A few years ago my sister thought it would be nice to make a custom calendar to give away for Christmas, illustrated with my food photos of some of our favorite recipes. Not everyone we know uses print calendars, so this is an online version for the ones published here (about 50% so far).

We picked a theme for each month and found 4 recipes we had enjoyed over and over. Some are more complicated than others, but all are worth the effort (in our view, at least – and my family does enjoy good food).

The theme for this blog was originally – and still tends to be – exploring international cuisines. There aren’t as many international recipes in this list because we were aiming for recipes that people could make anywhere without specialized grocery stores like the ones I love to find in Chicago.

It’s taken a bit more effort than I anticipated to get it finished up properly, but it definitely helped that I had half of them already included in the 90+ recipes on this blog.  It’s also inspired me to go back through the rest to get them ready for publication here, though probably still interspersed with other more international fare.

Want one of these recipes online sooner rather than later? Leave me a comment below and I’ll focus on requests before any others!

January – Soups

• Green Goddess Soup
• Salmon Chowder
• Cheeseburger Soup
• Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

February – Italian

• Rosemary Roast Chicken
• Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna
• Caprese Salad
• Lemon Granita

March – Mediterranean

• Psari Plaki (Greek Baked Fish)
• Chickpea Carrot Tagine
• Orange Date Salad
• Mom’s Favorite Hummus (to be posted)

April – Breakfast

• Sun-dried Tomato Frittata
• Welsh Griddle Cakes
• Homemade Applesauce
• Turkey Apple Breakfast Sausage

May – Tea Party (all to be posted)

• Blackberry Scones
• Ham & Cheese Scones
• Cinnamon Swirl Scones
• Cucumber Sandwiches with Lemon Chive Butter

June – Ice Creams

• Lemon-Orange Ice Cream
• Cherry Sundae Ice Cream (to be posted)
• Blueberry Ice Cream (to be posted)
• Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

July – Picnic / Grilling

• Lemon Herb Chicken
• Corn Bean Salad / Tropical Fruit Salad (in the same post)
• Grilled Fish Tacos

August – Vegetarian

• Mom’s Bean Salad (to be posted)
• Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich (to be posted)
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Greek Salad (to be posted)

September – Casseroles

• Lentil Meadow Pie
• Spanish Chicken & Rice
• Spinach Biscuit Bake (to be posted)
• Baked Corn Casserole

October – Fall Fruits

• Apple Cranberry Cobbler
• Marci’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Caramel Apple Cake
• Plum Kuchen (to be posted)

November – Thanksgiving

• Oatmeal Bread (to be posted)
• Cranberry Orange Relish
• Gourmet Green Bean Casserole
• Indian Pudding

December – Christmas

• Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake (to be posted)
• Gingerbread Houses
• Coconut Candy Trees (to be posted)
• Mom’s Christmas Cookie Slices (to be posted)

And here are all 48 recipes in one image: