Three Years of Almost Italian

It has been three years. No, not since my last confession, but since I started this blog, Almost Italian, although there are some parallels. Just like in that pontifical wooden cubicle, I get to confess some indulgent practices here in the form of eating, drinking and travelling. Like many other bloggers, an anniversary is a time to reflect, despite all the daily, monthly and yearly graphs and statistics provided by WordPress, the daily view bar graphs, views by country, statistics by post, best day of the week and time of day. This information is enlightening and addictive. I am constantly amazed at the success of some posts and the dismal failure of others.

So here are my top three posts:

This lovely tart recipe, written in 2013, continues to be popular with 1,099 views this year. (2,560 in total).

  https://almostitalian.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/apricot-almond-cake-with-amaretto-easy-frangipane/

easy
Easy frangipane apricot almond cake
Lilla Pantai at night
Lilla Pantai  by the sea at night. Sanur Bali. One year ago.  Now so busy.

That’s one party, one recipe and one restaurant review. Sounds like a famous blues song involving lots of drinks. All these posts are from previous years, all contain simple and easily found titles, keeping them high on search engines.

The other bit of navel gazing that I have indulged in today are the stories and recipes that didn’t make it onto my blog due to poor photography in low light or sloppy appearance. I am blaming Melbourne’s weather for this. Here is a mosaic preview of some good recipes in the last month with lousy pics.

Healthy date and chocolate brownie
Corn chowder, grilled prawn, smoked pimenton
white polenta, chilli and garlic prawns, burnt butter capers
wild mushroom, porcini, barley hot salad
Flash chick pea burger with the lot
Grilled calamari, chilli, radicchio, parsley hot salad.
Flamiche. Leek Quiche

You, dear reader, get to choose which one of these tasty dishes to redo and post, now that daylight savings has arrived and the light is longer and there’s a chance of eating in the great outdoors again. Open each pic separately, choose the title and tell me in a comment. And thankyou for reading my ‘confession’, subscribing, liking and commenting. Your interest keeps me going. F xxthree-1

58 thoughts on “Three Years of Almost Italian”

  5. Congratulations Francesca. The most memorable post for me was the one with that lovely candid photo of your granddaughter in Italy. I also have a desire to one day make the Frangipane… How interesting that the birthday party post gets so many views. Not being into parties of any kind it surprises me. Like you I find the number of visits for certain posts a mystery. Looking forward to another three years!!

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    1. Was that the post of Mischa Belle looking a little like Mona Lisa? I know what you mean about parties- I am not that keen on them either. What is your most viewed post Ardys?

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      1. Yes, it was the post of Mischa Belle looking Mona Lisa-esque. I had to go and look up my most popular post it was on 03 March this year, Pearls of Synchronicity. At least it was one that I liked too!! I hadn’t checked for quite a while so nice to see that, thanks for the question. Have a lovely day, hope you are finally having some sunshine.

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  6. Oh. I am FAR too late into the equation to be allowed an opinion! But I SO like the sound and look of that corn chowder AND the grilled calamari . . . ‘twould be nice 🙂 ! Heaps and heaps and heaps of wishing you the best on making ‘three’ !!!!!!

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  8. Hi Fracesca. Congratulations for sticking at it for three years. I too have a small number of posts that receive the most traffic. It is a pity that we don’t get to see what people search as much as we used to. That was fun.

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  10. It’s an occasion to crack open a nice bottle and bubbles and celebrate Francesca, congratulations and cheers 🍾. The warm salads, redo the warm salads, they both look delicious. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some insight into the whys and wherefores of stats, I tried google for a while, it’s even more puzzling

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  11. PS the IMK post you wrote about returning to Kinglake after the fires and the random kindness of strangers comes back to me every time anyone mentions bushfire. The impression the raw emotion of that post still resonates with me x

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      1. Thanks Signorina. It’s odd, but all that time is still very vivid. I still find myself trawling op shops or savers looking for something, always looking. Sometimes i find it, and then I realise I don’t really need it at all. As I said to Sandra, I have another piece written just after the bushfire. I published it on blogger, then somehow blogger allowed my domain to be hi-jacked and I lost my whole bushfire recovery blog. I managed to get some hard copies of parts of it.
        In this three year old blog, I try to stay positive and write only about happy things, though an occasional rant or reflection slips in on occasion. Thanks for reading Signorina Josephina.

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    2. That post also got a lot of traffic for two years. I still think about the kindness of strangers everyday from that time. I only have to pick something up at home to remember where it came from. I have some beautiful home made quilts, anonymously signed on the back, made with love by those who care, 2009, and I use these quilts on a cold night around the fire and always read the little hand sewn notes.I wrote a piece three days after the fire, now that is an extremely raw piece. When the occasion is right, I will share it. Thanks for remembering Sandra.

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  12. Congrats on your anniversary, Francesca. 🎉I would love the calamari salad, and the date brownies. But I can’t really see what is wrong with the photos, which may show that I am not a food photographer! I am always surprised that a post I wrote on the Women’s Peace Garden in Kensington consistently gets views. How do people find it?

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  14. Congratulations Francesca on your three year anniversary of your lovely blog. I enjoy reading it. I would like to see you post the recipe for the calamari salad and date brownies . It always amazing to see what people like the most on my blog.

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  18. Definitely the Flash chick pea burger! But firstly, congratulations! I know just what it takes to keep going and reading this post I empathised with so much of what you say, why are some posts a resounding success and and others not so much when we though they were brilliant. Blogging is full of highs and lows but the fact that you are still going strong 3 years later is proof that it is mostly highs, well done and Bravo from the other side of the world x

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    1. Thanks Susan. It has been a fascinating journey, mostly due to the friends made along the way. It has been nice getting to know you recently too. A flash chickpea burger is on the list- with home made aioli, grated raw beetroot and carrot ( tres Francais) cucumber strips lightly pickled, in a roll or wrap.

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    1. Hi Beck, yes check the stats and let us know which blog is the top one for the year. The chick pea burger will get made again, and refined a little along the way, and the Flamiche too, thanks to the leek invasion in the garden. Good Veggie food that will impress any meat eater.

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  22. Well done, Francesca. I find all your posts interesting, your blogging ‘voice’ is lovely and I particularly enjoy your photographs. I love all things salad so the calamari salad sounds really enticing and I’m trying to get my husband to enjoy more legumes and pulses so the chickpea burger sounds good – but then I was tripped up by ‘healthy’ and ‘chocolate’ – it brings out my inner Cookie Monster :). I was surprised to read you’re not a party person – you make such great parties. Thank you for the pleasure – oh, and the lovely almond recipes too.

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    1. Hi Jan, Thank you for following, and I always enjoy reading your comments too. That calamari salad is perfect for the great outdoors soon coming our way so shall definitely redo it. Will it ever be the same one as last time? Doubt it as this recipe seems to get repeated here at Casa Morgana in many different guises. Years ago, there was a fab restaurant on the edge of Brunswick called Helikarnos. They made the most amazing Medit food, and one of those dishes was a calamari salad. Every time I get my hands on some super fresh cala, I channel my Helikarnos memories.
      The cookie monster brownie will be done again for sure- it was vaguely healthy, and the burger too.
      I like preparing for a party if I have my team buddy daughter on hand- makes the whole thing more pleasurable, in between drinks and silliness, some course language and too much stress.

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  24. Pingback: Four years in | Napoli Restaurant Alert

  25. Congratulations, Francesca. Can’t wait to see where you’ll take us in the next 3 years. If I must choose, it would be the apricot-almond tart. I’ll choose any baked good with almonds every time.

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