Lemon and Olives Turns 1

One year ago today, Jane and I launched Lemon & Olives. Neither of us can believe a whole year has passed already!

(we’re going to reflect a bit, if you don’t have time to read it, just skip to the bottom for the giveaway information)

Last night we were discussing some of our favorite memories from the past year.

Some of them were:

• Creating an outlet to express our passion
• Communicating with people from all around the world
• Meeting people that share our passion with Greek cuisine
• Pushing us to become better cooks, and learn food.
• Realizing that food brings people together.
• Connecting with my Greek roots and sharing the experience with Jane
• Receiving comments/emails/Facebook messages like the following:

”You help to fill a very sad void in my life since all my Greek relatives have passed on. There is no greater masterpiece than the sight of family sitting together at a table”

”With the parents passing and the sibling moving to other areas, it’s very hard to recreate the atmosphere of that [Greek] lifestyle I so dearly loved.——UNTIL I got your EMail. [referring to our ebook and newsletter]

”Thank you so much. Just thank you. With your help I can show my kids the food I grew up on. I always wished I had wrote down my grandparents recipes.”

”Because of you guys, I am connecting with my greek roots- Love your blog”

Obviously, we get our share of emails that aren’t as nice. But that’s ok. Everybody has a right to their opinion. Greek food is full of passion and rooted in our past. Making something different than how your yiayia used to do it can be considered food treason. We get it. We only hope that in time you’ll give us a try – that or some of your yiayia’s tips!

Overall, the good definitely outweigh the bad. We knew there would be a certain level of negativity when we decided to put our recipes out there for the whole world to see. It’s ok, we’re going full steam ahead and focusing only on the good.

Today however is to thank all of you. Everyone who’s shown us love and support. Honestly, while we love cooking Greek food, it is our readers that keep us going. You guys push us to deliver better recipes, quality recipes, and keep moving forward.

Running a food blog is hard work. There is so much cooking, recooking, writing, shooting, recooking again, editing, and finally posting.

What you can expect in year 2

While we do have some top secret stuff we can’t talk about right now, there is still some stuff we can discuss.

For starters, more Greek recipes. We’re going to continue our exploration of all the cuisine Greece has to offer. There is still sooo much more to see. You’ll get more Greek culture posts, travel post, and some stuff about our wedding planning (you’ll get to see what it’s like to get married in a Greek church).

You’ll also see more of us. We’re going to be bringing you into the kitchen, taking more photos of us. We want to continue building our connection with our readers, so we’re going to open up. You’ll not only see us cooking, but also finding ingredients, trips, vacations, etc., anything we can share with all of you.

The Giveaway!

As a thank you, we want to give back to our readers, who have given us so much in terms of support this past year. Below in the entry form for entering. We’ll be giving away the following:

What you could win:

**1 Papoutsanis pure greek olive oil soap bar
**1 small bottle of either Kalamata or Cretan olive oil (winner picks)
**1 bag of Greek cut oregano
**1 cooking apron with the Lemon & Olives logo across chest

To enter, just fill out the form below. Each item you do will get you MORE entries into the drawing and thus a better chance of winning. Therefore, there is a great benefit to doing all of them. You’ll have to subscribe to our newsletter to get started. If you’re already a subscriber, just click the box to continue.

Good luck and thanks again for all your support!!

Kenton and Jane

Contest ends August 8th at 11:59pm

a Rafflecopter giveaway