Happy New Year…Wishing You a Delicious 2021!

What began as our little pandemic project together – to share what we were cooking, baking and eating with a wider audience than just our family group chat – has been so gratifying on so many levels.  We loved hearing from friends and family near and far about how much they enjoyed a particular recipe or what they make that is similar.  We enjoyed documenting our culinary successes and expressing how much a recipe or meal means to us.  But it has also been a lot of work – a labor of love to be sure – but something that we took on knowing that we were not going to keep at it indefinitely. We have decided that the end of the year is a good stopping point for our blog.  The pandemic is not over, but there is a clear path forward and we are hopeful that life will increasingly return to normal in the coming months.

Katya:  I have particularly enjoyed being able to showcase Noah’s prowess in the kitchen.  I admire the way he learns not just a recipe but the technique and culinary philosophy behind it.  I am so proud of him for the smart and accomplished person he is, but there is a special kind of pride that comes from seeing your adult child take something you tried to teach and model when he was young and totally make it his own.  Our shared love of food is a bond we have that will see us through many culinary adventures in the years to come, and I now have a long list of things I want him to make for me the next time we are together.  Kitchen Kinship ended up being a really apt name for this blog because there is a kinship we all feel when we appreciate good food.  But when that kinship also applies to your relationship with each other, and not just to your relationship with the dishes you are making and enjoying, that takes it to a whole other level.  It has been a really special ride.

Noah:  I also never imagined that this little pandemic project would last this long (add to the list of things I didn’t expect about this year), but I’m so glad we got to do this together. I think this blog will be so interesting to revisit in the future, both as a log of all the great food we made and a chronicle of this weird year. I think we’ve both done a lot of new exciting things in the kitchen, partially because I needed things for this blog, but also because finding new recipes or techniques was a proven way to distract myself from the craziness of this year. Not that this year was all bad – I got married, bought a house, and adopted a second dog. But even as I continue to hit these milestones and get closer to starting a family of my own, it’s important to remember the things that connect me with my parents and the things we share. I’m so glad I got to do this project with my mom, and share our love of cooking with so many other people.

We plan to continue our culinary adventures and we look forward to the day when we can cook together, side by side, in one of our kitchens.  We will continue to gush about how well something turned out and laugh about a kitchen fail, but with a smaller audience.  What will remain constant is our love of making good food, learning about it, and, best of all, eating it. And our love for each other, which has been a nice thing to express during this challenging time when we have been unable to be together.  We wish all of you kitchen kinship as well, in whatever form that takes in your own lives. Thanks for sharing this adventure with us.