A year ago my mom and I posted our very first Persian food recipe — for a huge rice-meatball stuffed with prunes, caramelized onions, raisins and walnuts, served with its own tangy and savory broth, otherwise known as the yumalicious koofteh berenji. It feels both like yesterday and also forever ago that we started on our excellent adventure of blogging. It’s a happy milestone and I’m a bit verklempt.
![](https://figandquince.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/41-persian-food-blog-cooking-redpepper-cake-rainbow-birthday1-1.jpg)
Starting this blog has been a rewarding experience – no doubt about it. It gives me and my mom (who was the muse and catalyst for creating Fig & Quince) a stimulating venue to bond and it has triggered (and I hope it will continue to trigger) precious stories from my father (ordinarily a man of a few words) that otherwise would have remained hidden treasures. It has also offered me a positive way to express and channel my love for Iran — to trade saddening homesickness for a passionate mission of cultural-exchange and a happy pursuit of recipes and stories — and into the bargain, it has even rekindled my romance with an old flame – photography – big time.
A huge pleasure of this venture has been that of getting to know many interesting & diversely delightful people, bloggers and non-bloggers alike, that I’d never have had met otherwise with the cherry-on-top bonus of forging and fostering meaningful connections and budding friendships. Continuing in this corny manner (once I get mushy this way there’s no going back till I get on the subway and am promptly cured of my infatuation with humanity) I have to say that I’m grateful to-the-core for everyone who reads this blog and keenly appreciate your emails, comments, links and any-other-way (including telepathic) gestures of support. It’s definitely fuel for keeping on with keeping on.
Let’s have a virtual slice of cake!
![](https://figandquince.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2-persian-food-blog-cooking-redpepper-cake-rainbow-birthday1-1.jpg)
While you are enjoying your sugar rush, I’d like to tell you that Fig & Quince will have its very first guest post (by one of the aforementioned fascinating people I have been lucky to meet via this blog – so excited!) and that also we’ll have our very first giveaway (something made by moi as a token of saying thank you to toi) in the coming week or two.
And oh, the amazing rainbow cake with the marzipan bunny decorations? My sister made it all from scratch with her very own delicate hands for the birthday of a special quelqu’un fond of bunnies and rainbows — impressing young and old and ageless.
Khoda hafez till later.
![tahdigh-cake-persian-food-blog-cooking-redPepper-cake-rainbow-birthday](https://figandquince.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/tahdigh-cake-persian-food-blog-cooking-redpepper-cake-rainbow-birthday1.jpg)
ps. This is a tadigh cake! Invented by my father as a little joke on someone’s birthday.
Happy First Anniversary Azita! I speak for myself… the pleasure was all mine. Through your blog, you brought me smiles, laughter and fun friendship. I hope we will celebrate more anniversaries together for many years to come and bring joy to each others lives. xoxo Fae. \ 😀 /
P.S. Your Sister’s cake looks yummy!
Thank you dear Fae :))
I hope so too! Also: del beh del rah dareh! xoxo
Congratulations Azita! You have a wonderful blog and I’m looking forward to the next year!
Thank you Patty!! We may not share a love of beets but we so share a love of puns and that’s what matters!
Absolultely!
Happy first anniversary! You absolutely hit on all of the things I find wonderful about blogging as well. So glad to have found Fig and Quince and look forward to continuing on the journey with you.
Weird! I thought I’d replied …. anyway, one more time with feeling: thank you very much Danielle! I’m also very happy to have found your blog. Look forward to reading more and getting to know you better and better
Fab! Well done, both of you. And to think I still haven’t made your first post! Shame on moi.
Thank you! I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t made it since last year. It has caramelized onions Johnny! it pretty much has your name on it ha ha
Congratulations on the 1 yr anniversary and I am excited for whats to come. The cake is amazing!!
Thank you! Meeting you was a milestone too 😉 (the cake made the birthday boy’s eyes as big a saucer when he cut into it!)
Thank you Kenley!
I am a newbie, and I appreciate having found you!
Hi newbie … I mean Tina! 🙂 Thank you for commenting and hope to see you around here often! – azita
Happy 1st anniversary! As Ostad Yoda would say, may Fars be with you! http://www.aref-adib.com/archives/000333.html
That’s hillarious! (Don’t shoot a life saber at me but have not ever watched Star Wars just bits & pieces here & there to get references)
Also: Thank you! Shoma yekki az on avalin commenter ha bodin & I love your work. Specially when you play with food.
Belated Happy Birthday! Gorgeous photos – that cake looks amazing 🙂
Thank-you for all the joyfulness you bring into my life this past year!
whoa! thank you! I hadn’t even read this before I made you an offer via email and that offer now stands with double the feelings if possible
ps Neglected to say: ditto. As in your blog brings lots of smiles and joys for me as well.
I would take a tadig cake over a real cake any day!
🙂 gotta say, a tadig cake does have its charm! one stone: two birds
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