Blueberry Streusel Muffins

There's something oh-so comforting about baking. My roommate bakes when she's upset. And while it's probably bad to eat her "I'm incredibly upset" banana bread (you ingesting all her anger and rage via a piece of bread). But these muffins are so good I might just piss her off on purpose so she has to be these!!

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cups fat-free skim milk
- 2 cups fresh blueberries (Frozen are fine, but they have to be thawed!)

Streusel Topping
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1/4 c. each sugar and flour (on the side)

How to:
1- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place muffin liners in muffin tin
2- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside
3- Using a mixer, beat egg with 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add sour cream and beat until thoroughly combined; blend in vanilla extract.
4- Add half the flour and half the milk to sugar mixture; beat until combined. Add remaining flour and milk.
5- Fold in blueberries and fill the muffin tin. Set aside

Streusel Topping:

How to:
1- Combine the 1/4 c. of sugar and flour. Pour in melted butter. Combine with fingers. (Uh, yes please. )
2- Divide crumbs over muffins and press (gently!) in batter
3- Bake muffins til slightly golden for 30-35 mins. Cool for 10-15 mins, then transfer to rack.
4- Eat!!!

Eggs Whites and Sugar

My mother is trying to make me a housewife. We've been cooking cookies for days, mostly for Christmas Day. But now Christmas is over! So I have many a cookie recipe saved up. First up:



Espresso Chip Meringue

Ingredients-
- 3 egg whites (at room temperature)
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup superfine sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chip

How To:
1- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper
2- Using a mixer, beat the whites and salt on medium-low until frothy, about 1 minute
3- On meduim-high, add sugar one tablespoon at a time (this is important!!)
4- Add cream of tartar, vanilla extract, and espresso powder.
5- Increase speed to high and beat until the mixture is thick and holds stiff peaks (3-5 mins)
6- Fold in Chocolate chips
7- Place onto baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, turn and bake another 30 mins.
let cool for 2 hours in the oven.
8- Eat those suckers!!!

If you want Peppermint Meringues try this:

- Take out the espresso powder and the chips. Add 1/2 teaspoons of peppermint extract. Feel free to top with sprinkles!
- So the beauty of these cookies are that they are low in sugar and basically fat free. If you make them right, they basically melt in your mouth!

Holy Cats! Green Chile Sauce!!!

So I just made the realization that though I talk about Green Chile all the time, I've yet to actually give my recipe!

So here's the low-down on New Mexican Green Chile: this particular type of green chile is only grown in NM and the best batches come from Hatch, NM. Once a year these chiles are harvested and roasted in parking lots all across New Mexico. Every year my mom buys about 5 pounds from Whole Foods, in the parking lot. You can smell it for miles.

If you can't get to a poor parking lot in New Mexico, you may be able to buy canned green chile. Bueno is a good brand to buy and you can get it frozen, in hot or mild flavors (I suggest getting both. Or you can get mild and add jalapenos for spice).

Green Chile Sauce:

Right, let's get this straight- it's called sauce. It's not a salsa or dip; it's sauce, people!

Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons corn oil (whatever, I used canola oil)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup onion , chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 cups roasted New Mexican green or (4) 4oz cans work well here) chilies,peeled/seeded/chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- add cayenne pepper, jalapenos or hot sauce for spice. Trust me, you'll want the extra kick.

How To:
1- In heavy-bottomed sauce pan, saute onions in corn oil until they begin to brown.
2- Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes
3- Stir flour in with onions and garlic so that it thickens
4- Add chopped chilies, chicken broth and salt and mix well
5- Bring to a boil and simmer 20 to 30 minutes to allow mixture to reduce
6- The sauce should be thick enough to bind chilies and onions together
7- Sauce can be refrigerated for three days, or frozen

NB: Remember to remove the skin if you are using whole chilies.

Enjoy!

My Search for the Best Breakfast Burrito

Suck on that, Santa Fe Reporter!

What inspired this entry is that my brother came to visit me in Santa Fe for the first time. Like me, he appreciates good food. Except for a few things. For example: he loves a burrito chain called Freebirds (look it up). I personally can't stand burrito chains like this or Chipotle. I also don't believe in burritos that aren't smothered in green chile sauce. New Mexican-style, mutha-ucka!

Thus started my search for the best burritos. I asked around and ate around and this is what I came up with:

The Cheap Ass Burritos:

Burrito Spot- is my favorite for college drunken burritos. When you're wasted/sloshed/drizzunk, nothing taste better than a 4 dollar B-Spot burrito. Just don't eat the lettuce, you will get E.coli (shout out, Lydia!)

Baja Tacos- are probably my favorite cheap burritos (they're about 5 bucks). The potatoes are more like hash browns, the green chiles are cooked in, and there's lots of flavor! My other favorite is that this taste good an hour later (I can never eat a whole burrito in one sitting. So I prefer burritos that can sit in my purse, while I take a drunk nap, then wake-up and it's hangover food!)

Posa's- has great burritos, if you don't mind a small mess. The green chile is cooked inside, which is yum. But the potatoes are a little bland, and frankly, while I don't mind messy dishes, I don't like burrito juice off wiping my arms.

Restaurant- Burritos:

The Pantry- I believe has the best breakfast burritos. Or at least that's what I hear. Personally, I almost always eat their Buenos Dias plate. I can say without a doubt that Pantry Fries are the best homestyle fries in the city. (suck on that, Tecolote!) Their green chile is incredibly flavorful and the eggs are always perfectly cooked. Pantry is my absolute favorite go-to place to eat. (Also: try their Pantry burger. Yuuuuuummmmm!)

The Tune-Up- Once again, I've never had the burritos here, but everything else I have had here (like the enchiladas or buffalo burgers) has been crazy delish! The dining area is cozy, but tiny. Sit outside if possible.

Santa Fe Baking Company- I think I have had their burrito, but it wasn't the most memorable thing I've had here. Their food is amazing, so I like to try most everything they have (like their omelettes and their blue corn.)

Aztec Cafe- This is probably my least favorite breakfast burrito. There's black beans on the inside and no potatoes. Boo. the green chile was kinda bland. I have also had their Breakfast Sandwich and it was kinda wah-wah. Maybe it's cos I wen here at like 2 in the afternoon, right before they stopped serving breakfast....

Spiciest Burrito:

Horseman's Haven:
So I started eating at Horseman's Haven this semester. Now, I loooove spicy food. And this totally fulfills my needs. It's almost too spicy; the level 1 is that kinda of spicy that is face-sweating, jaw-pounding, clean your sinuses spicy. In fact, one time I had a stuffy nose and decided to go to Horseman's specifically to clear it. The breakfast burrito doesn't much matter as long as that green chile is on it. But I did have it for breakfast the next day and it was good!

HOWEVER, the Level 2 made me cry, made my jaw clench, and made my stomach turn. And I only dipped a chip in the sauce! I couldn't finish my level one meal.

Favorite ABQ Burrito:

Sophia's Place:
Right, so I really only eat one place in Albuquerque. And it's this place. My mom and I saw it once on Food Network. I've probably eaten here 4 times. And I've probably only eaten in ABQ 7 times. Do the math.

What's cool about this burrito is that you have your choice of beef, chicken, or carnitas to add to the usual potatos, eggs, and cheese. And it's smothered in their fantastic green chile! Their duck tacos and their blue corn pancakes are to die for, and their bison burger might be the best burger I've ever eaten in New Mexico. Just saying.....

More Fake Japanese Food

One more delicious Japanese endeavor-






Ebi Furai (sound this out; it's Ebi Fry, meaning Fried Shrimp. They're super clever, the Japanese)

Ingredients:
- 1 lb of de-veined shrimp
- Panko Bread Crumbs
- Egg whites
- Flour
- Salt/Pepper/Chili Powder to taste
- Oil to Fry

How To:
1- Mix the salt, etc. in with the flour. Just enough to taste. I add Cayenne Pepper to most everything.
2- Beat the egg whites.
3- Heat the oil. It shouldn't be boiling, but it should crackle when water hits it.
4- Dredge the shrimp in flour, then dip in egg whites, and cover in Panko.
5- Put the shrimp in the oil and fry til golden. Remember to turn.
6- I like the shrimp on paper towels to get some of the oil off. Put on top of rice and eat!

And now promoting my favorite miso soup stuff: MINUTE MISO



This is basically concentrated miso paste. Boil some water, then add a spoonful of miso paste to taste. Add tofu, and green onions if wanted!!

Polenta is my new fave

I've been obsessing over polenta. My mom bought me a roll of it at Sunflower Market (my favorite grocery store) and I've been eating so much of it!



For those none foodies, polenta is basically Italian grits. It's hominy that's been stirred for hours and hours. But don't fret! The texture is different than grits; it's a much more solid texture and less grainy or gritty. (Puns!) The store bought kind usually comes in a roll, like a sausage. It's worth buying because making polenta is just too time consuming for those of us with lives. It's also very very healthy, as it's gluten-free, full of vitamins, and a great substitute for carb-tastic grains.

Here's my favorite recipe thus far: Southwestern Polenta!

Ingredients:
- Polenta (however much you feel like eating)
- Green Chile Sauce (I mean Hatch Chile, people! Greatest sauce known to man! Ever! But I'm sure that tomatillo sauce or Old El Paso will serve just as well!)
- Cheese! (Cheddar would probably be best)
- optional: I added an egg to this once, and it was good.

Instructions:
1- Saute Polenta (you can also microwave, fry, or bake it)
2- Add chile, cheese, etc
3- EAT!!!!

I know this is stupid, but I seriously just ate a piece of polenta while writing this. Trust me, there'll be more of this to come!

It's My Rice in a Pot

Please sing the title to the tune of “Dick in a Box.” Which was my mother’s idea. Love it!

Up until last year I didn’t understand cooking Japanese rice in a pot. I was just born with rice cooker on hand. Honestly. So when I moved to London for semester and accepted that I wouldn’t have my rice cooker, I realized it was time to learn to cope without it. After three times of awful experimenting, me and my Sansei mother finally had to resort to the Internet for a real recipe. So here’s the recipe, written by a Chinese girl who totally understands my plight.

1-Clean the rice. Swish it around in the pot a few times.

2- Put water in the pot, until it is about 3/4 of an inch above the top of the rice. A good way to measure this is to stick your thumb in -- the water should be about 1 joint of your thumb above the rice.(I use a one to two ratio. One cup of rice to two cups of water)

3-Put pot on stove, turn heat on high, and wait until it starts boiling. Like, actually boiling.

4-When it starts boiling, cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat down as LOW AS IT CAN POSSIBLY GO.

5-DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE OFF THE LID for at least 12 minutes. In fact, just walk away from the stove for 12 minutes. Just walk away!

6-After 12 minutes, if you're super impatient like me, you can take off the lid and look at the rice. It's not totally cooked! Surprise! Alright, put the lid back on (quickly!) and let it sit there for another 2 minutes on low heat. Then turn off the heat. And do not take off the lid. And let it sit there for about 10 minutes.

7-After 12, and then 2, and then 10 (that's 24) minutes, you can take the lid off, your rice will be perfect, and you can fluff it with chopsticks and serve!


NB: Japanese rice is short grain white rice. Not long grain Thai sweet rice, not long grain Chinese rice, not long grain anything! I don’t know why people have a hard time understanding the concept of short grain rice (which some people sushi rice, though that’s a totally different thing). But whenever I talk about this, people think I mean something that’s easy to cook, like brown rice. I’m not bitching, this is serious biz-nass!

Psuedo-Japanese Food

I’m half Japanese. And yes, I grew up eating with chop sticks and I ate rice at least 3 times a week. I have a rice cooker in college and when I studied in London I learned how to cook rice in a pot (which is hard, people!) Anyway, the point is I crave/need Japanese food about once a week. So I have been experimenting with easy ways to make my fave Japanese foods.

Katsu-don (yes, that’s a real word. It’s basically fried pork cutlets with rice)

Ingredients:
-2 pork cutlets
-Panko bread crumbs (you can use regular bread crumbs, but these are the best!)
-1 egg (I use the egg white, but you can use the whole egg)
-½ cup of flour
-Oil for frying
-Rice

Instructions:
1.Make Rice! Put it in a rice cooker. Or look at my instructions for rice in a pot.
2.Heat up oil in a skillet.
3.Set up your dredging station: Place the egg, flour, and Panko on individual plates. Then dredge: cover the pork in flour, then egg, then Panko.
4.Fry those suckers up! They should be crisp and golden. Yum!
5.This is the ghetto part: Put the rice in a bowl, then place the pork on top. Use soy sauce for flavor. You can add Rice Sprinkles (Furikake), miso soup, seaweed salad, whatever. That’s it!

Fake Oyako-don (Oyako is the characters for parent and child, in this case referring to the pairings of egg and chicken)

Ingredients:
-Chicken (I used rotisserie chicken, but you can use leftover chicken or bother to make your own)
-1 egg (or 2 if you want)
-Onions
-Soy sauce
-Oil
-Rice

Instructions:
1.Once again, make rice!
2.Heat up oil in a skillet.
3.Slice however many onions you want (the onions are traditionally in slivers).
4.Sauté the onions, then add the egg (I personally scramble it in a separate skillet, but you can cook it in the same pan), and add the chicken (this is mainly to heat it up). Add soy sauce for flavor.
5.Add on top of the rice. That’s it!

NB: Both these donburis (Japanese for rice bowls) have their own special sauce, like oh so many Japanese dishes. So by just using soy sauce it’s still the idea without taking up much time.

The Scramble

Hello World! Long time no blog!

So my life has been insanely, grossly busy. I’ve been cast as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And between classes, work, homework, and rehearsal I have essentially no time to eat. So these next few posts will be completely dedicated to my new favorite “fast” foods.

First up, The Scramble.
I found out this summer I’m hypo-glycemic. Which doesn’t really mean much or change much about my diet. But it does mean that I have to eat more protein! So I’ve been eating a lot of eggs in order to maintain my energy level. I also love this dish because I get a full serving of vegetables in.

Ingredients:
-1 or 2 eggs (and use the full egg. Egg whites are less fatty, but they also contain less protein)
- any vegetables you like: spinach, tomatoes, onions, garlic, artichokes (I’ve been obsessed with artichokes since I started eating them this summer), etc. I also add tofu sometimes, for fun!
- Cheese!

1) I just sauté the veggies together. I do the onions first as they take longer, then tomatoes, spinach, artichokes, etc. Garlic is always last because if it burns, your meal is dead.
2) I usually just make scrambled eggs like normal, then add the veggies on top. And finally, cheese!!!

Enjoy!

Who's Chicken?

Here are three chicken recipes that I've totally stolen from cookbooks. But they're so good I had to share!

Flamin' Poultry (serves 2)
Ingredients:
- 2 teastpoons butter
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, halves, cut into bite size pieces

1) Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the hot sauce and mix.
2) Add chicken, stir to coat, and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Crispy Cracker Chicken (serves 2)
Ingredients
- 1 egg white
-1/2 cup crushed crackers or chips (Wheat Thins, Triscuts, Tortilla chips, etc)
-1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
-2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- I like to add chilli powder, dried basil, or whatever

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degress F
2) Beat the egg white well. In a separate dish, mix the crushed crackers and Parmesan.
3) Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts. Coat first with the egg white, then the cracker mixture
4) Plce the chicken in a pan and bake for about 35 min., until the chicken is cooked through and the cracker coating is crispy.

Finally, Chicken Delight (serves 2)
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breasts (or turkey)
- Handful of basil leaves
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of miso or bouillon

1) Lay a sheet of foil on a baking tray and place the chicken breasts on the foil.
2) Tear the basil leaves, halve the tomatoes, and toss over the chicken
3) Using a teaspoon of bouillon or miso, mix a half cup of boiling water to make a stock and then pour over the chicken.
4) Fold over the foil to make a parcel and bake in the oven on 400 degrees F for 20 mins.

I love all these. They're hella simple and make great leftovers.

San Fransisco- The Ferry Building

Possibly the greatest food day ever was the Ferry Building. It's a building, by a ferry, that's just food. Lot's of it. And different kinds. We went on a Farmers Market Day and had some of the best peaches, nectarines, and strawberries ever! Then we went inside for some shopping! Here's the rundown:

- While standing around the farmers market we spied Elizabeth Faulkner (from Top Chef Masters). We then proceeded to spend about 20 mins deciding whether or not we should ask for her picture. By the time we manned up, she had left.

- We stopped by Boccalone, a sausage place owned by Chris Cosentino (Food Network celeb chef). Is it sad that my mom and I get crazy excited by Food Network Stars?

- We stopped at a mushroom place and got a piece of Dark Chocolate w/ Black Truffle Oil. Fancy; it was $4 for an oz of chocolate.

- For lunch we got a Delica bento box with rice, hijiki salad (a form of seaweed), a traditional seaweed salad, and fantastic pork katsu (breaded and fried pork). Tasted like Japan.

- We got Chai High Honey. Basically it's a honey that will flavor black tea to taste like Chai Tea. Yum!!!

- We tried cheese at Cowgirl Creamery (a renowned SF cheese place). I got fresh chevre (my fave!!) and my mom got a Humbolt, a cow's cheese available only on the coast of Cali.

- After all this we got a coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee. It's a special Japanese-style drip coffee that is the strongest stuff I've ever tasted! I've had lots of coffee (that's a different post) but this stuff kicked my butt! I couldn't even finish it.

-Finally we got the best raw oysters from Hog Island Oysters. I love raw oysters! And this is a pic.



We got the 6 different oysters. My fave is the one with peppers in it. I believe it's from Virginia.

Hungry yet?

San Fransisco- Asian Food

Sorry I haven't posted in a while! My computer was in for repairs. So here's a continuation of my mother's and my SF Adventures! Of course, we had the prerequisite of sushi, and steamed pork buns (aka bao).

My mom and I went to a restaurant called Morph. It's Asian Fusion, which I'm usually not a fan of. But these dishes were as delish as they were gorgeous.



This was a Tuna Salad. It's got two kinds of seared tuna, and onions and sprouts that have been covered in a lemon-ginger dressing.



This was my entree. Small, yes, but filling. It's miso-marinated Alaskan cod with sauted asparagus,carrots, and cherry tomatoes. Awesome!!

I would have taken a pic of my desert (Thai pancakes with strawberries and a green tea sauce) but I ate it too fast!!



Next to Chinatown! This is what's called Dim Sum. It's like Chinese tapas, Or Epicurean Russian Roulette. My mom and I looooove a good Dim Sum, but we're never quite sure what they're giving us. What happens is that kind Chinese people wheel around carts of food and ask you if you want whatever they're serving. Usually it's impossible to decipher exactly what the dish is. So you get it and hope it's not chicken feet. My mom and I are fortunate enough to understand what we want, as we've eaten so much Dim Sum. On these plates were: sesame seed balls, some sort of rice/chicken concoction, duck, Chinese-style shumai with shrimp, and tea. Yum!!!

San Fransisco- North Beach

My mom and I had a nice little holiday in San Fransisco last week. It was a foodie extravaganza! Our first day was a foodie tour of North Beach, the Italy side of town.



This was Caffe Roma, and it's the first place I've had a cappuccino that taste like an Italian Cappuccino.




Next stop: XOX Truffles! This guy makes the best truffles in the city and has won a variety of awards. He makes tiny 60% dark chocolate balls of ganache and loads it with yummies like rum orange, or chipolte tequila. Or he rolls them in coffee or coconuts. Seriously, the best truffles I've ever had.




Third: the North Beach Bakery. They make delicious fresh bread. We did a tour of the back and it smelled soooo good! Just three guidos making bread.



This is apparently where the first two Godfather films were written. It's also famous for random street musicians playing music. I walked in and these guys had the thick Italian-American accents!



And finally, a pizza place, of course. Now, I don't really like pizza. I've had pizza in NY, Chicago, and Italy. And it's just not my fave. To be honest, as good as this pizza was, I'm still not a huge fan. But the white pizza with potatoes was delish. And the Margherita pizza is just like Firenze!

So this was North Beach! It was Italian (therefore loud!) and delicious!!

A Few More Smoothies

So I've decided that bananas are the magic ingredient in a smoothie. I've been without this magical fruit for about 2 weeks, and suddenly there they were, sitting on the counter like a present! So I used them. Bananas add a nice texture, a thickness and a sweet flavor, without having to add sugar. This is what I came up with:

Blood Orange-Banana
- 1 blood orange (whole)
- Juice of 1 blood orange (there's a juicer here and I use it!)
- 1 banana
- spinach (but I really wish I had celery. Orange and celery is my new favorite combo)

Blend together. Using fresh juice made the whole thing a little frothy and this is very very acidic! Beware!

Pineapple-Banana
- Pineapple chunks
- 1 Banana
-chopped spinach (again, I'd like to add celery)

Blend together. This one is a little thicker I added spirulina to both of these. Yummy!!!

Farmers Market Time!

I love fresh fruit. I love farmer's markets. Therefore, I love the Central Coast because they have great fruit stands everywhere and Farmer's Markets every day. Because of my work schedule I could only go the San Luis Obispo (SLO) Farmer's Market (all the other one's are too far away or are during the day while I'm at work). But in light of my adventure , I figured I'd talking about the great produce out here.

My favorite adventure-Blueberry picking! There's U-Pick blueberry farm between Buellton and Santa Barbara. If you've never done one of these, it's pretty fun. I picked strawberries years ago (I think in San Diego).

So I went with a friend in tow, and together we picked a fair amount of blueberries. What happens is they give you a 32oz bucket and you fill it as much as you want. If you fill the whole thing it's $15. If you fill it 1/3 to 1/2 (like I did) it's about $4. K, so I got a good 12 oz of fresh blueberries for $4.00!!!! Love it!!!
And yes, I ate a good 2 cups worth while picking. I knew this place would be my lunch. But you know what, it doesn't matter. It's not stealing cos they will go bad if I don't munch on a few of them.

Orcutt Farmer's Market- It's really small, just a few stands and it's not nearly as fantastic as the one in SLO. But I what I really wanted to mention was the amazing Sweet Wine Jam I bought. There was a woman there selling various jams. Most of them had chipolte in it (I'm not in to that). There was also Jalapeno Jelly and Mint Jelly. But the Sweet Wine caught my eye. There is legit Cabernet in it (yeah I read the ingredients). So I had to give this place an honorable mention.

San Luis Obispo Farmer's Market- Everyone on the Central Coast knows that SLO's Farmer's Market is the best around. Thursday night that is the place to be! There's food, music, sales, and what-not.

First off, the produce. So goood and so cheap!! Avocados for 50 cents a pop, 2.50 for the best peaches ever (Cal Poly), $2 for local strawberries that are actually ripe

(NB: the way to know if a strawberry is fresh is when you bite into it, it's red. Check next time you go to Walmart and buy strawberries. Bite into those and it's all white. Also, ! It certainly pays to eat local in California. Also, the package should smell of strawberries! That means they're good! yes, they won't last as long as store-bought, but it may not matter if they're good.)

Second, the prepared food. There's some bad food (I had a not-so-good taco salad once). But there's a BBQ line that lasts forever! (I think it's McClintocks) There's also an amazing dip stand that has great amazing dips: spinach dip, pesto, artichoke dip, garlic cream cheese. I love this place!! And there's also a fab Meditterean place with awesome hummus, great baba ganoush, and blocks of feta cheese. I die!!!
My favorite find here is the Nectarine Jam from Mt. Olive. It was (cos I ate it all) delicious, perfectly sweet w/o feeling sugary. and decently priced too.
And they sell amazing cherries here, which are now out of seasons, but I just had to say it!!!

You know you're hungry now!

Let's Make a Sandwich

This summer I worked long hours, sometimes 11 hours a day. For those who don't know, I was a stitcher at a summer theatre. I've completed 1 whole dress, 1 skirt, 2 more dresses and countless notes and alterations. All in the name of theatre!! I could be waiting tables....or not.

Now, this doesn't leave me a lot of make lunch/dinner for the day. So sandwiches are great! Here are some basic sandwich recipes that I'm using constantly.

Queso-Spinach Quesadilla
-2 Corn Tortillas
-Queso Fresco (this is really what makes a difference!)
-handful of spinach

Egg Quesadilla
-2 Corn Tortillas
-1 scrambled egg
-Cheese, spinach as wanted

Egg-Hummus Sandwich
-1 scrambled egg
-Hummus
-Spinach
-whole wheat bread

Tuna-Sweetcorn Sandwich (I haven't made this yet, but it was my favorite sandwich in London)
-Tuna
-Can of sweetcorn
-Lettuce
-Baguette (preferably)

PS- Nectarine Jam is amazing! I got it the SLO farmer's market. Yum!!!

Tortilla Chips are my Bane

Tortilla chips are my trigger food. You know, the food you eat that once you start you cannot stop eating. Well, that's a trigger food, and this is mine. Doesn't matter if it's $2 Maria's, blue corn, or guacamole-flavored. I WILL EAT THEM!!!! Well, frankly that's not healthy. And my house has corn tortillas. So I have a recipe for baked corn tortillas.

Baked Corn Tortillas
-1-3 Corn Tortillas
- Canola Oil
-Spices (I like Cayenne)

1: Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2: Cut tortillas to chip size. Or don't, and make ghetto tostadas!
3: Mix oil and spices together and brush onto tortillas.
4: Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes.
5: Eat!!

NB: I didn't know this, but you can freeze tortillas. Hmmmmmm...the fam I live w/ in Cali keeps tons of them (k, not tons, but lots) in the freezer. Just buy them at Cost-Co and make this whenever you want! It's a hell of a lot healthier than buying a bag whenever you feel like it. And cheaper!

My Favorite Smoothies

Since I've been living in California, I have access to some of the best fruit in the country, along w/ bags of blood oranges (my favorite juice ever!). And I've been experimenting. So here are some of the smoothies I've been trying out.

Blood Orange-Celery Smoothie
-1 whole Blood Orange (no skin)
-1 celery stalk
-strawberries
-1 teas. agave nectar
-soy milk

Pineapple-Peach
-Pineapple chunks
-1 Peach
-1 blood orange
-soy milk

Blueberry-Avocado
-1 cup of blueberries
-1 avocado
-soy milk

Strawberry-Any sort of citrus fruit
-3-6 strawberries
-pineapple chunks
-1 peach
-1 blood orange

Adding bananas to any of this will increase the thickness of the smoothie. I've also been adding spring greens and dried spirulina to all these. Mighty delicious!

And finally, the one I had all thru last semester

Banana-Pear
-1 Banana
-1 Pear (doesn't matter how overripe or underripe)
-Cranberry Juice

NB: This is 1) good for the digestive system (thanks, Gillian McKeith) and 2) perfect for college, esp if your school is too cheap to get actually ripe pears (yes, that means you, Walter Burke Catering!)

And finally, a Alton Brown trick: Frozen fruits are great, but if you know you'll want a smoothie a day ahead of time, prepare the frozen mixture and place it in the fridge. The next day it's perfect for blending!

My Fabulous Face....Not

I have always had horrible skin. My skin is so bad that thousands of dollars have been sunk into making my skin look...normal. I've done all sorts of stuff, including Accutane (the devil that is! The main point is the change the oil composition of your skin. Bad). The point is I'm super insecure about my skin. But I have found a fabulous toner, that is waaaaay better than my name brand non-alcoholic toner. And it's crazy cheaper:

Basil Face Toner Recipe

Ingredients:
2-3 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup boiling water.

Instructions:
Steep 10-20 mins. Cool, and apply with cotton ball

http://naturalfacialrecipes.homestead.com/tonerrecipes.html

I love it!

Healthy Snacks

I'm by no means a huge health nut. Anyone I work with who has seen my inhale doughnuts can attest to this. But I'm also not a huge fan of awful processed foods, Hostess Cakes and the like. So when I'm craving something sweet (this is usually while I'm watching the Food Network) these are some of what I eat.

Cinnamon Honey Toast
- 1 slice of toasted bread. I've been using french bread cos 1) it's available, 2) it's fluffy. Since it's in the freezer I have to toast it. I also just prefer toast.
- Honey
- ground cinnamon
- 1 pat of butter (Optional. I like the mix of butter and honey)
Toast the bread, then apply butter, honey, and cinnamon in that order!

No-Bake Cinnamon Apples
- Apple Slices. I prefer sweet, red apples.
- Honey
- Cinnamon or other spices like nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, etc
I did this after a friend made baked apples and when I asked for more, she said no. So I made this. Just take the apple slices, dip it in honey and then dip into the cinnamon.

Zucchini Brownies
- Prepared Brownie mix (Feel free to actually make the brownies. I just want to buy all the flour and whatnot)
- 1 egg, or as many as your box calls for
- Applesauce (I use this to replace the oil. NB: this creates a fudgy, sticky brownie!! Be prepared for a different texture)
- 1 Cup of grated zucchini. You can grate it for texture, or put it thru the food processor, making it more liquidy and less crunchy.

Mix together as recipe entails. Add chocolate chips or whatever you want. It's just a sneaky tip!

Enjoy!!

Update:

Try this: I got a banana nut muffin, cut it in half, spooned out a bit of the inside and added my blood orange marmalade and fresh strawberries. cute and delicious!

Blood Orange Marmalade

As I'm currently in California, I'm able to get lots of free fresh fruit. So there have been tons of fresh, lovely blood oranges sitting on my kitchen counter. And I thought, well why not make marmalade!! So I did. I got the recipe from a different food blog. Here it is:

Blood orange marmalade
http://www.pithyandcleaver.com/?p=153

8 Whole blood oranges.
3 Meyer lemons, sliced thinly
4c sugar
Pectin

1. Remove the outer layer of zest from the orange (if you want the marmalade texture, do this with a vegetable peeler; if you’re lazy like me, you can use your microplane), taking care not to get too much of the bitter white layer beneath. Set the zest aside.
2. Peel the oranges and then slice them thinly and chop them roughly. remove any tough pith or seeds that you encounter, but save as much of the juice as you can!
3. Put the oranges and lemons in a deep saucepan; add the pectin and let sit for a moment.
4. Add the zest.
5. Add the sugar and then bring the contents of the pan up to a boil. Boil, boil, boil away (stirring as much as you can reasonably bear) merrily until it’s thick, syrupy, and passes the spoon test. (*I let this simmer, stirring frequently instead of constantly)

To preserve your marmalade:

1. Get a bunch of canning jars.
2. Wash them in hot, soapy water
3. Boil them mercilessly for about 15 minutes, then remove them from the pot.
4. Ladle your marmalade into your clean, sterilized jars. Gently seal the tops and boil them at a rollicking, high temperature (with at least 1 inch of water covering them) for 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the jars in there until the water is lukewarm (I tend to leave the jars in the waterbath overnight). This should activate the vacuum seal on the jar, characterized by the sort of dip in the middle. If you don’t have a vacuum seal by the time the water cools, remove the jar and try again with a new lid.

Tips and Tricks
- I didn't use the lemons. It might have given it a different texture or flavor, but I didn't mind.
- Make sure to chop the pieces small. The oranges will fall apart a bit while boiling,
- Try and take off as much off the pith of possible. It leaves behind a weird
chewy texture
- Don't let this boil too long. It's turns into a harder texture, as opposed to a jelly texture. Mine is way to thick, at least this first round!
- Let the marmalade cool before ladling. I didn't and now they have the froth from when it was boiling. So it doesn't have the pretty inside where you can see the zest.

This has a bitter taste with a sweet aftertaste. It's a well-done first try!

A Very Good Place to Start

I've decided that I'm gonna try and be legit about this blogging business. So here's a introduction for those who haven't been following my previous blog.

Hello! I'm Mel, and I'm a college senior, and theatre is my major! Therefore, theatre is my life. But food is my hobby! I must admit that I didn't start getting really into food and cooking until we got Food Network in my house, so around my senior year of high school. Up until that point I could make an awesome Maruchan Ramen bowl and bake a great Betty Crocker cake! Now I've gotten older, lived on my own, and traveled to many a foreign country I've learned to appreciate great food and great cooking. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family that believed in eating around a dinner table with no tv on, and my mom is great cook. Together, we are hungry foodies with unfortunately small stomachs. Seriously. We can't eat that much, try as we might.

I started this blog as a way to keep track of my favorite things that I make. While I've started a recipe collection and I have two cookbooks that I love, I also have things that I make-up. Like multitudes of smoothie recipes, sandwiches, and my fabulous hummus that I have never bothered to measure out. But now's the chance! Here's where I will record recipes, tips and tricks, anecdotes of my travels and hopefully entertaining tidbits.

There'll be lots of smoothie recipes. For sure. I'm a college student who lived in a dorm for 3 years. My faux magic bullet was my best friend. But now I have an apartment with a kitchen that I plan on making full use of!

My Food Manifesto: I believe in fresh, healthy, good quality food, and farmers markets. I believe in lots of butter, cheese, lard, and oil (when necessary.)I believe in local cafes, not Starbucks. I believe in sugar, not high fructose corn syrup or Splenda. I believe in coffee that taste like coffee, not cream. I believe in beer that taste like hops, not water. And I believe in sashimi and tuna rolls, not California rolls and fusion sushi.

So let the fun begin with my first real food report: my attempt at making Blood Orange Marmalade!