Year One

One year ago today I wrote the first blog post on this blog. To say it was a hasty decision would be an understatement. 2 days before I decided I was bored and tired of my old blog—that it just didn’t have the right direction or focus I wanted. In class I scribbled down on a piece of paper everything starting a new blog entails: A name, a design, a facebook page, business cards, even what I would change my twitter handle to. The next 48 hours I worked tirelessly making all of that a reality, buying the domain name and throwing together a header for a simple format, and starting writing.

After a year, not much has changed. And I’m glad about that. The header looks different, and my writing and photos(I hope) have both gotten better. But I still feel as passionate and determined on the focus of this blog as I did on day one. It’s made me try new things, as big as working at a restaurant for 3 months to little things like trying to make authentic macarons(which were a huge fail between you and me), and for all of that I am grateful.

I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate one year than looking back at what are my 10 favorite recipes, the ones that I still go to bed thinking about and end up making time and time again. I wouldn’t be surprised if in another year these are still favorites of mine. Maybe looking at these you’ll find a favorite, too.

December 28th 057

Cheesy Rosemary Flatbread—For something that I made without cheese or gluten, these are incredibly tasty.

Micrwave-Fudge-Piece

Microwave Fudge—What’s more dangerous than knowing you can make fudge in your own microwave?

April 1st 037

Burnt Caramel Sweet Potato Mash—This one never really caught on, and I can’t imagine why. It takes mashed potatoes to a whole different level.

almond-flour-brownies-top

Almond Flour Brownies—The perfect gluten-free/grain-free brownie recipe in my mind. It’s the one I go to first above all.

January 11th 124

Vegged-Out Quinoa—If you think you don’t like quinoa, this just might be the recipe to change your mind.

Chocolate-peanut-butter-bars-bite

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars—The name says it all with these. And just 4 ingredients, too!

April 3rd 019

Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Vinegar Bean Salad—Bean salad is never the hit of a party, but I think this recipe is an exception.

hazelnut-chocolate-cake

Raw Vegan Hazelnut Chocolate Cake—Easily my most popular recipe ever.

January-6th-067

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus—Another recipe whose popularity astounds me. One taste and you’ll understand why, though. It’s deceptively healthy for something so delicious.

March 28th 102

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Fudge Sauce—Technically only the sauce is my recipe, and the cake is Godiva’s. It was a good enough cake to make for my birthday last year and it will be good enough to make again this year.

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33 Responses to Year One
  1. nicole
    October 18, 2011 | 9:17 am

    Congrats on the 1 yr aniversary!

  2. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga
    October 18, 2011 | 9:31 am

    Congrats, Evan! I remember waking up to your new blog a year ago and thinking wow, that came out of no where. It’s interesting to hear your reflections on it, i.e. a hasty decision 🙂

    Thanks for recapping the last year of great eats…I would like to try one of everything!

  3. Kierstan @ Life {and running} in Iowa
    October 18, 2011 | 9:33 am

    Congrats on 1 year of deliciously amazing posts! Your blog has become a go-to place to look for new recipes to try out.

  4. christina
    October 18, 2011 | 9:42 am

    happy anniversary! you’ve come a long way in a short period of time. your photos are wonderful! 🙂

  5. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga
    October 18, 2011 | 9:50 am

    Btw, did you switch to BlogHer recently? I swear I thought you were with FoodBuzz just a little bit ago. Just curious how things are going and hope it all worked out for you.

    And your FG gallery…congrats. It got big…like overnight 🙂

    • Wannabe Chef
      October 18, 2011 | 12:39 pm

      Yep, just last week so it’s pretty new.

  6. Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
    October 18, 2011 | 9:52 am

    Congrats on 1 year!

  7. Valerie @ City|Life|Eats
    October 18, 2011 | 9:54 am

    Congrats on one year Evan! I actually did something similar with my blog about 18 months ago – changed the name literally overnight, and a lot of the things about the focus, so I can totally relate to your post 🙂

    Question for you – are all your recipes in your archives gluten-free or most of them?

    • Wannabe Chef
      October 18, 2011 | 12:39 pm

      There might be a few from 2+ years ago that aren’t gluten-free but most are either explicitly or with an easy substitution like gf all purpose flour substitute. Anything that’s pictured I made using gf flour.

  8. Lindsay @ Lindsay's List
    October 18, 2011 | 10:49 am

    Just one year?? You seem like a seasoned pro at this!! Happy anniversary dude!

  9. lynn @ the actor's diet
    October 18, 2011 | 11:15 am

    wow i can’t believe it’s only been a year?!? congrats!

  10. Elizabeth
    October 18, 2011 | 11:16 am

    Congrats on making it to one year! Even if it meant I cleared a whole room of people from my fiber overload, I’m pretty sure I’d still eat that bean salad! All those recipes look great, especially that chocolate cake at the very end. Yum!

  11. Anna @ On Anna's Plate
    October 18, 2011 | 12:17 pm

    Happy (new blog) anniversary!!!

  12. Clare @ Fitting It All In
    October 18, 2011 | 12:41 pm

    happy 1 year to one of my fav. recipe blogs. need to make that quinoa

  13. Kristina @ spabettie
    October 18, 2011 | 1:50 pm

    congrats on a year of tasty goodness! I just bookmarked this post, because I pretty much want everything in it. 😉

  14. elise
    October 18, 2011 | 1:57 pm

    happy birthday to the wannabe chef! look at all those highlight recipes!! yum yum yum.

  15. Samantha
    October 18, 2011 | 5:49 pm

    I am very thankful for your maple baked bean recipe… It has become MINE! And for the butter toffee nut butter yum! Also I turned your dessert hummus into pb bean blondes. My family likes you, indeed!
    Thanks!

  16. Errign
    October 18, 2011 | 6:14 pm

    Woo hooo for one year of TWC – your dessert hummus recipes are still some of my faves!

  17. Melissa @ TryingToHeal
    October 18, 2011 | 9:42 pm

    Yay for one year! And I want to make those brownies! I totally forgot I had saved your recipe for them!

  18. KellyB@goodfoodtripslife.com
    October 18, 2011 | 10:28 pm

    Wow. That veggie quinoa looks awesome. This is my first trip to your site, but def won’t be my last. Love your recipes. 🙂

  19. The Candid RD
    October 18, 2011 | 10:36 pm

    Evan, I need your help! We just got some almond flour and chickpea flour into our store, and I need some recipe ideas! I love your almond flour brownie recipe, I just looked at it and can’t wait to try.
    Happy one year!

  20. Abby @ Abz 'n' Oats
    October 18, 2011 | 10:41 pm

    Happy 1 Year Anniversary! 🙂 Thanks for the reminder about that dessert hummus–to die for!

  21. Hannah
    October 19, 2011 | 12:40 am

    Happy blog birthday! I’m so glad you made this decision, otherwise I never would have known my brother had a doppelganger (or that you have a doppelganger) and would never have seen this post leading to your burnt caramel mash. NOM NOM.

  22. Ela
    October 19, 2011 | 2:42 am

    Happy Anniversary–good to hear about this blog’s inception and the ways it’s continuing to fuel and inspire you.

  23. Claire @ Un Bello Aperitivo
    October 19, 2011 | 6:15 am

    Happy One Year! I’m so happy I don’t have an oven because then I’d perpetually be making your almond flour brownies. My hips are thanking me for that, but my tastebuds are rioting.

  24. Alexia @ NamasteYoga
    October 19, 2011 | 6:51 am

    congrats to your 1 year blogversary 🙂 your 10 favourite recipes look delicious and all of them have a personal twist to them! GREAT!

  25. Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers
    October 19, 2011 | 7:17 am

    Congratulations! I understand about changing your blog when you started. I did the same thing, and I am still changing it! Cheers to you for 1 year! You have great recipes and I look forward to reading about them and creating them!!

  26. Pure2raw twins
    October 19, 2011 | 8:17 am

    congrats on one year!!! love seeing blogs change over the days…we know our blog has changed a lot since we started blogging.
    change is good 😉

    love seeing all these amazing recipes!! so many good ones to check out

  27. brandi
    October 19, 2011 | 9:52 am

    congrats on 1 year!!! i’ve yet to make that choc. chip hummus…i need a food processor!

  28. Dalai Lina
    October 19, 2011 | 12:39 pm

    I’m so glad you posted your favorite recipes! It really helps narrow down what you want to try. For me, it will be the brownies!

    Congratulations on a year and keep up the great work!

  29. Erin @ Big Girl Feats
    October 19, 2011 | 1:03 pm

    Happy blog anniversary!!! Celebration at WildFlour again – and I promise not to talk about myself for 14 hours this time 🙂

  30. Russell van Kraayenburg
    October 24, 2011 | 1:59 pm

    Congrats on the one year mark!!