You may have seen it mentioned before, but if not I would like to introduce you to the Cruel Whimsy of Jenn. This is the place where most of the special projects come from, along with some of the better Bitter/Sweet posts, but the most prominent display of this is in the recipes.

Whenever I refer to “adjustments” or “substitutions,” that is usually the Cruel Whimsy of Jenn. My basic approach to cooking is to come up with an idea of what I want to make, then hunt down a couple recipes. I rarely find exactly what I am looking for, so I combine recipes or add my own ideas to them. Sometimes, I find the recipe first and make my own adaptations.

This is where the cruel part comes in: you never quite know what you are going to get. I might say I am going to make such-and-such, but halfway through it turns into this-and-that. Sometimes my additions or subtractions change the entire nature of the recipe, resulting in disaster.

Other times, however, making those little (or big) changes turns the dish into something brilliant. Great Northern Bean & Sausage Soup is a good example of a so-so recipe transformed into a superior meal.

The Cruel Whimsy of Jenn is also the thing that makes me roam like a bison at the grocery store or create a crusade for eggplant. It drives me to make another eggplant dish, in hopes of converting James to the ways of the eggplant. It pushes me to write about topics like the weight problems of local newspapers and the mischievous nature of advertising. It compels me create special projects like Frugal Nation, Econofest, and Soupified.

Cruel Whimsy sounds like a contradiction in terms, but really it is not so much cruel as in mean or spiteful, but that I will take a gamble with a recipe. Somestimes the gamble pays off and the recipe is great, and sometimes it does not and we have to order pizza instead.  The Cruel Whimsy of Jenn sounds Bitter, but from my perspective it is Sweet.

Are you an eggplant lover who constantly faces ridicule for your superior tastes? Join the Eggplant Crusade! This is my fight to win over the eggplant ney-sayers of the world. Recently, I commented on the battle James and I have regarding The Misunderstood Eggplant, and I refuse to go quietly into the night.

To join the Eggplant Crusade, hope over to the Discussion Board and pledge your support for this unappreciated purple vegetable. Let me know how you serve eggplant in your kitchen, and if you have to wage any battles of your own in order to get eggplant on the table.

I will start things out by listing a few of my favorite things about eggplant:

1. Eggplant are cheap! Usually $1/pound. 
2. Eggplants are beautiful, especially the jewel-toned skin.
3. Speaking of the skin, it is packed full of antioxidants.
4. Eggplant is an easy vegetarian/vegan substitute.
5.  I’ve never seen reports of E. coli in eggplant, have you?

To keep the Eggplant Crusade going, I will continue to post recipes as part of the Frugal Nation project as well as post more information here on Bitter/Sweet about how awesome eggplant can be. Go ahead and join, it is Sweet to stand up for a cause (no matter how silly).