My Blog Turns 15!
Fifteen years ago, when I was young and full of hope, I started a recipe blog.
It was called mykitchencafe.blogspot.com
If you recognize the blogspot address or either one of these original logos below, it means you’ve been around a long time…and…you probably deserve an award.
A few years after I started My Kitchen Cafe, I swapped out the blogspot address for a real, live dot com and it has been Mel’s Kitchen Cafe ever since (with no shortage of logo changes until I finally hired a professional, ha).
It would be impossible to describe all the changes that have occurred over the last 15 years. Both personally and in the internet/blogging landscape.
When I first started my blog, life looked a bit like this:
Whereas now, “life” has increased in the number of humans…and in wrinkles. 😉
Some days, it’s hard to wrap my brain around the fact that I’ve been sharing recipes in this space for 15 years. THAT’S A LONG TIME!
My kids don’t really remember life before “mom had a blog.” Sometimes, neither do I!
Funny story: when my kids were little, little, I’d spend our days doing kid/mom things and making a concerted effort not to be on the computer. However, the minute my kids went to bed, I would rush to my computer and do all the blogging “stuff” on my to-do list. Inevitably, as kids do, mine would wander out of bed and into the office to find me and ask for a drink or want to tell me a random story to delay bedtime or just sit on my lap for a minute (you know, because I HADN’T JUST SPENT THE WHOLE ENTIRE DAY WITH THEM). 😉 During this time, a teacher at church told me that one of my kids had announced to his class: “my mom likes to play games on her computer every night after we go to bed.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or feel mortified (both!). Turns out, all that time, my kids thought I was hiding in the office to play games when they went to bed! We had a quick family discussion about how mom goes into her office at bedtime to work on her food blog…not to play solitaire until the wee hours of the morning. 😂 But honestly, I think they still told their friends and teachers and friends’ parents for years that I was a late-night internet gamer.
Photo Growth
My kids’ shoe sizes and the number of animals we have acquired over the years aren’t the only things that have changed either. HAVE YOU TAKEN A DIVE INTO THE ARCHIVES TO SEE SOME OF MY OLD PHOTOS?
I mean, my goodness. Talk about before and after growth. 🤣
Things Change but My Motives Haven’t
I could write an entire blog post about how, outside of family life, things in the blogging world have changed so drastically over the last 15 years.
Over the years, the online world of food blogging has become less simple and more strategic.
Less relatable and more robotic.
Less carefree and more calculated.
It’s not all bad. It’s just different.
I started my blog as a way to share recipes with my mom and sisters who didn’t live near me. I never had any intentions of becoming a “full-time” blogger.
In fact, I was completely freaked out when a few months after I started putting recipes up on my blog I received a comment from a stranger saying they had made a recipe and liked it. I thought for sure that person was an internet stalker coming after my children.
Turns out, that first blog reader was a perfectly nice, normal human being who still follows my blog after all these years (hi, Kim!). Millions of readers have followed!
Years ago, I did a blog post called “This is Why I Blog”, and I could honestly repost that word for word because I still adhere to the same philosophies I always have about blogging. If you haven’t read that post, please do. It might give you some insight into why I am the way I am and why I blog the way I blog.
While blogging has changed infinitely over the years, my motives have not. Just like when I started putting recipes up on the internet late in 2007, my reasons I still do so are the same: to share my favorite, tried-and-true recipes with the world.
My blog started out as a hobby.
Now it is equal parts hobby and full-time job!
I never would have thought 15 years ago that my readership of about five people would grow into millions! What a tremendous, awesome opportunity and blessing it has been for me.
Some Fun Stats
For those who like geeky number-type stats, I thought it would be fun to share a few details/facts/numbers that help give a big picture look at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe!
At the Beginning (from about 2007-2010):
- Revenue/Income: $0
- Blog Visits: 50-1,000 per month
- Additional Employees: 0
- My Time: 10-20 hours/week
The Middle Years (2014-ish):
- Revenue/Income: part-time
- Blog Visits: 750,000-1,000,000/month
- Additional Employees: 1 part-time virtual assistant (5-10 hours/week)
- My Time: 30-40 hours/week
Current Years (2022):
- Revenue/Income: full-time
- Blog Visits: 3,000,000-4,000,000/month
- Additional Employees: 1 part-time virtual assistant (10-20 hours/week) plus a few contracted employees to help with videos/projects
- My Time: 20-45 hours/week
A Note About Income and Revenue
Things can get kind of weird when people talk about money (and heaven knows, I don’t want things to get weird between us!), but lots of people have been curious over the years if my blog makes money.
It does! But it didn’t always.
For the first several years, I made approximately zero dollars.
Around 2010, I started putting display ads on my website (first just on my own with Google Adsense and then with a long since outdated company, Foodbuzz through Federated Media). I remember literally falling over with excitement when I got a check one particular month for $125. I couldn’t believe I was getting paid that much to talk about recipes I loved!
I later changed ad networks to AdThrive and then switched to Mediavine in 2016 and have been with them ever since.
A VERY simplistic description of how ad networks, like Mediavine, operate is that they work directly with ad exchanges and companies to service and display all the ads you see on my website (and they work on the ad technology and gaining new ad customers so I don’t have to!).
I am paid based on a revenue split – meaning, I don’t pay Mediavine directly for their work servicing ads, rather, Mediavine and I split the revenue that comes from the ads on my site.
I can choose which ads I want displayed. Although that system isn’t always perfect, which is why you may occasionally see a questionable ad, like an alcohol ad, even though I have alcohol ads disabled in my ad settings. Please feel free to always report those ads, by the way! You can do that by clicking on the Mediavine logo in the lower right hand side of the ad and selecting “report ad” (see screenshot below).
Over the years as I’ve worked hard and traffic has increased and my ad structure has changed, my blog has grown to provide a full-time income for me and my family.
My income comes from: the ads you see on the blog, Amazon affiliate links (and L’Chef affiliate links when Bosch mixers are on sale). I know ads can be annoying – and because of that, I only run about half of the ads available to me through my ad network – but those ads serve a purpose to help pay the costs of running and hosting a website, pay my employee and contractors, and compensate me for my work on the blog.
My Virtual Assistant(s)
I’m blessed in that my sister, Emily, is my virtual assistant! She started working with me in 2013 and she is a lifesaver. She schedules posts to Facebook, answers emails, does tons of behind the scenes work updating recipes and categories on the blog, and more.
Her help allows me to focus more on recipe testing, taking all the photos, writing the posts, answering comments, interacting on Instagram, occasionally taking a nap, and maintaining the authentic voice here on the blog.
And since I’m deep in the middle of this acceptance speech (?? kind of starting to sound like one! haha), I would be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shoutout to my faithful partner and best friend. He’s the unpaid assistant around here.
Brian has been my biggest champion since the beginning. And as the resident taste tester (all those pictures on my blog with one bite taken out?? Yeah, thank Brian for that effort), he offers the support, compassion, brain gasoline, and endlessly patient listening ears that keep me and this blog putting one foot in front of the other.
The Numbers Game + Blog Visitors
2020 was a huge year for internet traffic. Because of the pandemic shutdowns and increase of at-home cooking, my visits per month were at a record high that year – nearly 10 million per month! But things have gradually slowed down and my traffic is actually less than it was a few years ago.
The thing is, I rarely check my stats. I can’t really tell you month-to-month how many visitors I’m getting or if it is waxing or waning.
The numbers game can be debilitating (both in traffic and with social media), and I’ve just chosen not to play it so that I stay better focused on my overall intentions. I monitor and check things out now and then, but I don’t dwell on it.
However, I did do a fun little check for this post to see where my visitors are checking in from!
United States: 81.38%, Canada: 8.35%, United Kingdom: 2.53%, Australia: 1.35%, South Africa: .56%, New Zealand: .36%, Philippines: .35%, India: .33%, Germany: .29%
The Right Way to Blog…Or Not
Many bloggers in this food space are intensely savvy. They do keyword research and create their recipe posts strictly around what Google wants (with the goal to get high up in search results). They network with companies (and each other) and grow virtual empires. They publish books and videos and create products.
It’s amazing to watch and see. I love it!
My strategy, which should come as no surprise, is more of the homebody, naturalistic, girl-next-door approach. Meaning: I don’t network all that much, I don’t do keyword research, I don’t do sponsored posts.
I make a recipe. I squeal in delight. I force my family to taste it and review it. I make it again. And likely, again. And then I post it for you, because if I don’t, I want be able to sleep at night.
That’s not to say I don’t work hard at this gig. I do! Blogging is a ton of work (certainly more than just taking a pretty picture of food and slapping it up online!).
I set priorities for certain projects (like email growth, etc), and I’ve always put high emphasis on staying up to date with SEO principles and technology updates, but at the end of the day, I’m still an old school blogger who just wants a space to share my favorite recipes with the world.
Which means sometimes I turn a blind eye to “best practices” and do my own thing. I don’t do this to be ignorant – it’s really just a survival skill to preserve my mental health and ensure I continue to keep blogging.
For me, this space, is about so much more than numbers and stats and money and notoriety. It’s truly about human connection and sharing good things with you.
A Day in the Life
My schedule has shifted and changed over the years. Now that all of my kids are in school full-time (and one has graduated high school), I try to get all my blogging work (particularly) computer work done during the day instead of staying up super late to tackle my to-do list.
I don’t set specific “work hours” but it naturally ends up that about two days a week are spent on the computer side of blogging. Writing and publishing blog posts, answering comments and emails, coordinating projects with my sister-VA, and working on other techy-stuff.
Once I get my kids off to school, I feed farm animals, do scripture study, write in my journal, exercise, and (sometimes) shower, before diving in to blog work from about 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with laundry and other household/farm chores scattered in there.
Additionally, I end up spending another day or two a week bustling around the kitchen to test and photograph recipes (I use natural light, so right now during the winter, I have to get that done before 4 p.m.).
I usually make about 5-6 new recipes a week. Sometimes just for fun. Sometimes to test them (again) and/or take photos. I know, I need to get a life and/or diverse hobbies, but I can’t help it! I love food and making new recipes.
My kids always have Fridays off school, so I try to fit the blogging work in Monday through Thursday; however, inevitably there’s an evening or two that it spills over and I work in my office from 8 – 11-ish p.m.
I don’t shy away from saying I work from home or that I have a full-time job. But I do consider it a serious blessing that my job is this blog and that even though it requires hours and effort, I’m able to set my own hours and schedule.
And doing so allows me the flexibility to volunteer in my daughter’s class, do church and community service (right now I’m helping at a refugee organization, and it is life-alteringly rewarding), run errands when I need to, take a break from everything and help one of my kids or work on a house project, or just aimlessly waste time on the internet searching for watermelon carving knives.
To Sum it All Up
While my focus is mostly on really good recipes, over the years, I’ve also shared gift guides and Friday Thoughts (used to be Snapshot Saturdays!) and glimpses of real life.
At the end of the day, I’m a very average, real human who has a lot of highs and a lot of lows. And I don’t do a great job of pretending like those things don’t exist. Normalize real life. That’s my motto. 🙂
I have no idea how long I’ll continue to blog. If asked, some days my answer would be “forever” and other days the answer is more like “um, ask me tomorrow – I may have pulled the plug on the blog by then.”
The truth is, even with my laid back style, it’s hard work. Something is always going on (or breaking!) behind the scenes and there is a lot of management that blogging requires besides the delicious pictures of food and brand, new recipes.
I get tired and burned out.
But the reason I always, always end up sitting at my computer at midnight NOT playing solitaire 😉 is because of you guys.
Seriously.
It’s Because of You
If it weren’t for the real human connections I’ve made with you over the years, for the comments you leave and the stories and experiences you share, for the notes that tell me how a recipe has impacted your family or changed someone’s life for the better, for the hilarious anecdotes and the heartbreaking life experiences…if it weren’t for that, I’d be long gone.
I tell my family all the time that it’s ok I never leave my house because I have millions of friends online.
And, ok, I know that sounds completely weird, and if my kids said that back to me, I’d definitely get them professional help.
But.
It’s also true. Thank you for sticking around. For being my virtual friends. For making this a space that I want to come back to day after day.
Love your guts. 😘
Also, a special shoutout thank you to all of you who leave comments/ratings/reviews on recipes after you’ve made them. This makes such a huge difference! For me, and for those who scroll through comments to get ideas/variations/suggestions when they are planning to make the recipe. Thank you for taking the time to leave comments and reviews and ratings!!
What’s to Come
Well, first of all, count on the best of the best new recipes to continue popping up here! I have some exciting new recipes coming your way. My goal is to get you 4-5 well-tested, fantastic recipes each month in 2023.
Additionally, I’m planning:
- lots of updates to many of the recipes that have been on here for over a decade (not changing the recipe, per se, just updating photos and recipe notes, etc).
- some additional content projects that will likely involve hiring another assistant to help with marketing and development
- site updates and changes to make the website sleek, savvy, and even more SEO-friendly
- continuing with Friday Thoughts posts now and then
- and a few other things swirling around in my brain
I get asked all the time if I’m planning to do a cookbook. I have a cookbook started on my computer – some content, lots of ideas, etc. But every time I get close to signing a publishing contract or going the self-publishing (or hybrid) route, I can’t ultimately commit. It feels stressful and wrong. I think my biggest hangup is that my first priority is to continue to publish a wide range of amazing content on my blog, and I don’t think I can manage a cookbook and the blog. Additionally, I’m not sure I really have anything to offer the cookbook world that hasn’t already been done. So. We’ll see! Never say never!
Anything you are dying to see on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe? Let me know below in the comments! I love getting suggestions from you!
The End, Finally
And herein lies another extensive novel-like post about nothing all that important, which will surely garner some hate mail from those that “just want the freaking recipe already so stop blabbering,” but hey, 15 years in, it’s hard to change these long-winded stripes.
OK, BYYEEEE. 😘 Here’s to the next 15 years!
If you have any other questions about blogging or Mel’s Kitchen Cafe or just want to tell me about YOURSELF (yes! that’s a good plan!), leave me a comment below!
In case you didn’t clearly hear me earlier in the post: I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU!
The Comments
Thank you for all of your heartfelt comments. They’ve made me laugh and cry. I’m just so grateful for each of you. For the good humans you are. The efforts you make in your own lives. The affirmations you’ve allowed me to feel that this blog is “more than just a blog.” I’m just very grateful to be here with all of you.
Thank you for all of your suggestions, as well! I keep a running list of things you would like to see on the blog, and I’ve taken note of all of them!
To answer a few questions coming through in the comments:
- Where do you get ideas for new recipes? I have so many recipe ideas swirling around in my head, it’s a miracle I ever get to sleep! I’m so anxious to share all of them with you! I find inspiration from recipes you share with me (I LOVE GETTING NEW RECIPES FROM YOU SO MUCH – thanks for sending them to me!). I also get inspiration from a few recipe magazines and social media. But a lot of my recipe inspiration just comes from me thinking about food nonstop and figuring out recipe mashups I want to make.
- How many times do you make a new recipe before posting it? At least twice, but for baking recipes, usually an average of 3-4 times (with some recipes taking a few more testing sessions).
- How many of your recipes are original or modified from other sources? There are a lot of both! Although I would submit that there’s probably no such thing as a truly original recipe anymore since there are so many recipes “out there” already. I always cite a recipe source if I’ve used a recipe as inspiration or modified it. But there are some recipes I’ve come up with on my own from all those ideas swirling around my head (and many other recipes from my childhood)!
- How adventurous are your kids when it comes to eating? My kids eat everything I make. They don’t always love, love certain ingredients (I have a tomato hater and a mushroom hater and a bean hater; they power through it), but they’ll eat it. I have two kids that love to try new things and will eat anything. They’re the ones at restaurants that order something unusual and fun and will dig into sushi with me and Brian. The other three go straight for the mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. 🙂
I enjoyed reading this post and the behind the scenes work involved. Thanks for always staying true to yourself and doing your own thing. I really appreciate your authenticity and keeping things simple. You’re a gem.
So grateful for you Mel. I’ve been following you for years. My kids, and coworkers, know that when I try a new recipe that it’s likely from you.
I’ve enjoyed your blogs, your recipes, and your animals.
The days/weeks when social media gets you down, please know that you are appreciated by many of us!
I wish you and your family a happy holiday season.
Thank you for all your work! I still love your recipes! I submitted a recipe to you at 15 (double cruncher cookies) and still love your blog now at 24. Congratulations on 15 years!
-Georgia
My oldest is 14 and I nursed her while reading your blogs and searching recipes. It was the first time I’d ever found myself returning to the same site and going back and repeating recipes. Your wacky cake and easy bread were my daughter’s first recipes she made. You have been a part of our lives and we appreciate all that you do and the integrity you have shown
Happy Anniversary! So glad I stumbled on your site many years ago! The majority of my “Recipes We Love” board on Pinterest are your recipes! Looking forward to the next 15 years!
I love your blog so much. I follow several food blogs, but yours is so consistently delicious and I love that I don’t feel like you’re just trying to sell me stuff. Yours is my favorite. (Don’t tell the others, though.)
But. What I want to know. How do you make all this delicious and not get fat???
For reals. I thought once I was done having babies it would be so easy. It is not easy.
Made the holiday salad for Thanksgiving! So pretty and delicious!
Congratulations on 15 years blogging! That is amazing! I first found your blog almost 11 years ago when I was searching for a recipe for meatball subs and I am so very grateful for all the recipes, cooking tips, and recommendations you’ve shared over the years. I can honestly say that you have made me into the confident cook that I now am—I only cook from your recipes and have learned so much from you! Just today I made granola bites, cinnamon lover’s granola, and, totally by coincidence, meatball subs—the very same recipe that brought me to your blog years ago! I also very much appreciate the personal side to your blog—you are a great example of a dedicated mom and someone who looks to share Christ’s love with all those you encounter. Sincere thanks to you, Mel!
Those meatball subs!!! One of my first and favorites I made from here.
Mel – Thank you! You made me feel confident that I could make healthy and tasty meals for my family when I had two young girls and worked full-time. We now have a rotation of 90 meals we work through, with many of them yours.
Talking about money is weird, but I hope you are well compensated for your work so you continue to provide your insight and recipes. It is a job and you deserve to be paid for it! We should celebrate women entrepreneurs like you,
I’m sure many people here can attest to saying, “Oh, this is a Mel’s recipe” at a family gathering.” Thank you for what you share beyond the recipes. I appreciate you.
Firecracker chicken. My daughter babysat at a friend’s house and could not stop talking about the dinner. I asked my friend where she got the recipe. “Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. It’s just good food.” That was many years ago and since then my family and I call you Mel and act like we know you. Your recipes work and taste good. Your game recommendations are excellent too. Thank you for all the hard work and for staying true to your vision. It has made a difference in our lives. My favorite recipe? Banh Mi Meatball Subs. Unbelievably delicious.
Mel,
Beautiful post! Love you, love your recipes, love every blog post, recipe or not! Wish we were neighbors!! Thank you so much for sharing your amazing recipes and life!!!
I love your blabbering Mel! You have become like a member of the family and your blabbering is simply real life. Continue to be you, you are fabulous!
Thank you for all you do. I love making your recipes and reading your blog!
Thank you Mel. I’m not sure how long now I’ve been making at least a couple recipes from your blog every single week, but it’s been a while. The other day, my 16 year old daughter and I were at a friend’s house. We were looking though a three-ring-binder of recipes her mother-in-law had given her for her wedding 20+ years ago. My daughter said, “I think my mom would just tell me to go to melskitchencafe.com”!
My family would not eat meals without your blog. Truly any meals haha. There’s so so many recipes I rely on and when I make them for others they always ask for the recipe and I always give you credit! Thanks for continuing to do this!
Mel: I love you, I love your family, I love your recipes, I love your faux farm critters. My 19 year old daughter (Melody), is also called ‘Mel’, so you are doubly endearing. Thank you for always staying authentically you (which is pure and wholesome). I haven’t followed since your blog’s inception, but happy to say that I have been around since 2012. I have unfollowed just about every other food & lifestyle blog in the past decade, but yours I will always cherish. I don’t need another blog, it is a one-stop shop for all recipe needs, virtual encouragement, and trial-&-tribulation relatability. And it helps that your recipes are a mix of comfort AND health, because they are there for me when I want to fix special treats to celebrate, and as I’ve grown older and keep learning that aging and the body has to nourish healthfully (& lightened up!). Thank you for always being there for all of us <3333
THANK YOU for 15 years of blessing our socks off and getting good food on our family tables, Mel! You’re my go-to for anything I cook and have been for close to 15 years. If you ever need to “pull the plug” we will understand but until then…yay for Mel’s Kitchen Cafe!
Lastly, Gloria’s Cinnamon Rolls and reading the story of the cheese ball are forever part of my Christmas traditions <3333
Hi Mel: I am a long time subscriber and am tickled by your personality. Your post is touching. You put your heart and soul into everything you do. What a wonderful way to be. Thank you for sharing so much with us!
I’ve been around since the blogspot days when my dear friend shared your blog with me. We were both young moms with brand new babies, and cooking was a struggle for me – I *could* cook, but I was supremely bored with what I knew how to cook. To this day, yours is the first place I go when looking for a recipe! I am so glad you’re in this blogging space and that I know that I can always trust what you share will be good! Happy 15 years!
I enjoyed every word you wrote. I’ve had my food blog since 2008, and started on blogspot. I’ve migrated to a word Press and hired a professional to design a template. I agree that blogging has become so different from back in the day! I don’t know how to make videos. Social media has expanded and has become vital for followers. Thank you for admitting you don’t do the keyword game. It’s daunting. I’ll never be as big as you, but we share our love of cooking and baking. I’ve made several of your recipes and loved them. I’ve followed you since the beginning. You are such an inspiration!
I’ve been a constant visitor of your blog since my babies were little. (2008) Back then, I would dutifully check my favorite food blogs everyday in hopes of new content. Yours was my favorite because the recipes were always winners. Thanks for always being candid and entertaining. I loved reading about your kids because my boys were similar in age and I would often shake my head in agreement.
Happy 15th anniversary!
P.S. More faux farm content!!
Mel, Congratulations on 15 years! How you did that with five kids and a farm, I’ll never know! I have followed you and your wonderful recipes for several years and so glad you are there for those of us who enjoy cooking! Keep up the great work! May God continue to give you the energy and ideas to share with your millions of followers!!
I’m glad you are still here and blogging. Me and my sisters have been following since around 2010 and still LOVE you and your delicious food. I share your site with friends ALL THE TIME. You are the BEST and over the years I can still say that I have had WAY more wins than failures from here. Thanks for all of your hard work.
Mel: I love you, I love your family, I love your recipes, I love your faux farm critters. My 19 year old daughter (Melody), is also called ‘Mel’, so you are doubly endearing. Thank you for always staying authentically you (which is pure and wholesome). I haven’t followed since your blog’s inception, but happy to say that I have been around since 2013. I have unfollowed just about every other food & lifestyle blog in the past decade, but yours I will always cherish and follow. I don’t need another blog, as yours is a one-stop-shop for all recipe needs, virtual encouragement, and trial-&-tribulation relatability. And it helps that your recipes are a mix of comfort AND health, because they are there for me when I want to fix special treats to celebrate, and as I’ve grown older and keep learning that aging and the body has to nourish healthfully. Thank you for always being there <3333
I’ve been following your blog and using your recipes for over 10 years! I don’t comment much but you are my absolute go to and one of my favorite humans. Congrats on 15 years! Thanks for the amazing recipes, the laughs and your incredible example!
Thanks for all the work that goes into your blog, I love so many of your recipes and the parts of your family and life you share.
It’s so funny you just posted this, because I had just asked the question to my kids, “How do you think cooking blogs have had to change and adapt to the ever-changing world of the internet?” Probably because I haven’t been cooking as much in the past few years, but over the holidays I’ve been visiting your blog to pull up a favorite recipe, and I just wondered. So thanks for filling us all in. I have my own small business (not a blog at all – I started a flower farm on our property) and I enjoy some similar benefits of deciding my own schedule and working from home. But the burnout part (and not making money the first few years!) is real. Thanks for giving us this behind-the-scenes peak into your world. I love that you are still posting new recipes, but if you ever did decide to give up blogging, if you keep hosting your recipes for the world, what you have achieved so far would continue giving everyone a huge gift of amazing recipes and thoughtful posts.
I’d love to buy your cookbook and one for my eleven daughters ( half are in-laws) and one for each of my six sisters
People actually send you messages for being too wordy? Don’t they know how to scroll and skim? I enjoy the stories or additional information and when I am in a rush I just skip to the recipe! I’ve been quietly following along since late early years- before I was married or with kids! You’re site was one of the first to help me get cooking and I haven’t looked back! Love to cook for my family! Thanks for the good years, here’s to the next decade and more!
Love you and your recipes and behind the scenes posts. All of it! Thank you for all 15 years (I’ve been around for almost 13 I think!) of deliciousness!
That 15 years went fast. I really enjoy your recipes and everyone I’ve tried have been super good. When I’m trying to find a recipe for a certain occasion I go to Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, one recipe I love is your Lemon White Chocolate Cream bars and your Carmel recipes, I followed your cancer on your nose .I had the same and hope you don’t have any more,, I’ve had three surgeries ion my nose from cancer but I’m a whole lot older than you. Keep blogging for we that love you..
So grateful for your real, honest self in this crazy world. LOVE your recipes-they are truly some of my favorites. I feel like if I lived by you we would be the best of friends. Thank you for being a light. Grateful for YOU!!!
Going through recipes for Thanksgiving (I literally have manilla folders filled with loose 8.5×11’s in no particular organized manner besides general categories “bread” “holiday” etc.), I came across several My Kitchen Cafe recipes and I was like, where did these come from! I forgot that was the name of your original blog!!! Lol. I’m so so grateful for you. You have and you do “keep it real”. Like so many have said, I feel like we are friends/family. Thanks for hanging in there! We adore you and I’m a much better cook because of you and your tried, tested and true recipes. Thank you!!!!
I have followed your blog for at least ten years and love your recipes. I was on Instagram one day and JENNIFER freaking GARNER was making one of your recipes and I was like “Mel, I know her!” even though I don’t know you but I was SUPER proud for you. You are amazing!
Mel, I just learned that I know your 2 younger siblings and your mom!!! My sister-in-law, Wendy, made Baked oatmeal for us while we were at here house for a family reunion, and she gave me your recipe. I have made that more times than I want to admit. I just went to Wendy’s house in Indiana for Thanksgiving and her twin sister and her husband Rob Weaver was there! He asked if I knew the Walkers from Billings since I grew up in Huntley, MT. I said yes I was good friends with Nate!!! He is such a cool guy. I also knew Emily though she was a few years younger. Your mom was such an awesome youth leader, so positive and full of energy. Her then mentioned that Nate’s sister was Mel’s Kitchen Cafe!!!! I was like WHAT? No way! Small world in the church. How cool that your hobby became an income for your family!!!! My parents still live in Huntley. Great job!!!
Hi Mel,
Happy 15th blog birthday! I found your site about 5 years ago, and love it-my now 19 yr old daughter also has become a fan. I have an idea for your cookbook…a while back (could be a short or long while) you wrote about planning and serving meals for a large church group and/or family reunion. How to feed a large group delicious meals would be great. Here in the Midwest we seem to have a lot of team dinners, where a family hosts, or when teams are in tournaments out of town and need meals. I liked how you were able to assign people what to bring as well. It would be great to have some tried and true menus that could be easily multiplied. You could do tips and tricks. Thanks for all your hard work, we have enjoyed your recipes and reading about you, your family and friends.
Your site is where my kids started to look for recipes when they were learning to cook, and it is still the source of our favourites – and new, yummy ideas! Thank you from our family!
Mel, I have been following you since your kiddos were little. I rarely comment—I’m more like a creepy stalker, lurking in the desserts tab. Lol! But my family and I have been having a big ol love affair with your recipes since the first day I stumbled upon your blog. Just for the fun of it, I searched my inbox for the oldest email I had from you (probably the last time I cleaned out my inbox—ugh!) and it was from May 25, 2016. That day you sent out the recipe for Divine 1-Hour Breadsticks. Oh and I’m gonna give you a witness on that—they are divine!! Mel, a BIG chocolate covered congratulations and way to go for this successful blog. But more than that, thank you for doing life with us and helping us feed our friends and loved ones such delicious food. I never have to worry what I’m gonna fix for special events and holidays; I have a treasure trove of amazing recipes at my fingertips. And I know they all have been made with love—at least once, twice or a hundred times. That is some kind of wonderful! I really appreciate you, Mel! May the Lord bless you more each day. ❤️
I remember the blog spot address! Years ago I started copying your recipes in a notebook. On the front of the notebook I wrote “Mel.” Later I got a printer and printed them out and put them in clear binder sleeves. Then one day I saw a recipe I emailed you on your blog. Fun!
Mel, thank you for helping me feed my family! Just this morning we had your baked oatmeal. I hope you realize how much your followers appreciate all you do. I can’t wait to see the yummy recipes you share in 2023. God bless.
Mel, a huge THANK YOU for so many years of bringing us great food! My toddlers know you by name and we regularly eat your meals around here. I started following you probably ten years ago and fell in love with many of your recipes. Since then I’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease and instead of finding a gluten free blogger I’ve just been reworking your recipes, I love them so much. Thank you for your work, for being you, and for so many good meals!
You are my go to for recipes! I would buy a cookbook just to not have to search for my favorites like cinnamon rolls, chocolate cake and French bread all the time. You are so good at what you do! Thank you for making my cooking look good!
Congratulations!! I’ve been around for the long-haul and I’m just as thankful for your blog then as I am now. THANK YOU!! Thank you for sharing delicious recipes and tutorials and gift guides. You are an unofficial part of the family as your recipes have become part of the family traditions we hold dear. I’m glad I know you in real life so I can honestly say I’m one of your biggest fans. You are THE BEST!
xoxo
Mel Ball
Mel, I’m so glad you do what you do. Over the last decade or so, you’ve basically taught me how to cook. I love, love your recipes and you are always the first place I look for a great recipe. Sending love!!
All of our favorite family recipes are from your blog- and I have been with you from the beginning. Every Monday when I sit down for the dreaded menu-making- if I get stuck I always go to your blog and find something to look forward to making and eating. You are the best of the best- your authenticity and beautiful soul shines in every post. My husband and kids have been teasing me about my “friend” Mel for many years. Thanks for all the great recipes and gift guides (also our favorite games!!). I also have 5 kids similar ages- and had basal cell on my face the same year. With a grateful heart ❤️
You’re an absolute gem! Been a following along for many of those 15 years! Sure appreciate all you do to make cooking more enjoyable for the rest of us!
Congratulations on 15 years!!! I enjoy your blog and know I can always count on your recipes! Thank you 🙂
Congrats on 15 years!! Love your blog for the tasty recipes, Friday Thoughts, and excellent gift guides. Thank you for continuing to share with your wide circle of internet friends!
And I am sooooo grateful for you! Thanks for being authentically you and sharing your tried and true. You bless me and my family and those I serve everyday with your delicious recipes. I literally had all the YCLs shedding tears of joy over Hawaiian haystacks and s’mores cookies at the YCL retreat celebrating all their hard work at girls camp. My neighbor was head over heels for the pumpkin rosemary rolls I shared with her for her Thanksgiving dinner. I could go on and on. I probably single-handedly add to your statistic count at least 10x/week. Sorry not sorry.
I love everything about your blog and about you. I have been following your blog for so long, and I love not only your recipes, but your down-to-earth personality and the reality of life that you show. It makes us all feel like you are our best friend even thought we’ve never met. Thank you for all you have done over the years to make this space have such an amazing, safe, community feel.