Hello dear friends. Thanks to all of you who have emailed me to ask where on earth I am these days and why so quiet. Thanks as well to those of you reading anyway, despite my prolonged absence(s) this year.

I made some dietary changes towards the end of this year that meant I had to spend a lot of mental energy thinking about food. So much so, that I wasn’t really baking or cooking new dishes. Instead I was just focusing hard on what I could (and couldn’t) eat. All that mental energy didn’t leave me with much desire to create new things here. Oh, I also went to England for a little bit recently, which is where I ate the sausage and mash you see at the top there. It was easily one of the tastiest things I ate all year long.

I’ve been baking a lot of cookies over the holidays (Nigella’s Christmas Chocolate biscuits and these Ottolenghi Cranberry and White Chocolate biscuits to be precise) and it’s been a lovely reminder of how much I enjoy baking. I’ve missed it, actually.

I’m a nostalgic soul and love to reminiscence, especially at the end of the year when there’s so much to look forward to but also a lot of good stuff to remember fondly. Here are the 12 most popular recipes from this site in 2012.

For whatever reason you got here, I’m glad you came and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about or making some of these recipes this year. Cheers to a wonderful year ahead!

12. Meyer Lemon Cake

11. No-Churn Coffee Ice Cream

10. Savoury Cheddar-Chive Waffles

9. Meyer Lemon Curd

8. Earl Grey Chocolate Cake

7. Buckwheat Pancakes

6. Roasted Winter Vegetable Salad

5. Salted Chocolate Nutella Cookies

4. Warm Spiced Breakfast Quinoa

3. Victoria Sponge Cake with Lemon Curd

2. Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam

1. Steak and Ale Pie

We’re hosting Thanksgiving this year for the first time. It was decided just a few days ago and I’m so excited! (Here’s why Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays, even as a Brit.) I thought I’d share what we’re thinking of serving. Please share in the comments what you’re making – or looking forward to eating – so we can all be inspired and share ideas!

Turkey
Cranberry sauce with orange zest and fresh nutmeg
Classic stuffing (though this cornbread sausage stuffing looks delicious)
Gravy
Perfect roast potatoes
Mashed maple sweet potatoes
Roasted carrots
Green beans with almonds and thyme
Warm bread rolls

Pumpkin pie
Fruit cobbler
Chocolate pecan pie

P.S. My First Thanksgiving and other thanksgiving side dish ideas.

Top image by Katie Quinn Davies / What Katie Ate
Bottom image by Erin Jang / The Indigo Bunting

Today, I just want to tell you about this stew.  I made some last weekend for dinner and to fuel my lunches through the first chilly week of autumnal weather we’ve had. It’s delicious.

Really hearty – full of butternut squash (both chunks and mashed to thicken the stew), shredded chicken, quinoa  – and inherently very good for you indeed. The flavourful broth, herbs, and olives all bring a little pow! to make this wholly satisfying and such a great reintroduction to the kitchen for me.

The recipe is from Cookin’ Canuck and I urge you to go over there right now, jot down any ingredients you don’t have on hand, and get about making it sooner rather than later.

P.S. The winner of ‘My Berlin Kitchen’ by Luisa Weiss has been announced! Thanks so much to everyone who entered and left such thoughtful comments – they’re really worth reading.