Happy New Year 2022 to all my blog friends!

2021: The year of Brood X Seventeen-year Cicadas! Here: cicadas on a kitchen towel.

Also this year: more vegan and vegetarian cooking.
Here: potatoes, cauliflower, and peas in vendaloo sauce.

I hope your year in 2022 will be better than the end of 2021. If you celebrate New Year's Eve, I hope you have some lucky foods like Hoppin John (lucky in the South) and herring (lucky in Norther Europe, which is what we had a year ago). For more info on this, see my post from last year: "What to Eat for New Year's Good Luck."

The year 2021 was much more varied than our locked-down 2020. We started going places as soon as we were double-vaccinated in March. Here are some highlights of year, with the emphasis on our travels and our favorite food experiences.

January, 2021: Michigan

Curbside pickup from the great store By the Pound -- how we lived during the long Covid lockdown.
We hope things don't get that bad again, but who knows?

February, 2021: Michigan

In February, I researched "The English Breakfast" for an article that
was published this fall. Here are Sherlock Holmes, Watson, and a client
about to eat a breakfast of curried chicken and ham and eggs.
Illustration by Sidney Paget (1860-1908).

March, 2021: Fairfax, Virginia.

Finally: we left Michigan! In Fairfax, Alice and Evelyn made TikTok pasta: Feta cheese and
cherry tomatoes to celebrate our first trip after receiving our second Covid vaccine.
The dish was very famous for just over 15 minutes!

April, 2021: West Lafayette, Indiana

We finally got to see Elaine and Larry. She made one of her divine apple pies for us.

May, 2021: Birding in Southern Arizona

We loved the Mexican food, as well as the birds, during our birding trip in southern Arizona.

June, 2021: Fairfax, Virginia

Back in Fairfax for Alice's high-school graduation. We celebrated with a barbecue.

July, 2021: Iceland

After a long, cold ride in a Zodiac boat, we were served hot chocolate by some "Vikings."
One of many food highlights on our circumnavigation on the National Geographic Explorer.

August, 2021: Bar Harbor, Maine

Which Maine specialty is more photogenic -- blueberries or lobster?
We ate lots of both on our 10 days in Bar Harbor.

September, 2021: Michigan

We didn't go far in September, but Elaine and Larry came to visit us, and she brought the ingredients for
another fabulous apple pie.

October, 2021: Oregon, Washington, Idaho

Traveling on the National Geographic Quest, we saw the beautiful Columbia and Snake Rivers
of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. On our last full day we visited some Idaho wineries.

November, 2021: Thanksgiving in Fairfax

Duck, dressing, gravy, squash bread, cranberries, vegetables, red wine!

It’s been a year with some great apple pies!
Thanksgiving dessert was Alsatian Apple Tart.

December, 2021: a month at home

The day before Christmas: Eggs Benedict by Miriam, Alice, Evelyn, and Tom.

Update: Our New Year's Eve dinner: vegan Hoppin John with cornbread for luck in the new year.

Happy New Year! As Dave Barry says: "Nobody knows what 2022 will bring. Will it suck as much as this year? Will it suck more? Or will it suck a LOT more? These appear to be our choices." (source)