I’m taking a break from my blog so I can bake more cookies. Seriously, there is not enough time to focus on my Jenny Can Cook website and recipes, handle the daily responsibilities of being alive, and still have time to go to the mall. So I won’t blog for a while but I will start back up when my next philanthropy project gets going. (I need time for that too!)

In the meantime, I am still posting new recipes at https://www.jennycancook.com.

What is my problem? I can’t throw things away! Those cute plastic bottles that honey comes in? I have twenty-seven! After my next batch of granola bars, it’ll be 28! And a good jar with a lid that screws on tight? I can’t throw them away! I need a bigger kitchen.

It’s not just my kitchen items. This is much bigger than that. I have wrapping paper from 1985; Rubber bands spilling out of a shoe box; Pieces of fabric from dresses I sewed in the 70s; Did you know old socks make good cleaning rags? I digress. I also have: Cookbooks that use ingredients they don’t even make any more; Keys that don’t open anything… but you never know; Plastic forks from my 40th birthday party; Enough pieces of string for any possible things that need to be tied up… until I die.

Am I the only one?

Bert wrote to me saying, “I have a dress pattern by Simplicity. It looks very much like you on the package modeling the dress. Is that you?” Bert was kind enough to send a copy of the pattern (thank you for that!). So…. does this look like me? Me with dark hair? Me circa 1965??

I did some modeling in my teens. I even landed a cover! Okay, it was a bar of soap but it was the cover…

So what do yo think? The soap box was me around the same time. (It should have been an eyeliner product – or an ad for “Hairstyles you can hang clothes on. With a flip like this, who needs a coat rack?”

Back to the pattern. This looks like an easy one to make. I still have some Simplicity and Butterick patterns for dresses I made when I couldn’t afford to buy them. But the cover of Simplicity #5589 – does this look like me?

When I started posting my cooking videos on youtube, I had no idea how popular they’d become. I did it just for fun because I love to cook and people always asked for my recipes. I’ve made almost a hundred videos now and they want more! I’ve had over ten million views so far (10,249,165 views as of today) with around 25,000 people a day tuning in. Who knew?

And it’s international. People all over the world are making my recipes… from 197 countries! From Iceland to Brunei to Tanzania, they like my cooking. They write to me in broken English and sometimes in Spanish or Polish or Greek. I love it! And here’s the best part: Some people are using my recipes to earn money to help support their families.

~ Maria in Mexico sells my granola in little bags to earn money.

~ Chin Chin in Thailand sells my whole wheat bread to help support her family.

~ Marcio in Brazil sells my pan pizza and hash browns in his pub.

~ Carmen in Ecuador sells my cinnamon rolls to help provide for her children.

It sure feels good to know my recipes are helping people, not to mention that hundreds of thousands of people have made and enjoyed my recipes at home, wherever they are. What are the most watched videos? My fall-off-the-bone ribs; then pan pizza; followed by my hash browns. Yes…. hash browns. I never saw that coming!

I’d like to thank whoever invented the internet for allowing me to share my love of cooking with the world. Who was that? Was it really Al Gore?

If you’re curious about my youtube videos, click here:

Cooking is more fun when you have great toys to play with, like colorful bowls and kitchen tools. I even found a hot pink spatula last week but colorful pot holders are nowhere to be found — except in my kitchen. Because I made them. I went to Jo-Ann fabrics, got 1/4 yard each of quilted fabrics, some binding and made my own. Each fabric has a different design on the back. Aren’t they beautiful?

Here are my pot holders…

Here are the backs…

Here’s how I made them: There was no pattern to so I just cut the fabric into 7 by 8-inch shapes and rounded the corners. I used two thicknesses per pot holder so before adding the binding, I first connected the pieces together to keep them flat. I did that by sewing two seams – each one diagonal from corner to corner. Then I used Double Fold Bias Tape (extra wide) for the edge. I used an old existing pot holder to see how to secure the “loop.”

A safety note: When I baked a cake at 350 degrees and used my new pot holder to remove the pan, a little heat came through by the time I put the pan on a rack so when I make more, I plan to use 4 thicknesses instead of just two and I suggest that if anyone makes them, to make them thicker or just use them as decoration. Next time I plan to use some leftover plain quilted fabric for my extra filler and save my fancy fabric for the outside.

Hey, with those colors I could turn these pot holders into a bikini. All I need is some colorful string and voila! Coverage for the beach! Of course, men would have it easier. All they need is an oven mitt.

We bought tickets to benefit a fundraiser on Saturday and went to the Pantages Theater to see the show. I was excited to see the headliner, Neil Young, but did not expect to see Brad Pitt in the audience. Brad Pitt!! So here’s the rundown…

The tickets were benefiting Autism Speaks, which is a wonderful cause, but I thought it was just a concert. Then Jack Black walked out as the host. Then Christina Applegate came out after that. And we saw Ed Asner in the audience, too! The best part of the night was an auction for a guitar signed by everyone involved that people in the audience were bidding for and Brad Pitt was one of the bidders, which is how I got this picture that was put up on the screen.

The highlight of the concert was definitely Neil Young. Everyone was thrilled to see him perform. Also on the bill were Stephen Stills and Shawn Colvin as well as The White Buffalo. That’s the band you hear if you’ve ever watched Sons of Anarchy. They were great! Here’s the best picture I could take with my phone of (left-to-right) Stephen Stills, Jack Black, Neil Young, and another artist.

I thought it was going to be just another Saturday night but it was way beyond our expectations to see all these people. By the way, the auction was for a signed Fender Stratocaster and Brad got it for $25,000.

It’s finally here! My new website!

More cow bell! More party balloons!! I’m celebrating the launch of my new website and I’m so excited! It’s been a long wait but it’s so worth it. Plus, it’s now mobile-friendly, too! A big thank you to my friend and website developer, Robert Avedissian (Avetar Interactive) for his fabulous work on this new site and also to my assistant, Damon, for actually understanding what Robert was doing.

Thank you, Robert, for my awesome new home!!  See you at our celebration lunch. I’ll be the one with balloons!!! And a cow bell. Big hugs!! xoxoxo

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
It’s a day to be grateful and I have much to be grateful for.
1) Squirrels are hybernating.
2) I don’t have to wear Spanx.
3) I have never bought anything “as seen on TV.”
4) I can still drive at night.
5) There’s a TV in my bathroom.
6) TMZ doesn’t know where I live.
7) I will always be older than Cher.
8) I will never be a vegan.
9) No one recognizes me at Target.
10) They make 3-ply toilet paper.

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone. I’ll be cooking all day and loving it.
Coming soon: A brand new website… I can’t wait!! 🙂 🙂

We all hoped Joan Rivers would pull through after she suffered cardiac arrest during a medical procedure on her vocal cords but it was not meant to be. She was a brilliant comedian. She had to be to break through all the barriers faced by women comics back in the 60s. By succeeding she paved the way for other women comics, including myself, but no only that, she was an incredibly kind and supportive entertainer.

I appeared on Hollywood Squares with her in 1988 when I was just starting out and she sat with me during a break, was so nice to me, and even gave me advice about writing. Then in 1990, I was a guest on her daytime talk show and again, she was gracious and just as kind to me again. When she did stand up, everyone talked about it. “Did you hear what Joan Rivers said? Can you believe what Joan Rivers said?” She was fearless. She pushed the envelope and that’s when she was at her best. She was always outrageous and we loved her for it. All the brilliant comics who had us falling down laughing were outrageous, just like Joan.

I am so sad for missing all the great things she still had to say and sad for her family dealing with this unexpected tragedy. Joan may have been 81 but she was full of life and just as funny as ever. Even when contemplating her own death, Joan has managed to make us laugh again. Here are Joan’s final wishes:

“When I die (and yes, Melissa, that day will come; and yes, Melissa, everything’s in your name), I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action…. I want Craft Services, I want paparazzi and I want publicists making a scene!

I want it to be Hollywood all the way. I don’t want some rabbi rambling on; I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents. I don’t want a eulogy; I want Bobby Vinton to pick up my head and sing Mr. Lonely.

I want to look gorgeous, better dead than I do alive. I want to be buried in a Valentino gown and I want Harry Winston to make me a toe tag. And I want a wind machine so that even in the casket my hair is blowing just like Beyoncé’s.”

Rest in peace, Joan.

When I heard our zoo got two new lions, I couldn’t wait to go and see. Denis and I went last week and there they were… asleep. I wanted to take a picture but they wouldn’t move. I tried to explain to the lions that I drove a long way to come and see them and the least they could do is wake up. A bunch of other people were standing by with cameras just like me, but the lazy lions wouldn’t give us the time of day.

Still, I refused to leave. Good things take time and finally, the male started making low growling noises and I expected him to start moving around. All he did was yawn and go back to sleep. I think it was a yawn. Maybe he was hoping someone would throw a snack in there… like a club sandwich, or a couple of warthogs.