Emily Janak
Nebraska
Oh how do I hate “About Me” sections. It’s so hard to write something about yourself that is clever, but not dumb, interesting, captivating and most of all true. So this is my attempt. It won’t be much because there isn’t much different about me than you.
I am 26 years old. My husband and I recently returned to his hometown - a town with a whole 400 people. Moving away from larger cities has been challenging - I have to plan my meals in advance and make sure I have a well-stocked freezer and pantry. Our move has also got me digging in the dirt. In order to get the freshest produce, I needed to plant it. This year you will see recipes with an abundance of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, swiss chard and watermelon. Hopefully next year my garden will expand and I will have much more variety of fresh produce.
I love fruits and vegetables. And most times I prefer them tampered with as little as possible. In cooking I want to accentuate the natural goodness of the ingredient, instead of masking it. Not all of the recipes that you find will hold up to that – but I do believe that most will.
I love all things food and am fairly adventurous when it comes to it. I am not partial to any ethnicity of food, but tend to flock to spicier and bolder flavors. My husband and I love to add spice anywhere it is appropriate. With any of my recipes you can always tone down the spice, but don’t omit it. It adds such a depth of flavor.
I don’t specialize in any sort of food, so if you are looking for that, you might want to go elsewhere. The recipes you see are all recipes that I have cooked – most times for a weeknight supper. And because we like such a variety of food that is what you will see.
My inspiration in cooking comes mainly from two women in my life – my mom and my great-grandma. These two women are truly masters in the kitchen and have instilled a love of cooking into me, even if it did take me longer to realize it.
My mom is like me – adventurous in her food, and cooks about anything. I was taught that you can adapt any recipe the way you want – you might want to follow the recipe the first time – but even that isn’t necessary. It drives people crazy when they ask my mom for a recipe and she gives them the “a little of this and a little of that.” Her best cooking comes without recipes.
Although my time with my great-grandma was short (she died when I was six), she really is my inspiration (and I would guess my mom’s too). She owned and operated her own bakery out of her basement for many years, and although I never saw her bakery, the memory of her baking is one I will never forget. Her apartment always smelled like bread dough, and everything I remember her making tasted better than anything else. I have tried to recreate some of the things she made for me as a kid, and I just can’t get it to taste the same – I think it is the memories that made it so wonderful. I recently started baking bread and other things - I think I started in hopes of feeling close to her again. I hope my bread makes her proud.
I have dreams of opening a food truck. I go back and forth on what I would serve. But the idea of living by the food is something that really interests me. I wish I would have realized my passion for cooking earlier in life and pursued it as a career - now it's just a passion and a love - but maybe some day it will be more...
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my blog. I enjoy sharing my recipes with family, friends and anyone else who wants to stop by.
