My Seven Links

I was thrilled to be nominated by my friend Debbie of Gourmet Traveller to keep the Tripbase  “7 Links” Project going.  The project is described as a way of uniting bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.  For me, all I had to do was search through my blog archives and provide links to 7 of my blog posts under pre-assigned categories, post them and then pick five other bloggers to do the same. So without further ado, here’s a little walk down memory lane through my 618 posts…

Your most beautiful post
For me, this was a tough choice. I do not consider myself a photographer, though I have learned a lot in the past 2.5 years. And I try.  Food styling isn’t really my thing as you might have noticed by my minimalistic approach to photographing the dishes I make.  I merely try to make the food I write about look as appetizing as possible and sometimes I succeed.  But to look back over my posts and choose what I think is the most beautiful? Very difficult.  And perhaps you won’t agree with my choices (I have two, couldn’t decide) but as I keep reminding myself, photography is very subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I never thought I might choose a post with meat as the key ingredient as one of my “most beautiful” posts and, indeed, much of the post is not pretty and well-styled because, well, it’s showing the process of making prosciutto.  I am, however, very proud of my very first Charcutepalooza product – duck prosciutto.

I couldn’t think of “beautiful” posts without thinking of my boys’ cooking club, Les Petits Chefs.  Any one of these posts are beautiful in my mind – I mean, what’s more adorable than those little hands creating fabulous food? – but the one I chose and am infinitely proud of is when they made chicken tikka masala from scratch (including the curry paste) in under an hour for my Project Food Blog entry – Picture Perfect.

Your most popular post
Far and away, my most popular post (and it’s only a few months old) is “How to make macarons – what’s working for me right now.

Clearly a post with “How to” ranks very well in Google searches and I know it got a lot of Stumbleupon love but looking at the comments, it’s also one of my most commented posts (apart from contests). Clearly, macarons are still enjoying their moment in the sun. Which is just as well because there’s a LOT more macaron love coming up on my blog (including a fabulous giveaway on Wednesday!).

My second post popular post is actually my About Me page.

I was shocked by this but actually fairly pleased.  I’m glad you’re all interested in who I am!

The third most popular post (ranking up there with About Me) was my Guacamuffins and Guacpops for Cinco de Mayo.

This was my entry in the Avocadoes from Mexico Cinco de Mayo Blogger challenge. I didn’t win the contest but obviously these were a hit with a lot of readers!

Your most controversial post
Probably the post I struggled with the most in terms of deciding whether I should post it or not was Not the Daring Bakers – it’s ok to say no.  In this post, I talked a little bit about being very ill this past spring and of the journey to decide to take some time off my PhD.

I don’t usually post personal stuff like this and I didn’t want it to be sappy and over the top but it was helpful to write it down and I was blown away by the support I received.

I haven’t really had many controversial comments in my blogging career so far but the post that received the closest to what I would call controversial comments would be Being on Reality TV – being me, trying my best and having fun.

I also had a hard time writing this post. I went into the whole thing way too naively (Yes Neil, you were right!) but the process was fascinating and I wanted to capture that. The post elicited a couple of unpleasant comments about how I had been portrayed (I really am a great dinner party guest, trust me!) – but again, I was overwhelmed by reader support (and readers chiming in to defend me against the naysayers).

Your most helpful post
It’s got to be “How to make macarons – what’s working for me right now

I think any post named “How to” and which includes step by step pictures is helpful.

A post whose success surprised you
Every single day, I get a substantial amount of hits from people searching “how to make rice cakes” and they end up on one of my very early posts – How to make rice cakes – not the Quaker ones!

For everyone who has searched this term and ended up on this page, I apologize for the poor photography and lack of real information in this post. It’s obviously time for me to figure out how to make rice cakes and post a recipe, non?

A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved
Every year around Christmas (oh, and Thanksgiving, and Easter and Valentine’s Day and 4th July and Mothers’ Day – do I need to go on?), I get to the point where I simply cannot read about holiday indulgences any more. I mean, I love food, yes, but I have my limits.  Last December, my Petits Chefs gave up an hour of their time and I used a $200 gift certificate from Kraft Canada to purchase ingredients for the boys to make food for Out of the Cold.  Les Petits Chefs raise awareness about hunger was one of my least trafficked posts ever and this made me sad.

No, it wasn’t a “pretty” post but it was real. Little boys making food for people less fortunate than themselves? This should have been one of my most popular posts. Never mind, in my head, it’s one of my favourites and I know the boys’ parents were super proud of them. And the people who ate the food they prepared were very grateful. That’s what counts.

The post that you are most proud of
I never imagined I would be posting cooking videos of myself online when I started this blog but the post I found myself most proud of is my Project Food Blog Video 411 entry.  This was truly a joint effort with Neil and I totally could not have done this without him.  I still get emails today from people who have made the dish telling me how much they enjoyed it 🙂

So there you have them. My (a couple more than) 7 Links. I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane with me.

I’m passing the baton over to the following five bloggers – I can’t wait to read their posts:

Penny of Addictive and Consuming
Conor of Hold the Beef
Winnie of Healthy Green Kitchen
Amelia of Z Tasty Life
Andrea of High/Low Food/Drink

43 thoughts on “My Seven Links”

  1. This is so much fun to read! I am intrigued by your guacamuffins. I’ve never read that one and those look so delicious! I love all your pictures, and that duck prosciutto one is definitely beautiful!

    Reply
  2. I love seeing the list of posts and the reasons why you choose them. I have read most of the above and the ones I haven’t read already I’ll be checking out now, especially the one about the boys making food for those who are less fortunate. I feel terrible that I missed it!

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  3. Mardi:
    What a wonderful walk indeed through your memory lane.
    The duck prosciutto is worthy of being on a book cover.
    As far as the macarons, I now know where to go when I attempt them (again…!). I was fascinated by your more personal thoughts in your “controversial” posts, which allowed me to know you a bit better, but my favorite is absolutely your PFB video!!!
    BTW, I am honored you chose me to pass on the baton!

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  4. I just looked through the 7 links again. Those Guacamuffins looks awesome. I am definitely going to make them. I love Guacamole. In fact, I put guacamole dip in the smoker once.

    I’m always looking for different ideas for burger ingredients. I think I just found a new one!

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  5. Great post, taking stock and choosing can be quite tricky . The mac post is brilliant and yes I did it and they were good, no wonder it’s so popular. I would award you a bravery award for appearing on TV , not sure about the ‘expert’ imported from the UK anyway… Maybe the next step is for you to have your own TV show? 🙂

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  6. Such a wonderful collection of posts. You should be very proud. This is one of my favorite blogs and I love when you feature the little chefs and step out of the safe zone. As a blog writer, its easy just to post one sweet after another because it is what usually receives the most comments, but I want my blog to be more well rounded than that. You always offer the perfect balance of food, instruction and personal experiences. Great job.

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  7. Wonderful round-up of posts Mardi! You continue to inspire me with all of the different projects you endeavor and how you push yourself to constantly improve. Thanks for thinking of me to continue 7 links – I hope to do it justice!

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  8. What an interesting project idea and I thoroughly enjoyed this trip down memory lane with you. I missed the post on how to make rice cakes so I went and read it. I really must try to do those one day. I love rice cakes with peanut butter and honey! Going back however, made me realize how much of your blog I have yet to read and I wonder where I shall find the time to catch up on all the posts before I started to follow you regularly. I loved your post on your reality TV show and have no doubt you and Neil both would make the perfect dinner guests. Wish I could seat you at our table one day.

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  9. What a nice recap. I recall all of those, except for the rice cake post (that was a little before my time with you)
    Proud of you for a number of those posts, especially the video and your decision to say no.

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  10. Gosh… I have to get cracking. Thanks for the opportunity babe. I am in love with that duck prosciutto too.

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  11. I love all the posts you chose here Mardi.
    You’ve done so many fantastic ones, though, so must have been hard to choose!
    I am really looking forward to this exercise, so thanks for passing this challenge on to me!

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  12. It’s been months since you put up that video and my daughter, to this day, asks for me to play it for her. :))

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  13. Oh Mardi, thank you.

    Not only have you just shared some bloody good posts that well and truly deserved another airing, you’ve lifted me out of a total writing slump – even if it is momentarily – and for that I’m ever so grateful.

    I think you chose your posts really well and I’m particularly glad you chose your Project Food Blog video post as your proudest because I was super proud of you for making that too 🙂 xx

    Reply
  14. Pingback: Almost 2 years blogging: my ~7 best posts | Z Tasty Life

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