broth)? It's by far the best when you add the popcorn a few kernels at a time, so it's just beginning to melt by the time you get it in your mouth.

The Post I’m Most Proud Of

I'm not specifically proud of any one post; it's more about the long-term nature of the project. I'm coming up on five full years of food writing! That makes me really happy, because while I am excellent at being a modern dilettante of all trades, I am not that great at independently following through on huge projects. I am following through on this one, though. Go me!