Tortill-YEAHS!!

That’s right, I made tortillas from scratch! Since I’m staying with friends temporarily, my cooking resources are kind of limited. I also have to pack a lunch every day for my summer classes, so I need food that keeps well and tastes good cold. I decided to make a kind of Mexican rice bowl thing with black beans, tomatoes, avocado, and cheese. I saw the recipe on Pinterest and it seemed kind of like a cheap and yummy Chipotle proxy. But, I also needed to knock out some Moosewood recipes because I’m running behind. So tortillas were a perfect fit.

            I was super impressed by how easy they were. The whole process took less than 10 minutes and the results were very good. Seriously, there is no need to ever buy tortillas again. Basically, you just mix some water, salt, and flour. Then knead it together, and roll out some thin circles. Then, you fry them up in some canola oil. As with practically everything I ever make, I probably could have rolled these thinner. But they were cooked properly and tasted great! I mean, they’re tortillas so they didn’t really taste like anything, but they were great rice and bean delivery systems.

            My main criticism is honestly of the rice bowl. It needs some more spices or some salsa or something to give it a little more “oomph!” But that’s just a personal preference and easily remedied.

I have a massive weekend of work ahead of me for summer classes. There’s a paper and lots of reading looming over me, and, I predict, tons of coffee!

Rice is Nice

I was in desperate need of some comfort food tonight and something about Moosewood’s rice pudding recipe was calling to me. And all I can say is I am so glad I decided to follow my instinct and cook up a pot because oh my goodness is it delish!

            While I’m 100% positive I’ve eaten rice pudding before, I didn’t really have a decent grasp of what it was or what went into making it. Really, you just cook rice in milk instead of water and then add some sugar/sweetening agents and whatever other mix-ins you like. Moosewood recommends vanilla extract and cinnamon for sure and possibly a little nutmeg, dried fruit, and nuts. I couldn’t find any vanilla so I just went for the cinnamon and honestly I really didn’t feel like I was missing out. It was really good and sweet yet flavorful enough with just the spice. I think it would be also be really good with some dried cranberries.

            The milk and rice didn’t quite thicken up as much as I was expecting, even though I left it on the stove for nearly 2 hours (simmering). I’m hoping a night in the fridge will help that though. You’re meant to eat the pudding room temperature or cold anyway, so the overnight chill will only help the flavor. I really only had a couple tastes as it was cooling on the stove anyway. I loved every bite, but had to limit myself because of the richness and creaminess. The dairy in this dish could be my downfall.

            Perhaps my favorite part of this dessert was when I had my first taste, before even adding in the sugar and cinnamon. I was mostly just curious of what the dish looked like and was thrilled to discover when I lifted the lid, that it looked just like an old favorite treat of mine, Risgrøt. Risgrøt is a Norwegian porridge-y type dish that is very popular especially around Christmas time. You eat it hot, with cinnamon and butter and there’s an old wives’ tale that if you leave a bowl out on your porch on Christmas Eve, a friendly elf will come and eat it and then do nice things for you and help take care of our house. If you don’t leave out a bowl, the elf—in Norway, they’re called “nisse”—would do mischievous things instead of taking care of you. It’s now adapted into a tradition similar to leaving cookies out for Santa Claus.
I was obsessed with this dish when my family lived in Norway and I specifically remember requesting it on my birthday. So my comfort food desires were absolutely met and fulfilled by Moosewood’s rice pudding.

Eating the Red, White, and Blue

Happy Unofficial start of Summer! Memorial Day is here and it brought so much delicious food with it!

YUM YUM YUM!! 

I'm currently crashing with a friend as I work through summer classes, but we had the day off for the holiday. My roommate and I were having some barbecue/beach life/long weekend vacation FOMO, but thankfully a mutual friend was feeling the same. So we pulled together to get a cookout going! He had access to a charcoal grill, poolside, and a full kitchen! I decided it was the perfect opportunity to knock out some Moosewood recipes.

As a vegetarian, grilling can be tough to navigate, so I thought vegetable kebabs would be a great meal for me and side item for others. I chose cherry tomatoes, summer yellow squash, zucchini, onion, orange and yellow bell peppers, carrots, and mushrooms. These were totally delicious! I ate about five along with tons of watermelon and potato chips.

The mushrooms mostly all fell off the skewers as soon as you tried to put them on the stick. The carrots also sometimes were finicky. But I was generally able to get it to work and most of the chunks stayed on even after grilling. Moosewood has a marinade recipe, which I followed loosely. Basically, it consisted of oil, red wine vinegar, and a few spices. I used some black peppercorns, salt, oregano, and basil. Moosewood also suggested thyme, but my roommate didn't have any and I didn't want to buy a whole new container. I really don't think they needed anything else, but I also think you could totally freehand the marinade and it would be great!

Also, we had a ton of vegetables not yet skewered, but perfectly marinated. So for dinner tomorrow, we're gonna stir fry those up with some rice and possibly fried egg. Can't wait!

Moosewood suggested a lattice for the top crust,
but I didn't really have enough crust to work with

My other contribution to the barbecue was a blueberry pie--very American. I decided to try to go for a red, white, and blue motif by adding a layer of strawberries. As has been seen before, I have some issues with pies and pie crust, so I decided to use store bought this time. Unfortunately it really did not do any better. Instead of being dry and brittle, it was doughy and mush. Also the blueberries did not really congeal. So I ended up with a kind of blueberry-strawberry cobbler soup. Which was very yummy, but very weird. There's about a quarter left over, so I might try to make it into some kind of blueberry crisp dessert. Not sure yet.

All-in-all, it was a great dinner and a great way to spend the day! Hanging out by the pool, eating delicious food with friends, laughing, singing, and straight up enjoying life! Things are going great!

Color Wonderful!

It's graduation weekend!! Really, for me it's my fake graduation, since I'm not actually getting a diploma. But all of my undergraduate requirements are done and I passed all my classes. I'm now officially a graduate student. So it's graduation weekend!

The town is positively FLOODED with people, so I decided that it was a good night to cook for myself. I'm also desperately trying to eat up whatever food I have remaining in my apartment since I need to pack up and get out in just a few days. So pasta it was!

I decided to make Moosewood's broccoli pasta sauce since it doesn't require a lot of extra ingredients. But I had some orange bell pepper and red onion already, so I just needed to grab a crown of broccoli and some grape tomatoes and I was good to go. I also got a ball of mozzarella cheese to cut up and include in the sauce instead of parmesan because it's more hearty. The result was a beautiful sauce on some yummy spaghetti that was both filling and really delicious. My only complaint was that the sauce isn't really seasoned at all. Other than salt and optional black pepper to sprinkle on the top, there are no spices called for. It's not bland by any means because there are so many vegetables and garlic/onion. But I still think I should've sprinkled in some dried basil or something, just to jazz it up even more.

My apartment is basically completely packed up so my kitchen stuff is kind of limited right now and in different places around the apartment. My cooking rhythm was totally off, but I managed somehow. I'm convinced that they did something to the stove because it heated up in no time when it usually takes 10 minutes just to boil water. It's going to be kind of a weird couple of weeks as I transition out of this apartment, spend some time crashing at a friend's while I take summer classes, and then go back to my parents'.

Always Bring a Banana to a Party!

Wise words...


Today I made Moosewood's banana bread! It is actually almost the exact same recipe as the carrot cake from yesterday but obviously with bananas instead. The same amount of butter and sugar though, so it was practically banana cake. The bananas were also soaked in coffee for added amazingness. I chose to go for some of the optional additions this time as well and threw in some walnut pieces, too!

The bread took a very long time to bake. I did not overfill my pans, like with the pound cake. But I think the problem might be the pans, which were pretty cheap and probably crap quality. So I'm throwing them out since I probably won't need them again anytime soon anyway.

I apparently did not do an efficient enough job pureeing the banana because the bread wasn't really fully banana tasting. There were some delicious chunks of banana though. It wasn't bad tasting, just not strongly flavored. Also you really couldn't taste the coffee most of the time...


Either way, still very yummy and it would be perfect for a brunch side item!

Carrot Cake, the Noblest Birthday Cake of All.

It's my sister's 18th birthday!! Well, technically, it's her birthday tomorrow, but I'm home tonight to celebrate/bring the first round of my apartment things home. She's a big fan of carrot cake, so I decided to make her Moosewood's version as a birthday present.

The biggest issue with this cake is that I already packed up my salad shooter so I had to grate the carrots by hand. Definitely buy already shredded carrots whenever possible. Other than that, it's a pretty basic cake recipe, with lots of butter and eggs and deliciousness. Moosewood has some optional additions that you can include in your carrot cake, like poppy seeds on the outside, raisins, walnuts, and coconut. I am a purist, so I chose none of these things. But they probably would be pretty good (except maybe the coconut). Cream cheese frosting is a non-negotiable however. Moosewood has zero frosting recipes, but that's fine with me because the stuff from the can is the best anyway.

I should really be a professional food
photographer...

For some reason, Moosewood says to cook the cake in loaf pans or a 9x13 pan. I chose to use round cake pans because it's, you know, cake. This also meant that I could put a layer of cream cheese frosting between them, for maximum delicacy. One of the cake circles broke in half as I was putting it on top of the other, but I tried to use the frosting as a kind of glue to keep the whole thing together. Although, clearly one can of the stuff was not enough...

The batter for this cake is very thick; almost more like a dough than a batter. I really wish cookbooks would include information about how the recipe is supposed to look at certain stages because often times I feel a bit lost. My internal monologue gets all, "Okay, I followed your directions, but could you tell me if this is actually right...I don't think it is..."

Maybe some cookbooks have this, I don't know. Moosewood has these hints sprinkled throughout, but with no consistency or detail. I guess nothing I've made has failed too epically, but still I would appreciate the guidance.

Anyway, the cake turned out great and was SOOOOO good! Great way to celebrate a day of packing and unpacking and my wonderful sister's birthday!

Fruitylicious

Last week, I made Moosewood's Blueberry Cornbread (and forgot to blog about it). I was a bit wary, because blueberry and corn does not sound like an appetizing flavor combo. BUT IT WAS SO DELICIOUS. Seriously, it was one of my favorite things that I've made. You follow the basic corn bread recipe  and add just slightly more sugar, as well as fresh (or frozen) blueberries. And man oh man, it was soooooooooo good.

I apologize for the plethora of REALLY
unattractive photos that have been gracing the blog lately....

Tonight, I made another yummy fruit treat by mixing blackberries, plain yogurt, and honey to make Moosewood's oh so creatively named, "Fruited Yogurt Desserts". This was also very good and very simple. I don't really agree that it should exclusively be a dessert though. I also ate this for breakfast this morning, just with less honey. It was pretty delicious. If you stirred in a little granola, it'd be perfect.

Just a quick update tonight. Exams are underway and I am slowly packing up my apartment as I'll have to move out in a few weeks. I also need to go through my pantry and use up the remaining random crap that's been in there for awhile....thrilling days coming up in the life of Miranda.

Cottage Cheese, Round 4

Today was the biggest step forward in my fight against cottage cheese: actually eating cottage cheese. As in, eating it essentially plain, not cooked in anything. And it honestly wasn't that bad.

Today's lunch was Moosewood's March Hare salad, which is comprised of cottage cheese and chopped vegetables. I think this salad could be replicated with really any ingredients you prefer, but I followed the recipe pretty closely. It calls for: tomato, bell pepper, celery, carrot, scallion, sprouts (I didn't use these because I couldn't find them), and cucumber. Additionally, you can add sunflower seeds, lemon juice, and salt/pepper. Moosewood also recommends optional hard boiled egg, which I did not include, but I think it would be really good!

I ate this on top of some slices of whole wheat bread, to give it a little more substance. It was a surprisingly good lunch! I think I will definitely be eating this in the future, with a few alterations. I want to add the hard boiled egg, to up the protein content. Also, I think I would eliminate the celery because I am really not a fan. I didn't use a LOT of vegetables because I was trying to balance the content; but I think more carrot would be good too.

Overall, though I'm surprised to be on board the cottage cheese train, I'm really happy about it. It's a good vegetarian food to have in my corner!