Today, February 18, 2022, is my blog’s fourth anniversary! During this last year, I have published exactly 100 posts, a great contrast from my first year of blogging, during which I amassed 184 posts. I like to think that, over time, I am writing less frequently, but in more depth; the average word count per post in 2018 was 873, and for last year, it went up to 1,028 … yikes! Either that, or I am becoming less efficient getting my point across. The number of views, regular visitors and likes all went up from previous years, and my visitors’ world map is almost completely covered, except for some understandable exceptions, such as North Korea, Iran, etc. (and still quizzical, the elusive Greenland!) Speaking of maps, the one at the top of this post shows Mexico’s 32 entities (including Mexico City, which ceased to be a Federal District in 2016). All are labelled, but there are eight in lighter grey ink, indicating states I have not yet featured on my blog: Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Durango, Guanajuato, Quintana Roo, Tlaxcala, and Zacatecas. I hope to diadem my blog with the achievement of having featured each of them, before the next anniversary comes around.
Only one of my all-time top five posts has changed from last year. The new comer is my story and recipe of the Chocoflan, sometimes called impossible cake, a dessert composed by a layer of custard baked together with a layer of chocolate cake. To shake things up a little this year, instead of posting my top five again, I am featuring my post with the least views ever. The topic of the post is corn on the cob; corn (maize) is the staple grain in Mexico, where it was originally domesticated about 10 000 years ago. Nowadays, there is an enormous amount of corn varieties, with different shapes (short or long, thin or chubby), colours (from shades of off-white and yellow, to orange, red or purple), flavours (sweet, more mature), and textures (floury, waxy, crisp), and many of them are used in Mexico to prepare the delicious treat featured in the post; it was published in 2018, during my first year of blogging, so maybe it just needs a little more exposure:
Post 103 – Mexican Corn on the Cob – Elotes de sabores
(Originally posted on September 7, 2018)
Vendors in Mexico offer this traditional treat on the streets of towns and cities, stands around a picturesque plaza and – during harvest season – by the side of country roads, right next to the corn fields. An oversized pot of simmering water keeping the corn hot, and a small wooden table set with toppings, is all that is needed to make the crowds crave a plump ear of corn, dressed with the toppings of their choice … click here to visit the original post, for full story and printable recipe.
As always, I would like to thank all the kind readers who have followed my stories and recipes, often offering their feedback, encouragement, and friendship. It is with great pleasure that I start my fifth year as a blogger, to continue sharing My Slice of Mexico with you all!
Map from Wikipedia Commons; the copyright holder grants permission to copy, distribute and/or modify, as long as an attribution and link to the license is provided. Labels and legend were added for this post.
My Slice of Mexico 
Congratulations, Irene. I’ve learned so much from your blog and hope to continue doing so. Very awesome inclusion of a map with a legend of regions you have featured and those you will. As to corn on the cob we have pretty much 2 choices around here. Some variation would be good.
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Thank you, MsJadeLi! I always appreciate your feedback. Yes, here in Southern Ontario pretty much the same variety as yours, hehe, but the local corn in the summer is pretty good.
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You’re very welcome 🙂
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Congratulations, Irene! Cheers, Ashley
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Thank you, Ashley!
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Yikes indeed. My average word count is about a hundred. It goes down each year. But I deliberately write as short as possible.
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Those limericks sure have a concentrated punch!
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Felicidades! Happy anniversary. Thanks for keeping us apprised on the wonderful food of Mexico!
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Thank you, Rebbeca!
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Congratulations to you, Irene! Onward to year # 5!
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Thank you, Lois!
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Congratulations on the fourth anniversary of your blog and on all of the delicious recipes you’ve posted over the years.
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Thank you, Fandango!
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Congratulations on your blogiversary, Irene! My 4th rolled around last month, so it seems we’ve been sharing this journey. I post less often as I go along, but also think maybe the quality has improved a bit over the years. Keep on bringing your yummy stories!
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So cool our blogs are the same age, happy belated blogiversary! I enjoy all your posts, ancestry related of course, but also your own anecdotes and travels.
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Congratulations, Irene. You have inspired me to try Mexican cuisine at home with great success. Here’s to many more years of blogging!
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It makes me so happy to know my recipes are useful, thank you, Punam!
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Felicidades por su buen trabajo. Such a gift you are to the world, with your mouth-watering recipes, gardening lore, cultural education, amazing journeys and all with a light heart and all-around fun! So glad that I found your blog and so happy to receive your insights! Muchas gracias. Encantada.
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¡Victoria, muchas gracias! You are always so generous and kind in your comments, and I appreciate so much that you read and review my posts, even though oftentimes there are ingredients you cannot include in your diet. It is an honour to have you over at my blog, as well as being a regular visitor at yours, enjoying your beautiful poetry ¡Abrazos!
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Well, you certainly know how to make me beam with pleasure! Thank you so much, Irene!
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Congratulations, Irene! Your posts are way more that just a food blog. You offer insights into different cultures and I enjoy it when you delve into history. I look forward to many more years of your writing!
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Thank you so much!!
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Congratulations on your fourth blogging!
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Thank you!
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