This is part of our 100 Things in 2015 challenge. Here’s the full list.

This was our most ambitious challenge this year, and the most difficult to consistently work towards. Firstly because of the sheer number of tiny tasks that went into it: there are 100 recipes in the Zenbelly Cookbook, and most of them are pretty involved. We had to make special shopping trips, get ingredients special-order, and set aside more time than usual to make dinner.

But we made it. And it was worth it. Several of these recipes have that perfect combination of “we never would have made this” and “we loved it so much we made it three more times.” Here are a few of our favorites:

• Coconut shrimp
• Spiced pepitas
• Kobocha squash and pomegranate salad
• The Perfect Roast Chicken is just how we do chicken now
• The kids fought for braised duck legs leftovers in their lunches
• The pizza crust scratches a serious itch from before we were paleo
• The seeded crackers scratch that everything-bagel itch

This might have been the most difficult Thing this year, but it was also one of the most rewarding. We’ve broadened our culinary horizons, and found some new favorites. We also discovered that nobody in our family likes oysters. Not even a little bit.