Soup, Samosas, and Snow!

Yes, two posts in one day! It's crazy! And yes, there is more snow. At this point it's mostly all melted, but we got about 4 inches yesterday and it was enough to delay the public schools this morning so I didn't have to go in to teach at all. All this free time meant I got to go to the grocery store and do SO MUCH cooking.

I have been wanting to try these recipes for a long time because I really love Indian food. Samosas are kind of like empanada's but with Indian spices, potatoes, and peas. Moosewood recommends serving them with a cucumber yogurt dipping sauce called Raita and Gingered Carrot Soup. I will say that this is a dinner that requires a lot of work and investment. I started early but it took a long time.

The soup was more of a carrot puree than soup; it was very thick. Many of the spices were similar to what's in the samosa filling so it paired really well. It also did not take very long once the carrots were cooked and soft.

Similarly, the raita was a snap. Plain yogurt, with some spices and chopped up cucumber, was all it took. It's cooling quality and fresh flavor paired it to perfection with the hot and spicy samosas.

The samosas were the real time suck. First of all, the potatoes took forever to boil and soften. I actually had to put them back on for another 10 mins. I didn't totally mash them, but I did enough to make a good filling mix. I also sprinkled in some thawed peas and an onion sauté. I also had a tough time when assembling the pastries because i didn't really have enough dough for all the filling. I rolled each circle very thin, but still ran out. Because the filling is so heavy, the crust isn't really that flaky because it needs to be sturdy.

I also very deliberately halved all of these recipes so that I wouldn't overcook for just myself, which was smart because I still have a lot of leftovers anyway. But I think these will be easier to go through because this meal was SO GOOD. Seriously, this is one of my new favorites. I think if I made it again, I would make the samosas ahead of time, unbaked, and then just pop them in the oven before serving. It's also incredibly filling so it would be good to make for a dinner for non-vegetarians who are skeptical about vegetarianism. It also isn't too aggressive, as Indian food goes, which I know is a turn off for some people. It was definitely work all the prep work and will be worth scouring the massive pile of dishes that is currently taking over my sink.

And as the snow is melting and spring is finally finally arriving, I'm continuing to work my way through Moosewood. I'll get there!

Sacre Bleu Cheese!

I know that previously on this blog I have expressed how much I love cheese. But to be perfectly honest, I am not the biggest fan of blue cheese. Part of it has to do with my mold phobia, but it's mostly just the taste. I just don't like it. But I will eat it, especially if it's part of another dish or a salad garnish or something. So, I was a little apprehensive about this recipe for a blue cheese and pear sandwich from Moosewood. Thankfully, it's one of those recipes where the cook can decide the ratios  of each ingredient, so I added a minimal amount of blue cheese.

The whole thing makes a simple lunch that is very filling. You take the blue cheese and mix it up with some cream cheese and chopped walnuts. Then, you spread that mixture onto some bread and top with sliced pears. I did get a few bites that were more blue cheese than anything else, which wasn't great for me. But, overall I really liked this meal! I chose a very hearty whole wheat bread that paired really well with the cream cheese and the Bartlett pears I chose were excellently juicy.

Sandwich Saturday

Quick Saturday post to say that I put some of the antipasto I made on St. Patty's Day on some yummy bread from Trader Joe's. I also ate it with slices of fresh mozzarella. Very yummy and a quick meal! Hope you're enjoying the weekend!

Felice Primavera!

Happy first day of Spring! Today, it was finally warm, sunny, and clear. I saw daffodils and drove with the windows down! Even though this also happens to be the one Thursday a month in which I have class from 8:00am until 9:00pm, I wanted to celebrate the start of the new season. In a divine alliance of fate, Moosewood has a recipe for pasta primavera sauce. It's less of an actual sauce and more like vegetables and pasta. The vegetables are specifically the earliest available spring veggies: snap peas and scallions. You can add optional leafy greens, but I chose not to because I wanted to keep it light. I used whole wheat spaghetti and also sprinkled in some parmesan cheese. It was a very quick meal. The longest time suck was waiting for the water to boil.

I am working hard to catch up on my recipe count. I have a big pile of leftovers to eat for the rest of the weekend, but I'm getting back on track. Honestly, leftovers are the biggest problem because I typically only cook for myself and I don't want to make a new meal if I still have a bunch of other stuff wrapped up in the fridge. I'm trying to just cook smaller portions to save food/money; Moosewood is great about listing serving sizes so I can reduce as necessary. But I also just feel like I should invite people over all the time and make them eat all this food.

It's kind of hard to believe that there's only about six weeks left in this semester! But anyway, I'm very happy that the weather is starting to turn and I hope it stays this way!

Adultolescence

So yesterday I went to Walmart because I had some things to buy, but I ended up only purchasing 4 items: a small cactus plant, a can of chickpeas, an underbed storage box, and the Frozen DVD. This was so ridiculous to me, not only that I bought this truly bizarre combo of items but also that I made an entire trip to Walmart for these seemingly completely unnecessary things (not really the chickpeas--we'll get to that). And in my typical self-deprecating manner, I posted a picture of the items to my FaceBook page with the caption “I am not an adult…”

Which, I mean, is a true statement. I’m not an adult. Yes, because of my age I can vote, see R-rated movies, serve in the military, give consent, drink alcohol, purchase lottery tickets, tobacco, and pornography, and be held accountable under the full capacity of the law. And there are even some typical “adult-ish” aspects to my life. I have a job (two jobs!), I very generally take care of/provide for/maintain responsibility for myself which is a major part of adulthood. I have to be an advocate for myself. I also get to do things like eat my dessert before my dinner or watch YouTube videos for 3 hours just because there's no one else around to tell me not to. 

But also there are many many many decidedly non-adult things about my life. Even though I file a tax return each year (because I have two jobs and the IRS exists), I'm still listed as a dependent on my parents' taxes and so I just get all my money back. I don't have a real credit card, just a debit card. Age wise, I can't rent a car or run for federal office. And no matter how many Martha Stewart tutorials I read, I can't for the life of me fold a freaking fitted sheet. 

As mentioned before, I'm in a very transitional period of my life right now. I'm on the cusp of entering the world (isn't that a terrible phrase??) and generally, I feel that society expects me to be an adult. 

But here's the thing about being an adult that I am coming to realize: it's always going to be kind of dependent on the situation that you're currently in at that time. And a lot of the time, it doesn't really depend on you, it depends on another person or group of people. 

As you know, I'm an education major and part of my program involves us pre-service teachers going into classrooms for a few hours a week to essentially practice teaching. My very first ever teaching placement was in a Kindergarten classroom during their math period; I was 20 (I might have even been 19 my first few visits to that class, I don't remember; I have a late birthday). And on my first or second time in that classroom, the lead teacher came up to me and asked if I could lead a math station with the students that morning. To be clear, she had created the lesson and given me all the materials and then told me exactly what to do. But I was still petrified. But what I quickly realized as the students began coming over to my station and I began teaching them, was that they were completely convinced that I was an "adult". I was their teacher and in that moment, to them, I had all the competence, confidence, and knowledge that I needed. Funnily enough though, I'm reasonably sure that's not how the lead teacher felt about me at that time. But even though she knew I was most likely not a competent, confident, and knowledgeable adult, she did know that I needed a chance to try being one, even if it was just for an hour in front of a bunch of Kindergarteners. She was willing to step back in that moment and let me try, but still be there to help me with the consequences, negative or positive. 

Now sometimes, this influence of other people works in the opposite way. Like if I'm fighting with my parents and I say, "but I'm an adult!" and they say "No you're not!" I tend to side with them. Because, well they actually are adults, so they're probably right. And that's a big confidence blow, but importantly, like this former teacher, my parents are doing this as a way to help me deal with consequences. Or maybe even protect me from consequences. 

And when you don't have this support for dealing with consequences, the influence of others can backfire. Instead of learning that it's okay to try, you learn that you've failed and you are very reluctant to try again. You get very end goal focused (like, "I'm never going to get there!") rather than small moment focused (like, "I need to find a more manageable way to solve this problem.")

So this is what I was thinking about tonight while cooking and eating Moosewood's Gingery Chick Peas (thanks Walmart!) with quinoa--a very yummy, but very beige colored meal. And unfortunately, I don't think I'll really have a definite answer to the question, "Am I an adult yet?" for many many years. But increasingly, I'm beginning to come around to the fact that that's okay. And that probably that's not the question to even be asking in the first place. If you have a support around you and the space and confidence to act as an adult in whatever particular moment or situation, you're probably an adult. And those moments aren't going to happen all the time, or in a row. Because being an adult isn't a destination. Sure, it has a lot of perks, and I'm sure I'll get to a lot of them. But in true University of Virginia student fashion I'm trying to follow the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson who believed that we never stop learning and we shouldn't want to. 

**NOTE: Even though I would very much like to take credit for the absolutely perfect term "adultolescent", I did not make it up. It comes from the brilliant mind of Hannah Hart**

Happy St. Patty's Day! Let's Eat Some Pasta...

Okay, so can we all just agree that corned beef and cabbage is gross? Great. 

Though I have a lot of Irish heritage, I've never been particularly drawn to Irish food. Except Guinness. I have always been drawn to Italian food, though, regardless of the situation. 

After Spring Break, I felt I had taken far too long an absence from this project, so I wanted to jump right back in. Moosewood has an extensive block of antipasto recipes, which sounded perfect for me because they require just a couple of ingredients and come together quickly. I also made some pasta with fresh mozzarella and one of those "bake at home" bread loaves. 

The antipasto is meant to be served as a combo meal (much like Moosewood's mezza) that is light, but flavorful and delicious. I chose to make swiss chard, roasted green beans, and bell peppers. All of the dishes require marinating in red wine vinegar and lots of garlic, but are still pretty fast dishes. I think my favorite was the bell peppers, which were sautéed in olive oil with garlic and spices. They went so well with the pasta and cheese! 

I have no memory of ever eating swiss chard, but it's really yummy! For Moosewood's recipe, you basically just wilt the chard as you would for spinach. It doesn't exactly wilt in the same way, but it's the same general idea. I bought Rainbow Chard, which when combined with the bell peppers, made a beautiful and colorful spread. 

The green beans were not really my favorite, but that might've been because green beans are out of season. They were roasted, which made them kinda dry and crunchy, rather than the crispness you get from a fresh green bean. You cook them with onion and garlic, which was a yummy combo, but still not as good as the peppers and chard. 

Depressingly, we seem to be getting yet ANOTHER blizzard. I'm not quite sure what that means for my schedule tomorrow, but I'm assuming school will be on and it'll be back into the swing of things in the morning. It's kind of terrifying to think that there's only about 6 more weeks of this semester. I did absolutely zero school work over break, so I should probably catch up tonight (not happening). But being back in my apartment is definitely helping me get back into the right mindset and be ready to completely focus and succeed (and cook!) in my last weeks as an undergraduate. 

Potatoes Gonna Potate

Wanna see something delicious??

 Tonight for a very quick dinner, I made Moosewood's spinach puree and mixed it up with a microwave baked potato and cheese. It was your pretty basic, college dorm room meal with just a bit of flair. It was also a lovely comfort food meal.

SPRING BREAK IS ALMOST HERE.

Tabouli--Redux

For dinner tonight (and lunches for the upcoming week) I made Lentil-Bulgur Salad, which Moosewood describes as basically a fancier version of tabouli. The base of the salad is obviously lentils and bulgur with onions, red peppers, parsley, garlic, seasonings, feta cheese, lemon juice, and olive oil. You can also chop up tomatoes to put on the salad right before serving. It takes a while to chill, but when it does, it's absolutely delicious. I may have added a bit too much red onion because it was kinda overpowering. But i still really enjoyed it. I think, like the regular tabouli, it will only get better as a leftover.

I didn't make anything else to go with the salad, but it was still pretty filling. Moosewood recommends warm pita wedges, which would've been delicious. Just another little something to change up the flavor, especially when you've used as much onion as I have. Moosewood also suggests   bringing this dish to a potluck type event, which I think would be great. Even though it definitely works as a main dish, it would be better as a complement to something else. But it's light and yummy, so I know I will enjoy eating it up for lunch for the rest of the week! One more week until Spring Break!