Wednesday, October 21, 2009

is anyone out there?

i think there are a few of you because:
someone called me dessert lady last week
and i just found this: http://midd-blog.com/2009/10/09/is-it-even-worth-checking-menus-anymore/
and matt birnbaum is grilling his onions without shame
and i think the field hockey team knows whats up
and bianca giaever sent me this text today: "i know how to make pad thai!!"

all i gotta say is i hope you grilled your cookies today...

p.s. get inspired to make better salads!!! here are a few examples of salads from the new york times article below....
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?_r=1

Thursday, October 15, 2009

A week without sugar - I didn’t make it (BY BIANCA GIAEVER 12.5 of pearsons/seattle, wa!)


As a Middlebury Student struggling with sugar addiction, I get very excited about desert and eat it before dinner. I also pour honey and cinnamon sugar on top of most things. But the facts are these: last Thursday I ate a lot of pecan pie, cinnamon sugar honey cinnamon raison bread toast, and fro-yo before dinner. Then I felt too sick to eat dinner and had to go home. With my friend Ben in mind, who quit sugar and has a great body, I proclaimed I would not eat sugar for a week. My true friend Aiden joined me, and we operated on the honors system with complete shame as the punishment for eating sugar. Also, the first one to crack would have to do pushups in the dining hall as they ate their treat, to make the shame more overwhelming.

I dreaded breakfast. Everything is sweet: the cereals, the jam, the granola, the yogurt, the muffins. I usually ate English muffins with peanut butter and bananas and sloshed it down with water. With lunch and dinner there was no way to end meals, and I could NOT be satisfied. I took my misery out on my sugar-eating friends that I loved most. After 5 days I began eating sugar again, returning to my friends and chronic nausea. I have learned that sugar, like everything else in life, should be taken in moderation.

(last year my friend janet and i decided not to eat dessert between an ambiguous point in february and spring break. i found janet at portuguese language table the next day eating a cookie. she claimed she had "forgotten." and yet she didn't stop chewing. i cracked later that day by eating oreos at fic. by the way i really miss fic. anyway, moral of the story: life sucks. --maya)

p.s. bianca rulez! she says to check this out: http://onlinekindnessclass.wordpress.com/about/

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

thoughts on cottage cheese

does this scare you?


well, it scares me. it just looks so… curdled, you know? but i’ve been thinking a lot recently about cottage cheese – and how good it really is.

first of all, if you’re still thinking “what is she talking about, cottage cheese is always hella nasty” – try reframing your image of cottage cheese: it’s just cow’s milk. only curdled. yay!

the dining hall serves non-fat cottage cheese, which means it’s creamy AND healthy, and can be used in tons of fun ways:

1. substitute cottage cheese for other cheeses, especially in quesadillas (full recipe still to come). when you mix it with salsa and black beans in a grilled quesadilla, it just tastes like creamy goodness. not scary at all.

2. put cottage cheese on your salads, like astrid s-g of milli/westchester, ny! think of it as feta, just a little more... wet.

3.If you are feeling brave, try mixing it in with your yogurt, like cate brown of coffrin/hanover, nh. she loves it, and who doesn't love cate, so why not, right?

4. a girl in my sociology class named sam (i think she lives in weybridge) only eats local products from the dining hall, which means her selection is almost entirely limited to cottage cheese, applesauce, cheddar cheese, and apples – which is actually an amazing combination!

5. substitute cottage cheese for cream cheese. grill a panini with cottage cheese, tomato, cucumbers and turkey (i'll find a good recipe for this!). or use cottage cheese on your bagel/bread for breakfast, along with jam/honey and bananas.

6. eat cottage cheese for dessert. you can “spice” it up with lots of fruit, a little jelly or honey, cinnamon, all-bran, peanut butter and (perhaps) raisins. or with whatever else you love. chocolate sauce could work too.
7. check out my soon to come recipe for noodle kugel, using cottage cheese.

p.s. i wish we had an easy bake oven, then we could use cottage cheese to make these:

seriously, they have cottage cheese in them. check out the link: http://thriftyjinxy.blogspot.com/2008/04/works-for-me-wednesday-healthy-oatmeal.html

Thursday, October 8, 2009

the best advice EVER: grill your cookies

i really see no other choice.
just like with the pancakes, you can put anything and everything between your two cookies. except not anything, if you know what i mean

Chocolate and Banana Grilled Cookie Sandwich

- 2 oatmeal raisin cookies
- 1 banana
- 1 tbs chocolate chips
- soft serve ice cream and chocolate sauce to taste



so easy. layer banana slices and chocolate chips on one cookie. put the other on top and panini that shit. for five minutes. add your ice cream/soft serve topping to taste. be prepared to make again. and again and again and again.



asian style

Asian Burrito

honestly, this burrito did not get the best review from some febs i got a lotta love/respect for. however, i really like it, and some other peeps have liked it in the past, so im putting it up anyway. it contains, you guessed it (spencer/jacob!) my favorite ingredient: raisins. so if you don't like raisins, or corn, don't even read this.

- one big tortilla
- LI 1/2 cup rice (can be omitted, you can also use cous cous or quinoa)
- some spinach
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1 tbs raisins!
- onions
- peppers

for the sauce:
(there are many variations of the sauce. i personally like it sweet, with lots of honey. you can also use maple balsamic - seriously, you can mix maple balsamic with soy sauce.)

- 1 tbs honey
- 2 tbs bbq sauce
- 1 tbs soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil

my measurements are total guesses. basically, careful with how much soy you put in because it can ruin the whole thing. just keep tasting it.

anyway, put the rice, corn, raisins and spinach in the tortilla. pour on some sauce - not too much! it's hard to get it right. i still haven't figured it out. wrap it up like a burrito (this is not meant for beginner freshman) and pour a light layer of sauce on the outside of the wrap. put the onions and peppers on top, and panini that shit! use the rest of your sauce as dipping sauce. i say: num num, febs say: mmm, it's alright.

p.s. I LOVE PATRICK!

indian food?! YES.

today i just can't stop. i am too excited about taking and posting photos.

Indian Grill - curry tofu kebabs with curried yogurt and grilled vegetables:



(i really don't know how much seasoning i used. use however much you want!)

- a few pieces of tofu
- 2 tbs honey
- chopped apple
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- lots of curry powder
- sprinkle of dark chili powder
- some cinnamon sugar
- 1 tbs canola oil
- onions
- peppers
- raisins

use the tea stirrers as kebab skewers. dip the tofu in the honey and then skewer them, along with pieces of apple. sprinkle on curry powder, cinnamon and dark chili powder as you like, and put on the grill. spread the canola oil (from the end of the salad bar) on the grill, and add the onions, peppers and raisins, and whatever other vegetables you might want. again add curry, cinnamon and chili powder. while these cook, make your yogurt from the same spices, plus some honey! add some of the yogurt to the skewers as the tofu cooks. serve it all together.

p.s. best radio show with the best intro theme song ever!!!
http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=1131300114&share_id=148361287786&comments=1#/group.php?gid=52733167082&ref=ts

get yo pancake on

pancakes on the panini machine are simple, messy, and delicious.
thank you casey knudsen of gifford/albany, ca for your help. to quote your sweatshirt, DON'T MESS.




all you need are a few ingredients! above is a banana raspberry pancake, but you can use MANY other ingredients - any type of jam, honey, chocolate chips, cream cheese (this works really well), peanut butter, brown sugar, apple slices, cinnamon, an oatmeal raisin cookie, cottage cheese, applesauce....

Banana Raspberry Pancake


- one english muffin
- 1 cup of milk
- one banana
- 2 tps raspberry jam
- 1 packet of butter
- sprinkle of brown sugar

soak the english muffin in milk while you get the other ingredients ready. slice the banana. take one half of the (very wet) english muffin and spread the jam, then layer banana slices on top. coat your cooking space on the panini machine with butter, and then place half your english muffin there. add the other half, and place the piece of butter on top, so that it also coats the top (note that these pancakes can get really sticky, just use the scraper to clean up afterwards). grill for about 5 minutes. when the pancake is ready, add more banana slices and sprinkle some brown sugar on top.




Tuesday, October 6, 2009

MAKE KEBOBS ON THE PANINI MACHINE

use the wooden tea stirrers (find them at the tea table) as skewers, make your own rubs and sauces... it's a WHOLE NEW WORLD. i'll post some recipes/ideas soon.

Monday, October 5, 2009

quick notes

1. i never thought about this before last night, but apparently some anonymous people (freshman!) don't know how to make a panini. like, they actually get confused about the process of assembling one. in fact, a really nice freshman recently told me, "seriously, i just don't get it. can you post step by step instructions? i'm really lost."

so i guess here's an answer: do not attempt fancy tortilla folds or panini bundles, or whatever else is possible. just get a big white lavash, put stuff on top, and fold it in half. the end.

2. grill your onions on top of your panini with whatever sauce you used inside the panini or with balsamic vinegar and olive oil or honey or butter. just do it. please.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

experimental dinner TONIGHT

come to proctor at 7:00 if you want to be a taste tester of this blog's food. sit upstairs at the table with the sign that says 'proctor experiment.' secret celebrity chefs (like tess sherman and allen hoffman) will be featured!

a really rough idea of possible dishes that could be made:

appetizers -
pesto surprise
bean dip

main course -
noonie's style baked apple sandwich
asian burrito (vegetarian)

dessert -
noodle kugel pocket
bread pudding
creamy peanut butter ballz

p.s. http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/the-polanski-uproar/?scp=2&sq=jay%20parini&st=cse

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Apple Crisp Two Ways and The Oodell Shake: october 3rd, 2009

you may be thinking, "omg, all she can talk about is dessert." you are right. read on.
(btdubs i am still using lame google images, this will change soon)

Apple Crisp #1:

- 1 chopped apple
- 1 english muffin
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tbs apricot jelly
- 1 packet of butter
- 1 tbs cream cheese
- 2 tbs honey
- 1 tbs raisins
- 1/4 cup total or all bran
- 1/2 cup vanilla soft serve

possible additions/substitutions: strawberry or raspberry jam, chocolate chips instead of raisins, plain yogurt instead of cream cheese, whole wheat or oat nut instead of english muffin

cut the apple and sprinkle some of the brown sugar on top, then add about 1/2 tbs of honey and set aside. in another bowl, tear up an english muffin and add the brown sugar, apricot jelly (or any other kind of jelly), butter, honey and raisins. then microwave the two bowls separately - the chopped apples can go in for about a minute (or longer if you want) and the topping mixture should go in for about 30 seconds. take out of the topping and stir in the cream cheese, then the cereal (you can sprinkle more over the top too.) Pour the crispy topping over the apples, and cover it with vanilla (or chocolate!) softserve. it's legit.

Apple Crisp #2:
Meaghan's "Actual Apple Pie" Super Easy Remix
(created by meaghan flood of hepburn/kinnelon, nj)

- one apple, chopped
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 butter packet
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup granola
- optional soft serve/whipped cream

possible substitutions/additions: regular cinnamon sugar, yogurt instead of soft serve, maya says: jelly?!?! meaghan says: you are obsessed with jelly.

mix the apple, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon AND applesauce (basically everything) and microwave it for 45 seconds to a minute. stir it up, sprinkle the granola and top it off with the dairy if you wish. voila!

The Oodell Shake/The Jake Shake
(created by jacob udell of hepburn/nyc/the best apartment building in the city)

- shot of coffee
- 1 ice cube
- 2 scoops of ice cream
- 1/4 cup of chocolate softserve
- 2 tbs peanut butter
- 1 tbs white chocolate chips
- 1 cone

possible additions/substitutions: strawberry ice cream if it's available, jam, small slices of banana, cereal

get two cups. in the first, put a "shot" of coffee, which is about an inch. put an ice cube in the coffee to help it cool down, and set the cup aside. in the other cup, scoop in the ice cream (make sure to utilize the special flavors, like the cookies and cream that's there today), the soft serve, and the peanut butter. then pour the coffee over the ice cream, which should help it melt, and stir. around the same time (or if you're magical, simultaneously) put the chocolate chips in a napkin and crush them with the bottom of a cup, or your fists if you are angry. also crush up the cone, and sprinkle the chips/cone pieces into your milkshake. drink it up. jacob rulez!

some savory ideas are soon to come. don't worry, they will be full of ham and hummus (those are the most savory things i can think of right now).

by the way, check out the organic garden before it starts snowing in october! and also because hillel's sukkah is there.

p.s. http://www.care2.com/send/card/4539

Friday, October 2, 2009

middlebury's best dessert. ever.

everyone has something - whether it's a soup, house-made bread or mysterious slaw - that they can't resist in the dining hall. but i think we can all agree on one completely irresistible dish: the carrot cake. it should be mandated that no matter who you are, you consume at least three pieces of carrot cake every time it's served. casey knudsen, of gifford/albany, ca once said: "yeah, i mean, i always have like five pieces. i just do a few extra push-ups before i go to bed." (casey knudsen is also a genius.)

and even though i swore every recipe on this blog would be pre-tested by courageous tasters, i
can't resist putting up my favorite dessert of the year so far (with googled photos, eep!):

- 1 piece of middlebury's carrot cake with frosting (oops i meant three?)
- 1/2 cup of total whole grain and all-bran
- 1 tbs raisins
- a lot of chocolate frozen yogurt



it's pretty simple. but i thought it was necessary to give credit to the carrot cake we all love. and sorry to the girls i cut off in order to get the last piece. although they will never see this. (but PD [top secret code initials] - one was an actual unicorn.)

sorry about that last part.

p.s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hypASNEOEDE