About

I began my foodventures as a baby. In my baby book my older sister dutifully recorded that my first favorite toys were pots and pans and my favorite game was to “prepare food”. Growing up in Texas, my family made chili and grilled a lot. While they were great cooks, the chili started as a simple mix of beef in tomato sauce and Texas chili powder. By the time I was eleven I took over the chili making and began to experiment with different spices and vegetables in the beef. 

My first cooking misadventure was when I tried to replace the red pepper and paprika with chili peppers. Wanting to taste all the peppers before using them I proceeded to eat diced habañeros, jalapeños, poblanos and Anaheims. While the chili turned out well the oils got into my eye and made the next few hours excruciatingly painful. This episode would repeat itself often, but never deterred me from peppers much less from cooking itself.

When I moved down to the University of Texas at Austin for undergrad I started to bake, mostly cookies and muffins. While cooking is my passion, I started to love baking because it was easier to share with friends. During college I also begun to follow in the footsteps of my family and started hosting potlucks and dinner parties. Nothing makes me happier than to cook a few dishes and watch as my friends place their dishes alongside mine, open a bottle of wine and have hours of great conversation.

At a potluck in 2008

Through undergrad I was actively involved with STAND and the Genocide Intervention Network to prevent and end genocide in Darfur and beyond. In 2009 I went to Uganda with American Jewish World Service for the summer before moving to the Washington DC area. Now I live in the wonderful Mount Pleasant neighborhood. I am a full time graduate student at American University studying international development concentrating on conflict prevention and peacebuilding. 

Speaking at the Texas Capitol in 2007

In Uganda in 2009

Speaking about returning from Uganda with Speakeasy DC

With my love of cooking, I started going weekly to the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market and Columbia Heights Community Marketplace. To celebrate my love of cooking, baking and seasonal ingredients I launched this blog.

Thank you for following my blog. I hope to share my adventures of cooking, baking, gardening and the ongoing pursuit of a life of deliciousness. I always welcome comments, recipes and ideas. Please visit the contact page to get in touch.

You can follow my other musings on my personal blog at LeranMinc.blogspot.com.