Year One

I can hardly believe that I started this blog a year ago today. At the time I was searching for a job and searching for a project that would keep me busy and give me a sense of purpose at a time when I felt that I wasn't accomplishing much at all. People start blogging for all sorts of reasons-I guess I just wanted to feel like I was leaving some sort of mark on the world, a record of the things I loved and had accomplished. This blog has gone from being read only by my close friends and a few family members, to having hundreds of views each month. This is a very modest readership by blog standards, but I'm still really proud of how far Laine's Recipe Box has come. Having an audience, no matter how small, has inspired me to try more recipes and become more innovative with my own culinary creations. Now that I'm gainfully employed, I wish had at least some of that free time back to cook!

My greatest culinary inspiration is local ingredients. I am lucky enough to live in the city with the nation's largest producer-only farmers' market which I shopped at every Saturday (save for one when I was out of town camping) from its first weekend outdoors in April to its last just this past weekend. I picked up my first winter CSA from Primrose Community Farm last week and I'll be happily shopping the indoor farmers' market until I can resume my Saturday walks around the square and the Willy Street Co-op is my primary grocery store. I get every ingredient I can from local companies and finding new products from local companies gives me great joy, which I want to share with as many people as possible. It's with this enthusiasm for all things Madison and Wisconsin that I'm launching a new project-Laine's Local, where I want to share all manner of Wisconsin things that I love, from food products and restaurants to stores and events. This blog will have a culinary slant, at least to start, but I can't wait to see how it develops. If you like Laine's Recipe Box, please check out Laine's Local!