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!