Hello! I'm Melinda Novak. I'm a baking obsessed, fitness obsessed, reading obsessed pharmacy student from Pittsburgh, PA. I am currently living in Buffalo, NY for pharmacy school - roughly 200 miles northeast of my hometown.
Food wise, I am a lover of chocolate, cinnamon, and ice cream (or chocolate ice cream). Coffee and tea are always fantastic, too. It's quite possible that cinnamon raisin bread just might be my kryptonite.
When it comes to books, I am a huge Harry Potter geek. I'm a sucker for a good fantasy series (I visit Narnia once a year, every year). I especially adore Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis. I'm firmly convinced that reality will never be better than a book, and I'm perfectly okay with that.
Downton Abbey and Doctor Who are my favorite TV shows - the Brits obviously know their stuff. Gossip Girl is was a guilty pleasure.
I primarily love jumping around to various workout DVDS (Insanity, Jackie Warner, etc.) for exercise, but I'm a diehard fan of biking (as long as there are hills - Buffalo has none). Skiing, hiking, and camping are also wonderful. Oh, and I like to swing my kettle bells around.
I have the craziest little kitties children, ever.
This big guy is Tesla. We like to eat greek yogurt together (his love of ice cream almost surpasses mine).
This little one is Nymeria. She's awesome at playing fetch (with butterfly hair clips).
They're best friends. Like, really. Best friends. Tessy is a great big brother, even if Nym never does leave him alone (they do everything together - including yawning)..
The kitchen is one of my happy places. This is where I like to share the recipes I've created (or found) and loved.
This blog originally started out as a place I shared the food my boyfriend (pictured above - Alex) and I made when we decided to forgo the college meal plan while still living in the dorms - it quickly escalated into an almost entirely healthy baking blog, with occasional "normal food" recipes. Such is why it's titled cooking ala mel, rather than baking ala mel.
I try to lighten up recipes as best as I can without sacrificing flavor (mostly by eliminating refined sugar as much as possible). Either way, though, moderation is key. You won't see me ever passing up the ice cream. Life's too short for that! ;)
A quick note about reposting images/recipes:
If you copy/paste the entire recipe and use my photos, that is copyright infringement, so here's what you can do:
If you want to create and share one of my recipes, feel free to do so, writing the recipe in your own words and sharing your own original photographs - just be sure to link back to my original post as a source.
If you want to use one of my photos, please drop me an email asking my permission - I'll likely say yes (on a case by case basis)!
If you don't adapt the recipe/write it in your own words, you can just link back to the original recipe.
