An Apple A Day

In a Pickle

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:07:33 -0400

I spent my whole day yesterday pickling vegetables. With the intermittent order of oysters to shuck or charcuterie to build, the majority of my time was spent with about 14 heads of cauliflower, a bucket of carrots, a knife and a peeler. A seemingly redundant and snore worthy job, left me instead aweing over God’s creation. I began peeling and slicing a Ton of carrots. Once I had my huge Bae Marie of carrots full, I looked down, and looked back up and my eyes blurred with that sensation you get after looking directly at the sun. It seems impossible that a vegetable, a thing that spent so much time under the ground in the dirt, could produce such an alarmingly bright color. Next I moved onto cauliflower…Now, if you haven’t ever cut into a head of purple cauliflower, I beg you to go out get one and get chopping. Each time I cut up a piece I was left in wonder locking at the beautiful purple and white of he stalk, the bright green leaves that faded to a purple tip and the wonderful soft flowers, all of which completely beautiful and completely edible. On occasion I had to turn around and again remark on how incredible these things were, which I am sure got old after a while, yes I understand it is only cauliflower but STILL. The second half of the cauliflower I pickled is called cheddar cauliflower, having nothing to do with the cheese, but rather the bright orange color it produces. WOW. I saw a bunch of green cauliflower in the walk-in that I will probably be asked to pickle soon and I am all too excited and already in awe of its equally bright beauty.

If you have a lot of vegetables sitting around that you want to save or are afraid that you may not use I urge you to pickle them! It is an incredibly simple and economical way to preserve those veggies. Get ready for this recipe…..1:1:1 parts water to vinegar to sugar. Bring to a boil, pour over sliced veg, cool at room temperature and then pop in the fridge. Toss them in a salad, snack on them, throw them in a sandwich….you get the idea. J Now go get yourself in a pickle.

Ok I took this picture at the grocery store the other day and in it no way does its beauty justice but I never had time to take a picture at work :(

A Morning in the Garden

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:05:00 -0400

Ah. After an exhausting week at work there is nothing like getting outside and getting your hands dirty. It seems as though there is nothing more therapeutic than the smell of fresh soil, some dirt under your fingernails, and the hope a tiny seedling or baby tomato plant brings as you plant it in the ground and prepare it for a bright future.

So here is the low down:

Tomatoes, potatoes, onions, green beans, squash, lettuce, basil, cilantro, chives, oregano, and corn are all getting ready to make their debut in our little humble garden. J yay can’t wait!

Ok, time to do some catch up...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:09:00 -0400

Winter term ended and Emily and I packed up my car and headed out on the open road…

(Emily and I are both doing our internships in CALIFORNIA!)

(ok we packed up my car MULTIPLE times with a lot of help from friends, took stuff to storage, packed the car again, squeezed in the car for a few days, stayed with my amazing cousins, lost a lot of sleep and barely made it through finals and then left for California in a desperate rush to get to our beds and unpack our lives from the trunk of the car…the verdict…sell everything and just carry a toothbrush and one change of clothes with me for the rest of my life.)

…for 20 loooong hours.

We got to Salt lake city at about 12:30 DESPARATE for a bed and some rest after a long afternoon of driving (finals ended and we were on the road at 3:30) but a bed we did not find…. WOOPS we went to the wrong Hilton hotel, and a not so happy Sarah walked away from the not so friendly hotel clerk as Emily quickly calmed her as we hopped back in the car and headed to find our beds. We soon rolled in to the correct Hilton a few miles away and after many attempts to park the car by Emily we walked in at about 1:30 in dilirous histerics looking like drunken lunatics, and after a very confusing search for our room, eventually resulting in us returning to the lobby and being shown to our room, we made it to bed.

…Only to return to the lobby at about 5:20 to check out with the same guy that was there previously who greeted us with “back already?”. But after another long day of driving we made it to CALIFORNIA….and we were greeted by two wonderful parents, a sweet dog, some beautiful sunshine AND… two other lovely best friends and got ready for an amazing spring break together.

Lucky girl that I am, my three best friends came to my house for Spring Break! And best news is, one of them is staying for the whole fall term as we do our internships. But first spring break…

We made a lot of wonderful family dinners,

ate a LOT of delicious food

ummm…

(Tartine Bakery…go there. Just go, indulge, and then smile)

went on some beautiful adventures,

and ate beautiful picnic lunches while on those adventures.

Giorgia found a new love for birds,

we discovered some amazing chocolate bark with REAL FRESH FRUIT in it! Um, why didn’t I think of that…fresh juicy raspberries and white chocolate?!

(Chocolates)

Ate more good food…

(AMAZING Almond Croissant from Rustic Bakery in Marin)

Walked around farmers markets, grocery stores etc…are you beginning to see that we are culinary students and that maybe, possibly most of this break revolved around food…

But then break got cut a little short when my internship started a little bit earlier than expect here….

but it’s ok because I get to see this everyday…

but I sure do miss these goofballs…

but it’s ok because I will see them soon and until then I get to spend my term at home living with this lovely,

and we get to spend our day off together gardening and working towards becoming farmers

and Wednesday through Sunday I spend at my internship from 1:30-11 or midnight shucking oysters to order, building charcuterie platters, and helping with the Garde Manger station. Ridiculously hard work but enjoying and learning and umm strength training because everything in that kitchen seems so heavy ;)

and there you go. We are all caught up now :) Deep sigh of relief.

Time has gotten away from me. It seems like Christmas was ages...

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:57:06 -0500

Time has gotten away from me. It seems like Christmas was ages ago, but I can’t let this time get away from me without mentioning the amazingly decadent dessert we had Christmas Eve! As if our feast of lasagna, salad, bread, and pretzel salad wasn’t enough, we topped it all of with white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake. YUM! Gingersnap crust, with a rich pumpkin and white chocolate swirled cheesecake. I got it from one of my chefs at school who just raved about this recipe, and with good reason!

PUMPKIN WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes to 1½ hours

Cool time: Best if chilled overnight

Crust:

¾ cup finely ground ginger snaps

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:

1 ½ pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/3 cups sugar ____

5 eggs _________

1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract ____

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted ____

_____½ cup white chocolate chips, melted__

1 cup solid pack pumpkin ____

1 teaspoon cinnamon ____

1 teaspoon ground ginger ____

½ teaspoon ground clove ____

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9-inch spring form pan and tightly wrap an aluminum sheet around the bottom and half way up the sides of the pan. The pan will be placed in a water bath so be sure it is tightly secured around the pan. Mix together the ground ginger snaps and melted butter. Press into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Place the cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl, and gently beat with an electric mixer. Slowly add the eggs and vanilla extract being careful to avoid lumps. Continuing to mix, add the melted butter.

Remove 1 cup of the cheesecake batter to a separate bowl. Add the melted white chocolate and mix by hand until fully incorporated. Set aside.

To the remaining mixture, add the solid pack pumpkin, the cinnamon, ground ginger and ground clove. Using the electric mixer, beat gently until all ingredients are fully incorporated.

Place the prepared pan into a larger pan that is deep enough to hold several inches of water. Pour pumpkin cheesecake batter into the prepared spring form pan. Randomly place several tablespoons of white chocolate batter on top of the pumpkin batter until all the white chocolate batter has been utilized. Using a knife, swirl the white chocolate batter to create a marbled effect.

Place the set of pans into the oven. Using a pitcher, pour room temperature water into the larger pan until it is no more than 1/3 of the way up the spring form pan.

Bake for approximately 1¼ to 1½ hours. Test by inserting a small knife in the center to see if it comes out clean.

Serves 12 – 16.

Recipe via Chef Woolley

If I had a million dollars...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 02:23:00 -0500

Just a few wants…

I love the new funky colors —> latest collection - essie nail polish and really just…nail colors - essie nail polish

Everything From Anthropologie, but it would be especially cool to put my recipes in this…Taste-Test Recipe Book - Anthropologie.com

I love rings..one of these might have to be a 21st birthday present to myself :)Real Feather Jewelry Pheasant Feather Ring Eco by HappyGoLicky

or this one…an apple branch ring.. I mean, come on…Apple Branch Leaves Ring by Camla on Etsy

Any boots from Steve Madden FRIENZZI COGNAC LEATHER women’s boot flat casual - Steve Madden

A cute skinny belt to wrap around a cami and a sweater…FOSSIL® Clothing Belts:Womens Logo Ultra Skinny Belt BT3860

and…Women’s accessories - belts - Distressed denim belt - J.Crew

and of course this is always on the list…Search Results - Macy’s

Love this…Avocado green print beach photo olive green sky by bomobob on Etsy

Thankfully though, I have everything that I need.

But a girl can dream…:)

Love his videos and ideas...check him out!

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:04:00 -0500

Love his videos and ideas...check him out!

Such an amazingly beautiful and romantic video of food!

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:22:00 -0500

Such an amazingly beautiful and romantic video of food!

It seems that the possibilities for a delicious meal are endless...

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:48:00 -0500

It seems that the possibilities for a delicious meal are endless when you have some good chunky red sauce on hand.

My favorite thing about making things from scratch is the fact that I have complete control over the ingredients that go into what I am eating! This means no long list of supposedly edible items that I am unable to pronounce, but rather healthy and wholesome real food! I also really believe that when you make things from scratch you are also able to save a lot of money, which is always what we are aiming for.

My easy, go to tomato sauce is simple and can be used in so many different ways (forget the pasta….for now).

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 onion diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 can diced tomatoes

Salt pepper and herbs to taste! I use about 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried thyme, and 1 tsp dried basil. However, as always, if you have access to fresh herbs USE THEM!!

A splash of balsamic vinegar (2 tbsp)

Saute the onion in the olive oil and add the garlic. Throw in you tomatoes, followed by herbs/salt/pepper and vinegar. Allow to simmer. Feel free to puree if you like a smoother sauce.

This is totally all to taste. Adjust as you see fit and until it tastes good to you!.

Some Ideas of what to do with it

1. Toss with spaghetti squash and spinach and pair with your favorite sausage (I had chicken and apple sausage!)

2. Add some vegetables (peas, spinach, mushroom….whatever you have on hand) to the sauce and crack some eggs in and bake the eggs in the sauce. Pair with a crusty piece of bread, dipping into the beautiful running yoke and soaking up all that delicious sauce!

3. Toss with quinoa, ground turkey and roasted brussels sprouts (my new favorite vegetable…I simply do not understand why they have such a bad name.)

Really just add it to anything and you will be happy!

YUM!

The most amazing procrastination tool ever...

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:01:05 -0500

The most amazing procrastination tool ever...

Simple is delicious. Tonight, what I thought was going to be an...

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 17:36:00 -0500

Simple is delicious. Tonight, what I thought was going to be an extremely boring meal turned into something way too delicious that had me appreciating the deliciousness of God’s creations. I made some rice in the hopes that it would help with my upset stomach. While the brown rice was cooking up, I sauteed some onion, added some mushrooms and sauteed for a bit longer. I then added some kale with about 2 tablespoons of chicken stock. I searched the cabinet for some herbs and decided to throw in a pinch of sage, thyme and oregano and then the tiniest dash of nutmeg. I then covered it and lowered the heat and allowed that to cook for a little bit. I finished with some salt and pepper and threw that on top of the rice and it was the perfect meal for a cozy and calm night at home.

Photo

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:27:00 -0500

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:23:00 -0500

Well, for the first time in my life I got a REAL Christmas tree. My two best friends/roomies and I got all bundled up and trenched in the snow through a beautiful lot of trees. After much debate (well…really I was the only one debating between the one we all loved and the fat tree that was alone in the corner that I felt bad for), I eventually realized that trees don’t have feelings and gave the ok to buy the one that is pictured above. I loved everything about this experience and now it DEFINITELY feels like christmas! We then came home, strung popcorn, hung ornaments and made our cute little heart string (made with a bunch of paint chips cut into hearts and sewn onto a string) while listening to Christmas music…talk about the perfect evening! We also got stockings for a dollar and decorated and hung them (unfortunately I don’t think Santa will be filling those…) Oh and our beautiful ornaments are courtesy of Emily who went and got old sheets of music and decoupaged them onto ornaments over break. Talk about decorating on a budget! Considering none of us get home until the 23rd…we had to make it feel like Christmas in our apartment!

The tree got halfway decorated…we will see if we ever finish.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t all snuggled up and cozy when i...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:07:00 -0500

Unfortunately, I wasn’t all snuggled up and cozy when i enjoyed this soup but it did help give me the energy to get through the rest of the night at work!

Who said you had to have to be sick to have Chicken Noodle Soup?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:06:50 -0500

I have been back for nearly two weeks now and I am still going strong and I am excited to say that I have had some delicious dinners. I will start with the most heart warming on these cold nights as we head into winter..Chicken noodle soup. Sick or not, this seems to be one of the most satisfying bowls of soup you can have!

Now if there is anything I have learned while working to create diverse meals on a budget it is the importance of cross utilization! I have had to find a way to use every ingredient multiple time and in many different ways. Now I have also been tyring to buy hardy vegetable that can handle not bening used right away. I picked up some napa cabbage and I have fallen in love with it and have gotten quite a bit of use out of just one small head. One of my favorite ways I have used the cabbage so far has been as a special ingredient to kick the typical chicken noodle soup up a notch.

Soup-er (yes I had to) Simple Chicken Noodle Soup

(My recipes are all made based on what I have around so really just adjust to you liking.)

1 chicken breast (cut into small chunks)

1/2 head of cabbage (maybe 1/4 depending on how large it is) cut into thin slices

2-3 carrots (don’t cut them too thin! So much better when you get a hearty piece of carrot)

Onion, diced

Garlic, minced

Dried (or fresh if you are so lucky :)) thyme, sage parsley…. or whatever herbs you have!)

2/3 cup noodles (whatever you enjoy! I used whole wheat penne and I really love it! A healthy alternative and just kind of fun to have penne in there)

Chicken broth (I used better than bouillion…so easy, a great bang for your buck and a really good resulting broth!)

Saute your onion until translucent. Add carrot and garlic (note: you can add celery too but I never buy it and am not a big fan and I certainly didn’t miss it…especially with the cabbage.)

Add broth. Add chicken (if it is already cooked wait until the end). Add cabbage. Add seasonings and flavorings. Add pasta (I cooked the pasta in the soup because I like the noodles to get nice and soft but if you like your pasta al dente just cook it and keep it separately and add some noodles in each time you heat yourself up a bowl of soup.)

Allow to simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings.

*Serve with warm toasted bread (HIGHLY recommend the french or italian baby boule from whole foods. They will slice it for you and it is about $1.20 for the loaf…so good right out of the toaster.)

Curl up on the couch with a blanket and your big bowl of chicken noodle soup and dip your crusty french bread as you make your way through the steaming bowl of brothy, vegetably, noodly goodness :) Happy winter (almost…it sure does feel like winter here in Colorado!)

Feeling like a typical college student

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:48:35 -0500

Feeling like a typical college student

DAY 1 and 2: So I got home after bible study yesterday at 8:30...

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:07:00 -0500

DAY 1 and 2:

So I got home after bible study yesterday at 8:30 and right after I entered the door I got my soup going. I knew that if I didn’t start right away I might just end up grabbing the jar of peanut butter. If you get something started right away and then go about your usual after work/school/etc. routine, it is much easier to come back to the kitchen and finish up. Tonight I made the most simple and delicious soup…butternut squash soup paired with a piece of toast with fresh cut tomatoes and an egg on top! MMMM so good.

Soup:

Saute some onion and garlic in a bit of oil.

Add butternut squash (I recommend buying it pre-cut…it is definitely worth the convenience!)

add just enough broth to cover (veg or chicken, whatever you have on hand)

simmer until the butternut squash is tender

puree

season with salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg if desired.

I used about two pounds of butternut squash which was perfect because it made for plenty of leftovers! SO…tonight I had soup again, but this time I added a few dashes of cumin and paired is with a corn tortilla filled with a nice salad. It changed up the soup so I didn’t feel like I was having the same thing again and I still have leftovers that I stuck in the freezer for later on! Perfecto.

My Dinner Challenge

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:04:00 -0500

Alright, so it is about time I start practicing what I preach. I LOVE to cook and I LOVE nutrition and I am often pushing for and supporting the idea that people should make their own nutritious balanced meals each night. I know everyone is busy, but it shouldn’t be that hard to throw together a nice meal at the end of the day right? Well last quarter I was thrown for a bit of a loop as I quickly learned the true meaning of the word “busy”. I was guilty of making a peanut butter and jelly for dinner a few times (but don’t worry, I refuse to buy ramen!) I lacked any organization and would grab a few things at the grocery store without any clear idea of the meals I would make.

Now that I am starting off a new term, fresh from my thanksgiving break, I have the opportunity to get out of my little rut and present myself with a bit of a challenge. My goal is to come back to my apartment and make a nice meal each night. With this comes organization; making a clear menu for the week, creating a really precise grocery list, and prepping and making things ahead of time. I need to prove that I can maintain a busy schedule, and still create nutritious meals each night on a budget and limit waste and PB&J dinners! With this comes the challenge of buying and cooking for 1, which can limit inspiration and motivation. However, I want to prove that whether you are cooking for 1, 2 or twenty, it doesn’t take that much time or effort to put a homemade and nutritious meal on the table each night despite the business that life presents!

Thanksgiving break in pictures!

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:12:00 -0500

BOLANI! My new obsession!

Running of the beautiful trail

Making potstickers again!

Morning "Lattes"

mmm Pancakes with blueberry sauce!

Berkeley Bowl. Amazing apples!

Rolls for thanksgiving

Black friday. Target at midnight :)

Thanksgiving break in pictures!

Chipping Away…Today we did ice carving in labs. It was...

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:10:00 -0500

Chipping Away…Today we did ice carving in labs. It was cold but actually quite fun. My partner and I decided to do a cartoon whale. So….here is the result.

Photo

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:04:00 -0500

Chicken Pho!

Sides

Chopsticks are a must!

Beef pho