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

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

YUM!

I made these today and shaped some of the cookies to letters for my friend's birthday! Easy and good. The only thing I changed was that I used whole wheat flour for half of the flour, and ended up pouring more pumpkin into the dough (adding extra flour because of that). They're not super super pumpkin-y but they're really good and moist. PLUS I made a cookie sandwich using the following filling:

Cream Cheese Filling:

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/3 sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or more), a little ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp flour
  

Beat together with an electric mixer. Spread on top of cookies after they're cool.

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!

Sometimes we just mess up. And then we correct it.

the other day I wanted to make a chocolate-y, delicious, fudge chocolate cake. There was a recipe on the back of the Stop and Shop All Purpose Flour for a "Quick and easy fudge cake". Unfortunately, we had almost none of the ingredients. Especially no sugar, milk, nor butter to use.
I frantically found different kinds of sugary things:

• imitation maple syrup
• Swiss Miss, honey
• tonic water (don't ask...)

...and proceeded to add these things into the mixture. And for milk and butter, I kind of just substituted a little bit of oil, some peanut butter, cream, greek yogurt... etc. At last minute I added some roasted peanuts (salty ones - MISTAKE AGAIN), and sweetened coconut flakes.

What happened? It came out as chocolate bread. Not only had I added a billion different things, but it was not nearly sweet enough. Luckily I had some whipped cream to sweeten the deal. It was really disappointing.

Now, yesterday I was kind of upset by this and so I decided that I needed to make something out of this untouched chocolate bread cake thing. Oh, I guess I should add that I went and got some sugar yesterday. *Drum Roll*

Chocolate bread pudding:

1. Grease a pan, put the oven on 350.
   
2. Put some of the bread in the pan
3. Mix a mixture of cream, butter, SUGAR, vanilla, eggs, cinnamon, coconut and whatnot.
   
4. Pour mixture over the bread.
5. Put some more bread on top.
   
6. Mix eggs, coconut, some cream, and sugar together.
   
7. Pour over the top layer. Sprinkle with a mixture of water and sugar to get a nice sugary crust.
8. Put in the oven until golden brown on top.
   

It worked! Yes! Sweetness accomplished.

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!

Apples to Apples

There's an abundance of apples at my house, and thus I go to great lengths into trying to incorporate apples into every meal. So far... I've been (or meaning to start) indulging in the following:

• apples with yogurt, cereal, cinnamon, flax seeds, walnuts, peanut butter, coconut, oatmeal for breakfast (anything you can find)
• baking apples, put some sugar and cinnamon on it, stick it in the oven
  
• apple crisp/crumble:
• mix oatmeal, butter, sugar (brown and white), flour, cinnamon
• slice or cut apples, and pour mixture on top
  
• stick in a greased pan
• eat with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or something yummy like that
• I used to have a craving for the ACDC spinach, sunflower seed, lemon dressing salad with apples and cranberries. So mix all of this together, and there you go. Add cheese for some more substance and protein.
  
• instead of pb and jelly, try pb and apple
• melt butter in a saucepan, add sugar if you like things sweet, put cut up apples into the saucepan (season with cinnamon or curry)
• vegetable curry (mix apples into your curry)
• I'm sure that going without Gossip Girl for a week is almost impossible for you as well, so maybe some Blair Waldorf salad will help alleviate the wait? (Yes I've been dying to say this for a long time)
• apple scones
• apple pie
• apple butter
• apple jelly
• apples with cheese is also great - eat on crackers (I know grapes and pears are more standard choice, but hey, whatever)
  

Apple Honey Breadcake!

Sonia Robert's Rosh Hashanah-themed recipe: Apple Honey Breadcake!

"I have deemed it a breadcake because it has the sugar levels of a bread but I put a crumbly top on it. Also, my measurements are not exact because, well, that's not how I cook."

Ingredients:

• 2 2/3c. flour~1/3c. flax seed meal (for nutty flavor)
• 1c. honey
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• Lots of cinnamon. Seriously, open that baby up and pour.
• 1 tsp ground cloves (or thereabouts, depending on how much you like cloves).
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
• 1/2 tsp ginger (optional)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• ~1/3c. vegetable oil (big splash)
• 5 small chopped apples (I used green ones)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 325.
   
2. Mix this all up and pour it into a greased casserole dish, or two loaf pans, or what have you. As long as it fits.
3. Put it in the oven for 10 minutes. During this time, mix up a crumbly top from butter, flour, cinnamon and sugar, with a dash of cloves: about a tablespoon each of flour and butter should work, with maybe two tablespoons of sugar. Mix it around til it's crumbly.
4. After it's been in for 10 minutes, take it out and put the crumbly top on. Then stick it back in and bake it for 40-50 minutes at 325 degrees. HOORAY! You are done!
   

Submitted by soroberts

Salmon Spread

This spread is ideal for baked potatoes or toast. Spice up your weekday with some smoked salmon (lox?)!

Ingredients:

• 7/8 cup sour cream (original recipe calls for creme fraiche)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, and cut into small pieces
• 1½tsp French mustard (Dijon)
• 2tbsp fresh basil or dill, chopped
• ½ red onion, chopped
• 100g smoked salmon (cut up in thin strips)
  

Directions:
Mix together in a bowl, salt and pepper and serve with toast or baked potatoes. Add a little lemon juice if you want!

Submitted by vefehrm