A Glimpse of 2011 and a Look Ahead

As the last of my immediate family members moved away from New York in early 2011, I was feeling somewhat detached.  I wanted to fill my time and energy on doing things I enjoy.  In retrospect, I believe I subconsciously decided 2011 will be an adventurous year for me.  I then immersed myself into cooking, eating food that I love and crave.  I met even more wonderful food-loving people than the previous year by attending potlucks, dinner meets ups and conferences.  Speaking of conferences, I attended TECHmunch which was my first bloggers conference.  I also got a last minute ticket to The Big Summer Potluck, and met a slew of wonderful people. I also got to travel.  All and all, it was a year full of new experiences.  I realize how much I enjoy sharing my passion for food and cooking with those who have similar interest.

Below are a few pictures of my trip to Vietnam.  I also included some pictures of the events I attended this past year.  The highlight for me was meeting Chef Thomas Keller.  He was so gracious and awe-inspiring.  I also enjoyed the opportunity to attend the Professional Master Classes at Omnivore NYC.  I got to see amazing chefs demonstrate their dishes.  I was extremely impressed by Mads Refslund as his inspiration is to make dishes with local ingredients he finds in Denmark.

What do I look forward to in 2012?  I want to meet and connect with more food-loving people.  I hope to travel to more places and eat my way through an island or country like I did in St. Croix and Vietnam.  I look forward to the IACP conference in NYC this year, and would love to attend more conferences.  I plan to attend more potlucks, meet ups and food events.  I wish to develop and create more recipes for my blog.  I hope to be more creative with the food that I make.  I seek to learn new techniques in cooking and photography.  I must continue to do things that make me happy.  As everyone is making their New Year's resolutions, I suggest you include something you love to do for yourself.  It could be as simple as going to a new restaurant, take a cooking class, take a dance class, travel or learn a new language.  It could be anything you enjoy, and the possibility is endless; so go for it!