Ricey Puddin'

Submitted by soroberts:

"Let's say you got some Chinese food. Great! But you have crappy Chinese takeout rice that is not so great. Well, you can make ricey puddin' with it! This recipe is easily generalizable, but the units used will assume you have the amount of rice that comes in a Chinese takeout container."

Ingredients:
~ Puddin' Base ~

• Milk (twice as much as rice)
• Rice (from crappy takeout place)
• Sugar of any kind, 3/4c. If you use maple syrup, 1/2c. This is highly recommended.

~ Recommended Extras ~

• 1 egg (optional; will make the pudding thicker)
• 1/2-1c raisins (optional; will make pudding more delicious)
• Rum (optional; will make raisins and pudding more delicious)
• Vanilla (small splash; to taste)
• Nutmeg (small dash; to taste)
• Cloves (small dash; to taste)
• Ginger (small dash; to taste)
• Cinnamon (big dash; to taste)

Directions:

1. Put milk, sugar and rice in a BIG pot. The more surface area the milk has, the better! Heat this concoction and get to work on your extras.
2. Put raisins in a bowl, pour enough rum in there to cover them, and stick in the microwave for 1 minute. Take the raisins out and let them sit. In a few minutes, for extra-plump raisins, repeat this process once they start to cool off. (If you don't like the taste of rum and want plump delicious raisins anyway, use water.)
3. Is the milk boiling yet? Give it a stir. Keep an eye on the milk so it doesn't form a gross skin. Nobody wants that.
4. Dash spices in there as desired; there are some recommended ones above.
5. Once the milk really starts to boil, stir it near-constantly, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. If you don't, milk will burn on down there and whoever's on dish duty will hate you. Add raisins if you have 'em; an extra splash of rum in the pudding won't hurt, either, if you are fond of the flavor.
6. After a while, the milk will stop making real bubbles and will start making craters. If you are choosing to use an egg, crack it directly in there and stir it up really fast. You should notice the pudding getting a little thicker all of a sudden. If you are not using an egg, skip this step completely; once the pudding starts making craters it is done.
7. Remove from heat and stir for a little while longer; it's still too hot to eat and you might as well help some of that water vapor escape. Once it's been sitting and you've been stirring it for a little while, you should notice that when you scrape the spoon or whatever along the bottom of the pot, it leaves a clear path that doesn't fill immediately. HOORAY! Pudding achieved!
8. NOM. Get housemates to do dishes.

Everyone Loves Quesadillas

niclark submitted the following:

Ingredients:

• flour tortillas (one per quesadilla)
• avocados (1/2 to 1 per quesadilla)
• cheese, grated or cut into small cubes (we used sharp cheddar cheese because that's what we had on hand, but many cheeses would work just as well)
• a wee bit of butter (optional)
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• cinnamon
• balsamic vinegar
• lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mash up the avocado. Mix in equal parts garlic powder, onion powder, and cinnamon (a pretty heavy dash of each), a splash or two of balsamic vinegar (a little goes a very long way), and a small splash of lemon juice.
   
2. Melt a little bit of butter in a medium or large skillet (large enough to fit your tortilla), or just bring the skillet up to medium-low heat without the butter if you want.
   
3. Put the tortilla in the skillet and let it start to brown a little bit. Flip the tortilla and sprinkle on the cheese.
   
4. When the cheese just starts to melt, add the avocado mixture. Fold the tortilla in half, then cook for about a minute on each side.

Optional delicious additions: diced tomatoes, diced red onion

Apple Walnut Baklava

Submitted by niclark:

Apple Walnut Baklava (adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baklava/Detail.aspx) 

Ingredients:

• 1 roll of phyllo dough (usually comes in a box with two rolls; you only need one)
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 2 large Granny smith apples (or 4-5 small ones)
• 1 cup butter (if you need the dish to be vegan, use Smart Balance)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• ~1/2 cup brown sugar 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter the bottom and sides of a 9X13 inch glass or metal baking dish.
   
2. Chop apples into very small pieces and toss with cinnamon and walnuts.  Set aside.
3. Melt the butter and unroll the phyllo dough.
4. Place a sheet of phyllo in the bottom of the dish and brush butter onto it.  
5. Repeat until you’ve used half of the roll of dough.  
6. Spread the apple/walnut/cinnamon mixture over the dough and pour a little bit of butter over it. 
7. Finish with the rest of the phyllo dough in the same way you did the first half.
8. Use a sharp knife to cut diamonds or squares all the way to the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes (in a SoCo oven it took 60 minutes, turning once halfway through to compensate for uneven heating)
9. While the baklava is baking, put the apple cider, white sugar, and brown sugar in a pot over medium-high heat and cook until it reaches a syrupy consistency, stirring frequently and watching to be sure it doesn’t boil over.
10. Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately pour the sauce over it.  Let it cool, then enjoy.

Vegan? Look here.

Kacosta '10 (say it out loud, it sounds cool. She's a cool girl, so it fits perfectly) updated her blog and made it into a cooking blog. She's vegan, so try it out if you're vegan as well. Or if you're a carnivore. Just do it.
Here are some links!
Pumpkin Pasta Casserole with Camalized Onions and Walnut Topping
Rice Milk and Rice Yogurt Recipe
End-of-week curry soup

The other day I made the last one (the soup) with some alternations, since I didn't have a few of the ingredients, and simply substituted them with something else. It's delicious, easy, and I still have lots to go (it's one of those things I don't get sick of having everyday!). Very economical, and easy.

Thanks KaCosta!

Blandness, soups, and then some

A couple of weeks ago I was sick. Being sick at college is just really not that great, because you still have to do everything you would've done anyway if you were well. Or you don't, and watching re-runs on TV makes you go stir-crazy. Then there's that whole thing where nothing tastes like anything. So what are you to do when this happens to you?

Things to do (not necessarily fun but productive):

• clean out that Tupperware with old old food that should've been cleaned out a long time ago (hey, you can't smell it now, so why not?)
• drink seltzer - to get your carbonation fix (you can't taste the soda anyway...)
• eat things that are good for you that you usually don't like
  
• eat/make soup
• eat comfort food

Examples of soups:

Carrot Kale Soup:

• onion and garlic (or garlic powder), chopped up
  
• butter
  
• carrots, chopped up
  
• kale, chopped up
• lemon juice
  
• salt, pepper, veggie or chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, cook butter and chopped up onion and/or garlic until onion is translucent.
   
2. Add the carrots, and kale. Cook until carrots are tender.
   
3. Add the veggie/chicken broth with the right amount of water if it's in the form of a bouillon cube. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice.
   
4. Cook for 20-30mins until desired consistency.
   
5. Cream in a blender.
   

Carrot Ginger Soup - I made this and it's very good! Do it!

Grilled ham and cheese sandwich (with kale on the side):

• 2 slices of ham
• 2tbsp of butter
• 1 slice of cheese
• mayo/mustard (optional)
• 2 slices of bread

Directions:

1. Butter two slices of bead. Each on one side. Put the buttered-side of the bread down in a pan, spread mayo or mustard if desired on the un-buttered side. Add 1 slice of ham.
   
2. Add the cheese. Add 1 slice of ham on top of that.
   
3. Put the other slice of bread, with the buttered-side up on top of the rest.
   
4. Cook until desired at medium heat.
5. In the rest of the pan, you can fry other things. I tried putting kale in, and it tastes so good!

Other variations: For fieldwork we went to this farm called McEnroe one good Wednesday two weeks ago, and they had this TBA sandwich that the other intern and my professor chose. I had a bite. And it was one of the best bites of a sandwich I've had in a while. What does the TBA stand for?
Turkey, brie and avocado. Yeah. That's right. Yum!

A can of beets?

Do you also have a can of pickled beets somewhere in your cupboard and don't know what to do with it? I've got two recipes for you. 

Recipe #1:

Beets, brussels sprouts with rice (own creation)

Ingredients:

• 1 can of beets (don't drain them)
• 2 carrots
• brussels sprouts (a whole package)
• garlic or garlic powder
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 cube vegetable stock
• rice
• water
• oil
• salt, pepper, and optional: parsley, lemon juice

Directions:

1. Chop the onions and the carrots, fry in oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat.
2. Add the garlic (minced) or garlic powder
3. Add the vegetable stock (the cube kind), and the beets with the liquid, add some water if it's too salty at the end
4. Add the rice
5. Add the brussels sprouts, bring to boil. 
6. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes until desired consistency (you can make it more soup like if you want.
7. Add parsley (optional) and lemon juice (just a drop)
8. Enjoy! (Eat with cheese or ham if you want to add more protein)

Pear Dessert

Nicole made this over October Break with a few friends and it sounds delicious!

"This recipe would probably work with other fruits like apples or peaches, but pears were what we had on hand on night at the beginning of October break when some friends and I made dinner and dessert together. My measurements are just guesses, because I rarely measure when I cook anyway, and the whole meal that night was sort of spur-of-the-moment.

Ingredients:

• Canned pears (the ones I used had been canned by a friend’s grandma, but store-bought will probably work too, as long as there is some juice in with the fruit)
• Optional (if you’re using fresh fruit or there’s not any or not enough juice in the canned fruit): ¼ cup or so of pear juice (pear juice is often the base for juice drinks and the only part of it that constitutes “natural fruit juice,” even if it’s not supposed to be pear-flavored; if you can’t find it, water will probably work just fine)
• Brown sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Optional: maple syrup
• Ice cream (butter pecan or vanilla bean are both great choices)

Directions:

1. If you’re using fresh fruit, chop it into small cubes before you start cooking. If you’re using canned fruit, you could chop it up ahead of time, but it will likely be soft enough to just chop it up as you cook it with your spoon or whatever you’re using to stir.
2. Pour some of the canning juice (or pear juice or water) into a medium-sized skillet. Add probably ½ - 1 tablespoon brown sugar (I don’t really measure when I cook; you’re making a simple thin syrup, so add enough that you get a nice brown liquid that’s just shy of being viscous). Heat over medium-high heat and stir until all of the brown sugar is dissolved. You could also add a splash of maple syrup at this point if it suits your fancy. If it comes to a boil, reduce the heat just a little.
3. Add your fruit to the syrup. Make sure it’s chopped into less than 1-inch cubes (more surface area = faster cooking time and more space to soak up the syrup). Stir to coat.
4. Add a dash each of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg, and a little more brown sugar. Stir.
5. Cook the whole thing for about two minutes (longer if you started with fresh fruit, since you’ll probably need to soften it). Pour over a couple scoops of ice cream and serve immediately for optimum enjoyment.

Notes:

I recommend cleaning your skillet or pan pretty quickly, or at least putting it in your sink with a little bit of soapy water to set so that the syrup doesn't harden into a caramel and become really difficult to clean up later."

Submitted by niclark

Peas and Degrassi

What's better than turning on the TV on a gloomy Saturday and find out Degrassi is on? Well, watching Degrassi and mixing odd things together to eat.

Hummus + Tomato Sauce Peas:

• Frozen peas
• Tomato sauce
• Hummus (preferably a kind with some roasted vegetables or something)
• Optional: sausage
• Things to eat with it: Pasta, Rice

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat up the tomato sauce, the peas and a big dollop of hummus, and optional sausage.
   
2. Done!
   

Lentils

This is some easy stuff.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of dry lentils
• olive oil
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
  
• minced garlic
• 1 small onion, chopped
  
• 1 bouillon cube
• circa 4 cups of water
• optional: spinach

Directions:

1. Rinse lentils.
   
2. Fry the onion, garlic and celery in the olive oil in a medium saucepan (low-medium heat)
3. One the onion is transparent, and tender, stir in the optional spinach.
4. Pour in the rest of the ingredients and stir.
   
5. Turn up the heat to medium-high, and continue stirring until it boils.
6. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are soft (probably ½-1 hour).
   
7. That's it!

You could potentially stir in rice if you want with the lentils.

Vegetable Soup with Beer

Vegetable soup is so delicious, and easy to make. Especially with Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of vegetable broth or 2 cups worth
• 1/2-1 cup of Bob's Vegi Soup Mix (or your own mixture of lentils, pasta, beans, etc.)
• 6oz. beer (1/2 can)
  
• Some suggestions:
  
• Broccoli, carrots, onions, tomatoes, anything you have
  
• Mackerel
  
• Turmeric, salt, pepper, soy sauce, curry

Directions:

1. Pour in the vegetable broth in a medium saucepan. Start cooking with chopped onions if you have some.
   
2. Pour in the beer, and make sure that it cooks as to get rid of the alcohol.
   
3. Mix in the vegi soup mix, or own mixture
4. Cook with any other vegetables, ham, or fish
5. Spice it up!
6. Let simmer together until everything's soft, and cook until preferred consistency.
   

Midterms are crazy so I made you some quinoa bread

I'm sorry for my lack of blogging, but when you've only had time to survive off of chocolate and peanut butter, and things I've made in bulk beforehand... then there's not much cooking I can blog about.
Perhaps this recipe for Quinoa bread (adapted from one of my favourite blogger's recipes CLICK) will make up for it?

I changed a few things that are probably more applicable to college students who do not have things like arrowroot or buckwheat flour available.

Note: You need to soak the quinoa over night.
Another note: I do not have spirulina as called for in the original recipe, and my bread turned out kind of bland because I didn't add any spices to it. If you like it bland, then do not add spices to it. It tastes kind of like corn bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 3/4 cups milk
• 1 cup wholewheat flour
• 2 cups of water
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbs honey or agave
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• optional: spices, salt, cinnamon, herbs, matcha, green machine powder

1. Soak the 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water over night
2. Rinse quinoa the next day and get rid of as much water as possible
3. Mix milk, quinoa, eggs, honey/agave
4. Pour in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, spices, matcha, green machine powder
5. Combine together and put in a greased and flour-ed loaf pan
6. Bake for about 45-50 minutes
7. Yum!

Apple and Bean Stew?

This is easy, and delicious. Especially if you like apples in your curry, and if you like curry and beans. (Did you know that the curry powder you have in your spice rack is actually a mixture of different spices? Yep. Check the ingredient list out. So if you feel adventurous, mix some spices together and make your own personal curry! Once upon a time, when ACDC had a huge assortment of spices by the stir-fry, I was able to do just that. )

Let's get to it.

Ingredients:

• Curry powder, spices, garlic powder, cayenne pepper... etc.
• Oil
• An onion, chopped
  
• Minced garlic (optional)
• 1 or 2 can of beans
• Vegetable or chicken broth (optional)
• Lemon juice (optional)
  
• 2 apples
• Carrots, peas, squash, anything you think would taste good
  
• Ham (optional)
  
• Coconut milk (a dash, also optional)

Directions:

1. Fry the chopped onion and optional garlic in some oil in a saucepan. Blend in the spices, and fry the onion until it's soft, or transparent.
   
2. Mix in the beans (if you want you don't have to drain them - use the beanliquid instead of broth), apples, other vegetables, and lemon juice if you feel so inclined.
   
3. Stir, and cook without cover until the consistency you'd like to have. Add more spices if you deem it fit. Put in some coconut milk or cream if you want a creamier curry/stew.
   
4. Cook until apples are soft.
5. Serve with rice.
   

Submitted by vefehrm

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Last night I came to the realization that:

1. the spinach I bought a week ago was about to go bad
2. there was a can of artichoke hearts deep into the cupboard that I had forgotten about
3. the yogurt I bought some time ago is also going bad
4. I have an immense amount of cheese

First I started out steaming the spinach, thinking I'd just steam it so it would keep for however long, and the "almost bad" flavor would hide behind garlic, onion and potentially soy sauce or whatnot. Then I remembered the artichoke hearts and thought: hey! I'll just make a dip. So here goes.

Ingredients:

• half a bag of spinach or as much as you like
  
• 1 can of artichoke hearts
• yogurt, sour cream or cream
  
• 1/2 onion, chopped
  
• oil
  
• cheese (I used mostly Muenster and Parmesan, cheddar might be good too but didn't suit my palate in this case)
  
• optional: tabasco, garlic or garlic powder
  

Directions:

1. Fry the onions in oil on medium heat
2. Add the spinach, and stir until soft
3. Add the can of artichoke hearts (I used half of the "juice", if you prefer water, add some water)
4. Let the artichoke hearts and the spinach cook together for a while, making a "thicker" mixture by letting the water or "juice" evaporate
5. Once it's relatively thick, add yogurt or other liquid dairy, and cook
6. Add cheese (in chunks, it will melt) and stir
7. Add optional spices/seasoning!
8. Let cook to a thick, dip-like substance

If you want this to be a less chunky dip, you can always combine all the ingredients in a food processor before hand and then cook them that way.

Submitted by vefehrm

Butternut Squash

They're pretty fabulous. If you don't like the way they taste, at least they make an appropriate kitchen table decoration now that it's officially fall. If you do like the taste of them... then here are a couple of suggestions:

• Peel, slice in half, take out the seeds with a spoon or a fork, and then...
  
• ...cut in cubes and use in your stir-fry with curry powder or cinnamon
• ...make butternut squash soup (note: if you have a large blender, or a hand held one, it's much much easier than trying to puree the squash in turns)
• ...bake in the oven at 350 degrees, with some yummy butter, salt, pepper, curry or cinnamon mixture. If you have a sweet tooth: add some brown sugar!

Submitted by vefehrm

You found a can of beer

...that's leftover from the beerpong you played with those kids you half-know the other night? Put it to good use, make a quick, easy, delicious soda bread.

This recipe is adapted from "Country Wisdom Almanac".

Quick Beer Soda Bread (Note: This is not sweet bread, this is bread. Don't let the sugar fool you.)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
  
• 1½ tsp of salt
• 1 can of beer (12 fl oz)
• 3 tbsp of sugar
• 4 tbsp of butter, melted (put 3 tbsp of butter in a mug, and heat it for a few seconds in the microwave)

Directions:

1. Put oven on 375 degrees.
2. Grease a bread pan (or 1-quart souffle dish).
   
3. Combine all the ingredients, apart from the butter. Do not overmix.
4. Put in the breadpan, and put the pan in the oven.
5. Bake fo 50 minutes. Take out the pan, pour the melted butter on top.
6. Put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes and a delicious crust will develop!

Variations:

• In the book they mention adding 1 tbsp of cinnamon, ½ tsp of nutmeg, ½ cup of chopped walnuts, and using 3 tbsp of brown sugar instead of 3tbsp of white sugar - it tastes amazing, but it is still not "sweet"
  
• You can also substitute some of the white flour to whole wheat flour (for instance, 2 cups whole wheat, and 1 cup regular and maybe some oats. If you only use whole wheat the bread becomes very dense). This will make it healthier.
• Feel free to be creative!

Submitted by vefehrm

Herbs feature: Parsley

So using parsley can be beneficial because it's got this pretty awesome taste to it. It's also a very good source of iron. You know what they say... A bushel of parsley a day will keep the nosebleed doctor away... Anyway.

Parsley can be bought fresh, or dried. Dried parsley, to me, does not taste anything like the fresh kind you can get a small bushel for less than a dollar at say Stop N Shop. So,

Now, you may not want to use it all at once so how can you store this?

Keeping it for 2 weeks:
- I found this nifty little tip right here.

Keeping it in the freezer for longer:
- cut off the leafy parts (you can easily tear it with your fingers), throw away the stalks, keep the leafy parts in a tupperware container
- put in the freezer and take out whenever you want some (there are some of these boxes available in the freezer department at grocery stores but they are usually double or triple the price)

And now some suggestions as to using it:
- on bread with hard-boiled sliced eggs, tomatoes, salt and pepper and sprinkle parsley on top
- sardines or mackerel and parsley go well together
- potatoes any style
- rice (risotto)
- soups

Submitted by vefehrm

Baked Avocado

Avocados are delicious. So's cheese. So are walnuts.

Here's a suggestion for baking avocados. Instead of just eating them raw with balsamic dressing, sometimes a hot baked avocado is just all that amazing. It's easy too!

Ingredients:

• An avocado
• Cheese (blue cheese, feta, anything you think would be good with it), grated
  
• Optional: 1 tbsp of sour cream
• Optional: chopped walnuts
• Salt, pepper
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Halve the avocado, take out the giant seed.
   
3. Mix sour cream, cheese and walnuts. Salt and pepper to taste.
   
4. Put the mix in the avocado. Bake until cheese or avocado is brown.
   

Bacon would probably be lovely in this as well!

Submitted by vefehrm

Professor Bradley's Edamame Hummus

Professor David Bradley kindly submitted the following recipe, claiming that it is "usually a fan favorite"!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen shelled edamame (boiled for 3 minutes, drained and rinsed with cold water)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (more/less for consistency)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (for topping)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients but the oil in the bowl, in a food processor.
2. Turn on, and slowly drizzle in oil as the ingredients are being processed to a creamy consistency.
3. (use half the edamame for the hummus, the other half for topping)

Submitted by dabradley

Peanut Sauce

This may not be the most authentic "peanut sauce" but it's still delicious. I add it to rice, bean mixes, stews, chicken, etc.

Adapted from this recipe that also has measurements.

Ingredients:

• peanut butter (smooth unless you like chunky)
• soy sauce
• lemon juice or a little vinegar
• garlic powder or pressed garlic
  
• coconut milk but regular milk works great too
• a little bit of brown sugar unless your peanut butter contains sugar
• water
• optional: cayenne/chilli pepper, curry
  

Directions:

1. Melt the peanut butter in a saucepan. Try not to boil it because sometimes it curdles weirdly.
2. Add soysauce and the other ingredients.
   
3. Keep on low heat and add more of the ingredients to taste.
   

Submitted by vefehrm

Tomato Sauce with Capers

This is my favourite tomato sauce of all time. Maybe because I grew up with it, invented by my mother. There's a story behind it, but that's for another time.

If there are any leftovers... you can freeze this in a plastic bag (flatten it out), break off a piece whenever you need some, reheat it and there you go.

Ingredients:

• A big can of canned tomatoes
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• pickled capers (the small ones)
  
• bouillon cube (optional - use a 1/2 of a cube if you're not into salty sauces)
  
• 1-1½ tbsp dried oregano
• 1-1½ tbsp dried or fresh basil
• salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan. Put it on medium.
   
2. Use a garlic press and press the cloves into the saucepan. (Note: Don't burn the garlic - it may take less time than you'd think. Alternatively, take the saucepan away from the stove when you put in the garlic)
   
3. Put in as many capers as you want.
4. Open the can of tomatoes (or fresh ones if you'd rather use that), and pour it into the saucepan.
5. Optional: Crumb the bouillon cube into the mixture for more flavour.
6. Put in all the spices to taste and mix. Let boil for a few minutes.
   
7. Done!

Submitted by vefehrm