Hi, my name is Janine. Welcome!

I am a graduate student studying the politics and culture of food and theories of making and creativity.

When it comes to making things, I don’t do, I think. I have a craft “to do list” that has remained untouched for years, I live vicariously through countless food and craft blogs, Tastespotting or Foodgawker are constantly open on my computer as I work for cooking inspiration, and my Master’s thesis, on the relationship between making material things and making the human self, was itself an exercise in thinking about making.

I have come to realize that all this time spent thinking about making things may, sometimes, be better spent actually making them. And so, after much deliberation, I have decided to start a blog in the hopes that it will motivate me to do just that. Here, I will document my experiences with making things.

In my approach to food I try to be flexible and moderate. I don’t always make the right choices, but I do my best. Ideals need to exist in the context of everyday life, and in everyday life eating ethically and healthily 100% of the time (unfortunately) requires a lot of knowledge, time, and money. Therefore, I don’t cut anything out of my diet completely, though I try not to eat a lot of meat, I am (no longer) a vegetarian, and I buy organic when my budget allows. I believe in the simple wisdom of Michael Pollan:

“Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants”