The margins of my diary were filled with running Black Stallions — manes and tails flowing, mighty hooves pounding across the page. My diary was less a chronicle of daily events and more a blueprint for the future. (I dreamed of one day becoming a famous jockey. Don’t laugh. Okay, laugh.)

I bet Rick Nelson’s diary detailed his school lunches — rating, comparing, lamenting.

“Dear Diary, my mother packed a tuna-salad sandwich in my lunch again today. I am trying not to hate her, but it’s so hard.”

Rick wraps up the year in today’s Taste section of the StarTribune — and what a year! 2012 was filled with so much edible goodness and Rick couldn’t resist mentioning a few Tanek projects: Bar Louie and Yogurt Lab(s).

Must we wait until the snow melts to enjoy these tasty treats?

No! Put on your parka, chain the dogs to the sled, and go. You can write about it in your diary: “Dear Diary, I fell in love today…”