SNIPPETS: WHERE WE TRY TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS

I have to confess I never thought this blog would last this long.

I thought it would be one more thing I start enthusiastically and quickly tire of. I know it's only been 8 months but I'm still as excited and nervous about putting a post up as when I started in June. I  feel terrible if I'm not posting things regularly (and I know I havn't been) or if something doesn't turn out looking the way I want when I hit publish.

In 8 months I think I've barely managed to get the basics together - the blog presentation, font size and post format. It's going to be a long time before I manage to master sufficient technology to make this mess of food writing presentable. But there are moments I consider milestones (which most right thinking people would probably consider obvious glitches).

Anyhoo, barrelling on with the things I've learnt:

1. I really like taking pictures but it's shocking how mediocre I am at it and also how *@#&*$% difficult it can be. It seems easy. Just hit the round button on the top of the camera but don't even get me started on how much I obsess about lighting. It's why I hate all my restaurant review photos - I usually go out for dinner and all these places with soft, warm, romantic lighting just end up looking dim and vaguely orange.

2. Recipe writing is really hard. Till a friend pointed it out recently I realized I never mention how many people a recipe will serve. I know that's really obvious but it didn't even strike me and now of course I'm mortified and can't believe I missed it.

3. I worry about strange things. This is true for me generally also but now I spend a lot of time being anxious about whether I should specify cup measures or gram measures. I'd like to use cup measures because I assume anyone trying to cook will at least have a cup at hand but I can't be sure these are standard measures and if it's a fancy baking thing I don't want you to buy all those expensive ingredients and end up with a puddle of flour and eggs because the proportions don't work. Wow. That was a long sentence. It's because I worry.

Apart from my fears (there are many more which I won't bore you with now) there are things which make me really happy about this blog. No, it's definitely not it's wild popularity (it is the world's smallest food blog I'm sure).

Starting to write restuarant reviews has been a lot of fun. I really enjoy it and since I eat out a lot it's nice to put my two cents in. I apologize to all my lunch and dinner companions for my embarrassing, tourist-y photo taking every time we go out. So there are definitely going to be more of these. Also I'd love to hear if you disagree. I mean it's great if you agree but I'd be really interested if you had a different experience at these places.

Also, guest posts! Love 'em! Not just because I'm lazy but because when someone is doing something awesome I want to tell everyone! So far I've introduced you guys to Vrinda who has contributed very many exciting recipes I wouldn't have the courage to try, Lekha who with Danish has her own blog that I love, Radha and her lovely blog and Aashmita's adorable illustrations.

I'd like if this was a more regular thing so expect to see more blogs I love, people I admire and projects which I think are interesting. It might not all be food related but then I promise to supply a recipe so nobody forgets this is the world's smallest food blog.