Wednesday Grains

Today there were several pastas and grain that were delicious. First, was a sort of pad thai dish that had an amaing combination of flavors. The pasta was cooked perfectly and covered in a thick peanut sauce. I thought that the sauce was a little too spicy, but the overall effect of the dish was good.

Next, was an orzo salad. I have never had orzo before, and it was really tasty. I really liked the combination of the cheese in the salad as well.

The carbonora salad was especially creamy and savory. The bacon in it gave the dish an interesting flavor. I would never have thought of putting bacon and pasta together, but I really enjoyed it.

Finally came my all time favorite salad of the day, the curry and barley salad. The barley was soft, and tasted like the rice I used to love when I was a kid. I could have eaten that salad all day long. To top it off, the almonds made the dish go from fantastic to amazing. A single bite full of soft, fluffy barley and the crunchy roasted flavor of the almonds was perfection!

~Elizabeth

Snickerdoodle Muffins 09/15/12

On Saturday, Elizabeth and I made snickerdoodle muffins.  We found the recipe last week but we did not have anytime until yesterday to make them.  The recipe called for flour, butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, nutmeg, cream of tarter, and sour cream.  We put a cinnamon and sugar mixture in the muffin liners to give it a snickerdoodle flavor and then put the batter in and sprinkled more of the mixture on top.  We made baby muffins and regular sized muffins.  The baby muffins took about 15 minutes to cook and the regular muffins took about 20 to 25 minutes to cook.  They were very hard to get out of the pan after we cooked them because they were kind of crumbly.  They did not taste like a real snickerdoodle, but they were not bad.  I would make them again, but use a variation with buttermilk.

Elizabeth's fish seemed to like them!

Asian Chicken Salad Recipe 09/13/12

Asian Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

¼ cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 (8 ounce) package dried spaghetti noodles

¾ package of garden salad mix

1 boneless chicken breast-diced

3 green onions, chopped

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Directions:

1.       Prepare the dressing by combining the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable oil, and rice vinegar in a salad dressing carafe. Whisk the mixture together; then put it in the fridge until ready to use.

2.       Put a pot of water to boil. Once it has boiled break the noodles in half and put them in the pot for about 10 minutes. One they are completely cooked drain the water, and set aside the noodles to cool.

3.       Oil a skillet and place the pieces of chicken on them. Stir the pieces around until they are completely cooked.

4.       Cook the sesame seeds in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

5.       In a large bowl combine the salad, cooked chicken, green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and pasta. Then drizzle the salad dressing over the top to your liking.

Salads! 09/12/12

Today's salads were absolutely amazing! The first salad was a leek salad. I have never had leeks before, so this was a new experience. The leeks were sort of slimy, and I haven't quite decided whether I liked them or not.

The barbecue chicken salad, I didn't expect to be sweet. The corn added sweetness to each bite. I also liked the crunchiness of the chip like pieces. I did like the overall flavor of the salad.

The pomegranate seed and feta cheese salad was very good. The goat cheese was slightly salty, which went really well with the lettuce.

My all time favorite salad of the day, today was the Ceasar Salad. I absolutely love Ceasar Salad, and this one hit the top charts. The lettuce was crunchy and juicy, and the homemade croutons were to die for. Each bite of the croutons was full of a buttery aroma, but the one thing that pushed it over the top was the garlic. I never thought that Ceasar Salad would taste good with garlic in them, but it was probably the best salad I ever tasted! It seems to me that every day the salads just keep getting better and better!!
~Elizabeth

Salads! 9/11/12

The first salad we tried was the Asian Chicken Salad. It had noodles, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, and a sweet and sour dressing. The best part was the combination of the noodles and the vegetables. The noodles were so yummy and the best salad of the day!

The next salad we had was a bean salad. We liked the edamame and the beans, and the dressing on top had a unique flavor. The seasoning also added a certain bite to every mouthful. We thought at first that the edamame would be mushy, but it actually was crunchy and made the salad have a pleasing texture.

The third salad was feta and eggplant spinach salad. The feta cheese and spinach combination was mouthwatering and amazing. The lemon juice viniagrette paired perfectly with the spinach and eggplant. Altogether the salads today added interesting and unique flavors and textures while still being truly delicious.

xoxo
Talia, Elizabeth, and Natalie

Cupcakes with Elizabeth!

On Sunday, Elizabeth and I made cupcakes.  We made a basic vanilla cake batter with buttercream frosting. The batter was very simple. It called for eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, and a bit of milk.  It took about 30 minutes to cook.  It turned out evenly cooked and really yummy.  The buttercream frosting was simple too.  It had butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla in it.  This turned out well on our first attempt.  To top the cupcakes off, we made a fondant.  It was made from corn syrup, shortening, for which we substituted butter, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.  We then frosted the cupcakes and mixed food coloring in with the fondant.  We set aside two lumps of fondant. One had red food coloring mixed in and the other had yellow.  We then made small spheres of red and yellow.  We put the red and yellow spheres on small white cylinders made from leftover uncolored fondant.  These turned out as small, stubby mushrooms.  After all the mushrooms were made we painted the the white frosting with green food color (I found the gel to work better than the liquid food color).  We used a silicone egg brush to paint the frosting.  The bristles made a grassy looking pattern.


The finished product!

This week in Food for Thought we are studying salads. Today three inventive and creative salads were brought for us to sample. Here are those three salads that I throughly enjoyed.

Green Bean Salad: The green beans and peppers give the salad a delicious crunch, while the avocado contrasts with the crunch by giving it a creamy texture. I really enjoyed the dressing that was on the vegetables, and the combination between te flavors. Finally the red onion added a nice kick to the end of each bite.

Macaroni Salad: The little bites of pasta were fun to eat, and cooked to perfection. They weren’t crunchy like overcooked pasta or too soft. I wasn’t a huge fan of all of the olives in the pasta, but the sauce was really good. I thought the ratio of mayonnnaise to the rest of the sauce was a good amount. I am not a huge fan of mayonnaise and I don’t like it when macaroni salads have too much. This salad miraculously found the right ratio. It would have been the perfect accompiament to a summer barbecue.

Garden Salad: The garden salad was nice and refreshing although I felt that it would have tasted better if it had been refridgerated. The cucumber was mouthwatering, and perfectly crunchy and crisp. They tasted even better because they were from a home garden. I am normally not a fan of balsamic viniagrette, but I enjoyed the combination of the dressing and the fresh vegetables. I am a fan of salads, and these ones definitely became top ones on my list!

~Elizabeth

Salads! 09/10/12

Today in class we tasted three different salads: a green bean salad, a macaroni salad, and garden salad.

The green bean salad had green beans, avocado, tomato, and red onions. Usually we don't like avocado, but this time it tasted great. The green beans were fresh and crisp and the onions added a nice touch.

The macaroni salad had macaroni, mayonnaise, and olives. It was creamy and would go nicely with a summer barbecue. However, we found that the olives overpowered the rest of the flavors.

The garden salad was made of butter lettuce, fresh, homegrown cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, bell peppers, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. The balsamic vinaigrette was tangy and it completed the salad.

Overall the garden salad was the best.

xoxo,
Talia and Natalie

Bean Sauce Noodles 09/07/12

Today we mixed up our usual meal of rice and stir fry with noodles and a warm, sweet and salty sauce made of soy beans with tofu and pork. I also topped it off with sliced cucumber, egg, bean sprouts, and sprinkled with a sour red wine vinegar. All of the different flavors may seem over the top, but they go wonderfully together.

Quince Jam and Tortas 09/07/12

In class today we had quince jam, sweet olive oil tortas, and Iberico cheese. The cheese was silky smooth and creamy, while the quince jam had a sweet grainy texture. Paired with the sugar dusted tortas both were delicious. I especially liked the sweet and savory combination of the cheese and the cracker. It was an interesting experience because I have never had tortas or quince jam before. The quince jam was a little too sweet for me, but I did really enjoy the cracker and the cheese.

Leftovers 09/06/12

My mom makes dinner most nights and all four of us sit down to eat together.  Tonight however, my mom was under the weather and could not make a yummy meal, so I had leftovers from last night.  I heated up a bowl of pistou soup which consisted of leeks, rainbow Swiss chard, cannellini beans, carrots, celery, and penne pasta with a chicken broth, topped off with Saltines. It was great the first night and even better the second.

Easy Reheat 09/06/12

I am usually an extremely busy person, so having time to come up with dinner is limited. Most days  I just have enough time to throw something in the microwave. Unfortunately, a lot of microwave meals are unhealthy and don't taste good. That's why I like preparing a meal over the weekend when time is more available, and then reheating leftovers for dinner during the week.

My favorite, and easiest dish to have is Quiche. It is quick and easy to heat up while still retaining its delicious flavor. In the picture above, my Quiche has a whole wheat pie crust and two cheeses, cheddar and pepper jack. It is full of vegetables like onions and spinach, and it pairs well with homemade potato salad and raw vegetables. Quiche is delicious, easy to prepare, and makes enough to last the week, so it is a good meal. However, I have found what makes it a great meal is the secret of adding fresh bacon to the mix.