College Cuisine

the amount of things I can shove in my backpack never ceases to amaze me. tonight: 23 orange & chocolate cupcakes for @UOclimateleague’s mtg

transporting an orange and yogurt bundt cake to campus in my backpack right now. you can’t see it, but I bet you can smell it. lol.

spinach and mushroom pizza with homemade alfredo sauce: ridiculously easy, cheap and delicious. http://yfrog.com/12wc1sj

day 3 of vegetarianism. all week I’ve had tofu for lunch - today it was pad kee mao at sweet basil in #eugene. http://yfrog.com/69wn4j

Jewish people are awesome. They’re friendly, funny, and stereotypically stingy, not unlike most Asians. Of course, they have great food. I love kugel and latkes, but mostly I love challah.

This sweet, soft bread is great for sandwiches and french toast, but it’s also amazing in bread pudding. I got this loaf from Barry’s Espresso & Bakery, a local campus eatery, and it was enough for two batches of bread pudding.

Normally you’d add raisins in the bread pudding, but because I don’t like them I decided to add dried cranberries instead. You could probably throw in any kind of dried fruit that you’d like, but I thought the cranberries and white chocolate went well together. Next time I make this, I think I’ll try white chocolate and raspberries together. :)

Here’s the recipe I used, which I found off of foodgawker. I love that site!

Crockpot Challah Bread Pudding with Cranberries and White Chocolate

4 cups challah bread, cut into 1” cubes

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup dried cranberries

2 1/4 cups milk (I used whole milk at first, but used fat-free milk the second time I made this and it was fine. You can use cream, too.)

2 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

dash of nutmeg, ginger or cloves (I used quite a bit of nutmeg because I don’t have ginger or cloves)

Coat inside of crockpot with non-stick spray. Cut up challah into 1” slices, then into 1” cubes. Put cubes, along with some of the cranberries and white chocolate chips, into the crockpot. Put aside a small amount of the cranberries and white chocolate chips.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Next, add the brown sugar, salt, vanilla and nutmeg/ginger/cloves and mix together.

Add mixture to the crockpot. Squish down bread pieces so they are submerged in the liquid. Top with the remaining cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Cook in crockpot for 5-6 hours, or until the pudding is firm. Can be served immediately with ice cream, or reheated later.

* I also tried baking this in the oven. Combine the ingredients as directed above, but let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a nonstick dish at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the pudding is set. I kind of liked it better this way because the pudding was a lot denser. YUM.

chicken and dumplings. it took forever to make, but was SO worth the effort. http://yfrog.com/izikrj

“He ate my heart and then he ate my brain…” - Lady Gaga, “Monster”

Let’s face it: we’ve all had a bad romance…. maybe even a monstrous affair. These Lady Gaga-inspired cookies were for my friend Alvin’s (extremely belated) birthday. Because Alvin can appreciate both Gaga and delicious cookies, they seemed an appropriate present.

These cookies were not only tasty, but therapeutic to make. Here are the other ones I made for Alvin:

“promise I’ll be kind, but I won’t stop until that boy is mine…” - Lady Gaga, “Paparazzi”

“sweet surprise I could get used to…” - Britney Spears, “Unusual You” (Alvin’s also a HUGE Britney fan, and the lyric just came to mind…)

I lost the links to the recipes I used for the cookies and frosting, but you can look up recipes for basic sugar cookies and powdered sugar icing and I’m sure they’d work fine. I would suggest, though, to just buy pre-made icing instead of making your own. I made mine with food coloring, and it took FOREVER to mix and pipe onto the cookies… just ridiculous.

There really isn’t an interesting story behind this creation. I bought two pork roasts at the store because they were on a BOGO sale one day. One was made into pulled pork sandwiches and chili ‘n cornbread pie. I froze the other for later use.

Pulled pork is the easiest thing to make when you have a slow cooker - it literally does all the work for you! I just threw the roast into the pot with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning, and a little dried parsley. Garlic and onion powders are easier to use than their fresh counterparts, which require peeling and chopping. After cooking on low for eight to nine hours, the roast literally fell apart. YUM.

The focaccia recipe I used came from foodgawker. I’ve been meaning to try it for some time, but I was scared to mess it up somehow. Even through the whole process I doubted myself, but the focaccia turned out surprisingly well. It kind of tasted like french bread… I don’t know if that’s how it’s supposed to taste, but that’s alright with me.

If you’ve ever considered baking your own bread but were scared to try, I highly recommend trying this recipe. The original post shows how easily it can be made, with the author adding that, once you try it, you won’t be able to stop! I agree: already I’m planning my next sandwich creations… :)

Rosemary Focaccia 

1 pkg (about 2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
salt
sea salt
warm water
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for greasing

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in ½ cup of water about the temperature of a hot jacuzzi.  Let stand until foamy, about 5-10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and ½ tsp salt.  Add the yeast mixture and stir to combine.  Gradually add water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough is moistened enough to pull together and form a ball.  In the same bowl, knead dough for about one minute, until smooth.

Remove dough, and oil the same bowl with some olive oil.  Put the ball of dough back into the bowl, turn to coat, and then cover with a damp cloth.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about ½ hour.

Preheat oven to 245 degrees C or 470 F.

Punch down the dough and knead briefly.  Press into an 8 x 12” baking pan (no need to grease it).  Keep in mind that the focaccia won’t rise much, so don’t press it much thinner than you want the final product to be.  Let it rise for 5 minutes or so until it is about the height you want.

Mix the rosemary with the olive oil and brush it over the top of the bread.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake for about 10 minutes (it should sound hollow when you tap the top), or a little longer if you want it to be a bit crustier.  Cut into squares and serve.

homemade focaccia, to be used for cajun pulled pork sandwiches in the near future. first time making bread! http://yfrog.com/jvekij

.@dailyemerald’s readers’ choice 2010: espresso roma. RT @eugene360 Looking for the best coffee in #Eugene… I hear it’s out there.

YUM! I gotta check this out :) RT @leahrosin http://twitpic.com/16st31 - Free cupcake today at Divine Cupcake 1680 W. 11th #eugene

This one’s for you, Jeanne :)

I made these potatoes for Thanksgiving this year, but apparently I never blogged about them. It’s a shame, really, because they are AMAZING.

I prefer my mashed potatoes to be hearty, chunky and flavorful. This recipe is basically like a baked potato combined with its mashed cousin. Of course, this is easily customizable to your liking, so you can add as little or as much of each ingredient as you see necessary.

Here are my step-by-step instructions:

1. Boil baby red potatoes in water until fork-tender. Drain and set in large bowl.

2. Add salt, pepper, butter and milk, then mash with a fork or potato masher. Start out small, then add more to taste. More liquids = creamier texture, and vice versa. (If you want to be extra fancy, replace the milk with a couple splashes of buttermilk. YUM.)

At this point, you need to decide how chunky you want your potatoes. It’s kind of like those choose-your-adventure books: do you like them chunky? Then stop with the masher and stir in your remaining ingredients. If you like your potatoes on the smoother, creamier sider, then keep mashing.

3. The accoutrements: sour cream, bacon, chives. Again, add as much or as little as you like. I actually put the sour cream in at the same time as the butter, etc. I stirred some of the bacon and chives into the potatoes, then used a little leftover to garnish on top. That way, you get to taste everything in one bite. My mom had some shaved parmesan cheese on hand, so I put some of that in there. It was a good decision :)

Additional notes:

Bacon is kind of a serious thing to me, so I was glad Oscar Mayer’s center cut bacon was so tasty in this dish. Center cut basically means there’s less fat on the bacon, so it’s healthier and you still get the tasty, “good” part of the bacon.

I used fresh chives, but I bet dried would work just as well. I don’t really like to buy those little packages of fresh herbs they sell in grocery stores because they seem overpriced for little things like that, but fresh chives are SO good. I’m looking into growing some in the spring.

I made this weird-yet-killer Thanksgiving leftover sandwich the day after:

Essentially it’s a grilled cheese leftover sandwich, with turkey, mashed potatoes, bacon and american cheese on wheat bread. As the kids say these days, “DANK.”

picked up some organic pureed tomatoes from @marketofchoice to make chicken makhani aka ‘butter chicken’. clerk thought it sounded good :)

Here in Eugene and select other cities in Oregon we have a restaurant called Cafe Yumm!. It wasn’t until recently that I developed any sort of affinity for this place; I used to think it was just a bunch of weird hippie food. The idea of a signature Yumm! bowl seemed so strange. How could I possibly enjoy a bowl full of brown rice, black beans, tomato, avocado, cheese and sour cream?

Of course, that was before I knew of their special ingredient: Yumm! sauce.

(photo taken from this awesome-looking recipe)

If you have never tasted this sauce, here is a great description of it, and here is a recipe on how to make it. I must defer you to these links because, to me, this sauce is just indescribable. Adjectives like savory, tangy and, well, yummy come to mind. That’s about it.

My first bowl was the Edamame bowl, which includes brown rice, edamame, nori, olives and Yumm! sauce. This was a small bowl:

Yeah, it looks kind of strange, doesn’t it? I am no fan of olives, either. Surprisingly, though, it was reaaaalllllly good. The savoriness (or umami, I suppose) of the Yumm! sauce works so well with that of the nori… not to sound like Guy Fieri, but the flavors just knock it out of the park.

The great thing about Yumm! bowls, as you’ve undoubtedly figured out by now, is that they are extremely easy to make at home. Judging from the variety of ingredients they offer, bowls are easily customizable to your liking. Since I don’t care for olives or cold cheese (I know, it’s weird), I left them out when creating my homemade bowls.

In order from the bottom up: brown jasmine rice, black beans, edamame (frozen, then microwaved), pico de gallo, sour cream and two heaping spoonfuls of Yumm! sauce.

I have a theory that you can enjoy a meal with a strange combination of ingredients if you like each one separately. This seems to be the case for dishes like fried rice, quiches/frittatas, and now Yumm! bowls. Admittedly, though, this bowl did not have enough Yumm! sauce.

If you had to drown, why not drown in Yumm! sauce? :)

I was running out of edamame, so I put in avocado instead.

Because I made this in advance, I sliced the avocado and then dipped the pieces in lime juice to keep them from deoxygenating and turning brown.

Pico and sour cream were also that underneath that blanket of Yumm!iness.

These bowls can also be very budget-friendly when made you make them at home. The brown rice and black beans came from the bulk bins at WinCo, and the avocado, pico, sour cream and Yumm! sauce all came from Capella Market, a locally-owned natural foods store.

I’m still wrestling with the idea of just how “hippie” a Yumm! bowl is. I wouldn’t really classify myself as a hippie, but I suppose I’m a lot more of a hippie than others… I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a Eugene/Oregon thing. Regardless, I invite you to try one of these bowls for yourself - and if you live an unfortunately far distance from a restaurant, I encourage you to ship a little Yumm! your way. As the site states, it will truly leave you feeling deeply nourished and your soul satisfied.

…. and by ‘super,’ I mean ‘super easy.’

I wanted to make something for my awesome climate activism group as a reward for all the hard work we’ve done lately. At first I was going to make cupcakes, but those are a lot more laborious, so I ended up making banana bread. Sometimes I buy bananas just so I can make banana bread after they’ve ripened a bit.

Like I said, this recipe is super simple and, apparently, super tasty too.

Here’s the recipe I used:

1/4 cup shortening (I used Imperial butter substitute… seemed to work alright)

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 ripe bananas, mashed (I sliced mine before mashing them in the batter)

1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup honey - this was so the bread would be really moist)

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Combine butter/shortening/margerine with sugar(s).

Add eggs and salt.

Slice up bananas. Sift flour, then add to batter, alternating with bananas.

I didn’t have a bread pan, so I just used one of the ceramic dishes I just got from Wal-Mart, which were on sale in a set for $15… (don’t judge me!)

Grease the bottom of the pan. I used my butter substitute, but I would suggest using butter or a spray with flour or something, because my bread stuck a little to the pan when it was done baking.

I saved 1/2 of one banana to decorate the top, and sprinkled some cinnamon sugar to help the banana slices caramelize a little…

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Of course, my oven finished it in a ridiculously short amount of time - probably less than 30 minutes.

I encourage you to make this for someone “super” in your life :)

my blog got an awesome review from @collegelifestyl! http://ow.ly/19kcP so exciting. now if I could just update it more regularly…

woohoo! just got this from @collegelifestyles - seems like my kind of book! can’t wait to read/review! http://yfrog.com/4fkziqj

LOVED the @uolgbtqa’s sexy bake sale today - I got an “eat me” cookie & chocolate rice crispie ****. lol! http://yfrog.com/3i1a4j

wanna guess the secret ingredient in these cupcakes? come to suite 300, EMU for a sample :) http://yfrog.com/3lf2glj

winter term has been CRAZY BUSY thus far. with a new work/school schedule and so many Climate Justice League engagements, I feel like I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. don’t get me wrong, though - I loooooove everything that’s been going on in my life. I just don’t have time to cook anymore, which makes me sad.

I’d bought a few bananas to make some sort of baked treat, but almost forgot about them due to my hectic schedule. thankfully they hadn’t spoiled, so I made banana nut muffins with this recipe.

I saw some other recipes online that used regular and whole wheat flour, so I tried that in these muffins. the texture was a little strange… not as light and fluffy as a regular muffin, but kind of denser and tougher. I don’t know if that’s because of the whole wheat flour or because I had overmixed my batter. they tasted better the next day, though. the walnuts were a tasty addition. also, I have a terrible oven that doesn’t distribute heat evenly inside, so the bottoms were burnt. that seems to happen to a lot of my baked treats, though, so it could definitely be an operator’s error as well. :P

anyway, these muffins were a fun and tasty diversion from my crazy schedule… something I desperately needed.

Starbucks Banana Walnut Bread (adapted for muffins)

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat flour)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 1/8 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tbs. buttermilk (I used regular milk)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 ripe medium-large bananas, mashed

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, to be mixed in batter

1/3 cup chopped walnuts, to be sprinkled on top for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep bakeware of choice (muffin tin or loaf pan) with either muffin liners or non-stick spray.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar and vegetable oil, then add the buttermilk, vanilla extract and mashed bananas. Slowly add in flour mixture in parts (I added about 1/2 cup at a time) to wet ingredients. Be careful not to overmix the batter. Fold in 1/2 cup of walnuts, then distribute into bakeware.

Garnish with remaining walnuts. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes (mine were done in 20 though, thanks to my shady oven), then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

campus food cart #3: chili dog, chips & drink - $4. no idea what the cart’s called, but I LIKE IT. http://yfrog.com/4gzewzj

FYI: if I’m ever late for a morning/early afternoon engagement, it’s b/c I took the time to eat breakfast. I’ll work on that in the future.

turned down lunch at @kingestate monday to volunteer instead. as a foodie I’m bummed, but it’s MLK day - you gotta do it right. #bethechange

“ak 47” french dip sub from @eugenechebahut’s friends & family night! #eugene will love this new joint… http://yfrog.com/35i7euj

campus cart lunch #2: alexander’s great falafel. $5.50 for a yummy falafel, lemonade & friendly chitchat. http://yfrog.com/33n9zkj

mushroom risotto with broccoli, flat-leaf italian parsley, and enough wine to fail a breathalyzer. ;) http://yfrog.com/355amsj

going vegetarian for #carbonbustingfriday: spicy tofu and quinoa from holy cow cafe. YUM. http://yfrog.com/35hojdj

so many food carts on campus this term! the BBQ one across from rennie’s has $5 pulled pork sandwiches. http://yfrog.com/1yne3mj

spazzing out about food network being dropped from cablevision tv… whatever will I do without my beloved #foodporn? http://bit.ly/4tlS0s

we need to talk.

look…. this isn’t working for me anymore. I feel like we’re moving in different directions - you’re constantly raising your prices, and I’m trying to spend as little as possible. we’ve had some great times together (remember all those late-night visits to my place last year?), but I think it’s time we go our separate ways.

quite frankly, I just don’t need you anymore.

as you can see, I’m doing just fine on my own.

:P

““`

these are shredded beef, broccoli and cheese calzones. I used a ready-made pizza crust instead of making the dough by hand, which was my original intention. handmade doughs seem like so much work, though.

first, I prepped all of my ingredients. I shredded the beef from a leftover pot roast and let it cool, then shredded some cheddar cheese and thawed/chopped up some frozen broccoli.

I had also intended to put slices of red pepper into the calzones as well, but I forgot to chop them up before assembling the ‘zones.

next, I opened the can of pizza crust and unrolled the dough. after dividing it into two pieces, I took one part of the dough and stretched it flat on a clean cutting board, making sure it wasn’t too thin anywhere, then I layered the ingredients on one half of the dough. I also put some red pepper flakes in there, too, for a little heat.

then, I carefully folded the other side of the dough over and pinched the edges together to seal the calzone.

I’d bought two cans of pizza dough, which made four calzones. I baked them in a 400-degree oven on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper so the dough wouldn’t stick.

the next time I make this, I’m going to either buy real pizza dough or make my own, because I used albertson’s brand pizza dough and it tasted like biscuits. I’m also going to mix some BBQ sauce in with the shredded beef. normally I’d get a side of BBQ sauce when I’d order this from dough co., but I think it’d taste better if the sauce was incorporated in the calzone instead of having it as an added, extra flavor.

my friends and I did a secret santa gift exchange this year, from which I received everything I’d wanted: a zester/grater, a stainless steel santoku knife and a powerful hand mixer. I first used them to make a recipe I’d seen before that I thought MY secret santa would’ve loved: lemon raspberry thumbprint cookies.

I learned right away just how powerful my hand mixer was - the lowest setting was already enough to thoroughly mix the butter, sugar and eggs together. also, grating a lemon is harder than it looks… you just have to push down a lot while grating. the lemon zest/juice gave such a great flavor to these cookies, and the raspberry jam really helped balance the sweet and tart flavors. they took a little work, but this recipe made very delicious and impressive cookies - I will definitely be making more in the future. :)

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse via Food Network
Makes approximately 3-4 dozen cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup of white sugar and 1/3 cup of brown sugar, because supposedly brown sugar makes cookies more moist. tasted great!)
2 large egg yolks
zest of 1 large lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup raspberry jam or jelly

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with Silpats.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend.

Place butter and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer, and beat until light and creamy.

Add egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat to combine.

Add the flour mixture in two parts, beating between additions, until moist clumps form.

Gather dough into a ball. Pinch off about a tablespoon of dough and roll into a tiny ball. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

Using a floured thumb, make a shallow indentation in the center of each ball.

Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.

While the cookies bake, measure jam into a small, heatproof bowl and microwave in 10 second intervals until stirrable and smooth.

After 10 minutes, remove half-baked cookies from oven. Working quickly, reshape the center indentations using the back of a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon.

(this is what they look like after they’ve been in the oven a little while.)

Dollop 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the center of each cookie. Return cookies to the oven to bake another 10 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Remove cookies from oven and transfer to racks to cool completely.

for whatever reason, this christmas I was fixated on making a ton of cookies. maybe it’s my newly-realized enthusiasm for cooking, maybe it’s for nostalgic/comfort reasons. I spent the week leading up to christmas in LA with my diabetic grandma, so needless to say, I didn’t get to make cookies like I’d planned on doing during winter break. now that I’m back home, I’m finally getting to make all the good recipes I’ve found so far :)

peanut butter and chocolate no-bake cookies:

mmmm.

these cookies were fairly simple to make. normally you would just drop spoonfuls of the batter onto a waxed baking sheet to cool and harden, but I wanted to make them look nice, so I let them rest for a little while, then rolled them into balls and dusted with powdered sugar… just to make ‘em look pretty.

here’s the recipe I used, with my step-by-step photos.

No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies

Yield: 2 to 3 dozen, depending on how large you make them

½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a 4-quart saucepan.

2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1 minute.

3. Remove from heat.

4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats.

5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper-lined baking sheets. (For mine, I let the mix sit in the saucepan for a little while, then shaped them into balls.)

6. Let cool until set.

made some treats for #trueblood season one marathon tonight: chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies! http://yfrog.com/3lokvj

my friends and I love football, but we also REALLY love to tailgate. our gameday snacks have evolved from chips and salsa to homemade snacks. here is a photo from our most recent get-together:

I made these biscuits for the UO vs. OSU civil war game on dec. 3, but never posted about them… possibly because I was still so caught up in the post-game magic :) you can’t help but be distracted when your team’s going to the rose bowl, you know?

I’m pretty sure I used this recipe… but it’s been a while and I don’t really remember if it was or not. I think I may try to make this again for the rose bowl on new year’s day.

the only change I added to the recipe was that I added yellow food coloring to the biscuit mix at the end, just so they would be yellow and green (UO ducks’ colors, you see). this would’ve been fine except I forgot to do it until the end, and so I had to mix it in after I had already mixed the dough. this made the biscuits slightly tougher than what I’d expected or intended, but when I make this again, I’ll remember to add it in during the same step with the buttermilk, at the very end. although the original recipe didn’t specify this, I would suggest mixing the dough by hand at the very end, so it doesn’t become overworked and tough.

oh, and you know…. go ducks! :D

Cheddar and Chive Biscuits

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 oz sharp Cheddar, coarsely grated (1 1/2 cups)
Handful of chives, finely chopped
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, then blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in Cheddar and scallions. Add buttermilk and stir until just combined.

Drop dough in 12 equal mounds about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.