Stupidly Simple Beginnings: Banana Milk Shake

By: Amy Cao

It's a little hard to explain why I created a cooking show when I can't cook. But that's what I did one day four summers ago as I sat in my apartment in Midtown Manhattan craving a very specific banana shake from a Venezuelan restaurant in the East Village, a 20-minute excursion from home. In most parts of New York City, you can be adventurous and sample over a dozen different cuisines within a five-block radius or you can be as particular as you'd like and have pancakes for dinner and pizza for breakfast.

But even in a place like New York where there is no lack of options or, perhaps I should say, especially in a place like New York, we're hungry.

Well, I was hungry and I really wanted a banana shake. And I thought, maybe there are others like myself who can't cook but want a banana shake, too. So I shot, edited and published the first ever Stupidly Simple Snacks video on my laptop, driven by a craving and New York state of mind. Because even when everything you want is within reach, there's still pride to be taken in making something out of what you have: three ingredients, a blender and an attitude that someone would find this helpful (and funny) someday.

That's how Stupidly Simple Snacks, a Web series that shows you what to cook when you can't, came to be. I've since moved back to Brooklyn where I was born and raised, and when hunger hits, I still resort to quick, easy and tasty favorites: smoothies, grilled cheese, basically anything I can put in a panini press or microwave.

Welcome to Stupidly Simple Snacks, where we don't always pronounce the names of ingredients correctly and where things get messy. Ultimately, the show is about making the best of any situation you're in. And that skill, my friends, is applicable everywhere. Let's get started.

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