This blog started with a break-up. I broke up with a guy who I loved to talk about literature with. He was cute, sensitive, a good conversationalist, he could be charming at times, and sometimes he surprised me in delightful ways. He was also too young, a bit caustic, moody, self-absorbed, not particularly emotionally astute, and lacking in the kind of calm confidence with which I thrive, but he sure had good taste in books.
Where his taste was lacking was in food and he was a terrible cook. Worse yet, he almost never let me cook for him. He said he had a very bad experience with his former girlfriend who made dinner one night and was upset by his critique. Apparently this was the beginning of the end of that relationship. And as much as I detest being judged by someone else’s mistakes, I get his trepidation. Then came the mother of all American food days – Thanksgiving. Finally a chance, and…I blew it. The sweet potato latkes were chewy and tasteless. Very bad. He critiqued, but I didn’t care. When you’re right, you’re right. I managed to redeem myself a little bit with a Chili-Lime Cashew Eggplant Stir-Fry one night, but apparently it just wasn’t enough.
It seemed like all of that pent up cooking angst came flooding out after we broke it off. I found a nice friend who plays Rachmaninoff for me while I cook. I bought a new set of Heinkels and a bamboo cutting board. I started shopping at the Co-op again. But there was something missing in my soul. I could not share my dinner with him. I can’t talk about literature with him anymore. So, instead I decided to share my recipes and books with all of you.
Enjoy. And, if you have critiques, please feel free to leave a comment. I won’t get upset and break up with you.
OlyEats 
Hey! I’ve been enjoying following your thoughts here. Way to go! Blogging is a big commitment and you are rocking it. So, I have a question for you but I don’t see a way to contact you. Would you mind dropping me a line at jenniferlcrain (at) gmail? Thanks! Looking forward to talking!
you are so cute!!!! I look forward to reading more!!
-Hanna (fellow blogger/friend)
Don’t all blogs start with a heartbreak? 🙂
In the case of food blogs, maybe a little stomach ache too. 🙂
Please remove the Obama and Hillary photo of depicting them as Radhe Krishna.
One other person asked me to remove this picture in a much less polite way than you. While I understand that some people may feel offended I do reserve my right to free expression. I will give you the same answer I gave the other person. I hope it will provide some understanding: A few years back I went to Chennai for my very good friends wedding. I stayed at her house and one day we made little rice-paste foot prints on Krishna’s birthday and her Pati gave us sweet butter when we got to the kitchen. She told us the story of the mischievous little baby Krisna who was always sneaking sweet butter from the kitchen. I remember a story I heard once of Krishna telling Indra not to take himself too seriously when Indra wanted to build himself a giant palace. I may be wrong, but what I think the image of Krishna tells us is to not take ourselves or our ideologies too seriously. It reminds us to be a little mischievous sometimes and embrace the joys and humor of life.