Healthy Homemade: Cracked Wheat and Nectarine Salad
Spring and fall are my favorite seasons – I love the transitional weather and the colors that come with them. But in terms of food, summer is by far the best. After the typically heavy foods of winter, the lighter dishes filled with fresh produce associated with summer are such a relief. With such an abundance of summer fruits, vegetables and herbs, I try to incorporate as many fresh ingredients as possible into what I make. Bulgur wheat, most commonly used in tabbouleh, is a healthy and versatile grain that goes great with one of my absolute favorite fruits – nectarines. Combined, this bulgur wheat and nectarine salad filled with fresh herbs is an easy, healthy and seasonal dish I love to make all summer long. Great with grilled chicken, fish, or really just about anything, this salad is a yummy side dish or even eaten out of a bowl all by itself!
Dining Hall DIY: Rice Krispies Banana Napoleon
It finally dawned on us why our dining hall doesn’t serve pastries like they do in the patisseries of Paris. If it did, we would likely fail our classes just to stay back another year to indulge in the desserts. There must be a correlation between deliciousness of cafeteria food and graduation rate.
But don’t get us wrong - the Ratty does make mean Rice Krispies treats, and their bananas aren’t too shabby either. If you want to impress the special someone you happen to be sharing the dining table with, then this dessert is the perfect way to …
Dorm Room Bar: Birthday Bellini
True Life: I’m a sucker when it comes to celebrations of all types. I love throwing a party for any and all occasions. My apartment hosted a Thanksgiving feast in the fall, and I have been known to scour Google for obscure holidays, just to have an excuse to throw a party and bake something fantastic. (Get ready for Eat Your Vegetables Day on the 17th, and Waffle Iron Day on the 29th.) Birthdays are no exception to this obsession. In fact, a birthday may be my favorite holiday out of the year. Getting to celebrate the fact that someone …
Lessons from a Culinary House
While studying abroad in Copenhagen this semester, I chose to live in the brand new “Culinary House.” I wasn’t sure what to expect when I signed up for the housing option, but I knew I was likely to be in good company. I fantasized about a warm, cozy place with delicious smells constantly wafting out of the kitchen. We would get into meaningful conversations about the true definition of umami and whip up elaborate meals on a daily basis. I would learn a lot from these food people, I figured. There is always more to learn in the kitchen.
Not …
Dining Hall DIY: Cocoa Cookie Plum Sundae
Ah, the notorious dorm-dwelling Ice Cream Thief. Just as your brain, depleted of all its juice from final papers and exams, starts craving that rum raisin Haagen Dazs and your hand starts its attempt to rescue it out of the depths of the communal fridge, the Ice Cream Thief strikes again, leaving you empty handed. As fellow victims we feel your pain.
In times like these, we turn to our trusty dining halls for comfort in the form of cookies, cereal, and good ol’ soft serve vanilla ice cream. Seasonal fruit adds some juice and tang, and just …
Dining Hall DIY: Pita Pizza
Sometimes you’re at the dining hall and you’re in the mood for pizza, but the offerings feature congealed cheese or strangely thick and mushy pizza crust. Not to hate on the cafeteria, since sometimes they do offer fantastic options with fresh dollops of ricotta or verdant basil leaves. It’s mainly just the fact that we’ve been spoiled by great pizzerias around town that offer bacon scallion pizza or almond, cranberry, spinach pizza on thin, handmade wheat crust. Anyhow, if you’re in the mood for pizza and nothing appeals to you, take a break from your usual pita pocket and …
Dining Hall DIY: Fancy Roast Beef with Cornbread
This week, we recreated the above plate from our very own réfectoire de Sharpe, inspired by a fine bistro in downtown Providence.
The original featured a lovely blueberry compote instead of grape jelly; foie in place of roast beef; and the “cornbread” was actually a buttery toasted brioche.
But all that aside, our humble re-make didn’t end up tasting all that bad. With a little creativity and a lot of free time we hope you’ll find that playing with food in the cafeteria can be fun, and might occasionally yield edible results.
Connie and Annie are …
Study Break Snacks: Chili Chocolate Popcorn
Stovetop popcorn is an easily prepared, healthy and inexpensive snack that can be seasoned in a variety of ways. It’s so much tastier than microwave popcorn and perfect to prepare while studying for a test or for friends coming over to watch a movie. Chili powder and sea salt chocolate is my favorite seasoning combination and is a great blend of sweet, salty and spicy flavors.
Dining Hall DIY Honeyed Peaches on Buttered Toasted Crumpets
The humble English muffin is a forgotten species. In our perpetual daze as distracted college kids, we too often forget to stop and smell the crumpets as we cruise on autopilot, loading up our trays at the dining hall with a stale bagel or dry undersalted scrambled eggs. We can turn instead to the warm natural sweetness of honey and peaches, complemented with a generous smear of tangy sophisticated cream cheese, all atop a crispy-on-the-outside-fluffy-on-the-inside warm crumpet of buttery goodness. With a little help from the microwave and toaster, we can all wind down, open our sleepy eyes, and appreciate life in the slow lane with some good ol’ TLC and afternoon tea with honeyed peaches and buttered toasted crumpets.
How To: Use Vending Machine Snacks in Your Home Cooking
Whether or not we like to admit it, we’ve all been there. Probably sometime between 3:30pm and 4 o’clock.
Lunch is a distant memory and dinner is still a way’s away, but the snack attack has hit and you’re hungry.
If you haven’t had the time or inclination to pack an afternoon (after-school) snack, you’ll likely find yourself in front of your dorm or office vending machine, gazing into that treat-filled tower and clutching your one-dollar bill until you have finally decided how to spend it.
As you stare at yourself in the plastic reflection of the vending machine and …
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