12,000 Miles Traveled...

12,000 miles later...I am back on US soil.  


This winter holiday, I flew from San Diego to Cleveland, OH; from Cleveland, OH to Oslo, Norway; and from Oslo, Norway back to America's Finest City. I relished the quality time with family, caught up with cherished friends, and spent bliss-filled days with my fantastic boyfriend.  I caught snowflakes on my tongue, froze my butt off in the ice and cold, and shed tears when my flight was cancelled (a second time!) due to winter weather.  I was lucky enough to eat fresh homemade bread almost everyday, to give hugs even more often, and to learn to make German Linzertorte from my grandma.  On multiple occasions, I ate till I thought I would burst, but I don't regret a single bite.   I came back a few pounds heavier, slightly exhausted, but throughly relaxed and very happy.

With Christmas, New Years, and my whole winter vacation over, the feeling of letdown is heavy in the air.  Yet, the haze is parted when I think of my passion for eating well and all the amazing food that I can't wait to share with you in 2011.  

In my last post (I had a giveaway, I haven't forgotten!), I asked what you might like to see here on The Cilantropist.  Overall, many expressed they felt the content was just the right variety of recipes between sweet and savory and they loved this place just the way it is.  Fantastic!  Hearing this thrilled me to pieces, but we all know nothing is perfect.  So here's what you thought: 




-With New Years resolutions in mind, many of you are on a health kick and want MORE VEGGIES!  I do too, so great minds think alike.  
-More main dishes especially those that can be made quickly after work, or taken to work for lunch would be appreciated.   
-Anything specifically designed to feed hungry spouses is a plus. Comfort food makes you happy.    
-Some of you seem to think I am an expert baker (I am flattered!) and want to see more cakes/cookies/breads.  I will undoubtedly not disappoint on this front.  
-And finally, I appear to be running a sober operation here since I have no cocktails.  I should change that. 


I will do my absolute best to address each of these requests, and I hope you will follow along!  In the meantime, I might suggest one dish that was a veeeery early post from my blog... Spiced Lemon Cilantro Chicken Soup.  It has veggies and is healthy.  It can be a quick weeknight dinner.  You could take leftovers for lunch.  It is not a cocktail, but it is still soul-warmingly delicious and very quick to make.  


And now I would very much like to succumb to jet-lagged induced sleep, but I want to tell you the winner of my giveaway...  

Congrats to Joy Strancar!!!  

She wins the cookbook of her choice!  Though Joy does not have a blog, she is one of my loyal readers and a talented cook; she will undoubtedly use her brand new cookbook to whip up some amazing dishes!  Many thanks to Joy and everyone else for faithfully following The Cilantropist, and for thoughtful feedback. 


And for those that are interested, I will have posts up soon with more pictures from my holiday and vacation, and of course new recipes... Stay tuned.