One should always begin with cake.

"One should always begin with cake," a wise woman once said, if twenty years and (by my computer's quick calculations) 22155 meals at an average of three meals a day can bring me into the categories of woman and wise.

It's a little like the sage proverb, "second kiwi, not as good," but we will get to that one some other time. Even before cake, I would like to explain why I am even entering the blogosphere with my simple and only-sometimes-novel recipes.

1. I am obsessed with food. (Is evidence against the accused necessary? If so, consider the following: conducted applied mathematics research on brownies and cookies last year; wrote a 14 page final paper in a course on Japanese history on changes to the cuisine after the introduction of Western ingredients and culture; plans dinners two or three nights in advance; inspired a running joke of a "Shelby Eats" television drama; has a secret desire to be a housewife despite being a highly-educated modern woman who hates cleaning.)
2. Perhaps there are others who to some degree deal with a desire to eat in a healthful and environmentally-conscious manner that usually loses to an orgasmic reaction to handmade flour tortillas, warm egg tarts, Raisinets, or the like. I will try and stay healthy(ish) here.
3. I'm generally eating off my own earnings, so I can be pretty cheap. Creative ingredient substitutions will be chronicled and reviewed here, to the added knowledge of the poor bachelor/bachelorette universe. A little hint: you can go baking powder -> baking soda but not always the other way around.
4. I'll lose the collection of recipes on random Google-Docs, scribbled in a marble notebook, or thrown into the dark hole of my email inbox if I don't organize them somewhat.

I hope you find my gastronomic journeys or strange personality satiating, but that you are never, ever satiated.