Food Growing Summit 2014

For those of us who are growers and not just eaters I recommend The Food Growing Summit. An online conservation with some of the most accomplished food activists. There are many interesting individuals who have amazing knowledge to pass on. The summit takes place March 3-7 and best part, it is free.There are two speakers in particular that I am very fond of and which I will be extremely excited to be listening to this upcoming week.





First, Vandana Shiva who is a environmental activist, eco-feminist and philosopher. She has fought for justice in so many areas and in my opinion a role model. She is a strong woman with strong ideas and has been rewarded many times over for her unbelievable work.





Second, Joel Salatin who is an organic farmer in Virginia. His family has been farming for many generations and he  owns Polyface Farm. Polyface is a closed-loop system and runs efficiently with Joel's unique farming and grazing techniques.  He has written many books and my favorite is Folks this Ain't Normal.




There are also many other speakers. So, if you are interested working to make our food system more just, accessible, and healthy, then you should sign up to take part in the summit. Just think you can grab a cup of tea, in your pajamas and still take part in these amazing conversations. I know I will be hiding somewhere quiet in my house for at least two nights, maybe three.

Peace, Justice and Healthy Food!

Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins for Class

One of my favorite childhood memories is making muffins with my mom. Appalled by the traditional school-provided breakfast options, we would make healthy muffins together every Sunday for a school week's supply of a nutritious breakfast on-the-go. Some of the best included banana peanut butter and zucchini raisin. Regardless of the flavor, I loved the process, and especially loved (love) licking off the batter covered bowls.

This leads us to muffins for class! When Lily put the delicious Applesauce-Oat Bran muffin recipe in front of me, I just knew it was perfect. I was excited to recreate a little bit of my old tradition for the class.

These particular muffins were from Lily's copy of Veganomigon. I highly recommend this cookbook, it is filled with tons of delicious recipes, all vegan, but if no one tells you, you'd never know it!

 

And now for the recipe...

 

Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins

 

Makes 12

 

Ingredients-



• 1/4 cup soy or rice milk
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup unsweetened natural applesauce (I used homemade so it was a little chunky, delish!)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil (or applesauce if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour (I used regular whole-wheat flour)
• 3/4 cup oat bran
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries or dried apple pieces (I split the batter into two and did 1/4 cup of raisins in one half and 1/4 cup of dried cranberries in the other half)

Now comes putting it all together, I got so wrapped up in making them that I regrettably didn't take pictures of the process.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 12 cup non-stick muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk of choice and apple cider vinegar; allow it to rest for 1 minute to curdle. Add the applesauce, canola oil, and brown sugar, and whisk to completely incorporate them.
3. In a separate, smaller bowl, sift together the flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet; stir only to moisten and don't over mix. Fold in the raisins (or substitute of choice). Use an ice-cream scoop or measuring cup to scoop the batter into the muffin cups.
4. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes (mine took 30 but I checked them at 25), until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to complete cooling.

This is what they looked like before I cut them in half...

 

 

...and here is after.

These delicious treats will easily last for at least a couple of days if not longer. If they become stale try dipping them in almond milk, it puts the life right back in them, and the nutty flavor is a great compliment.

Enjoy!

My Obsession with Icing

My Mom and I have baked together ever since I can remember. When I was little this usually meant adding ingredients my mother had already measured out and anxiously awaiting the bowl after my mother had put its contents into the oven and left over just enough for me to scrape some up to try. For our birthdays, she’d make brownies, Mississippi mud, apple spice cake, or our family’s signature birthday cake – a triple layer golden cake with brown sugar caramel frosting. They were delicious and (usually) simple. Just like my grandmother, my mother took a very “no frills attached” attitude towards the look of all her dishes. I however always made sure that my presentation was spot on, though I didn’t sacrifice flavor for appearance.

My first buttercream rose

My great discovery in my freshman year of high school, or 9^th grade as it is called in Germany, was buttercream. It was magical. I bought a couple American cake cookbooks, pieced together the ingredients that were available to me, and dove headfirst into the world of decorating. 

First time making and using marshmallow fondant

That year, I made all my friends cakes for their birthdays, experimenting with new techniques every time. Soon thereafter, I discovered fondant and royal icing, both of which I made at home.

My sister's wedding cake for a small reception of 25 people

I taught myself how to pipe roses, shells, swirls, leaves, edgings, and anything else I could think of. Soon I became the designated cake baker in my family, made some cakes on commission, and even got to make my older sister’s wedding cake.

To this day I love decorating cakes, cookies, cupcakes – anything that requires an icing of some sort. I could spend days baking and subsequently decorating my creations; I would never tire of it. Maybe, just maybe, I could create my future out of that. For now, I’ll stick with college but maybe I could go to culinary school instead of grad school. Who knows…

Mini Pies!

Pies are, undoubtedly, some of the greatest things known to mankind. But they're unwieldy to slice and they take so long in an oven and whoever consumes them might be like, "Ho hum, what's so special about a pie?"

Not with mini-pies. If you have all the stuff and know-how to make a pie and some muffin tins, you can whip up something way more impressive. And they'll only take 15 minutes to bake!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Or 375 if you're at a higher altitude or something like that.

Crust:

1 c. cold butter (2 sticks)

        or one cup butter substitute for the vegan

1 cup flour

1 pinch salt

A splash of ice-cold water

Combine the flour and salt. Fancy-pants people use food processors for this kind of thing, but I think it adds character and simplicity to dive in with you (washed) hands! Cut the butter up into chunks first if it suits you, and then use your hands to combine the butter with the dry ingredients until a crumble forms. You don't want there to be huge chunks of butter, but you don't want the mixture to resemble sand, either. Once a middle ground between these two catastrophic extremes is achieved, add a splash of ice cold water - just enough to form a dough ball.

Flour a surface and roll the crust out until it's a centimeter thick. Now, take a big circle cut-out (unless you work at a bakery that specialized in gigantic cut-out cookies, you'll probably have to use a bowl for this. Alternatively: use your protractor from math class.)




Line your muffin tins with individual pieces of parchment paper. The paper mustn't cover the entire surface of the muffin-mold, but it must protrude out of the mold enough so that you can grab on and pull 'em out after baking.

Take your circles of dough and press them into the mold. You can go rustic style and let the dough fold in the mold as it may, or you can press the dough upwards from the mold until you have an edge enough to press it into a pattern. My favorite technique for this is to take your thumb and index finger on the outer edge of the dough and press your other index finger between, making a triangular pattern around the circumference.

Set aside.

Filling:

Fruit! Any fruit! The fruit will change the amount required of course, but here are a few examples:

6-7 Apples, sliced (Cortland, Granny Smith, and Macintosh are the best)

3/4 c. Sugar

1 tbs. Cinnamon

3 tbs. Flour

1 tsp. Nutmeg (If you're gross. Personally, I forego the nutmeg.)

or 

1 pint. Raspberries

3-4 Peaches, sliced.

3/4 c. Sugar

or

3 pints of ANY berry

3/4 c. Sugar

dash of Lemon Juice

etc. etc. The possibilities are endless! Get creative - I've done this with plums, blueberries, strawberries, and peaches, or just strawberries, or just apples. What's so great about a pie is the dynamism!

Combine your combination of fruit, sugar, and miscellaneous fixings (cinnamon, lemon juice, flour). I wrote 3/4 cup sugar in the directions because it's a recipe and you have to do that sort of thing, but in practice I do this to taste. Pop a berry/apple slice/spoonful of compote into your mouth - does it taste good? You're done! Is it lackluster? Add some more sugar like a real pastry chef.

Divide your compote into equal parts and lay it in your muffin-tin crusts.

Top Crust:

1/2 C. Butter (or 1 stick)

1/2 C. Flour

1/2 C. Sugar

I prefer a crumb crust because it's delicious and it melts in your mouth, but if you're a fan of bland, you can repeat the bottom-crust recipe and lay circle cut-outs of the crust on top of the bottom-half and pinch the two crusts together.

Combine the flour and sugar and use the same down-and-dirty hand crumbling method from the top crust. Divide your crumble equally between pies and sprinkle it on top.

Now these puppies are ready for the oven. Slide 'em into your preheated oven and wait 15 minutes. They take less time because they're miniature. As part of my wild-abandon style of cooking, I never time my stuff, but if I didn't give you a prescribed time it wouldn't be a recipe and you'd be like "What the heck, Kelsey? I'm totally lost right now." That being said, the smarter way to gauge the done-ness of a pie is to see whether or not the fruit compote has come to a boil. Once you get that nice bubbling action, your pies are definitely at peak tastiness. If they start to brown before this happens, through some tin foil over your pan.




Now you have mini pies, great for hand-held, pie consumption on the go! Or, you know, to save you from the embarrassment of serving a slice of pie that really turns into a big ol' mess as you bring it from pan to plate. And all your friends are impressed with you because you took something big and made it little. You're welcome!

Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear

This weekend I visited my family back in Boston. Presented with the, now rare, opportunity to have a full kitchen to myself I clearly had no other option then to bake.

Papa Bear:

My dad has an extreme love for pumpkin. Our house is always stocked with canned pumpkin just in case anyone feels like having a spur-of-the-moment pumpkin creation. Tonight was no exception and as a thank you for not making me take the bus home I decided to make him some Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread.

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 15-oz can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup egg beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon rolled oats

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine the first In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients (all of the dry ingredients except for the cranberries and oats). Set aside In a separate, larger bowl, combine the wet ingredients — pumpkin, egg beaters, and vanilla extract. Gently incorporate the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture, stirring until just combined.
Run a knife through the cranberries to break up any large clusters. Slowly sprinkle the cranberries into the batter, making sure that they’re spread evenly throughout. Pour the batter into a 9″x 5″ loaf pan prepared with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the oats over the top of the pan.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Enjoy!
(From A Second on the Lips)

It came out perfectly. He slathered on some cream cheese and sprinkled more cranberries on top, but it was great plain too!

Mama Bear:

My mom, in all of her adorableness, over-prepared for my arrival by buying twelve bananas for one night. She is great. But, we didn't want to waste all the extra bananas. The obvious answer is banana bread! She wanted something healthy so I made her this low fat but highly delicious loaf.

The recipe...

Ingredients:

• 7 ripe medium bananas, mashed (Optional- I microwaved them for two minutes to ripen them further)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 2-1/2 cups unbleached whole wheat flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 8x5 inch loaf pans with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture and walnuts, then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into loaf pans and bake on the center rack for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes, bread should be room temperature before slicing.
(From Skinnytaste)

This bread came out very dense and full of moisture. Once in a while I even got a bite of pure banana. My mom and I love it that way because, as you can tell by the twelve bananas, we are a banana loving family.

Baby Bear:

My turn! I've been craving pumpkin pie since Thanksgiving ended so in the absence of a pie crust I made crustless pumpkin pie. The middle is my favorite part anyways. YUM.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

(can be gluten-free)

• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup flour (Almost any will work, including all-purpose gluten-free, but not coconut flour) (42g)
• 1/3 cup xylitol or brown sugar (You can use a liquid sweetener. It’ll just be a bit gummy) (53g)
• 2 extra tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp milk of choice (210g)
• 2 tbsp oil, or omit and increase milk to 1 cup
• 1 tsp ener-g powder or 1 tablespoon ground flax (I used a tablespoon of cornstarch)
• 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 F, and grease a 10-inch round pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine first 7 ingredients, and stir very well. In a separate bowl, combine all liquid ingredients with the energ or flax, and whisk. Pour wet into dry, stir to combine, then pour into the pan and bake 35 minutes. (It’ll still be gooey after baking, but that’s ok.) Allow to cool completely before transferring uncovered to the fridge to “set” for at least 6 hours before trying to slice.

While the taste came out just like pumpkin pie, the texture was more like a custard. I topped mine with redi-whip and it was a mini-thanksgiving in my mouth.

So there it is Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear's weekend. Full of delicious baking. And everything came out juuuuuust right.

Cooking For My Classmates

Cooking For My Classmates
 
 I have never tried to bake anything vegan. I have to admit I was a little nervous to step out of my comfort zone of conventional baking with real butter and whole cream. After looking through many recipes, I decided upon Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes using the recipe below: 
 
Vegan Chocolate Cake (veganbaking.net)

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water (or coffee)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar

 
 

Preheat oven to 350 °

I placed all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl (four, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt). The ingredients were blended well using a fork and I removed as many lumps as possible. I used a dark blend for the cocoa. I also added 1/2 cup of cocoa instead of what the recipe calls for, because I like a rich chocolate flavor in my cupcakes.
 Next, I mixed all of the liquid ingredients into bowl with the dry. I used coffee instead of water as the recipe suggested because why not mix two of my most favorite food items. I also added the vanilla extract, vegetable oil and vinegar. Once completely mixed, the batter had a thick and glossy appearance.
 

I filled the cupcake trays which were already pre-set with recycled cupcake liners. Each liner was filled to about 3/4 of the way full. Sorry there is no picture for this step, the kitchen got busy and I forgot. I slid the tray into the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes, per recipe.
I waited in anticipation to see how they were going to bake. My biggest worry was they wouldn't rise. I like my cupcakes to have a nice rounded top. The timer finally went off and I was pleasantly surprised to have these. I am excited to share my cooking experience with the class on Tuesday. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
















 

 

 

The "Best" Guacamole vs. "Authentic" Guacamole

Today I woke up with a craving for mexican food. I had been agonizing over how to use my impulse buy, a block of extra sharp cheddar cheese, for over a week now. I knew now, imagining the salty cheese in combination with spiced chicken and peppers, that I had found my inspiration: cheesy chicken quesadillas.

I knew the perfect accompaniment to my quesadillas would be some fresh guacamole, however I had never attempted my own homemade guacamole. As any other type A personality would do, I looked up numerous recipes for research. For such a simple side, guacamole surprisingly have some controversy attached to it. Lemon vs. lime, red onion vs. white onion, hot sauce or no hot sauce... Who would have known!

After looking at a multitude of recipes, I started to see a distinction between "the best" and "authentic". On the internet, many people raved about the Barefoot Contessa's version, yet others complained the real recipe did not need garlic and should have a jalapeno and fresh cilantro. While I enjoyed reading all the different ways and opinions, I realized my stomach was getting awfully needy so I finally decided on a compilation of a few due to the limitations of what was available in my fridge.

After making this, I realized while I might have followed different recipes half heartedly, it turned out well because I made sure to stop and taste in between many of the steps to ensure it was satisfying my guacamole expectations: chunky, balanced, and fresh. 

Kiki's Just-Right Guacamole

2 ripe Haas avacados, gently diced into 1/2 inch squares
1/2 onion, minced
1 clove of garlic, smashed and minced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped roughly
1/2 lime
1/2 tomato, gently diced into 1/2 inch squares
salt and pepper to taste
dash of red pepper flakes

Assemble and prepare all ingredients. Add onion, garlic, and tomato to the bowl. Gently add the diced avacados, squeeze 1/2 the lime into the bowl, and toss the mixture gently. I like my guacamole chunky and an uneven texture. Make sure you taste at this point, and add more lime juice if it's not acidic enough.
While you let the flavors meet and meld together, take a bunch of fresh cilantro and roughly chop it until you have about a 1/2 cup (or less if you're not a fan). Add the chopped cilantro, a shake of red pepper flakes, and a couple turns of the salt and pepper grinder to taste.

Enjoy with tortilla chips and/or delicious quesadillas.

And if you have leftovers (like me), try some of these fun recipes out:
-pulled pork and sriracha guacamole grilled cheese
-guacamole pizza!
-a protein filled guacamole quinoa salad

The Importance of Making Love (and eating carbs)

Love is a labor, and labor is love.

Considering how most of the women in my family cook and bake (that is, in a frenzy of flying ingredients, open-topped jars, and drip-dropping pots) my method of kneading dough is a miracle.

I can vividly recall my mother's method, which was to either beat the dough senseless, tossing it into the air only to snatch it back up and throw the sticky glob mightily back on the counter. It was either that, or fasten a dough hook into the kitchen-aid and let the machine shiver and quake for six minutes. 

My methods are a little more romanticized than that.

I prefer to "make love" to my dough; to massage it tenderly, pushing, rubbing, and folding over the thick mass until it is beautifully relaxed and elastic. It is my number one preferred method of stress relief  (re: stress-eating carbs). This Saturday night was deemed my relaxing night of the weekend, seeing as I had an all-day technical rehearsal to look forward to the following morning. 

It should be known that this is a very manageable recipe, and I did all of it save for the oven stuff in my dorm room!

Here is my recipe for blueberry bagels:

2 and 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or one packet)

1 1/2 tablespoons cane sugar

1 1/4 very warm (but not hot!) water, plus about 1/2 cup extra

2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2(I usually let the measuring spoons overflow a little) teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons overflowing nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon lemon zest

1 1/3 cup freeze dried blueberries 

Stir together the yeast, sugar, and the 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl. Set aside for approximately five minutes, or until the yeast is all foamy. While waiting, whisk together the flours, salt, nutmeg, and zest. Make sure you've mixed together the dry ingredients super evenly!

Add the yeast/sugar mixture gradually, stirring quickly with a big spoon. Gradually add the 1 1/4 cups warm water until most if not all the dry ingredients are contributing to a sticky mass. Turn this dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for ten minutes by hand, or until the dough is smooth (not sticking to your fingers too much!) and elastic. You may need to add more flour or water, depending. Knead by pushing the dough firmly but gently away from you, then folding it over and repeating. It should feel a bit like a work-out! 

Now, sprinkle portions of the blueberries into your beautifully relaxed dough until all are evenly distributed. 

Place the dough in a nicely oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise somewhere warm for 1.5-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Dump your dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch it (nicely) down to de-gas it.

Cut the dough into 8-14 pieces (depending on how big you want your bagels to be), and roll them GENTLY into balls. Place dough balls on a plate. They do not have to be even or equal. Let them rest for a few minutes and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a pot of water on the stove, but do not turn on the burner yet. Take out two cookie sheets and line them with parchment paper or sil pats.

Now, GENTLY using your index finger, poke a hole through the middle of your dough balls, gently stretching the hole out to a  bit bigger than your average bagel hole sixe (2-3 inches) using your thumb and index finger. Cover with your plastic wrap and let rise for twenty minutes. Turn on the water while rising so it comes to a roiling boil. Grease heavily your parchment-covered cookie pans.

In groups of three or four, depending on how big your pot is, boil the bagels for one minute on each side, setting puffy, boiled bagels on the greased cookie sheets. Once done, place bagels in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes. You can flip them at 12 minutes if you desire. Once out of the oven, feel free to slice and enjoy immediately! But if you'd prefer prospective mornings with these babies.

Let cool for 10 minutes, slice with a good knife, and wrap in saran wrap to freeze for future mornings. These bagels freeze really well!

I enjoyed my blueberry bagels right out of the oven, and also the next morning with a healthy smattering of vegan cream cheese, a sprinkle of nutmeg, and my rosemary apple jam.

This recipe can be easily adapted for any bagel cravings you might have! Just take out the nutmeg, zest, and blueberries. Brush the tops of the bagels with oil and sprinkle with toppings of your desire just before baking.

Diversity Dinner

Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early. Excited, I headed to the kitchen. Although Albright has a tiny, under-stocked kitchen, today nothing would stand in my way. Today, I was making борщ (borscht)!

All week long, I was stealthily hoarding vegetables from the dining hall. Every day, I made rounds to all of the vegetable-carrying houses to find the best/needed ingredients.I made a long shopping trip to all of the grocery stores within walking distance, going back and forth, comparing prices of everything extinct from the student dining halls. But why so much effort? What is this foreign thing that I was planning to make?

Every year, Albright house hosts a Diversity Dinner. For this dinner, everyone interested can cook something that reminds them of home. On the day of the dinner, we have a house-wide party to celebrate diversity accompanied by delicious, new food cooked by the students.

My family is Russian and my contribution to the house dinner was my signature dish for family dinners, a thick, hearty beet soup. Other dishes served included curried chicken, several rice dishes, chili, Texas-style macaroni and cheese, shoofly pie, vegan cupcakes, gulab jamun (Indian doughnuts... my personal favorite), and many more.

Our creations!

Scrumptious kale. 

Homemade cheese dip with herbs on a cracker.

Although this may not look as amazing as it tastes, but this sweet potato pie was truly spectacular... trust me!

Texas-style mac n' cheese

Leftover vegan almond cupcakes and peanut-butter chocolate cupcakes/balls.

Nothing better than fresh fruit!

Eating shoofly pie for the first time.

My Borscht! 

Unfortunately, we ran out of plates, but the truly dedicated tasters resorted to cups of borscht.

My Noodle Brain

This morning I woke up and began to mentally plan out my day. First, Spanish. Second, workshop for English. Third, blog. Wait. Blog. Oh geez.

This weekend I had planned my entire Saturday afternoon/night around going out to dinner somewhere downtown so I could write a little restaurant review. My friends and I decided on Noodles, mostly based off convenience as it is one of the closer restaurants in Northampton. I was super excited about taking some awesome pictures of my food (inspired by the many enticing photos I saw in last weeks posts).

But here's the thing: I was so hungry when I finally got to dinner that I devoured all my food in minutes, not once stopping to think about the Tipsy Old Mona Lisa. In fact I didn't even think about my failure to whip out my iPhone to snap some pictures until this morning.

My relationship with food constantly changes from day to day, sometimes even within the same day. I can say with confidence that at that exact moment, I needed food for fuel, and I needed it fast.

Noodles itself is not my favorite place in Northampton, but it did the job. I do enjoy their extensive menu, with many options for different dietary demands. It's not too pricy, and the food comes out in almost no time in giant colorful bowls. Perfect for when you happen to be ravenous.

But oh well. No food porn in this post. I will throw in this picture I grabbed on Google. Maybe next time I will be able to keep my stomach from taking control of my brain.

NEWMAC Swimming and Diving Championships 2014

I have been at WPI since Thursday afternoon for the culmination of the 2013-14 swim season. I do not want to bore you with continued talk of swimming, but considering that my entire weekend has been in a pool, I think it is appropriate to talk about the only thing on my mind.

The WPI pool and site of the 2014 NEWMAC Championships
Photo creds to Olivia Bannon

We use the word "hunger" to describe the raw desire to achieve a goal. It is a "craving" felt so deep that your heart aches when the goal is just out of reach, and it screams for joy and runs leaps and bounds when the goal is surpassed. Swimming is a sport of delayed gratification, and we spend the whole season (September until... now) with aching, fatigued muscles to strive for a lifetime best time at this one, multi-day meet. It is a singular chance at victory following taper, when we take it easy on our muscles so that they can recover from the hell month of J-Term. After so many practices, I begin to think that I have never worked so hard for anything in my life.

And here we are. And I am ravenous. 

I have been satiated with my 50 freestyle time, my 100 breaststroke times, and my 50 breaststroke time in the relay. This morning, I swam the 200 breaststroke, and I get to swim it again in (the consolation heat of) finals tonight. I have squeezed into the tiniest piece of fabric that swimmers sadistically call a "fast skin" or tech suit. 

Me (left) with Alyssa (right) in our tech suits, prepping for our first races. 

I have been living on Red Powerade and Yellow Gatorade and sandwiches and pasta. I can hardly feel the jolts of energy as they are masked by nerves and anticipation before a race. The only thing on my mind is an upcoming race or one I have just completed. In a few hours (I'm guessing by 9:30 tonight), the meet will be over, and I will be on the bus with the team going back to Smith. My season will be over and I will have poured my heart into the pool. I hope to be "full" in the entirety of the word. I am still hungry for my races tonight. Bring on the feast. 

Contemplating Condiments

I've been thinking a lot about condiments since reading Malcolm Gladwell's The Ketchup Conundrum. Gladwell notes the diversity of some kinds of condiments in comparison to ketchup, using mustard as his example. However, my most favorite condiment was generally absent from his examination, so I felt the need to do a little bit of thinking about barbecue sauce.


In my experience at least, barbecue sauce falls somewhere on a continuum between Gladwell's descriptions of mustard (in which people are interested in a variety of types beyond standard yellow mustard, like Dijon mustard or hot mustard or sweet mustard) and ketchup (in which apparently everyone wants the basic Heinz ketchup, even if we believe we should want something different). Barbecue sauce certainly comes in a huge variety of styles, but at least in the United States, we tend to opt for one of the slightly varied Kansas City style sauces. You know the one. The style of barbecue sauce that gets served in huge bowls as a lunch accompaniment in the dining hall, and which gets labelled "original" flavor by some brands, to distinguish it from their other less popular types. Unlike the case of ketchup, there does not seem to be a specific brand that can lay claim to the majority of barbecue sauce sales, but people do seem to look for less variety when it comes to barbecue sauce, at least when they are purchasing a bottle at the store for consistent consumption at home.

My thoughts about barbecue sauce in relation to ketchup were inspired by the fact that my personal experiences with them have been somewhat similar. Just as I would genuinely choose to purchase Heinz ketchup, even if there were other unique ketchups that I was initially more interested in, I would take a standard Kansas style barbecue sauce from the store over a much more interesting version if I intended to use it for an extended period. I know this to be true, because I once tried my hand at homemade barbecue sauce.

Every year, my family used to go to the San Diego County Fair. Now, there are all kinds of ways in which the County Fair and food intersect. Fair food is a category all its own, plus there are generally all sorts of eating competitions, and in this case, also cooking competitions. The fair gives free admission to anyone entering a contest, so most years, my family and I pick a contest and set about putting together our entries. We often enter the art categories, constructing animals out of produce, or making mosaics, but in the year in question, we decided upon the barbecue sauce competition. My brother and mother stuck fairly close to the Kansas City style, while my father decided to go with a spicier, Mexican inspired recipe, and I set out to comb food blogs for something new and different. I settled eventually on an Orange Coriander Bourbon Barbecue Sauce.

Orange Coriander Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

(slightly adapted from Joy the Baker)

First, you want to chop a medium sized onion, keeping in mind that the size of the pieces of onion will effect the consistency of the sauce (though you can always use a blender later if need be to smooth it out). I would recommend using a sweet vidalia onion here, because this is a sweet sauce so why not, but it's really up to you. Then you're going to saute your onion with some olive oil for a few minutes. After that, add in two cloves of garlic, minced, or about a teaspoon of jarred minced garlic if it's already 9 PM the night before your barbecue sauce competition and you just don't have the patience for mincing garlic. Then it gets really simple, because all you have to do is just mix in the rest of your ingredients: 1/2 cup bourbon (I used Maker's Mark, because that's what we had around), 1/2 cup orange juice (I'd recommend getting the kind without pulp, or straining the pulp out beforehand), 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1 cup ketchup (Heinz, obviously, because that's what's in the fridge), 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup molasses (this can be skipped in favor of a little more brown sugar if you don't keep molasses around), 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (the vegetarian kind, in my case, since I wanted to be able to taste it, though I knew the competition was going to involve tasting it with meat), 1/2 teaspoon orange zest (fresh, or if you're lazy and you have it around, from a jar, or even skipped all together. Hey, sometimes you just don't have the energy or desire to zest an orange), 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Then simply stir until your mixture is simmering. Cook for 30-45 minutes, or however long you need to be happy with the consistency.

Now, I don't want to brag here... but my barbecue sauce won the competition. The judges were apparently as impressed as I'd hoped they'd be with the unique flavor profile. However, this is where my ketchup comparison comes in. I loved this barbecue sauce. Judges loved this barbecue sauce, and chose it over the more traditional ones some of my other family members made. But then, it was time to contend with the left overs. Since the recipe informed me that the "mixture can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week," I figured I'd better make sure it got eaten, so in the next few days I made some meals that would be appropriately accompanied by barbecue sauce. I am unhappy to report that, just like with ketchup, I was tired of it after two meals. It was too distinctive. I wanted my standard Kansas City sauce back. So while I absolutely recommend this recipe if you want to make something special and unique, I would never buy it in a store if someone made a bottled version. And I bet most of those County Fair judges wouldn't either.

Coffee is Not Just Coffee

            I recently visited a friend from home, and while walking to her dorm, ran into someone I met while abroad. Although he lived in the residential building next door, his three Holy Cross College friends lived in the same building as I. This encounter had me reminiscing about my experience abroad, which has led me to this blog.

Yes, their accents can be sometimes hard to decipher and their wildlife is nothing like ours here in the States, but for some odd reason, I was not expecting Australian cuisine to be all that different from our own and for the most part it wasn’t. But there were certainly some surprises. Many of these surprises were in the form of food lingo. For anyone who has been to England, which I have not, I believe that Australian food terminology is very similar to that in the U.K. French fries are chips, cookies are biscuits, jello is jelly, potato chips are crisps, ketchup is tomato sauce, etc.

While I picked up what was what by listening to others, I also learned through experience. I’ll never forget my first attempt to order a plain black coffee. Since my arrival to Australia, I had lived in two locations, both of which only served instant coffee. I found it kind of odd that no one seemed to mind the instant coffee, but perhaps it was because tea was a more popular choice. Let’s just say, I was really longing a cup of brewed coffee by the time I came across a coffee kiosk on campus. By Australian standards, it was a brisk winter day and the anticipation of a warm cuppa joe had me practically running through the crowds (I also only had about 10 minutes to book it across campus to class). I waited in line for a minute or so before hastily asking for a black coffee. The student taking my order gave me quizzical look, but then quickly, as if he misheard me, asked, “What type of coffee?”

I liked the Bear on this picture of a flat white.

I again repeated, “A black coffee.”
“Well, what type of black coffee?” he asked. 

Thinking he was asking what type of roast I wanted, I asked, “What types do you have?”

Again he gave be a puzzled expression and then said, “Um, well, there is long black, short black, flat white.”

“I’ll take long black.” I said, thinking that this was simply a large black coffee.   

           

I was wrong. It wasn’t until later when I researched Australian coffee that I discovered what I ordered. Below are the three styles of coffee I was suggested.

Kere Kere kiosk at Melbourne University

• Short Black: This is a single shot of espresso.
• Long Black: Espresso with water (1/3 espresso 2/3 water). (Apparently this is the closest thing you can get to a regular black coffee.)
• Flat White: Developed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s, this is an espresso with steamed milk (about 1/3 espresso, 2/3 milk). The closest approximation in America would be a no foam latte.

Coffee to me used to seem so simple, you brew the coffee beans and you drink it, adding sugar and milk as you please. I often forget that even the simplest foods and drinks have different meanings across cultures.  

I found an article called “CoffeeCountries: How A Cup Of Joe Is Enjoyed Around The World,” that gives a couple of examples of how coffee differs in style and meaning from country to country