I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with lots of great food, family and friends. I just wanted to pop in here one last time before the end of the year and share a little recap of the recipes I have loved the most this year. 2018 was a wild ride. This year I dealt with a period of burn out, which threw me for a loop. I felt my creativity tap turned off and felt a lot of stress and anxiety.

Cooking was something that really helped during this time. I even read an article about the rise of anxiety baking last week – so I’m glad I’m not alone! PS, it’s a great article, give it a read. Baking (especially anything that involves kneading dough) has always been a way that I relax and unwind. I really want to take this rediscovered passion into 2019 and share a lot more content here. I published 17 recipes this year, and I loved them all, but these 8 (+1 bonus recipe) below were my very favourites.

1. Papaya Fruit Boats with Grain Free Granola

You know how much I love to make homemade granola, but this recipe took it to the next level. I really loved this textured nut and seed based ‘grain free’ granola as one of the toppings on a papaya boat, along with coconut yoghurt and a lot of fresh fruit. Seriously, this was a really delicious and healthy brunch that I would love to eat every day.

2. Berry and Rose Wagon Wheel Slice

This recipe just had to make my Best of 2018 list. I loved every single layer seperately – the coconutty base, the raspberry and chia jam, the vanilla and rosewater marshmallow and the chocolate topping. But when you took a bite and tried them all together the result was sublime. A delicious and nostalgic treat.

3. Blueberry Acai Smoothie & Chia Parfait

While the Papaya Boats are a little more extravagant, this recipe looks a little more like the breakfast I would eat on a day to day basis. I will usually have a smoothie OR a chia pudding, but this time I decided to combine them together and the result was absolutely delicious.

4. Pork Meatball Vietnamese Salad Bowls

I eat a salad most days, but they are usually not as pretty as this one! This Vietnamese inspired salad has been one of my absolute favourite recipes this year. It’s the perfect balance of flavours and textures. I even made my own carrot and daikon pickles, which really transformed this salad into something special. 2018 was also the year I discovered that I love radishes.

5. Earl Grey Chocolate Chip Cookies

I would say this was the most crowd pleasing recipe of the year! Making this recipe was pure comfort baking for me, exactly what I needed when I was dealing with a lot of anxiety. The ground French Earl Grey tea was such a beautiful addition. I made a big batch of these cookies and ended up giving most of them away to friends, who absolutely loved them.

6. Blueberry Crumble Cake

I made this cake for the first time back in 2010, but it is one of my favourite afternoon tea or picnic cakes. I decided to republish it this year, as the original pictures made me cringe a little and my photography skills have come a long way since then! I’ve made many versions of this cake over the years using different fruit for the filling, and I know I’ll continue to make it for a long time to come.

7. Roasted Strawberry Paloma

This drink was a surprise, because I thought I didn’t really like grapefruit or tequila but I loved them together with roasted strawberries in this Paloma! It was a super refreshing cocktail that I can’t wait to experiment with more over this summer. I am already imagining other delicious flavour combinations, but this was definitely a winner.

8. Fig Crumble Tart with Honey Whipped Ricotta

This Fig Galette was another recipe that came from my archives that I was compelled to update and re-photograph and I was so pleased with how this version came out. Baked fruit desserts have always been my favourite, especially when I can showcase seasonal ingredients.

9. BONUS Spicy Pork and Tahini Noodles

Okay okay, this recipe was not published this year, but it is seriously one of my favourite dishes. My housemate taught me this recipe, and we seriously make it at least once a month. It is such a delicious and easy dinner that is packed with flavour. I hope you’ll give it a try in 2019!