Hello and Happy New Year. After a brief blogging break over the festive period, I am back and raring to go. But first, I thought I’d let you know what the most popular top ten 2015 recipes were on Tin and Thyme.
It’s been a momentous year for me and the blog. Chocolate Log Blog moved over to its new home at Tin and Thyme early in the year. It had a change of focus as well as name which has enabled me to explore a wider range of ingredients and recipes. The blog has remained vegetarian and continues to offer nourishing home cooked recipes, both sweet and savoury. Chocolate has not been forgotten and my quest to find accessible good quality ethical chocolate continues.
Thank you to all those who visit Tin and Thyme, especially to those who read, comment, share and make my recipes. It is this that makes all the hard work worthwhile. I had the great pleasure to find out last month that Tin and Thyme had been shortlisted for the Food Reader Awards. However, with the rather hectic festive period I didn’t get around to letting my readers know. So with today being the last day of voting, it would be grand if you’d take a few minutes to vote for Tin and Thyme in the blog category today.
We food bloggers are a bit obsessed by our stats, but I hope some of you might look beyond the blog-geekery and find this interesting too. I’d love to know if you have a favourite recipe you’ve found on Tin and Thyme. Oh and if you have a recipe you’d like to see on the blog, I’d be interested in hearing that too.
So, to the bit you’ve all been waiting for – your favourite top ten 2015 recipes in reverse order:
Your Favourite Top Ten 2015 Recipes
10. Cauliflower Rice and Jerk Sweet Potatoes in Coconut
Turning cauliflower into rice was a revelation. It’s a great way to enjoy a low carbohydrate meal and get more vegetables on your plate at the same time. The accompanying spicy vegan curry was delicious too.
9. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
I can’t take the credit for this recipe, which came from the rather wonderful book Homemade Memories by Kate Doran. I adapted it to make the cups a little less sweet and was bowled over by the results – eat your heart out Reese’s Pieces.
8. Rose Syrup and what to do with it
Who would have thought that rose syrup would be popular enough to make it into your favourite top ten recipes. I’ve been making rose syrup for years, but my recipe was hidden away in an old post, so I thought I’d give it the spotlight it richly deserves. Made with fresh unsprayed rose petals, it works wonderfully in all sorts of ways and in summer it makes a refreshing cordial.
Rose syrup is very simple to make and it keeps for ages. It has a whole heap of uses, so if you haven’t tried this yet, I urge you to give it a go. The key to getting a deep pink colour and good flavour is to use the petals from a deeply scented dark rose.
7. Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff Cookies
Marshmallow fluff was not something I’d tried before, but whilst developing this recipe, I came to appreciate just why it’s so popular. Ooey, gooey, sweet and sticky, I found eating it from the jar with a spoon was almost as nice as sampling one of these cookies.
6. Vegetarian Strawberry Blancmange
When given a vintage jelly mould from my mother in law, there was nothing for it but to have a go at making a blancmange – a vegetarian blancmange of course. I used fresh strawberries which gave an intense flavour to the blancmange, but I omitted to sieve the fruit, which, we all agreed, detracted from the expected smooth mouth feel.
That was a mistake I won’t repeat. So if you make this, do please sieve the strawberries in order to get a super smooth texture.
5. Nettle Tonic Smoothie
Enamoured by my new Optimum 9200A power blender, I was very keen to try a raw nettle smoothie. Nettles are just brilliant in the spring. I like the flavour and always feel good after eating them. A nettle smoothie was a new one on me, but it worked so well, I repeated it a number of times while the nettle season was in full swing and look forward to making it again this year.
4. Chocolate Biscuit Birthday Cake
Tiffin, fridge cake, call it what you will, is always a popular item in our house and so it seems with my readers too. This one was made with coconut chips and coconut liqueur and went down exceedingly well with the birthday boy.
3. Chocolate Cashew Nut Spread
I’ve made raw chocolate cashew spread and this one with roasted cashew nuts. Both were very different in texture and flavour but equally delicious. I couldn’t decide which one I liked best, though CT favoured the raw version.
2. Spiced courgette fritters
The humble fritter proved to be your second most popular post of 2015. They were very popular in the Tin and Thyme household too and are a brilliant way to use up any surplus courgettes. They are easy to make and very moreish.
1. Raspberry and White Chocolate Flapjacks
And coming in at top place, I was surprised to see just how popular these flapjacks were. True, flapjacks are a bit of an all round winner and these were very tasty and also simple and quick to bake. But please do let me know why you think they are quite so appealing.
Sarah James says
Congratulations on being shortlisted for the Food Reader Awards Choclette. Great recipe round up, I make your Rose syrup every year, it’s delicious. All the best for 2016 x
Choclette says
Thank you Sarah. I’ve been invited to the grand award ceremony later this month, which is rather exciting. So pleased to hear you make the rose syrup – it’s one of my favourite things.
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Yep! There’s definitely some keepers there! And I’m sure theres plenty more to come out of that creative kitchen of yours…… Looking forward to reading all about them xx
Choclette says
Ah thank you Kate, you say the nicest things π
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Some fab recipes here – I LOVE the look of that chocolate biscuit cake!! Great year you’ve had π
Choclette says
Thanks Becca. That chocolate biscuit cake is dangerous stuff π
Nayna Kanabar says
What a lovely round up of some wonderful and tasty recipes. Wishing you lots more wonderful blogging in 2016
Choclette says
Thanks very much Nayna – Happy New Year to you too π
Henk Kooiman says
Hi Choclette, best wishes for the New Year, with lots of inspiration for more delicious recipes and to keep your health at the same time :))
Choclette says
Thank you very much Henk and Happy New Year to you too π
Johanna @ Green Gourmet Giraffe says
Great to see the favourites – and many well deserved posts there – from the curious to the mouthwatering (which are not necessarily mutually exclusive). Look forward to seeing what you have on offer this year – and am enjoying the expansion beyond chocolate – much as I love chocolate. JHappy new year Choclette
Choclette says
Thanks Johanna. I too am enjoying the break from chocolate, though as you can see from the favourites, it is by no means forgotten π Happy New Year to you too.
Helen at Casa Costello says
Happy New Year to you! Hope you had a good break. I think my favourite of yours has to be the Birthday Biscuit Cake!
Choclette says
Thanks Helen and Happy New Year to you too. The biscuit birthday cake won me a Kenwood mixer, so it’s definitely one of my favourites π
Kate | The Veg Space says
What a fab collection of recipes Choclette, hope you’re suitably proud of a great year of blogging, and some lovely ideas. Thanks for linking to my Top 10 too!
Choclette says
Thanks Kate. It’s always quite a surprise, I find, to see just what’s been done at the end of the year.
Emma @ Adventures of a London Kiwi says
The trouble is I want to try ALL of these recipes!
Choclette says
It’s no trouble, go right ahead Emma π
Made With Pink says
What a great collection of recipes. You’ve made so many I’d like to try – especially the peanut butter cups and the biscuit cake! Can’t wait to see what 2016 holds for you.
Choclette says
Thanks very much Andrea. Both of those I found irresistible.
Nadia's Healthy Kitchen says
They all look and sound delicious! If I had to choose though, I would probably go for a slice of that Chocolate Biscuit Birthday Cake π
Choclette says
Thanks Nadia. I hate having to choose – I prefer the little bit of each approach π
Heidi Roberts says
The chocolate peanut butter cups look wonderful – they are one sweet I cannot resist!
Choclette says
I’m with you there Heidi, although there are quite a few I’m unable to resist π
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
I love all of them! My husband will be really happy if I make some white chocolate raspberry bars for him.
Choclette says
Thanks Angie. I think my husband would be happy too. He’s already moaning about the lack of goodies around the house π
Lucy @ BakingQueen74 says
What a lovely assortment of recipes, you could enjoy a delicious day or two of meals from these! I like the look of the fridge cake but will be good and try the courgette fritters instead π
Choclette says
Hahaha Lucy, as delicious as the courgette fritters are, a bit of decadent fridge cake is good for the soul π
Cathy @ Planet Veggie says
Aaaaah, these all look gorgeous! Definitely going to give the courgette fritters a go.
Choclette says
They’re really good Cathy, but summer seems such a long way away now.
Isabella says
Fab round up o your top ten, fantastic recipes – I must make that rose syrup it looks delicious!
Choclette says
Thanks Isabella. It’s so simple to make and so good – it’s amazing just how powerful one rose can be.