Stomach and its Discontents (Or, Why I began this blog)

Hi! I’m Nabila. Some of you may know me as Selfistani (shameless Twitter plug – sorry).

As I hope you’ve gathered from the title, this is Yet Another Food Blog. Why? You say. Why am I taking up more space on the Internets with something that probably exists elsewhere?

Well. Here’s the answer.

I love cooking – but you know that already. I also love eating (something else you probably know), and eating out at good restaurants (which exist in abundance in both the cities I’ve called home – NYC and Vancouver).

But I have a problem. It all starts with that summer I spent in India a few years ago. The summer was ridiculously amazing, but I made the teeny-weeny mistake of eating pani puri (for the uninitiated – a ball of spicy liquid and chickpea/potato awesomeness) during the monsoons, at a seedy-looking cart on the side of the road.

I swear I’m usually smarter than I was that day.

Anyway. Long story short: I got very sick, and it took me months to recover. I took a gazillion tests, some medication, and completely revamped my diet. I’ve been a vegetarian since 1999, but the stomach problems forced me to be extra careful of what I put in my mouth.

It’s been 2 years since I got sick. Even today, if I neglect my diet for more than a few days, my body starts shutting down. This means that freshness (both of the vegetables and the food – I only eat leftovers if they’re <36hrs old), quality, and balance are absolutely necessary. I live alone. So this also means that I end up having to cook almost every day, and often multiple times a day.

As a graduate student (the first year of my post-India sickness life) and as a research fellow (the second year), one who usually bites of more than she should be able to chew and is a firm believer in a healthy social life, finding the time to cook yourself multiple balanced meals a day is frigging HARD.

HARD.

And when you’re living on a student/almost-student budget, it’s even harder.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I love a challenge – and those of the culinary variety are some of my favourites.

Here’s the thing. I know that there are a number of people out there with similar issues to mine. I’m not saying y’all have stomach problems (I hope you don’t, and never do); but I’m absolutely positive that there’s a whole bunch of twenty-something year olds with limited incomes, limited time, and a love of good food. And I’m sure they could benefit from some of my recipes and tales of my experiences (good and bad) in the kitchen.

So. Clean your kitchen and sharpen your knives (while disregarding this clichéd ending). It’s time to cook!

- N