Finals

So the reason, dear readers, all one of you (hi Mark!) is because this past August, I entered law school. And since my contract with those of you in readerland is illusory, I am not bound to post and thus, I did not much.
I also did not cook much. The cooking triumphs I experienced this semester were few and far between. The relationship triumph of having my boyfriend make dinner a lot of the time? That was a nice triumph. We've tried a lot of new recipes, especially for the slow cooker - if you are going to go to graduate school, invest in a slow cooker. It will change your life and you will never order takeout again. We also recently bought a wok and have been discovering the beauty of stir-fry. (Which is a manly thing to do, so men, wok it up. It's the indoor barbecue.)
So - a few cooking triumphs, with recipes to come:
1) Roasted red pepper risotto.
2) Potatoes au gratin (can be made either slow cooker or in the oven).
3) Mini - pineapple upside down cakes.

But the real reason for this post is its finals time. As in, I'm procrastinating. That's right. Although not by cooking as much as I used to. In law school, there isn't time to cook to procrastinate!
But finals requires a different eating schedule. During finals, you feed your mind. I'm always hungry while I study - I eat constantly. How can that possibly be healthy? It's not. Try to pick the highest volume lowest calorie snacks. Popcorn is good. Grapes are great. Oranges are a little juicy but not bad. A granola bar will not make you feel better about life, skip it. Small chocolate covered things are good, as long as you buy them in small packages. Get ones covered in dark chocolate - more antioxidants.
Also consider the smoothie. A morning smoothie with a healthy chunk of protien powder? mmmm!
Buy frozen berries, milk, and vanilla yogurt. Get some chocolate or vanilla whey protien powder, and use as much as you're comfortable with. This normally comes in giant containers, so I'll let you know when I find it in small, manageable sizes. Put in blender or mini-food processor. I actually recommend the mini food processor if you are only making one serving - less mess.
Blend.
Pour into cup. Enjoy. Blend to your own preferred thickness - straw, spoon, or sip.

Gearing up for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, in some families, is prepared by Grandma, who has been slaving in the kitchen all day and then everybody shows up, watches football, inhales all the food, and forgets to thank her while they drift into food comas.
Thanksgiving, in my family, is a massive potluck to which everyone is expected to bring a dish. At least. You are expected to bring as much food as you plan to eat.
So portability is a problem. Tupperware melts when you put hot stuff in it, sometimes you don't want to transfer things from the dish you baked them in, and things get cold!
So I am pleased to share with you the greatest tool ever, not to oversell it.
The Pyrex Portables
These are great. They keep food hot, cold, and well packaged. They are insulated packages with hot/cold packs that solve the problem of melted tupperware.
Investing in plain old Pyrex dishes with lids is still a worthwhile thing to do - they're great for cold/cooled dishes, desserts, etc. and will make your holidays infinitely easier!
And if you grandma makes everything? Call her up and ask if you can bring anything. There is no better way to get favored grandchild status. Unless you clip her toenails. I think this is a no-brainer.

Honey Bran Waffles

This is a great healthy waffle recipe from The Joy of Cooking - which I still maintain that everybody needs to own. I usually half this for two people.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup coarse wheat bran or miller's bran
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Equipment:
Waffle iron
Mixing bowl
Spoon

Procedure:

1. Combine dry ingredients.
   
2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
   
3. Combine. Pour into waffle iron.
   

Quick Potato and Carrot Latkes

Here is another Rachel Ray Recipe (from her small "comfort food" book).
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 sack (24 ounces) shredded potatoes for hash browns
1 large carrot
1 medium onion
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons matzo meal, cracker meal, or all purpose flour

Procedure:
Heat 1/2 inch oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. To test oil, add a piece of bread to the pan. It should turn golden brown in a count of 10. Adjust heat as necessary.
Place potatoes in a large bowl. Using a hand grater, grate the carrot and onion into the bowl. Add beaten eggs, salt, baking powder, and meal or flour. Combine vegetables and meal with a wooden spoon. Drop mixture into oil in 3 inch mounds. Press down gently with spatula to form patties. Friy in batches of 4 to 6 patties, 1 inch apart, until golden, about 3 minutes on each side. Drain on a paper towel or parchment-lined tray.

I did this with regular potatoes that I shredded myself, but its a pain. Also, making potato pancakes is a messy business and takes a lot of practice.

Chunky Golden Applesauce

This is a Rachel Ray recipe. I haven't made it yet - but it looks good.
Ingredients
4 Golden delicious apples, cored and chunked
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup apple juice or cider
3 tablespoons honey

Procedure
Combine all ingredients in a medium pot and cook over medium to medium-high heat until apples begin to break down and raisins are plump, 10 to 12 minutes.

Sounds like a great fall recipe!

Eggplant Steaks

This is an Alton Brown recipe and it turns out pretty well - if you are somebody who doesn't like eggplant, that is fine, but if you are somebody who finds eggplants in their purple rotundity a bit daunting, I encourage trying this recipe. They can be made in the toaster oven and they are fairly easy and turn out pretty good (while being hard to screw up).

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup thick steak sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
8 (1/2-inch) eggplant slices, purged with salt
1 cup grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons chopped parsley, optional

Equipment:

1 oven set to Broil
1 shallow jelly-roll pan
Pastry brush (if you don't own a silicone one already, buy one)
1 small mixing bowl
Paper towels

Procedure:

1. In a small bowl whisk together the Worcestershire, steak sauce, olive oil, honey, and apple cider vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Pat your eggplant dry with paper towels.
   
3. With a pastry brush apply the sauce to both sides of the eggplant.
   
4. Place eggplant rounds onto a sheet tray fitted with a rack.
   
5. Place the tray under the broiler for until eggplant is nicely browned, approximately 2 minutes. Turn slices over and place back under broiler to brown the other side.
   
6. Generously sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan over all of the slices. Place back under the broiler for 1 minute to nicely brown the cheese.
   
7. Serve plain or sprinkle with freshly chopped herbs.

Cinnamon Jumbles

If you are like me, you have trouble when it comes to some types of baking. I have a lot of trouble with cookies. Usually because I don't let the butter sit out until it actually becomes "softened" or I try to make weird and unwieldy substitutions or I just have trouble when it comes to mixing. I do make delicious cakes, and my macaroni and cheese leaves little room for doubt, so I don't worry too much about my cookies.
I do make excellent Cinnamon Jumbles. Those of you who were lucky enough to have a good family friend who gifted you with the Betty Crocker Cooky Book when it was reprinted a few years ago will recognize these as The Best Cookie of 1880-1900. They are easy to make, don't require a mixer, and are fantastic care-package cookies because they stay soft for weeks. They are also a good "on hand" cookie, made from things you should have in the pantry.

1. 4 cups flour (sift if you'd like)
2. 1 teaspoon baking soda
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1 cup butter
5. 2 cups white sugar
6. 2 eggs
7. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8. 1 1/2 cups buttermilk - (I do not keep buttermilk on hand, so I use either sour cream (low fat, not fat free, or skim milk mixed with a bit of vinegar - check a substitution chart for details)
   
9. 1/2 cup white sugar (for topping)
   
10. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (for topping)

Equipment:

1. Mixing bowls
2. Measuring spoons
   
3. Mixing spoons
4. Dredge (optional) for shaking out topping
5. Refrigerator
6. Oven

Procedure:

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Combine vanilla and buttermilk, set aside.
   
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at time.
3. Combine the dry mix with the wet mix alternately into the butter and sugar mixture.
   
4. Cover dough and chill (for at least twenty minutes, or for as long as overnight).
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously grease cookie sheets.
6. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Combine the cinnamon and sugar, sprinkle some of the mixture onto each cookie.
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.