Cereal Sucks

I have a serious problem with cereal...

It never fills me up.

I had a big bowl of cereal with 2% milk this morning at 8:30am, and after my class was over at 11:30, my stomach was grumbling SUPER hard. My conclusion? Cereal is NOT a good breakfast. It's not even that good for you, unless it's whole grain and made by Kashi. And I'm not even sure if THAT is even truly healthy. It's also expensive! For no reason!

I am never buying cereal again. No more will I be forced to rush home and pick up a large one-topping Papa John's pizza to make up for all the food I missed early on. I was so hungry after class today, I did this. I did it without shame, and I ate the whole thing over the course of 8 hours (noon-8pm).

In short, fuck cereal.

Late Night Stuffed Bell Pepper

You know the feeling. It's late, say... 8pm. You're thinking, "Oh shit! I forgot to eat dinner! But I'm not starving..." So you eat ice cream or chips or something equally unsatisfying. You go to bed feeling gross.

FEAR NOT!

As I am becoming more and more domesticated, I've realized that situations like this have an easy fix. Here's something I did tonight to avoid going to bed with knots in my stomach.

Warning: I did not measure hardly anything when I made this. So just do your best!

-Recipe-

Serves one person.

Ingredients:

- 1 green bell pepper

- parmesan cheese, shredded

- tomato sauce (I used 7-Herb Tomato Ragú)

- long grain rice (I used 1/4 cup, which is plenty)

- garlic salt

- Italian seasoning

- seasoned bread crumbs

- cayenne pepper (crushed red pepper)

Directions:

- Add twice as much water as you have rice (1/4 cup rice = 1/2 cup water), and boil in a pot. Once boiling, adjust burner to "low" setting and let the rice simmer for about 15 minutes or so.

- While the rice is cooking, preheat your oven to 375ºF.

- Cut the top off of the green bell pepper and remove core (the part with the seeds). Place it on a baking sheet.

- In a small bowl, pour tomato sauce and add an equal amount of parmesan cheese. This will be the bulk of the stuffing (besides the rice). Just guesstimate in regards to the size of the bell pepper. You'll do fine. and if you add too much, you can always adjust this later by adding more rice.

- Sprinkle some bread crumbs, garlic salt, cayenne pepper, and Italian seasoning. I also added some salt and pepper to add some flair. Don't add too much spice or you will overwhelm your mouth. Be especially careful with the garlic salt and cayenne pepper.

- Take about a large spoonful of rice (again, guesstimate in regards to the size of your pepper) and add to the mixture in your bowl.

- Stuff the pepper to your liking. Add more rice if desired, or more sauce/cheese. Whatever you think will make you happy (and help you sleep).

- Throw (not literally) your pepper on your baking sheet into the oven for about 45 minutes. Many recipes online will tell you an hour, but sometimes this can overwhelm the bell pepper and you'll lose that great sweet-peppery taste!

- And the best part is, you'll have rice to spare to eat while you wait. And if you have excess stuffing, add it to your bowl of rice and wait out that special treat in the oven.

If you need any help with stuffing suggestions, contact me!

I apologize for not adding a photo! I ate the pepper too hastily! If I make it again, I'll repost.

This post is dedicated to:

1) Cait Greene. May your stomach stop grumbling.

2) Michelle Lanier. Even though you didn't want a stuffed pepper, I hope you feel better! Good thing I put more water in the Brita pitcher!

Save the Macaroons!

So this is a conversation Michelle and I had this morning regarding the delicious coconut macaroons she baked just two days ago...

Michelle (from kitchen): Evan! The macaroons are almost gone!

Me (from couch, studying): That's because we ate them, Michelle.

Michelle: We have to stop! We need to start rationing!

Coconut macaroons are a big fucking deal!

The Frittata (a "Shifty" Dish, not a "Shitty" Dish)

I call the frittata a "shifty dish" because it can easily be altered and made to taste just as great as any other frittata. A frittata is an egg-based, "bready" pie. It's delicious and can be prepared for breakfast, lunch, or dinner (all depending on the ingredients)! It takes about 35-40 minutes to completely prepare and cook. As usual, it fits the bill for one of my favorite recipes: it's cheap, it's easy, and it's tasty as fuck! And the recipe makes four servings, so you can either make it with your friends OR save some for a lazy night when you don't feel like cooking. I am personally a strong advocate for the "make too much food so you'll have some for later" cooking method! It still tastes just as good, if not better, after being refrigerated and heated in the microwave. Though, I'd only leave it in the fridge for about 5 or 6 days being tossing it.

Here's my frittata, of which Michelle is a huge fan. I call it...

The Breakfast for Dinner Frittata

Ingredients (Find or Buy Me!):

- half of a tomato, sliced

- half of a green bell pepper, sliced

- minced garlic clove (or pre-minced garlic in a jar, both Michelle and I would call this a personal preference for ease of use and efficiency of cost)

- 2 tablespoons of olive oil OR butter

- 5 eggs, beaten

- 1/2 cup bread crumbs

- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

- parsley, as much as you want

Directions (Follow Me!):

1) Preheat the oven to 350º.

2) Heat oil or butter in a pan with garlic until hot.

3) Sauté the tomato and bell pepper with parsley for about 5 minutes

4) In a medium-sized bowl, mix cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, and sauteed vegetables.

5) Pour into a circular, glass pie dish or a casserole dish and place in oven. (It wouldn't hurt to spray a little non-stick spray, but it's not absolutely necessary.)

6) Cook for 25 minutes. Check to see if its ready by sticking a knife into it. If the knife comes out clean, the frittata is ready to eat!

Feel free to alter it to your liking and make a new frittata! Eggs are cheap, so if it doesn't turn out like you want, TRY AGAIN!

Leave your comments below if you liked this recipe, have suggestions, or have any requests! I want to hear from you guys!

Bridging the Gap Between Garden and Kitchen

On Saturday, I woke up super fucking early to venture off to S. Milledge, past the State Botanical Gardens, to UGA's garden (so cleverly deemed UGArden). I was accompanied by friends Kate and the twins (Emily and Hillary). The deal is, you work in the garden for 2 or more hours as a volunteer. If you so desire, at the end of the day you may harvest fresh veggies. This is allowed only if the supply permits. Do NOT start going to UGArden just to steal their vegetables, you selfish bastards! Volunteering there is a lot of fun, and it makes you feel one step closer to your food (even if you don't take anything home).

In my summer course I learned about something called commodity

fetishism. This is the phenomenon that occurs when we are separated from the production of our food. For example, you look at this box of muffin mix (right), it seems very convenient and lovely. However, we, as the consumers, do not have any say in the manufacturing process of the product.

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to work in the UGArden on the tomato plots. Emily and I laid down mulch under the tomato plants and set up twine ropes for the trellises to keep the tomato plants growing tall and strong. Hillary and Kate were trimming the tomato plants and also got to work on some Native American-style seeding in a nearby plot.

At the end of our workday, we were allowed to peruse the autumn-season garden for vegetables to harvest for our lunch. We harvested kale, beets, snap peas, and collards. On our way out, we also noticed a blueberry bush, from which I took only a handful of berries. A worker there also offered us freshly dried garlic.

As we arrived home, we decided to make a meal; this was partially an attempt to bridge the gap between producer and consumer. We know exactly where the food came from (we picked it from the ground ourselves). Here's what we made:

Garlic Kale Sauté

1) Add olive oil and freshly minced garlic cloves to a pan on medium heat

2) Once olive oil and garlic has been heated, add chopped kale.

3) Sauté until dark green.

Roasted Rosemary Beets

1) Preheat oven to 350º.

2) Cut roots and leaves from the beets.

3) Wrap beets, covered in olive oil, in aluminum foil.

4) Roast for about 30-45 minutes until soft.

5) The skin will easily come off and the beets may be cut up and eaten right there.

6) Chop and top with rosemary. Serve warm

Warning: The juice from beets is MAGENTA. When mixed in olive oil, it appears blood red. When you open your aluminum foil from the oven, it may leak a blood-like substance. Do not fear; your beets are merely bleeding love.

Lazy Blueberry Cinnamon Muffins (mmmm... just like mom used to force you make yourself when she wasn't feeling well and you wanted noms)

1) Follow instructions on box (as seen above). Before filling muffin cups, add bluberries.

2) Continue to follow instructions on box, duhr. (And if you are fixing this with the beets, as we did, which I doubt you will do, just leave the oven on 350º.)

3) EAT 'EM UP!

Every day we fall prey to commodity fetishism. Let's bridge the gap! Grow your own veggies or herbs! Volunteer at UGArden! UGArden, for the summer 2011, will have workdays on Mondays and Thursdays at 7pm. If you want more info, let me know.

OR simply "like" the UGArden facebook page!!

A Note about Pasta-diversity

You know that whole thing with spaghetti noodles being almost exclusively for spaghetti? And fettucini always being paired with alfredo sauce in restaurants? There are certain pasta dishes that call for certain types of pasta. Some pasta must be included in certain recipes.

Fuck that.

It sounds pretentious as hell.

Don't be a pasta prick. If you have a pasta noodle that you prefer, like Ziti Rigati for example, USE IT WHENEVER YOU WANT. There is no standard set of rules dictating what sort of pasta MUST be used in what dish. In fact, I recommend that next time you make fettucini alfredo, screw the fettucini and boil up some angel hair. Or some penne. Or some other pasta that has a cool shape, like bow tie (or farfalle), that maybe you've never tried before!

Ever heard of Garganelli? Pappardelle? Capellini? Radiatori? Orecchiete? Try 'em out! I sure as hell haven't but I intend to! Especially now that I know Radiatori pasta noodles are shaped like little radiators, and Orecchiete are shaped like little ears (orecchio means 'ear' in Italian).

For more information on the wide variety of pasta shapes, visit this Wikipedia page: "List of Pasta". Yea, I know... Wikipedia would, right?

Little Italian Pizzas... or Bruschetta

Continuing with the Italian theme, here's an awesome, quick, super affordable recipe for a delicious lunch –– bruschetta! I will be taking full credit for this little dish, even though its super obvious and simple.

Recipe

-Pesto Bruschetta on a Bed of Salad-

[I mean, I've heard that sometimes salads are called beds. I dunno where or when I heard that. But hey, it sounds fancy!]

Bruschetta

Ingredients

- French bread, sliced into 1/2 inch to 1 inch slices

- basil pesto

- 1 fresh tomato, cut into thin triangles

- mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded

- crushed basil

Preparation:

1) Place your French bread slices on a baking sheet. Spacing does not matter.

2) Put just enough pesto on each one to cover them completely.

3) Take your mozzarella cheese slices and tear them into small pieces to cover the French bread slices. If you have shredded cheese, all the easier! Just cover the top of the bread. I had to use slices because it was all I had in the fridge, but it works just the same.

4) Top each piece with tomato slice and a little crushed basil.

5) But the oven on broil and just watch over these guys. It doesn't take long for the cheese to melt and the corners to crisp (maybe like 2-3 minutes depending on the strength of your oven?).

6) Serve over your Salad.

Salad

1) There is no need to buy bag lettuce. I am a huge advocate for buying fresh Romaine lettuce and slicing it up myself. If you don't know how to do this: here's a short explanation. Lay one "heart" of lettuce flat on a cutting board. Grab the end, pushing the leaves together, and slice (God, the word slice is such a beautiful word. I think I'll use it just one more time because the word "cut" just does NOT give the same effect!) it with a very sharp knife width-wise into 1 inch pieces. It's super easy. Put your lettuce in a bowl.

2) Top the salad with dressing, cheese, and croutons. I am also an advocate for not adding too much dressing. Be skimpy, you don't need that much. You gotta make that shit last until your next grocery run!

3) Around your salad go your bruschetta that just popped out of the oven! Voila!

This easy meal is perfect for a college student stopping by the house for a quick bite to eat (Total prep & cook time: About 6-7 minutes). And it's super cheap to make. And it's delicioso! (Yea... delicioso is Spanish and Italian for delicious. You just pronounce the 'c' as an 's' in Spanish and as a 'ch' in Italian!)