The Knead to Feed

Sauteed Sprout Slaw

2011-02-13T12:17:00.004-05:00

I love brussel sprouts. LOVE. They're just so friggin cute and tasty. But I get sick of roasting them every time I make them, so I tried something new this past week.

I got my sprouts from the store in a little mesh bag, but you could also get them by the stalk and cut them up yourself.

Ingredients:

20- 30 medium brussel sprouts, sliced thin

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

salt and pepper

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

Cook onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until onions are soft.

Add brussel sprouts, mix well with onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper (use less salt if you are also using regular sodium soy sauce).

Once sprouts are softened and starting to brown just a bit, add vinegar and soy sauce (you can add more or less as desired). Mix well. Serve.

Bacon Cheddar Hot Tots

2011-02-13T11:53:00.002-05:00

Well, that's what I like to call them. My roommates and I were not particularly interested in watching the SuperBowl last weekend, but we are always really in to cooking. So we invited a few friends over, for the sole purpose of feeding them.

I found this recipe while browsing tastespotting the other day- my favorite non-homework activity. The original recipe is on RecipeGirl.com. Just from looking at it, we knew these had to be just heavenly. and they were! (if your heaven is full of greasy cheesy bacon-y goodness on a steaming puff of potato)

Make sure that tater tots are partially thawed- otherwise you won't be able to proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Make a small cut into each tater tot. Place a small piece of cheddar cheese inside the cut tot. Sprinkle with Tabasco or other hot sauce. Wrap in bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Bake on sheet pan at 450 degrees, for about 15 minutes, or until bacon is slightly crispy on edges.

Remove and devour.

Unfortunately, when we made these, we forgot the Tabasco. Instead, we sprinkled hot sauce on them as we ate them. Whenever you incorporate the hot sauce- you really need to include it- it makes them even more delicious.

We also made a few with small slices of pickles wrapped inside the bacon with the cheese. SO GOOD.

Beef & Mushroom Stroganoff

2011-02-13T11:37:00.003-05:00

I was feeling really ambitious the other day, but not quite ambitious enough to find and follow a recipe for beef stroganoff. So, of course, I improvised- and it turned out quite delicious. I won't put the exact recipe up because (1) i don't quite remember it and (2) it was an odd assortment of ingredients and guesswork. I can give further details if anyone wants.

Sautee sliced onions and minced garlic until soft. Add sliced mushrooms, cook till soft and brown.

Remove from heat.

Quickly brown steak (I used pre-sliced stir-frying cuts). Turn down heat, add stock (I used chicken stock- about 1/2 to 1 cup). Add a splash or more of red wine, about 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and about 1 tablespoon dijon mustard. Mix in pan, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix about 2 tbsp flour with butter in warm pan. Add a bit of stock to loosen. Then add to steak and sauce. Mix well.

Add mushrooms and onions back to steak and sauce. Add about 1/2 cup of sour cream, mixing to combine. Simmer for just a few minutes, until sauce has thickened just a bit.

Serve over warm pasta (egg noodles, or fusilli like I used). Sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Like I said, this was very much improvised, so feel free to do the same should you make this. Or better yet- maybe follow a recipe. But just so you know, this was delicious!

Red Snapper and Tomato Sauce

2011-01-18T20:42:00.006-05:00

I'm headed back to school (for my very last semester!) in a week, and have decided its time to get back to cooking and blogging.

(tomato sauce and orzo cooking on the stove, red snapper waiting in the wings)

And this turned out amazing, especially considering it was my first time cooking fish. ever. (with some prep help from my sous chef, aka mom)

Ingredients

4 fillets of red snapper

1 can (28 oz) of tomatoes

1 onion, sliced

6 cloves of garlic, slivered (my family loves garlic)

1/2 cp kalamata olives, sliced

2-3 tsp capers

olive oil

salt & pepper

In a saute pan, brown onion and garlic in olive oil.

Add tomatoes. (you can use diced canned tomatoes or do it yourself with whole canned tomatoes, which is what we did). Add olives and capers. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook over medium-high heat until liquid reduces and smells delicious (as it most surely will!)

In the mean time, prepare the fillets- wash and dry. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place fish on a baking dish, skin side down. Remove sauce from heat and spread evenly over fish.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, or until fish is opaque and flakes easily. (Ours took about 15 minutes).

Dinner is served! Red snapper smothered in tomato sauce on a bed of orzo rice, accompanied by roasted veggies, salad, and some delicious rustic bread. YUM.

Roasted Cauliflower

2011-01-18T20:33:00.002-05:00

My new favorite! Unfortunately there are no pictures because we ate most of it before I remembered to grab my camera.

here's the very very simple recipe:

cauliflower (we used one head/bunch?), rinsed and broken into florets

Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and mix to make sure its all evenly distributed

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (on a baking sheet or other roasting dish). In the last 5 minutes, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Replace in oven until cheese melts and florets just barely turn golden and crispy on the ends.

Try not to pop the florets in your mouth like candy... because this is really good. Enjoy with the rest of your dinner!

Updated BLT

2010-06-20T13:00:00.004-04:00

I say updated mainly because I (and my family) hardly follow rules of tradition when it comes to food. And also because we were lacking the L of the BLT, and because I wanted to add some A(vocado) to my sandwich. And really, who doesn't love avocado? on everything? really?

The bread: Cheddar Cheese Roll from Cazuela's Bakery, which makes a weekly appearance at our local Farmer's Market.

The B- bacon. duh.

The S- its actually spinach.

The A- avocado. yum.

The T- fresh tomato from the farmer's market (from the same farm as the green tomatoes in early post.)

Needless to say it was delish. Served with a side of pickled cucumbers with red onion and dill, made by my parents with cukes and dill fresh from our backyard garden.

Fried Green Tomatoes on a Sunday Morning

2010-06-20T12:15:00.007-04:00

Maybe because I love the movie too much, or maybe I'm just incapable of turning down pretty produce and food, my new favorite summer tradition is definitely a fresh batch of fried green tomatoes on Sunday morning. Every Saturday morning (when I'm at home with the fam) we head over to one of the local farmer's market, aka heaven. Everything just looks so absolutely delish.

While picking through the tubs of ripe tomatoes, I ran across a few beautiful green tomatoes, and then- LIGHTBULB! Fried Green Tomatoes. yum, how good would that be? and even if they didn't taste all that good, these green tomatoes were just too pretty to pass up.

So now, two weekends in a row, I've cooked up fried green tomatoes for breakfast/brunch for my family. Last weekend, I had a friend visiting from England, and she was a bit confused by the idea, but once she tasted them, well there was no more of that nonsense.

These are definitely a must in the summer time. And they're perfect topped with a fried egg and basil (sort of like a southern eggs benedict- ish).

Fried Green Tomatoes

serves 3-4 people

Ingredients:

2-3 green tomatoes, or even somewhat reddish tomatoes that still have that hard feeling of unripened green tomatoes

2 eggs

cornmeal or flour (I've used both, and I think I like flour best)

seasoning as you prefer (salt, pepper, anything else you want)

oil

Slice the tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick, and lay out on paper towel to dry out just a bit.

Beat the two eggs in a bowl or dish, and spread the cornmeal or flour (with any seasoning) into another dish.

Heat oil until it splatters a bit when you drop a bit of water into it.

In assembly line fashion, dip tomato slices in egg, then cover in flour/cornmeal, and then drop into oil.

Let tomatoes sit 1-2 minutes each side, or until golden brown. Flip, let sit for another 1-2 minutes.

Remove tomato to a plate covered in a paper towel to let dry and absorb some of the excess oil.

Repeat with the rest.

Can be eaten however you choose, but I'm really feeling the tomato topped with a fried egg (over-easy), topped with some basil, or some dill, any other fresh herb you prefer.

And then.... EAT!

cornmeal, topped with basil, some grilled toast, and fresh strawberries and blueberries from the farmer's market

flour, topped with dill- and it's happy to see you!

(get it? cuz it looks like a smiley face)

Postmodernism= gross, Cobbler= fantastic

2010-03-30T14:40:00.004-04:00

So I was doing some homework last night, reading a book on postmodernism. As with all assignments where I had to deal with postmodernism (which come along way more often that I would prefer, thank you humanities), I was growing frustrated and irritated and my eyes were beginning to drooooop. Sitting at my desk, I thought to myself, "what could possibly make this better?" And then it hit me, like the giant pile of library books sitting on my shelf: cobbler.

That's right, cobbler! When I think of cobbler I think delicious peach cobbler baked with fresh fruit from the roadside stand on the way to the beach, lounging in the sun, and enjoying all that is summer. Unfortunately its still March, I'm stuck inside, and definitely not at the beach. I do, however, have some blackberries and strawberries in my fridge, just begging to be eaten.

I kind of improvised this recipe, since my standard cobbler recipe is in a cookbook at my parent's house. And also because the first recipe that popped up after a quick google search required self-rising flour. Self-rising flour?! Who uses that? Probably a lot of people, actually, but not me. After all, this is just a tiny apartment kitchen, I can't stock everything.

Blackberry and Strawberry Cobbler

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup milk

small dash of vanilla

1/2 stick butter

blackberries and strawberries (or whatever fruit you prefer)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a medium baking dish while the oven is preheating. (Doing this now also means you don't have to butter the dish separately).

Mix the berries or other fruits with 1 tbsp sugar.

Mix together the other dry and wet ingredients. (You could also combine the melted butter here, rather than melting the butter in the baking dish).

Pour the batter into the baking dish, and top with the fruit.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until the cobbler looks golden brown and/or the smell is just too irresistible.

Let cool. Serve with ice cream or ice cream. (or all by itself, if you've recently depleting your entire supply of ice cream during mid-terms week.)

Also, please ignore all the sugar coated on top of the cobbler in the picture. That one recipe I looked at said to sprinkle sugar on top in the last 5 minutes to crystalize the top and make it crunchy. Lies! The sugar just serves to show everybody else how much of a pig you are. Great in theory (ugh, theory, how you frustrate me), bad in practice.

I'm Back!

2009-09-08T23:08:00.002-04:00

It has now been approximately a decade and a half since I last posted anything on this blog, and its high time I return to my duties! In the intervening time period, I have traveled abroad, living in Greece for 4 months and traveling all over Europe (and even briefly into Asia), made a few trips out to California, lived in the woods while working at a summer camp, and finally returned to my new and improved college living situation. How is it new and improved, you may ask?.... Because.... drum roll please.....

It has a kitchen!!! A full kitchen! That's rights, ladies and gents, your humble starving scholar is kitchenless no more. This is very very good (being able to cook real food at any time), but also very very bad (a slowly progressing exchange of cooking instead of homework).
Which brings me to my second announcement. As was originally intended for this blog, I will be working out bits and pieces of my Keystone Project (consider it an undergraduate thesis), on the role of women in the culinary realm. Now don't fret, I won't get all philosophical on you (or at least I hope not), but there may be more discussion (hopefully) than there was before. But, as I think its very important for me, as someone writing about women in the culinary realm, to understand the subject, I intend to actively participate in said field. Therefore, there will be plenty of cooking, and plenty of eating. And hopefully some good recipes and photos to share.

So, welcome back to my blog! And forgive me in advance for the delays between posts that I am positive will occur more often than any of us would like.

Until next time,

Bon Apetite! Happy Eating!

Locally Grown Inspiration

2009-01-22T20:28:00.002-05:00

Shopping in Whole Foods yesterday, I was taken by the large amount of local lamb meat in the meat section. And, as I am heading out to Greece in just over a week, I figured it might be time to practice making lamb. And even more importantly, I'm totally for buying local when possible.

We bought a 2 lb. butterflied leg of lamb. At home, I rubbed it over with 1 clove chopped garlic, about a tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme, and sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper. Then evenly rolled and tied it. This part was a little tricky, and my dad took charge and did most of it. Then I seared it on all sides in a grill pan over high heat, before putting it in roasting pan in the oven at 375 degrees with some quartered redskin potatoes for about half and hour, checking the interior temperature until it reached 125 degrees.

Let me just say it made a pretty freaking good meal: Roast lamb, roast potatoes, and steamed green beans.

The local lamb meat came from the Wagon Wheel Ranch in Mount Airy, MD, from free range, naturally fed livestock. And to think, we may have been eating one of these little creatures.

Candy Cane Marshmallows

2009-01-08T21:15:00.006-05:00

While not studying for my finals last month, I couldn't help browsing through recipes I was just dying to make. At the top of my list: marshmallows. And I don't know why. I don't even really like marshmallows. But on every website and blog and recipe I looked at, people were absolutely raving about homemade marshmallows. They were supposedly heavenly, or something.

Well, those people couldn't have been more right. I literally whipped up a batch almost immediately upon returning home, adding a special seasonal twist.

These are so good that you really can't eat just one. And knowing they aren't from a giant processor, and don't contain funky chemical preservatives merely encourages continuous snacking. And these are also great in hot chocolate, even coffee. Alone, each one tastes like a little piece of whipped heaven.

***Make sure you have all ingredients and equipment measured and ready to go before starting. The process goes very quickly***

Ingredients:
.75-oz unflavored gelatin (3 envelopes of Knox gelatin)
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Line a 9X9 inch baking pan with lightly oiled plastic wrap.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for about 10 minutes. (Continue with next steps while waiting.)
Combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil and boil hard for 1 minute.
Pour the boiling syrup into soaked gelatin and turn on the mixer, using the whisk attachment, to high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, add in the vanilla extract beat to incorporate.
Scrape marshmallow into the prepared pan and spread evenly (Lightly greasing your hands and the spatula helps a lot here). Take another piece of lightly oiled plastic wrap and press lightly on top of the marshmallow, creating a seal. Let mixture sit for a few hours, or overnight, until cooled and firmly set.

In a shallow dish, combine equal parts cornstarch, confectioners' sugar, and crushed candy canes. (Do not over-crush the candy, leave some small chunks in the mix). Remove marshmallow from the pan, and cut into equal pieces of about an inch. (Make sure to grease the knife or scissors, as well as your hands before doing so. It will make the process much easier).
Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners’ sugar mixture.
Store in an airtight container.

Then, try not to eat them all at once.

Recipe from Baking Bites.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

2009-01-08T20:15:00.007-05:00

So, because I am pretty awful at regularly updating I am backtracking all the way to Thanksgiving! Because I really just had to share this!

Pumpkin Spice Cake! Deliciously moist with intense flavors. And, of course, as good as traditional Pumpkin Pie is, sometimes its just really nice to switch things up.

Recipe found at Joy of Baking.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 and 1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin pure
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sifted flour (recipe calls for cake flour, but I used all-purpose)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 8 inch cake pans. (I put parchment paper rounds in the bottom and buttered and floured the sides.)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add pumpkin and vanilla, beat well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and spices.
Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in three additions to the pumpkin batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Pour batter into the two prepared cake pans.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes in the pans, and on a wire rack until completely cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces on cream cheese
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 cups confectioners sugar

In a food processor (or mixer), combine cream cheese and butter till smooth. Add syrup and sugar, adding additional to meet your taste.

Place one layer of cake top side down. Spread frosting on top. Place second cake top side down on top. Frost the top and around the sides of the cake. Top with toasted and chopped nuts if you desire.

Keep refrigerated and bring to room temperature before serving.

And here is the pumpkin cake with all 4 or 5 or 6 other desserts, including my sister's peanut butter and fudge pie.

The Christmas Spirit Shines Through

2008-12-17T22:40:00.004-05:00

Tonight's episode of Top Chef may have been filmed months ago, but it's nice to know that the Christmas spirit is never out of season.
On tonight's whirlwind edition of Top Chef, Martha Stewart stopped by for a one-pot holiday wonder Quickfire Challenge. Hosea, Ariane, and Jamie made the best impressions, with Ariane's cauliflower puree taking the prize. There was something else on the plate, but Martha certainly didn't seem to notice. She seemed to be taken away by the fact that Ariane fooled her with cream rather than butter in the cauliflower.

Keeping in the holiday theme, the cheftestants had to cater a large benefit event for amFAR, where each dish was to be inspired by one of the twelve days of Christmas (though I did notice that the Four Calling Birds were missing). But alas, one of the fridges was left open overnight! And Radhika's and Hosea's main ingredients were essentially ruined. Luckily, with the Christmas spirit hanging thickly in the way-before-Christmas air, the cheftestants gathered 'round the prep tables to help each other. Now that's the spirit of giving. Or, as one of the lovely, non-egotistical guy suggested, having everyone on an even playing field would only make his victory more sweet. Classy. very nice.

At judges table, Radhika's duck leg, Jeff's 'island leaping' plate, Steffan's chicken pot pie and Hosea's pork lion fared the best. ...way to go Radhika and Hosea for coming back from a severe disadvantage! And Hosea took it all! He won the judge's choice, as well as, it appears, ladies' choice at the event (guests gave red ribbons to their favorites, and let's just say these strapping young men had an advantage stronger than just their culinary skills).

Jamie's scallop mess, Mel's overpowering blue cheese, and Gene's ceviche fared the worst.
And then Tom walks in for a heart-to-heart, and an encouraging talk about doing your best and stepping up their game. And then, surprise: NO ONE IS GOING HOME!! "a holiday gift" from the judges. That was a bit of a let down, but I guess understandable.

And as for stepping it up, I agree. I've been a bit disappointed, not only in the lack of amazing food, but in the lack of a likability factor from ANY of the cheftestants.

so, for next week: there are no limits, in an effort to get these kids to REALLY impress the judges. But wait, there will inevitably be more drama. Jamie uses scallops again, and Fabio reminds her this isn't "Top Scallop cooker" its Top Chef. And... there's a new judge, and no one seems to happy with that.

Meanwhile, 15 minutes after the episode ought to over, I am headed back to cramming for my final exams!
Until next time, happy eating!

Thanksgiving Daily Updates!

2008-11-27T13:34:00.003-05:00

Dinner is still hours away, and I have already burned my tongue. Burned it real bad, on fresh fudge- at about 200 degrees. whoops.

So the day started off with some eggs benedict, a holiday staple in my house. Shortly thereafter, we began the food preparation.

Dessert 1: Peanut Butter Pie with a layer of Chocolate Fudge.
Do you see where this is going?
So we made the fudge no problem, it was pretty easy. Then we made a a graham cracker pie crust, and poured the chocolate fudge on top to form the bottom layer. Carrying the pot and thermometer over to the sink, I could see a big glob a yummy shiny sticky fudge about to fall to the floor. To save some extra mess from the kitchen floor, I caught the fudge on my finger. Looking at it, I thought to myself, "Oh, Chocolate!" As I lifted my finger to my mouth, I realized, the thermometer still read over 200 degrees. Too late. oops. Words of wisdom... don't do what I just did!
Minutes later, my sister did the same thing. Sometimes, we aren't the sharpest tools in the shed.

So, then we whipped up the peanut butter filling... and let me just tell you, it's like eating peanut butter on a fluffy cloud in heaven. Yes, that good.

Still in the works:
Watergate salad resting in the fridge. (which is seriously one of the weirdest Thanksgiving dishes ever. But, my sister really loves making it, so... yeah)
Cornbread stuffing with sausage, currently in progress.
Brisket is smoking, turkey waiting to be fried.

Next up:
Pumpkin spice cake. yum.

Let The Games Begin!

2008-11-12T20:41:00.003-05:00

The NEW Top Chef starts in just over an hour. Who is excited? Um... that would be me.
And even more exciting, there are two 'locals' on the show this year: Jill Snyder from Baltimore, and Carla Hall from Washington, DC. Two local women vying for the title. Maybe they can pull off another win like Stephanie's last season! There was actually an article in the campus paper about the show today. Glad to see a validation of my obsession!

In other news, I have begun my Keystone Project on women an food: "feminist food studies" you might say. My first chapter will be a historical background of women and food. Keep a lookout, I may update every once in awhile about my project. That is, if I can keep up with this blogging, which has proved rather difficult recently. We shall see...

Don't forget to watch TOP CHEF!!!!

THE MOST EXCITING THING EVER!

2008-10-19T09:58:00.004-04:00

Even though I haven't updated in... a few decades... I have a very special announcement!

I AM GOING TO GREECE!!!

That's right, you heard me. I am spending next semester in Greece. Specifically I will be studying in Rhodes, but I am hoping to travel all over the place: throughout Europe, maybe to Egypt, and maybe I will just swim to Turkey since I'll be so close. I might be able to see Turkey from my house!

So, obviously I am excited to go abroad. I'm Greek, so I can't wait to get in touch with those roots, and I can't wait to travel and meet new people. But really, what I am most excited about is the food. Really, did you have any doubt about that? I cannot wait for the food. I am also hoping to learn how to cook Greek food, which would be awesome. I would come back home and whip up some moussaka to share. Yum...

Back at School... with a Pretend Kitchen

2008-10-04T11:42:00.014-04:00

Maryland Wall of Victory!

I'm back at school! And actually have been for over a month now.

I figure its about time to start work on my blog again, if only for a procrastination tool against the massive stack of reading piling on my desk.

So, in brief, this year's living situation is a step up from last year's. It's bigger, to begin with- a 6 person suite with a massive common room. I lucked out with a single, too, which is fantastic.

Food-wise, though, there are way more opportunities to avoid eating at the dining hall. We have snuck in a number of appliances, which I guess we aren't really supposed to have. Between the common room and the 4 bedrooms, we have: 5 refrigerators, 2 microwaves, 1 toaster oven, 1 toaster, 1 hot pot, 1 rice cooker, and 1 unopened and untouched hot plate. Don't

tell anyone!

My storage area for plates/ tupperware/ dish towels, etc.

My pantry area. In my closet, food takes precedence over clothing. Sad, isn't it?

The fridge covered and packed with food.

The kitchen area of the common room.

Birthday Blondies

2008-08-20T18:57:00.003-04:00

One of my best friends' birthday was last week, followed by her return to UNC for the fall semester. To celebrate and say goodbye, I made a special requested baked good: blondies. I have never made blondies before, but have decided that are really delicious and quite easy.

The recipe was really simple, though it took me a long time to decide which recipe to use. There were two varieties, one that combined most ingredients into the mix without any elaboration or extra steps. The other type combined the butter and sugar over heat before combining other ingredients. I have no idea what difference this step makes, so if anybody does, please enlighten me!

Anyways, I chose a recipe that was very simple, no extra or elaborate steps. I would have liked to add more to the recipe to spice it up, but alas, our pantry was out of baking goods. So the blondies were filled only with chocolate chips and pecans. Because of that, I think they were a little too like chocolate chip cookies baked into a bar. So, last time I was at the grocery store I picked up some dried cranberries, white chocolate and butterscotch chips, as well as more pecans and walnuts, almost all of which will be added to my next blondies batch, in addition to some oatmeal. I think I'll try my own test kitchen to see how that other type of recipe turns out.

Side note, my friend unfortunately left the box of blondies I gave her on her kitchen counter at home when she left for school. Oops.

I found this recipe on Baking Bites. Check it out.

Chewy, Chunky Blondies
(from Baking: From My Home to Yours)
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (light) brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet/semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or cover pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, waiting until each is fully incorporated to add the next, then beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring only until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chips, nuts and coconut by hand.
Spread batter into prepared pan, using a lightly greased spatula to even it out.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester comes out with only a few crumbs.
Cool blondies in the pan, but turn them out (and then reinvert them so the top is facing up) before slicing. If pan was covered with parchment paper, lift out blondies together using paper as handles.

Greatest and Easiest Meat Ever!

2008-08-20T17:33:00.007-04:00

I have found my new favorite dish to cook. It is simply the best. And I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything. But this is good.

Carnitas is simply one of the greatest meats out there. "Little meats", carnitas is simply slow cooked, shredded pork, though you could really do it with any kind of meat. It makes superb tacos, even better with an entirely themed Mexican night.
I made this for the first time on our third night at the beach. Because the meat cooks slowly, I was able to go up to the house to start the meat, head back down to the beach for happy hour, return to the house, shower, and make side dishes before the meat was completely done. In that same time, my sister's boyfriend caught a bluefish down at the beach. They brought it back to the house, where he, my sister and my dad cleaned, scaled, and hacked it apart so that we could bake it.
I had been wanting to make Carnitas for a very long time, and had looked for a recipe from a reliable source, and our plethora of cookbooks at home. Finally I found a recipe from another blogger, taken from Diana Kennedy. The recipe follows, but please check out the blog to get a history and back story on Carnitas.

Ingredients
3 lb. pork butt/ shoulder
3 cups water
1 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons salt

1. Cut pork into cubes, about 2 or 3 inches. Pour liquids and salt into pot, or dutch oven, placing meat on top. Bring liquids to a boil before turning heat to low. Let meat simmer for 2 hours. (Original recipe says uncovered, but I accidentally covered the pot, and it turned out fine, while also preventing too much of the liquid from steaming off).
2. If you covered the pot, uncover near the end of 2 hours.
3. After 2 hours, turn heat up to medium high, letting liquid boil off, uncovered. Stir occasionally to keep meat from sticking to the bottom. (Some meat will stick no matter what).
4. Once liquid is gone or almost gone, you can shred the pork with a fork if you so desire ( and I much desire).

Homesick Texan's Carnitas

The key to this recipe is not to freak out if you make a mistake, such as when I covered the simmering pot; do not worry if the meat looks kind of funky after the two hours of boiling (the meat will be plump, and pale); and most of all, you cannot be afraid of fat. True carnitas from Mexico are often cooked in lard. This recipe renders the pork's own fat, rather than adding extra fat to it. And most of all, do not freak out if the meat sticks to the bottom of the pan. Scrape it off with a spatula, and you'll be pleased with a little crispness in the largely soft and juicy meat.
With the meat, we served warm tortillas, beans and onions, fresh salsa, avocado, fresh cole slaw (without mayonnaise), and roasted corn with cilantro butter. And, who could forget, the fresh fish, drenched in butter, lemon juice, garlic, and old bay, wrapped in foil, and baked. It basically tasted like crabs, with all the old bay. But it was still delicious, tasty, and most importantly, really really fresh! It also made good tacos with the cole slaw.
It was a full kitchen, once again.

So That's Why They Use Fondant!

2008-08-20T16:23:00.003-04:00

I ruled out another career option last night: Cake Maker. I am so NOT the Ace of Cakes!

I decided I wanted to make a cake from scratch, as I had not yet crossed that off my culinary to-do list. I began the ill-fated escapade yesterday afternoon, choosing a "perfect" chocolate cake, according to the recipe. The actual making, mixing, and baking was not so difficult. And the house smelled really good, chocolate-y and fresh. The cream filling and the frosting was good.
However, I did not anticipate the amount of time the whole ordeal would take, nor did I have any idea that piecing the cake together would be so difficult. Did I mention that this was to be a three level cake? And that the tiers were not all the same size, because our cake pans are not all the same? And that one of the cakes broke in half when I took it out of the pan? Oops...
Piling the cakes on top of each other was also tricky, as was guessing the right amount of cream filling and frosting.
But once it was all assembled and frosted, though it looked a bit of a mess and towered over the counter, it was still pretty tasty. Just to give you an idea of what it looked like: If you've ever seen the seen the scene in Matilda where the chubby little boy has to eat Trunchbull's cake, yeah- it looks like that! That's all you get. I am too embarrassed to put a picture up.
At least I can truly say that it was a learning experience.

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

2008-08-18T22:59:00.008-04:00

Such is the scene when everyone in my family participates in making dinner at once.

On our second night at the beach, my family wound up cooking for over 20 people. 20 people crammed into our small beach house dining/living room. What do you cook quickly for that amount of people? Spaghetti, of course. But good spaghetti. With a semi-homemade pasta sauce. Canned sauce, with a few additions: fresh veggies, Italian sausage, spices, and fresh herbs brought from the garden at home. Sandra Lee would be proud.

But the real feat of the night was dessert. Two desserts, made by my sister Jennifer and me. To begin, an ice cream sandwich cake. My sister made this one: a layer of ice cream sandwiches across the bottom of a 9X13 pan, topped with a layer of whipped cream, another layer of sandwiches and cream each. My only contribution to this was smashed and crumbled Heath bars on top, smashed by hand with the handle of a whisk. That's hard work.

Our second dessert was a peach and blueberry cobbler, one that we have made in variations before. Double the fruit, double the yum! Production was more of a group effort, due to my snacking while peeling the peaches. Oops. It turned out very very well, and was promptly devoured after its removal from the oven. Boy, did our house smell good that night!

Life's a Beach

2008-08-03T10:12:00.003-04:00

First week in August means just one thing to me: VACATION. And more specifically, the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We always stay in Corolla, which is at the northernmost part of the islands, less touristy, more relaxed, and pretty much heaven.

We arrived yesterday afternoon after a longer than normal drive, due to inclement weather and a huge amount of traffic. The best part of the drive is the stop at Sonic. Sonic, one of the greatest fast-food chains in America, and one of the very few that I trust. The only problem is there is not one single Sonic within an hour or two of my home in Maryland. I guess this might be one of the reasons it is so special, because I can only have it once a year when at the beach. The burgers and shakes brought straight out to the parked car, like an old drive in diner (I'm assuming, since I don't go back that far). And the shakes... amazing!

Anyways, we arrived at the beach in the afternoon. Yay!!! Unpacking followed, as well the first trip to the beach. The water was calm and perfect, the heat was pretty bad, the sun unbearable and the flies biting hard. Perfect! Sort of.

And for dinner we had Carolina BBQ from this cute little bbq shack and this cute little beach village. Its a yearly tradition to start the week with this yummy food, followed by continued stops throughout the week. Pulled pork, whole barbecued chicken, sauces, slaw and potato salad. Delicious. Nothing like it!

"Paris Holds the Key to Her Heart"... Paris Part 1

2008-07-29T14:15:00.002-04:00

I seem to be getting some cosmic messages here. For the past 2 or 3 days, I have been constantly reminded that I haven't yet written about my trip to Paris. First I watched on TV Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations in Paris, followed by An American in Paris the next day. I've heard about Paris on the radio, in conversation, a good friend just left for a European study trip of her own, and of course, my dad keeps reminding me that I haven't written of my trip yet.

So here goes.

At the end of May I took my first trip overseas, to Paris to be exact, for a study abroad trip with the Classics department at my university. Studying the classics, mythology, history, and art, we visited a lot of museums and churches, and all that good stuff. But the real meat of the trip (pun intended!) was the food, experiencing the culture and the cuisine.

First and foremost, I can't go any further without talking about how good the city smelled. Disregarding the bathroom-like stench of some of the metro stations, the city as a whole smelled wonderful, like clean air, fresh flowers, butter, sugar, and fresh baked bread. It is that scent that I will always associate with Paris, and one that I wish I could have bottled up and taken with me. There's no other smell like it, and no matter how many cookies or loaves of bread come out of my oven, I cannot duplicate that fresh baked smell of Paris.

During the first whole day, I experienced one of the greatest culinary aspects of Paris. Crepes. Even better, crepes prepared to order on the streets. There really was nothing better than watching the crepe batter spread across the hot skillet, with the topping spread overtop; the scent of melting cheese, or of warmed nutella wafting through the streets. Yes, this street food was so much more fulfilling, and classy than what we often have back at home.

Belated 4th of July

2008-07-25T16:12:00.010-04:00

It's pretty clear that my blogging habits are in a sad state. I am literally months behind! There is no way that I can catch up in chronological order, so prepare yourself for some very random posts.

Today's comes from 4th of July, almost a month ago!
The 4th is all about patriotism, and when it comes to food, there is some pretty standard American fare. But in Maryland, on the 4th of July, national patriotism turned to state pride, and a desperate desire to have the first crab feast of the summer.

If I remember correctly, the day was kind of disappointing in terms of weather. It was very hot, humid, and rain clouds were threatening the sunshine all day long.

My sister and her boyfriend ( whose family's house we would be celebrating at later that night) spent all morning searching for good crab supply. With crabs in high demand and low supply (check the state of the Chesapeake if you have any doubts), and jacked up holiday prices, the search was not easy. They finally arrived at seafood market in DC (I don't know the details), where they bought 2 bushels of live blue crabs. AWESOME! They brought them back home, and put them on ice for a few hours to kind of put them asleep before their imminent deaths.

Meanwhile, I went grocery shopping for ingredients for a Gooey Butter Cake. What is a Gooey Butter Cake, you may ask? Why, the answer would be ... heavenly divine. Its a St. Louis specialty, born of a cake-baking mistake. There are now a large variety of recipes, some featuring cream cheese as the gooey top filling. But in many opinions, there is none better than the true gooey butter filling. (The St. Louis Bread Co., now referred to as Panera outside of the city, has a gooey butter cake danish, which is actually the only gooey butter cake I remember for my early childhood in St. Louis.)

We made two versions, by combining 3 different recipes, which might not have been a good idea. Cake A was made with a pound cake bottom layer and a cream cheese filling on top. Cake B was made with bottom layer from yellow cake mix, and a very very very gooey butter filling on top. Any guesses which took the cake? (HA! pun intended)
Cake B, no questions asked. There is no way to beat that much butter.

The heavy storms arrived just in time for our holiday crab feast. Of course. But nothing can stand between Marylanders and their blue crabs. So we pushed on, and steamed them in both our family's turkey fryers. It was awesome. But since the weather was so crappy, we had to feast inside. Not really that much of a problem. But if you have ever been to a crab feast, you will know that the indoors is not ideal for this type of eating.

The day as a whole was great, full of delicious food and memorable moments.

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

2008-06-30T15:11:00.008-04:00

Slowly, but surely, I am trying to get back into the habit of blogging. If for no other reason, than to keep myself from complete boredom when at home during the day.

So I have lots to talk about, especially Paris! But before I go into that, and dredge up bitterness about not being able to stay abroad for longer, here are just a few quick entries about some recent cooking that I have done.

Last week I made some amazing chicken. The original plan was to break down and fry a whole chicken. But with my mom out of town for the week, its just me and my dad here at home. And I wanted to wait for that big meal. Instead, we grilled some chicken breasts. My job was to prep the chicken, to come up with some marinade. Having absolutely no idea what to do, I combined (this is all guesstimation, keep in mind) 2 tbsp sugar, 1tbsp paprika, 1tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1/2 tbsp chili powder, salt, and a few dashes of cumin. I let the chicken chill in the fridge with the rub for about 2 hours. Then my dad put it on the grill with some left over polenta. And the result... divinely delicious chicken. It was so good, and I am really so proud of how it turned out. I only wish I had gotten a picture before we ate it all.

Last night, I had brussels sprouts for the first time. The dining hall at school started offering the funny green things near the end of the year. By that time, I was sick of eating tasteless and mushy broccoli and cauliflower, that I was so tempted to get the brussels sprouts. But then I realized the school dinning hall might not be the best place to experiment with a new food.

So, I have been waiting for months to try these things. Last night, after doing much Foodnetwork and google searches, I came up with a pretty standard recipe.

Wash sprouts, cut in half lengthwise, tossing and coating in olive oil.

Place flat-side down in a medium-heated skillet, sprinkle with salt, cover for 5 minutes, or until almost tender.

Once tender, turn heat to high, toss to brown sprouts all over, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh grated cheese.

And the verdict? They were good. Not nearly as terrifying as some people make them out to be. But I definitely need to keep experimenting. Sprouts are kind of bitter, and I think maybe sugar would cut the flavor, and help to caramelize. Or maybe some lemon, also to cut the bitterness. In my research, I also found a lot of recipes for brussels sprouts sauteed or roasted with bacon or ham or pancetta. Yum. That sounds like a good option. Because really... how can you go wrong by adding bacon? Not possible.

And We Have A WINNER!!!

2008-06-24T15:10:00.000-04:00

It has been a long long while since I have last updated, due to a short trip across the Atlantic... to PARIS! followed by some plain old unproductive summer boredom. Sorry! Anyways, here is an old post that followed the Top Chef, season 4 finale, finally finished and posted for your reading pleasure.

For those of you who might have missed last night's Top Chef Finale, we have a winner. And that winner is a woman! The first female top chef ever! Stephanie clinched the win. And I do believe I predicted that during the first five minutes of the season.

Now for a recap of the actual competition. Back in Puerto Rico, the competition was down to only Richard, Stephanie, and Lisa, who unfortunately beat out Antonia for a seat in the finals. The challenge was to create a four course meal for the judges and guests, consisting of fish, poultry, red meat and dessert. It has become obvious this season that dessert making skills are a must for Top Chefs. Even in the first episode we saw that a Top Chef must know how to bake a souffle just as well as they know how to perfectly cook a Tomahawk steak. Each cheftestant was also paired with a big name chef who was to serve as the sous chef: Stephanie with Eric Ripert, Richard with Dan Barber, and Lisa with April Bloomfield.

Time spent cooking in the kitchen, very little drama involved, until the second day when, alas, all three sous chefs are absent. The cheftestants had to swim on their own this time. Some more cooking followed. And then it was time.... time for a throwdown! Just kidding. Wrong show.

So as the judges and guests waited anxiously for their meal, the beginning of the end... began. The first course was fish, followed by poultry, red meat, and dessert. Richard, who also stood a strong chance at winning, did not do as well as anticipated, even admitting at the end that he had 'choked'. He might not have done his best, but I don't think he did that badly.

Anyways, both Stephanie and Lisa put out some good dishes. And Lisa would go on to point this out in her typical awkward and insulting attitude later in the episode. But that's a different story...

After much deliberation and a shocking lack of real drama, it was time for a decision. In the end, Stephanie's dishes took the cake (pun intended). Seriously, all of her dishes, except for the ricotta pound cake, which Eric Ripert called 'unrefined', were apparently delicious, and at the very least, looked amazing. They were particularly impressed by her lamb medallions with mushroom, olives, and braised pistachios.
Um.... yum. enough said.

So, with all this and the entire season under her belt, Stephanie Izard became the fourth season's Top Chef, and the first female Top Chef! That's it, no more Top Chef, for a few more months. Farewell to a great season, and sorry for the way over-due update!

And by the way, I totally called that Stephanie would win in the first 5 minutes of the season. Just saying...

She's Back!

2008-05-21T22:39:00.000-04:00

I missed the beginning of Top Chef! All because the American Idol finale was so shocking that it ran over its usual time slot. By the way, I am sending a huge congratulations to David Cook, the winner, and to all those who voted for him, allowing him to beat baby-faced David Archuleta.

The Quickfire Challenge tonight was working the short order egg station at one of Chicago's favorite breakfast joints, Lou Mitchell's. Antonia won, with an advantage going into the Elimination Challenge, which if you hadn't figured it our from last week's teasers, was Restaurant Wars! Antonia got to pick her team, and surprise surprise, she picked the best, Richard and Stephanie. Which left the other team with Lisa, Dale, and Spike, all three of whom really struggle on a basic human level to interact with others, and to produce good food. So really, I guess this wasn't a fair challenge, with the teams so obviously loaded. But, what can we do? Nothing!
So as you might have predicted: Stephanie, Richard, and Antonia were the WINNERS!!!
Under the guidance of executive chef Antonia, and the extra help from past cheftestant Nikki, this team came out on top. The dishes included linguine with shrimp and sausage, beet salad, trout, braised lamb/lamb loin, and a gorgonzola cheesecake with banana scallop (despite poor plating style). Stephanie came out the ULTIMATE WINNER! with a trip to Barcelona, Spain! She's back in the game with another Elimination Challenge win!
Now that leaves Dale, Lisa, and Spike, the LOSERS!!! And as shocking as this may come out to be, Never have a actually preferred Spike to others chefs and actually rooted for him in comparison.
From the atmosphere and design of the front of the house, to the composition and construction of each dish, this team just didn't have what it takes. I particularly liked how the judges (Padma, Ted Allen, Anthony Bourdain, and Jose Andres) compared some of the decor to the back of Prince's dressing room, or something insane like that. As for the food, two disasters stick out in my mind: butterscotch scallops and whatever the sticky rice dish was intended to be. The scallops just sound weird, and Bourdain thought his plate looked like a melted candy bar. Over shrimp and scallops. Tasty. Not. The sticky rice was disastrous, as one customer called it "baby food garnished with potpourri". The shot I saw of it looked like the bananas I smash before mixing them into my banana bread mixture. That is NOT how rice should look.
As far as team atmosphere goes, it was bitter, and ugly, consisting of lots of yelling, blaming, eye rolling and shaking of the head. Spike was complimented by the judges for his decision to get the hell out of the kitchen and the line of fire between Lisa and Dale. A highlight of this battle was when they both tried to outdo each other by blaming each other with cliches.
Dale: You are only as strong as your weakest link.
Lisa: Yeah? Well You are also only as good as your leader.
In the long run, neither won. Dale was told to pack his knives and go, but Lisa only managed to salvage her place in the top 5, leaving behind any favorable impressions and dignity.
It is just a shame that we didn't see any true humanity from Dale until he got kicked off. Apparently he hates saying goodbyes, and i really going to miss the people and the experience, he admitted while tearing up. Had I known he had it in him to be a human being, he might not have sunk so far down my list.

For more recap, analysis, blogs, and multimedia, check out Bravo's report.

So long Maryland Dining Services

2008-05-21T16:49:00.000-04:00

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. ~Virginia Woolf

I come to you in my last post of my freshman year, the last day, the last night in the dorms, and more importantly, the last time I will have to eat at the dining hall… at least for another 3 months.

So long to dining hall food! (at least for the next 3 months). I just ate my last dinner of campus foods, and I am so glad that I can now take a break. Let me explain.

It is not that the food is horribly atrocious. It just isn’t all that good. And it really really gets old. Cafeterias seem to get bad names for horrible food. You know those horror stories. But what else can you expect when the food has to be prepared on a scale large enough to feed thousands of hungry young scholars. So in this situation, it is understandable when the quality sometimes suffers. But I still don’t think it is right to have to settle for barely tolerable food for nine months. The food we eat at school serves the same purpose as the food we eat at home, and I would argue that this requires an even greater emphasis on providing satisfying, filling, AND healthy foods.

The dining hall food on my campus sometimes seems like it doesn’t provide any of those characteristics. Now, I would like to take a moment and point out that our dining services is probably much better than many others across the country. Sometimes they offer a really great meal, and they do try to incorporate special events and community dining into their program. And I think everyone appreciates that. But every other day, when there is no special catering, and you are eating the same meal for the 3rd time in one week, you can definitely find something wrong with dining services.

To begin with, the value meal, which you might think of as a ‘blue plate special’ is a on a repeating 3 week schedule. Which means in the 9 months you spend on campus, you will have the same exact meal… well I’m not exactly sure how many times (I am NOT a math major), but let’s just say you will have it a lot. Towards the end of the semester, the dining hall seems to stop ordering food from its suppliers. Fresh fruit becomes rare, the sweets counter starts to run out, some food stations begin to close, and that good old menu starts repeating all the left over meals. Shouldn’t the end of the year deserve better food? After all, this is the time when students must deal with more stress with finals, and being well fed is essential to doing well and staying focused, at least.

Another major problem I have is with the lack of balanced healthy plates available daily. Since I am largely addressing the value meal, let’s talk about the options here. Usually, with almost every dinner meal, there is an option of some type of vegetable, mixed veggies, broccoli, cauliflower, or peas. Honestly, however, these vegetables are also usually less than desirable. A few days ago, the broccoli that landed on my plate was somehow so bleached it almost looked like cauliflower. The mixed veggies are usually so soft, watery, and overcooked that it could almost be a soup. Sometimes, there just aren’t any vegetables at all. Other times you have to go out of your way to get edible vegetables on to your plate, by visiting different food stations or the salad bar to pick out some raw broccoli, spinach or pepper slices. This can be a serious and time consuming problem when your half-hour dinner break was taken at the expense of your studying time.

So what would I (reasonably) do if I were the head of campus dining services?

Make better Asian noodles/ stir fry and rice dishes, because the occasional option now usually keeps everyone away in favor of burgers and fries.
Give a greater variety of vegetables with every meal, insuring that they don’t sit out all day in the hot plate, to prevent ‘mushiness’.
Bring in catering services and special events more often that every two or three months.
(and sushi in the dining hall doesn’t count. I will eat it, but really… just think about it. Sushi?... in the dining hall? Sounds a little sketchy to me)
Offer at least one new original, or special dish every week to break the monotony of the 3-week-schedule.
Offer a waffle-maker all day long. (Just because I really like waffles).

And just for the record, I would like to point out a few good things about Maryland dining services:

My last dinner was not all that bad. And the food looked kind of good on the plates. (see above pictures).
They made 54,000 cupcakes in the shape of the university's seal. That is pretty impressive.
The ice cream in fantastic, made in the University Dairy.
The waffles, served at weekend brunch and occasionally weekday breakfasts, have Testudo (the school mascot at the center). He's my favorite!

Healthy Images and Healthy Choices

2008-05-20T15:17:00.000-04:00

Food is an important part of a balanced diet. ~Fran Lebowitz

Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. ~Mark Twain

Pop Quiz! Name 3 ways to lose weight and get ‘healthy’ right now!

Does your list include any of the following? South Beach or Atkins’ Diet, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig.

It seems that our society has become increasingly obsessed with weight and body image. Where did this come from, and even more importantly, where does this leave us?

I can understand the need to be healthy, and I too would love to lose some unnecessary body baggage. But how do we classify what is healthy? Does this mean stick thin, under a certain body weight, or the ability to perform some type of exercise at a certain level? And more importantly, how did food come to be the most commonly associated object to getting healthy. Sure, it plays a large role, but what about fitness and keeping your body in shape, getting enough sleep, preventing stress and mental of emotional problems, boosting immunity to sickness, and feeling confident in your own skin. This may sound very 7th grade health class, but you can’t be healthy unless you take into account this whole spectrum, and decide how you ought to measure yourself in that context.

In order to avoid sounding like an old gym/ health teacher, or a psychological counselor, I would like to focus on the eating aspect of health. (First off, I would like to say that I have tried the South Beach Diet, so I am not just speaking off of assumptions here.) As for the fad diets, the South Beach and Atkins, the all-carb, the all-juice, the take-away-your-favorite-food diet, I just don’t understand why anyone should do this. I admit that when I did the South Beach diet I also lost weight. But one morning I woke up and really wanted a bagel, essentially putting an end to my carb fasting. So why do we limit ourselves like this? Why do we take food away that we know aren’t actually hurting us, except by maybe putting and extra pound on here of there. Is there anything fundamentally unhealthy about carbs? No. Will you gain a lot of weight if you eat carbs like you drink water? Yes. So I preach moderation.

Eat what you want, love what you want, but in appropriate portions. Eat pasta for dinner if you love it, but skip the bowl of cereal and deep-dish pizza that same day. My feelings are that if you deprive yourself of something, the more you will want it, and when you get it, you lose control. You will overload on what you couldn’t have before. That’s what happened with the South-Beach-ending-bagel incident.

So now I eat what I want, just not as much. I try to balance my meals, which is extremely hard at a college cafeteria where you have little to no control over what composes your dinner. But I do my best, always trying to keep that silly food pyramid in the back of my mind. And if I indulge, I hold back later.
Why not emphasize the pleasures of eating food, rather than turning it into our enemy. We have to realize that when people, especially grown adults, show so much concern with their health, or more specifically their weight and dress size, a certain message is sent to others, most often young children, and young girls and teens in particular. Is this the kind of message we want to send? Food is dangerous in terms of keeping a perfect body image, and so it’s best to avoid possible problems by dieting, or worse, by eating. Talk about unhealthy. If we want to understand why there are so many young girls who suffer from eating disorders and the like, we ought to just take a look at how we present our own relationships to food.

Food is not our enemy. And I really think its time that we get this message out. We shouldn’t focus on how people can cheat the scale by cutting out food from the diet, or showing that it would all be easier if you had Jenny Craig prepare and ship frozen foods to your home in order to eat healthfully. Instead, we should highlight the benefits of food, show how eating can be healthy, teach all of our kids how to cook for themselves and how to recognize appropriate portions and the healthy from the non-healthy foods.

Not Enough to Feed the Need

2008-05-20T13:26:00.001-04:00

It is not necessary to advertise food to hungry people, fuel to cold people, or houses to the homeless. ~J. K. Galbraith

I went to the bank and asked to borrow a cup of money. They said, “What for?” I said, “I'm going to buy some sugar.” ~Steven Wright

If you haven’t noticed yet, prices are going up. Prices of everything, from gas to food. It seems like an unlikely association, but it makes sense that even the food industry would be affected by changes in the national and global economy. I, in my limited view from my tiny dorm window, admit that I have not noticed these to be pronounced as those who live in the real world. I have no comparison because it seems like all the food on campus, in both the dining halls and the few convenience shops has always been overpriced. But the truth is, food prices are rising, and everyone from the American family to the hungry in third world countries are feeling the pressures of these increases.

An article in USA Today on April 28, 2008 cited changes in prices, particularly of white bread, which increased 16.3%, milk, which rose 13.3% and eggs, which rose 34.8%, all in the past twelve months. That difference in actual price may only be a few cents, but imagine if you are the parent of a large family- those cents add up. If you are at an income level close to poverty, those few cents could be more than your income could account for. And what about the children and families in third world countries, where food is not easy to come by, and certainly not easy to pay for when it does come by? These circumstances bring up more issues than just food price, confronting issues of uneven food distribution, especially based on class and wealth.

Call it inflation or the effects of a down-turning economy; nobody can really pinpoint the cause of the price increases. Some point to ordinary inflation over time, but even that must stem from another underlying source. Others suggest increases in gas and fuel prices, which affect both harvesting, production and processing, as well as transportation of foods. I think some definite possibilities stem from natural limitations of supply brought about by natural disasters, or reactions that downsized operations after slower years of production. One possible source, though it seems largely opposed by researchers and experts is the idea that increased production and distribution of grains, such as corn, to biofuels has greatly impacted the food industry as a whole. If this is true and a larger percentage of corn and grains are being focused towards ethanol production, it could explain why prices of grains (breads and cereals) are rising, as well as how other prices rise in order to match.

Around the world, food has become a precious commodity. We constantly hear about those less fortunate than us, constantly remind others that “there are starving kids in China,” and in New Orleans for that matter. But now everybody is suffering. Some grocery stores are even limiting the amount of some products that costumers can purchase. Restaurants are suffering too, both from lack of customers and from rising prices of food suppliers. And those who have always struggled to feed themselves and others? They now have at even worse.

The question, now, is what can we do to avert further problems. Sure, aid would be nice, but how can we help others if we can’t guarantee that we can provide for ourselves, particularly those that are really struggling in our own country from hunger and poverty. Another possibility would be to research other sources of energy, especially if a large portion of our grain supply is going towards the production of biofuels, and so that we are not dependent on foreign or limited energy sources for purposes of production and distribution of food supply, but this suggestion treads dangerously into political waters. But for now, it seems as if we will just have to deal with these changes. But maybe we’ll get something out of it too, perhaps learning how to stretch and make the most of every little thing we have, or to grow what we can of our own- WWII Victory Garden style.

In the meantime, if you want to help out in even the smallest way, play the Free Rice Game. It will make you feel better about helping humanity, and will also boost your vocabulary level! Check it out.

Going Green

2008-05-19T18:48:00.000-04:00

Hey farmer farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
~Joni Mitchell

It seems that everything these days is going green, reaching towards sustainability in any possible way. This is no different in the food sphere. From the source to the disposal, food has gone green, and not just the veggies! (Get it?!)

Perhaps beginning with Rachel Carson, at least in the US, but maybe even earlier abroad, science has been raising awareness of the problems of how we produce our food. All those pesticides and herbicides that were supposed to prevent competition between our crops and those pesky weeds and pests are slowly fading into a thing of the past. All that DDT… turns out not so good for you. Now farmers and even family gardeners are turning to new methods of natural and environmentally friendly pest control. In one of my high school Environmental Science classes, we learned that one of these techniques is to use natural predators of plants and other pests. For example, some farmers use geese and other such duck-like creatures to prey on the insects that destroy their crops. Another plus? The waste (manure) fertilizes the ground… naturally.

At home, my family unfortunately lacks a gaggle of geese which will cooperate and actually eat the pests, rather than just … defecating… all over the place. Instead, my mom has come up with other alternatives, natural alternatives to pesticides. Apparently many pests dislike hot pepper, so she sprinkles hot pepper flakes throughout the vegetable garden. And to keep away the larger pests, deer in particular, we usually brush the dog near the garden. The scent of the dog’s hair keeps animals away who depend on scent to determine territory. I know there are many other methods, as I am sure my parents will remind me; and even though my high school environmental science teacher may be disappointed in my short list, I must carry on.

Here’s another way to go green with your food: BUY LOCAL. As hippie-esque and bumper sticker-y as this cliché is, it is true. One of the simplest ways to save the environment is to buy from local farms, produce stands, or at least pick the produce that is labeled with a local origin at the grocery store. When you get your resources from nearby you can count on the fact that gas emissions will be low- no driving or flying across country necessary! Of course, if you can, a home grown garden is another way to prevent those gas emissions, because when you want a green pepper or some fresh basil all you have to do is take a pair of scissors out to your backyard.

In my family, we have a belief that leftovers show love. We would never serve leftovers to a guest. No, they are only for family. But leftovers also show a love for the environment. You know how it goes, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Don’t throw away those scraps, the bottom of the mashed potato pot, the stale bread, or the lemon wedge. Reheat that steak and serve it with eggs for breakfast, make potato pancakes, croutons or bread pudding with the stale bread, and flush the lemon down the disposal (it’ll make the kitchen smell citrus-y fresh!). And if you really dislike the idea of leftovers, for whatever reason, cook less, fix smaller portions, make your kids eat those veggies instead of giving them the option to pass and let them go to waste (there are starving kids in New Orleans, you know).

My final recommendation: COMPOST! It is so easy, and I bet you didn’t even know all of the things you can compost. If you want a good overview of composting in general, what to expect, how to, what you need, what you should, could and definitely should not put into that pile, visit Garden Web.

While you're at it, check out my friend's related blog, and look through the GREEN lenses!

2008-05-17T13:28:00.000-04:00

It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician. ~Meryl Streep

For those of you who missed it, this past week’s episode of Top Chef was all about healthy cooking and healthy eating. It seems like we are constantly hearing stories these days about increasing obesity rates, especially in children, not to mention other health problems that go along with eating well, or rather, not eating well.

There really doesn’t seem to be any point in denying the problem’s existence. We can no longer chalk it up to personal body image conflicts, though these certainly don’t help matters. So then, what has caused this collective weight gain?
Eating healthfully is not a one step process. Our food journeys through stages of production and harvesting, preservation and handling, buying, preparing, and lastly consuming.
Let’s start at the beginning. Now, I am no expert, but lets see if we can track one food item from beginning to end. How about an apple.
We start at the orchard. There is a seed, and skipping the birds and bees of plant growth, we will eventually have an apple tree. But wait- what about the pests? We might spray a pesticide to ward off those nasty insects. And to ward off all the weeds that might out-compete the tree itself, we add some herbicides to the mix. Nothing can prevent the apple from growing in peace- at least until it is pickin’ time.
This is where it starts to get complicated. The apple has a variety of directions to go, each of which I would like to explore a little.

The beautifully plump, red apple takes a short drive down the dusty sunlit lane to a roadside fruit stand. There it is bought, washed, and consumed for a light and healthy afternoon snack. Simple enough, no?
That same red apple gets packed into bushels of produce, placed on a truck and shipped 200 miles away. The apple arrives, a little older, and a little bruised, perhaps, but relatively little harm was done (except for the gas emissions resulting from the truck ride). That apple is bought, taken home, eaten for an afternoon snack, or perhaps baked into a pie. That pie, combined with all that butter and sugar (trust me- there’s a lot of both), tastes mighty delicious. One after-dinner slice quickly turns into 3, each decreasing in size, but 3 nonetheless. True, the fruit has vitamins that are definitely good for you, but the butter and sugar are also good for those love handles.
That same apple from that orchard gets shipped off to the nearest juice-making factory. They do whatever they do at those types of places, and the next time we see that apple it is in juice form. But don’t forget about the sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup that got mixed in, too. Adds to the flavor, you know- and the tummy.

Food has a variety of avenues towards becoming our enemy these days.
There is always a danger these days of unhealthy pesticides and the like, which affect our heath in different ways- not necessarily in weight gain or cholesterol, but in chemical balances.
There are health dangers in the ways we prepare our food. Often we use too much of certain ingredients, especially in places where substitution is possible. Why not cook with olive oil instead of a stick of butter or find another condiment to use instead of mayonnaise? (Even if Hellman’s claims the health benefits of its product, I am just not a fan of mayonnaise at all.) How about holding back on the amount of sauce you slather across those ribs, or on top of those Chinese noodles.
With all the processing our food goes through these days, you can never really be sure of what you are eating. High fructose corn syrup is one ingredient that I think everyone can live without.

One of the best ways to insure healthy eating is to make your food yourself. I know this is impossible in certain cases- not everybody has a garden for fresh fruits and veggies. But you can make sure that what you make with your food has healthy ingredients, is cooked in a healthy manner, and most of all, you can make sure that your meals have enough of each food group- as cliché as that sounds.

Regional Foods, cont'd!

2008-05-17T11:23:00.001-04:00

In my exam-cramming-procrastination today, I came across another blogger's take on regional foods.
Check it out: Mango & Ginger
I've also linked to it under "Can't Get Enough?" Take a look at the other posts, too!

And while you're at it, take a look at this map of regional foods from the New York Times. Not only does the map divide the nation into food regions, it shows the unfortunate disappearance of some of these key ingredients in each food due to endangered species.

Foods of America

2008-05-12T17:20:00.000-04:00

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." ~ Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I am from Maryland, not originally, but I have lived here for most of my life- 14 years.

I don’t know if you got the message in my last post- but it’s almost summer. And summer in Maryland brings out one of the greatest and proudest features of this area: the Maryland Blue Crab. It might be early in the season now, but in a month or two, orders of bushels of crabs will pour into seafood suppliers and crab houses, and hardware stores might run out of long plywood sheets that will serve as the massive crab-picking table.

Yes, crab feast season is just around the corner. For those of you outside of the state, you might wonder, “What is this madness? Why are Marylanders obsessed with crabs?” I have been asked this question many times by some of my out-of state friends. And I have one answer.

It is a way of life. We in Maryland are proud of our state, proud of our state shellfish, proud of the Chesapeake Bay (even though it is horribly polluted) from whence the crabs come, proud of our expertise at preparing and eating crabs. In my opinion, there is nothing that can better bring a community together than sitting around a giant table with dozens of your closest friends, picking and feasting on crabs, the warm summer light bouncing off your face with the scent of Old Bay wafting through the air. It’s almost poetic!

And then there is the fact that these tasty treats are just so GOOD! Well, I guess that was more than one reason.

Doesn’t every area have a dish, a food that typifies the region, that everyone gets excited about, and outsiders just can’t seem to understand? These foods bring people together, around the table and at community picnics. The shared love of regional food bonds people together in ways that those outsiders cannot understand unless they look at their own food loves. Now, I am not an expert, so I’m probably about to make some assumptions based on stereotypes. But hey— if Marylanders are apparently obsessed with crabs, then aren’t other people obsessed with their own foods?

What about Mexican food in California and Tex-Mex in the southwest, particularly Texas? Don’t all Texans eat red meat like they drink water, and Seattle-ans have coffee for blood? Probably not, actually. But these assumptions could also be based in fact, observed fact. I think many Texans would vow a love of red meat. And if I lived in Texas, I probably would, too. (But I don’t, so I won’t). Starbucks originated in Seattle. So yes, maybe coffee is a big deal there. There is Creole food on the bayou, French infusion into New Orleans food (does anybody else slobber over the thoughts of hot beignets sprinkled with powdered sugar?).

(Check out the pictures of my family's home-made Thanksgiving beignets)

New England has its clam chowder; the Northwest has its salmon; Maine has it’s lobster; the Midwest and the Carolina’s both have their barbecue; Chicago has its pizza; St. Louis has its toasted ravioli; Wisconsin has its cheese; and Key West has Key Lime Pie. These all make sense, right?

America might have its own cuisine, its stereotype of Americana. So does each American region, each state, and each city. We love these flavors, and I know that I personally look forward to tasting a little of each specific cuisine whenever I go to its respective region.

Food once again serves as a way to identify oneself, to create a community. Peoples are joined together by a connection to their region, and a love (sometimes bordering on an obsession) of a community food.

Slice Me a Piece of Cake- We're Safe!

2008-05-07T23:01:00.000-04:00

All the favorites are going to stick around for another week!

This week's Top Chef was a team affair- team Quick-Fire and Elimination challenges. The Quick- Fire was a team relay: knife skills, artichoke peeling, fillet cutting, and mayonaise mixing. Team Richard, Stephanie, Antonia, and Andrew came back from a slow start to win the race. Team Dale, Spike, Lisa, and Nikki lost the early lead provided by Lisa's fast knife work. Oh well....
The Elimination challenge was different this year. Where it would have been "Restaurant Wars", there was instead "Wedding Wars". That's right. Wedding. Richard's team took the bride's tastes, and Dale's took the groom's. They each designed a catering menu based on their person's tastes and desires for wedding food. And don't forget- this challenge was to cater a WEDDING. Which means CAKE. Which means pastries and baking, the one thing that every chef on the show hates!
Following the bride's southern tastes, Richard made braised brisket, Antonia made fillet mignon, Andrew made breaded chicken and creamed spinach, in addition to the group-made hors-de-vors. And the cake? Stephanie made the cake. And it was amazing apparently, in look and taste.
Following the groom's Italian roots, Nikki and the gang created a somewhat mediocre Italian menu. What should have been super easy for Nikki- was not. And she was sent home for it, for her lack of direction and poor illustration of her Italian cooking experience. Her hand-made tortellini just didn't cut it this time. It's just a shame whiny Dale didn't also have to pack his knives, arrogance, and attitude and go too. Maybe next week.

But hurrah for Richard, the winner of it all! His brisket and his direction as team leader cinched the win. Stephanie's surprise cake-baking skills also paid off, with a special prize, and a boosted level of respect! She's a fantastic chef. And this is also the second time that her baking skills have shown through. Remember the zoo challenge, with the gorilla team's banana bread- one of the team's only saving graces? So snaps for Stephanie, and super snaps for Richard, who has risen high in my esteem. I started out strongly disliking him, and though I still sometimes refer to him as 'Tweety Bird', I really do like him.
*All pictures taken from Bravo's Top Chef. *

Food as identity, comfort, inspiration

2008-05-07T12:20:00.000-04:00

"The story of barbecue is the story of America: Settlers arrive on a great unspoiled continent, discover wondrous riches, set them on fire and eat them." ~Vince Staten

The semester is almost over. Last week I had 3 papers, including a long research paper. This past weekend I participated in a 12 hour Relay for Life to battle cancer. I have 5 days of class remaining before exams. Am I stressed? Maybe just a tad.

To take a tiny break, I went home for the night on Friday. My Dad asked what I would like for dinner and the only thing I could think about- was bratwurst. Now, let me explain. The weather was beautiful, I had left school and had no immediate academic demands, at least for the moment. The weather, the beautiful environment, and the completely relaxed atmosphere seemed to signal just one thing: summer.

And with the advent of summer also comes a specific menu. No more meatloaf, heavy pasta dishes, soups and hot chocolate. Now is the time for ice-cold lemonade, fresh fruit and berries, herbs and veggies fresh from the garden, barbecues, and ice cream. So really, there was nothing better to have than a fresh-off-the-grill Bratwurst.

For me, grilling anything outdoors is indicative of summer, of backyard barbeques and neighborhood block parties. But one of my favorite associations is with the ballpark. Nothing says summer to me more than sitting in the stands with a cold lemonade, a pack of peanuts or cracker jacks and a hot dog with the sounds of the bat hitting the baseball and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” echoing in the back of my mind. This could only be improved by substituting the hot dog with a bratwurst or corn dog. I know that they can sometimes give off a bad impression. But where else are breaded and fried hot dogs on sticks so readily available, so accepted, and so tasty than at the ballpark?

Excuse any following generalizations, but this is America. This is where we get hot dogs and hamburgers, barbecue, fried chicken, corn on the cob, and apple pie.

Along with historical monuments and natural landmarks, America is also easily identified by cuisine. We all come from different places, bringing with us different appreciations, expectations, tastes and flavors. Even among these differences have come standards at the American table. If not as a particular dish, then perhaps associated with a national festivity or attitude. Take my previous example. I don’t think sausages, bratwurst or any other kind, can be typified into food of Americana. But sitting on the back porch or in the ballpark, munching on these foods certainly feels American to me. Maybe it’s just the game. Or maybe it’s the comfort aspect.

Comfort food, in the shape of cereal or ice cream late at night, spaghetti and meatballs in the cold winter, or hot dogs on a hot summer day, makes us feel good. And this is exactly how I felt on Friday night, with a full plate, nice weather, and the comforts of home on an almost-summer’s eve. These foods reassure us, reaffirming who we are, where we are, how we are, and what we love.

Isn’t it funny how food can create such strong associations to memory, identity and emotions? I’ve already mentioned the food that can create an American identity (at least in the kitchen). Then there is also the comfort food- and oh, how that food connects us to emotions! Why else would mashed potatoes make us so happy, cheese make us so ecstatic, and cereal late at night so content. I may just be speaking for myself here, but I am certain that everybody has a food that can alter his or her attitude and emotions in a matter of seconds. It is one positive in how easily we humans can be swayed. And as for associations to memory, I’ve heard that smell is the sense that ties most closely to memory. I won’t disagree, but rather argue that taste also ties significantly to memory. Now, scent probably plays a big part in this. But, even to this day, if I have the right kind of popsicle, I am taken back to a summer’s night 10 years ago, playing Ghost in the Graveyard with the neighbors. Sometimes at the dinning hall, with a bite of scrambled eggs I am taken back to the dining hall at camp. The food wasn’t very good, but the memory is strong- good friends, good times. Perhaps this is also the reason that I so crave a giant Sloppy Joe (the king of all camp foods) on occasion- to remind me of those times.

Food is strong. It creates an identity and ties us to it. It connects us to who we are, who we were, where we are and were, how we feel and felt. There is a power in food, not just to feed, satisfy and sustain, but also to define and connect.

Check out one of my friend's blog, all about baseball-- The International Pastime
Check out what MSNBC has to say about the 10 Foods That Make America Great"

*stay tuned to this post for updated photos in the next few days*

The Foodie Blogroll!

2008-05-06T15:02:00.000-04:00

I made it on to the Foodie Blogroll. Just take a look to the right... see it? ( you might need to scroll down just a bit) Do you see it yet? There it is!

How exciting! I am thrilled to be a part of this Blog Roll. So take a look at it, explore the other blogs, check out the Left Over Queen, the creator of this network. There's tons to see, tons to look up, tons of recipes and pictures to make you absolutely starving!

But don't forget to come back here and celebrate my new place in the Food Blog Community! Hurrah!

Weekend Escape

2008-05-06T11:53:00.000-04:00

I went home on Friday night to escape the high stress of the end of the semester. And, of course, to partake in some home-cooked food.

Friday night we had bratwurst fresh off the grill! So good! Talk about a summer dinner on the back porch! I had never made them on my own, but only watched my dad make them. This time I helped, and the satisfaction was even greater.

Just take a look at that plate--->

Does that look like summer or what?

Saturday morning, my dad made juevos con chorizo-- eggs, veggies, and hot chorizo, mixed with mexican cheese and wrapped in a warm tortilla. This is a family breakfast favorite.

Before going back to school, I always like to cook or bake something to take back with me. My personal favorite, to bake and to eat, is oatmeal raisin cookies. I would take an oatmeal cookie over any other kind any day of the week. Not only are the delicious, they also help trick myself into believing that I am eating a 'healthy' version of a sugar and butter packed treat. Seals the deal right there!

I also made pasta salad to share with my Relay for Life team. Relay is a 12 hour event, through the night, in which at least one person from each team must be walking at all times. (All proceeds go towards fighting cancer!) It was going to be a very long night, and we would need sustenance.

Now, I don't know why, but I think pasta salad always intimidated me just a little bit. I think maybe it has to do with summer block parties, and all of the mom's bringing giant pots of it to share. I don't know why this would intimidate me, even in theory it doesn't seem very complicated. Anyways, I made pasta salad for the first time this weekend, and it was pretty darn good. It kind of turned into an 'everything-but-the-kitchen-sink' dish because I didn't really have any idea of where to limit myself. So if something sounded tasty, I would throw it in. This could have proved disastrous, but it turned out fantastic. Although that might also be personal bias and pride speaking...

I used a pound of pasta, a mix of two previously opened boxes. Cooked and drained.
Mixed in olive oil (enough to cover all the noodles) and balsamic vinegar (to taste, which also gave the noodles a darker color).
Mixed in some cooked veggies (mushrooms, peppers, onions), quartered and uncooked cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and oregano, red pepper flakes and salt to taste.
The final touch was about a tablespoon of Old Bay. And this made all the difference! The salad seemed like it was missing something until I added this.

We did not have olives or celery in the house, so these traditional ingredients were left out. I don't know that I have ever had pasta salad with mushrooms, but I feel that it gave the dish a nice taste, as well a unique twist. And I think my Relay team agreed. They devoured it almost as soon as we had set up our campsite!

Pass Me Some Chocolate- That Was Close

2008-04-30T22:58:00.000-04:00

I don't know how many of you follow Top Chef as religiously as I do. But in case any of you out there are obsessed like I am you will understand how terrifying this last episode was.

As I've mentioned before, my favorite is Stephanie. I think she is fantastic, but the past two weeks she has been in the bottom. To say the least, I have been very very stressed.

Thank God that she did not get kicked off tonight! Though I thought it was very likely. Don't get me wrong. I have great faith in Stephanie and her cooking abilities, but her plate this week was just a little questionable. She was safe, however, despite a momentary lapse in judgment of taste combinations.

Mark went home instead. Good riddance. Personally, I had a problem with his cleanliness and organization. It just seemed like he forgot to bathe on more than one occasion!

And HURRAH for Antonia! She is my second favorite on the show, and I have great hopes for her, too!

**photos taken from Top Chef's Season 4 Chefs website.**

2008-04-26T19:29:00.000-04:00

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces- just good food from fresh ingredients." ~ Julia Child

After my last post, something occurred to me regarding the idea of making cooking easier. It was my Dad who pointed out that all of these cooking shows we see these days could be traced back to Julia Child’s The French Chef as a model. It was Julia Child who, besides being perhaps the first television chef and a famously effectual one at that, wanted to make the art of French cooking master-able; to make cooking fine meals, decent meals, meals enough to sustain you through the day accessible to any person.

So now we have endless hours of cooking shows, cooking TV, cook books, books about cooking, celebrity chefs that spread throughout mass media and culture. The plethora of food in the public eye serves to demonstrate the artistry of cooking; to impress with complexity on occasion and entertain with competition (think Iron Chef and Top Chef); to sell a product (see Martha Stewart as a prime and icky example, but any celebrity chef with their own line products and cookbooks will do); to inspire; and most often, to make cooking great food accessible to anyone.

Why is the last service so prevalent? What is its significance?

I think, maybe, prior to this culinary outbreak, cooking had obtained a stigma of complexity. Even I, who love cooking and eating, and would now gladly attempt baking a soufflé instead of going to a boring lecture about the fall of the Roman Empire, thought that much cooking, especially anything that required a recipe was bound to have a certain level of difficulty. Seriously though, step-by-step instructions usually suggest an uncomfortable amount of intensity and complexity. The idea of following all of these steps just so I could have some breakfast seemed a little absurd. Until I actually started cooking on at least a semi-regular basis. The more I cook, the easier it becomes.

Cooking shows and books work in much the same way. They show you that you need not fear making these dishes. They are not as hard as they look. And if you put yourself out there, you could end up learning how to make a fantastic dinner for you and your friends and loved ones. Just look at Julie Powell from the “Julie/Julia Project”. Sure, she had previous cooking experience. But with the help of Julia Child, and the courage to waste a few eggs and sticks of butter before figuring out the perfect way to cook veal or crepes, she seemed to have become a pretty good cook, and one who had certainly gained confidence in herself and her abilities.

So here’s the lesson. The more you cook, the easier it becomes. Watch a few cooking shows. Even after watching just one you might realize that the stove or the oven is not that scary. I encourage you to try it. Try cooking. I know how good a microwaved chicken potpie can taste on a cold and busy winter night. Instead, try to make one on your own. Or if that seems too daunting, just try sautéing some chicken on the stovetop with some garlic and instant mashed potatoes if you are pressed for time. Pretty easy to make, and equally satisfying and comforting when you need it.

I dare you to bypass the frozen foods aisle in the grocery store, unless of course you are buying ice cream, or if you are very daring, phyllo dough. Make your foods from scratch. You will be pleased, proud, and will have also skipped out on all of the processed badness of pre-packaged food. Sounds good to me!

Pretending to be a Food Network Star

2008-04-25T18:13:00.000-04:00

"A lot of food shows need only to tempt. Some food shows only need to inspire, to empower. And there are a lot of shows that do that. "~ Alton Brown

I recently received a request that I include videos of me in the kitchen so that whoever is reading this can follow- just like on TV! I figured I would give it a shot, just to see how it would turn out. Not too bad actually!

Some friends and I already had plans to bake last night for the Honors Humanities Relay for Life Team bake sale. What a perfect opportunity! So we set up the camera and started rolling. It was a little terrifying and quite awkward, but still fun. The only problem is that halfway through our baking adventure, we stopped filming. We only have pictures to document the finished products now, but please enjoy what film we have!

We made brownies (yummy), chocolate cookies (also yummy, though we did forget to set the timer, ad therefore burnt the first batch just a tad), and cinnamon sugar breasticks (yummiest just because they were an improvised creation.

To Make Cinnamon Sugar Breadsticks
1 cannister/ package of pre-made pizza crust, bread stick dough (Pillsbury)
sugar, cinnamon, any other spices you desire
cookie sheets
Roll out the dough and cut into strip of about 1/2 inch to 1 inch in width.
Fold strips in two.
Roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.
Twist strips and lay on cookie dough. Make sure to leave space between the strips, especially if you are using the pizza crust (it tends to rise and expand).
Place in 350 degree oven for about 15-17 minutes.
Take out, let cool, enjoy!

Women in the Kitchen

2008-04-20T11:08:00.001-04:00

To the old saying that man built the house but woman made of it a "home" might be added the modern supplement that woman accepted cooking as a chore but man has made of it a recreation. ~Emily Post

I love Top Chef. Absolutely love it! My Wednesday nights are governed by the Top Chef schedule. I have watched with devotion all four seasons. Despite how much I love the show, I admit that there are flaws and overarching issues that really irk me. Mainly, I see a problem in the trend of male winners of the past three completed seasons.

Now, I understand that this is a competition based on skill and talent and the sex of the winner cannot be controlled. But what does it say about the culinary arts, professions, and industry as a whole when female chefs have a history of losing out to male chefs. Does this mean that women cannot cook as well as men? Does it stem from lack of training, or lack of opportunities for training or an arena to display talents?

Whatever the reason, I think that it is extremely ironic that women, who have been so confined to the domestic realm and the kitchen in particular, it is often men who are honored and revered as ‘top chefs’. After all these centuries of cooking, you would think that women would certainly have an advantage over men. It seems, however, that male chefs have managed to turn this daily duty of the home into a successful career that promises prestige and fame.

Look, for example, at the Food Network. I do feel that the hosts/chefs/celebrities/ or whatever you might like to call them are well distributed between the male and female. Take a closer look at the types of shows, then. On one hand we have shows such as Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller, 30 Minute Meals with Rachel Ray, and Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. On the other hand we have The Essence of Emeril, Emeril Live, Boy Meets Grill, Tyler’s Ultimate, Good Eats with Alton Brown, and Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Notice anything special? How about the difference between shows hosted by men and women. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love almost all shows on the Food Network, and love watching anything on this channel when I don’t have anything else to do, or don’t want to do anything else. But I can’t help noticing that more shows by women chefs than men are geared towards making cooking easier. Why and how is it that the shows hosted by men seem so intense, filled with complicated and showy recipes and techniques, the science of food, and competition, whereas a large portion of the female chefs are shown in a calm atmosphere in a “naturally” lit set kitchen, easily demonstrating how to make cooking simple enough to handle on a daily basis, while also managing to share lovely anecdotes about their childhood and food. I don’t have any problem with making cooking easier and more accessible to the masses. But seriously, can’t these women add some spice to their shows? All I have to say is, thank goodness for Cat Cora, the Iron Chef who is able to kick some major butt in the intense “Kitchen Stadium”.

And thank goodness for the women on this season of Top Chef, all of who seem very eager to have a woman win the title this time. Stephanie, my personal favorite, is also quite adamant about wanting a woman to win the fourth season. I couldn’t agree more. There are so many talented chefs this season, and I personally much prefer the women on the show to some of the men, who can often come off conceited, or just down right annoying (did you see them in the clip above?). So, personally, I hope that Stephanie wins, and she really has been doing well so far! But whoever ends up in the final 5, 4, 3, 2… I hope the NEXT TOP CHEF will be a woman. It would be about time!

Meet Stephanie

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

2008-04-17T17:34:00.000-04:00

Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words. -Plautus

Yes! Today is my birthday!
And what did I do to celebrate? Nothing too spectacular, besides NOT eating at the dining hall. And any time I don't have to eat there, my life becomes a little brighter. Instead we went to an off-campus place: Plato's Diner. Picture a college town diner, with a light infusion of Greek food. Sounds good to me! I got a yummy stuffed eggplant dish. I had never ordered it before, but it was really very good. Picture moussaka, but just baked in a piece of eggplant. Followed, of course, with a desert of baklava.

But we started the birthday celebrations by baking a cake yesterday. Keep in mind, when I say that we "baked a cake" it might not exactly be the picturesque vision you would want to see. First, we had to find our way into the only public kitchen on this side of campus. Second, take notice of the term 'public kitchen'. Available for anyone who can figure out how to get in there. Once we began, we suddenly realized that we had no mixing bowl, no measuring instruments, no mixing utensils. Luckily, it was a Betty Crocker just-add-water mix. With our genius intellect, we just dumped the mix and water into the tin foil pan, and began stirring with plastic forks. The mixed batter looked quite a bit questionable, but we baked it anyways and it turned out looking and tasting okay in the end.

There was only one problem, discovered upon taking the first bite. I am not a huge fan of Angel Food Cake. Even with funfetti baked inside. Oh well. Twas an adventure in any case.

My friends got me a stir-fry cookbook for a birthday present. I told them that when I sneak an electric skillet into our suite next year, I might try one of the recipes. As long as the outlets don't explode from too much flowing energy from the (technically-illegal-to-have-in-the-dorms) skillet. Oh well. That too will be yet another good story to share from my wild adventure of cooking in my non-existent college kitchen. Can't wait!

Good night, and happy birthday to me and any other April 17th babies!

"Man Can Live by Bread Alone"

2008-04-14T17:11:00.000-04:00

I spent this past weekend at home again. Any guesses as to what I spent most of my time doing? If you guessed cooking, you would be correct!

I recently had my eyes opened to the wonderful and addicting website TasteSpotting. Big mistake. Although its not one that I would take back. I have spent countless hours in the past week pouring over pages and pages of this site, absorbing great ideas and salivating over delicious food photos. So, naturally, upon returning home for the weekend I had many plans up my sleeves. After pausing to think for a moment, and after my parents knocked some sense in to me, I decided a safer option, physically and mentally for all involved, would be to only make two loaves of bread. My goal being to perfect the art of bread making. And I guess it is better to have under your belt the skill to make an amazing loaf of plain white bread than to make a mediocre loaf out of a complicated recipe (even if I would feel very proud even completing such a complicated recipe).

Immediately upon walking in the door on Friday afternoon, I began James Beard's recipe for a White Loaf of Bread from the Beard on Bread cookbook, which I love by the way. (PS- I recommend the Banana Bread recipe in this book. With raisin or chocolate chips it is even better!)

Anyways, after mixing, kneading, resting, waiting impatiently, kneading some more, resting some more, and finally baking, it turned out, as my mother said, "like the beast Wonderbread in the world, except with a really good crust that Wonderbread lacks." Pretty good, huh? I guess I may be on the path to making a great white bread.

Next, I began a recipe that I found while browsing TasteSpotting. It is a No-Knead-Bread (NKB) which probably took a total of 16 hours to make. Time consuming, but for the large part of that time, the dough sat on the counter rising.

To begin, mix 3 cups of flour with 3/4 tbsp of salt, 1 1/2 warm water, and 1/4 tsp of instant yeast OR 1/4 tsp of dry active yeast proofed in the warm water.
Let the dough sit in the bowl, covered by plastic wrap and a towel, for 8-12 hours.
After taking a long nap, wake up, dump the dough onto a floured surface, and shape with wet hands.
Plop (that's the technical term) into a bowl with a floured towel. Cover and let sit for another 2 hours.
Preheat the oven oven at 450 degrees. Place the dish/pot/bowl which will hold the loaf into the oven to preheat for 30 minutes.
Plop (again) the risen dough into the pot and bake covered for 30 minutes.
Bake for another 15-20 minutes uncovered, or until the loaf sound hollow when rapped upon.
When finished, and looking deliciously devour-able, let cool.
Then slice open and DEVOUR!! I recommend just plain butter or fruit preserves to top the slice. ENJOY!!

Photos from left to right/ top to bottom:
Dough doubled in size after resting overnight; Dough shaped into loaf, resting and rising in floured towel in bowl; Finished loaf on cooling rack; Cut loaf- just look at those bubbles!!

To see the full and original recipe, visit Steamy Kitchen.

Enjoy!

Home for the Weekend!

2008-04-05T11:55:00.000-04:00

That's right! I am home, which means that I can COOK!! and EAT!
I am once again reunited with a stove and oven- a.k.a. my loves.

So last night, I made myself dinner: Chicken with apples and onions. Yum, although I will definitely have to work on that recipe.

Then, for an extra level of fun... DESERT!!!
I made a mixed fruit pie- apples, raspberries,blackberries, and strawberries. And then, just to add a little more stress to the process, I decided to make a lattice top, instead of just a plain piece of pie crust laid on top. After all, Paula Deen made it look so easy on the Food Network. True, it wasn't ridiculously hard, but yet again, I will need to practice!
PS- I think I might just make another pie tomorrow!

YUM!!!

Historical Culinary Women

2008-04-03T17:58:00.001-04:00

"I am love," said the maiden. "I am a strength giver, I am the nourisher, I am the provider of men and animals. They all love me." -Penobscot Corn Mother Myth

I am a woman and I love to cook. Is that enough to say? I don’t think so.

There is an assumption, a stereotype, a social construction about females and food. One might think that this stereotype should have died away after the 1950s, or the second wave feminist movement of the 80s, or certainly by the late 90s, and definitely by the start of the 21st century. I, however, have found otherwise.

Often, when talking about my life, my childhood, and my home, people are a little surprised to find that my dad cooked just as many if not more of the meals in my childhood than did my mom. Looking back, I know that my mom also cooked dinner quite often. But for some reason it is the image of my dad standing in front of the stove that stands out in my mind. Now I am sure there are many factors that contributed to this memory and the past reality. Yet, I still wonder why this image is so striking within my memory, and more generally, why gender and the act of cooking is so engrained in our culture.

I have recently begun reading A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove, a book that studies, through historical relations, memoirs, stories, and recipes, the history of women and cooking, discussing these issues for a large portion of the writing. In addition, as an anthropology student, I hear a lot about different cultures and societies around the world, past and present. With this background, I wonder if women have been obligated to fulfill the position of food provider since the days of prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies. If so, how has this idea of obligation changed, yet stuck with us through the millennia? How did this idea become so trivial, passed over in recognition, but admired as a true necessity at the same time?

In the study of these hunting and gathering societies, I want to point out that women are often grouped into the gatherers without any question or discussion. The men hunted. The women gathered. Simple enough. Yet, when I hear this, I can’t help but picture in my head- strong brave men venturing forth to kill the beast. The women, in the meantime, frail and weak, surrounded by many children, (picture: damsel in distress) wandering aimlessly through forests picking berries and nuts. Not all that impressive when you compare the women to the brave men who conquered and killed a mammoth in order to feed the group, right?
Let us pause for a moment and ponder the reality of this situation.

The men, without armor, and equipped only with handmade spears of wood and shapes stones must attempt to bring down a wild animal. This animal would also likely have to be pretty large in size in order to feed the whole group. So, unless the men happened upon a large enough brood of rabbits or squirrels, we can imagine the men would have had to go after larger animals: deer, buffalo, or mammoth. That couldn’t have been easy. Nor could it have been likely that they would always bring food back after the hunt.

On the other hand, we have the women gatherers. The ones on whom the entire community depended when the men could not provide. These women were forced to find food to sustain her people. On their shoulders were the weight, expectations and dependency of an entire society. She had to find food, to begin with, but also investigate whether her findings were safe to eat, insure there was enough provisions for the whole, and learn how to prepare what she found to make the most out of it. So, yes, the woman easily became the one on whom everyone relied, the one who might be destined to hold the fuel for and survival of the people. But it was not because her purpose and worth was somehow valued less because of her sex. It was because she truly held the power. Without her, the people could not eat; without eating, the people could not survive. Therefore, there is a strongly misconstructed idea of women and food. Women were not originally confined to the kitchen because they could do no better. They went to the kitchen to claim their power and authority. It was then society that determined that women were best suited to reside in the kitchen. After all, it was the only place where they might have any power.

I think, perhaps, the reason that women have been so misrepresented and so confined to this single role is that men, who originally could not guarantee support and provisions for his people, wanted that power out of jealousy. And so, with the invention of better weapons and tools for hunting, men stole a title that was not rightfully theirs, forever labeling as women as domestics who clung to their only remaining power source.

Welcome!

2008-03-27T22:55:00.000-04:00

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." -Virginia Woolf

A true theory in my life. Food is extremely important to me, and has certainly played a large role in shaping who I am, physically and mentally. Growing up, I tried pretty much everything that was put on my plate, and ended up loving most of it. Broccoli and artichoke were my favorite vegetables by the age of 8.

We had a rule in my house: "No matter what time of day it is, we always eat our meals in order." This can apply outside of food, of course, but how else did I come to truly love every part of every meal of every day. And not only do I love to eat food, I also love to prepare food.
I guess you might say that I spent a lot of time in the kitchen growing up, not necessarily learning to cook, but certainly eating, watching others eat, and watching others cook. Now that I am on my own in college, my relationship with food has changed immensely. I miss my parent's home cooking, the ability to cook for myself, access to leftovers (a true sign of love in my family), and of course the knowledge of what actually goes into my meals. All these things I no longer have available to me with the only food option being the campus cafeteria.

And because I am not even able to prepare foods, let alone cook anything, I have tried to send my thoughts about food in another direction so that I do not become hopelessly depressed and endlessly starving. Now, I would like to address the issues behind food and cooking, the deeply hidden and rarely discussed issues that go into the history, production, and appreciation of food.

So, sit back, enjoy, and make sure to bring your own food and snacks.