For the past three days I've been receiving emails from the Dean of Students warning all students not to "walk or bike around or through the Kenmore Square Area" tomorrow. Supposedly during Super Bowl XLII, Patriot fans were so upset that they started turning over cars and setting other cars and garbage cans on fire. Since the Dean and the police are taking care of the safety aspect, I'm putting all my energy into preparing Super Bowl-worthy food.
Wings, pizza, and chips are all classic football foods, but the one I'm most excited for is the chili. Nothing beats watching football with a big bowl of chili and some cornbread to dip in it. To prepare ourselves for tomorrow, a bunch of us are going to Harvard Square's annual "Some Like It Hot Chili Cook-Off". Not only do you get to try innovative chili recipies from some of Boston and Cambridge's best chefs, it's also completely FREE. If you're in Boston definitly hop on the T and head over!
Some delicious chili recipes from a couple of my favorite bloggers:
I can vouch for the Herbivoracious's cornbread -- it is by far the best from-scratch cornbread recipe I've had. Another bonus is it doesn't use real corn -- I'm not a fan of corn pieces in my cornbread.
A trend I've been noticing lately is more and more people and restaurants are going meatless at least once a week. For some, they want the health benefits of plant-based protein, others it's a cheaper option than buying meat from the butcher. I LOVE this new trend! No matter what your reasons are for doing it, I highly encourage everyone to have one day a week where they fill up on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and plant proteins like beans and legumes. You'll be amazed at how easy and fun it is to change it up! Another great part about eating vegetarian is cooking vegetarian. It takes more creativity to come up with a flavorful, filling vegetarian dish than to make chicken with rice. A recipe I made for my parents while I was home was Heidi Swanson's Maple Grilled Tempeh. This was my dad's first time trying tempeh and my mom's second or third. All of us loved it! The great part about tempeh especially for omnivores, is that, unlike tofu (which I love just as much), it has more of a texture to it. Definitely try out this recipe you wont be disappointed! I served mine with salad and baked sweet potatoes.
Random picture found thanks to StumbleUpon. Doesn't it just make everything instantly better?
Tuesdays are my hell days. Class from 9:30am until 8pm. Lots of coffee, instant breakfast banana smoothies, and tupperware. While running around gets exaustings, I love that it gives me time to really listen to music. It also means that I'm constantly looking for perfect walking music. This past weekend I stumbled upon Matthew and the Atlas. I'd seen them mentioned on a music blog, but had never taken the time to just sit and listen to their stuff, which I'm finding out is fantastic!
"I Followed Fires"
Recently being called the next Mumford and Sons, London-based Matthew and the Atlas are starting to make waves over here in the US. Keep and eye out for this band, I won't be surprised if the radio starts playing their stuff within the next year.
Last Monday of January! I just recently discovered Noah and the Whale and am falling pretty hard for them. Their song L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N always puts me in such a good mood! Download this song and get your week off to a great start!
Jamie Oliver's TED talk Prize Wish: Teach Every Child About Food
Whether or not you have kids, definitely watch this video. Although the emphasis is on child nutrition, everyone can benefit from learning more about nutrition. Plus his accent isn't half bad to listen to either....
While Jamie's TED talk is two years old now, the worries and concerns he brings up are still present, in fact they've just continued to grow. Good news is things are starting to change. One step in the right direction is the USDA announcing this week that school nutrition guidelines have been updated to comply with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. Theses guidelines are all based on scientific evidence. Once the studies are collected, they are reviewed and reviewed again before they go on to be discussed and put into recommendations that are published every five years. The Washington Post published an article on the USDA's new guidelines (USDA Updates School Nutrition Guidelines). While the article is brief, what I found interesting is they included a chart made by the USDA that compares a school lunch following the old guidelines to what a school lunch will be like now under the new guidelines. This is great information not only to be better informed on what is happening in the school, but also to give parents ideas on how to pack healthy lunches when they're kids bring lunch to school.
On a related note: A really interesting article my professor Joan Salge Blake showed us in Community Nutrition Class: Lunch Line Redesign. The article lets you click on images and gives you the behavioral science behind what influences people' food choices in the cafeteria.
Before moving to Boston, my head was filled with romantic ideas that I'd wake up every Saturday, get dressed in a cute peacoat, scarf, skinny jeans, and boots, and walk to a nearby local coffee shop where there was only other, well-dressed or hipster-looking college students and the coffees were served in mugs. After three years I can safely say there is nothing magical about studying on a Saturday morning, unless you count actually being awake and doing something productive Saturday morning magical (I do).
I have, however, found a coffee shop that fits my "perfect" coffee shop completely: espresso royal. The coffee is delicious, the people working there have a hipster vibe to them, the music is usually indie rock, and they serve you coffee in mugs. When I do get my butt out of bed to study, I almost always go to Espresso and order one of their honey cinnamon soy lattes -- pure bliss in a cup! I also make sure to pack breakfast; my favorite: oats in a jar.
Inspired by MANY food bloggers out there, here's my version of oats in a jar:
What you need:
1/2 cup uncooked oats (right now I'm all about the Scottish oats)
1 cup water
Cinnamon
Splash vanilla extract
1/2 banana sliced
Nearly empty jar of peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's unsalted creamy)
What to do:
Prepare oats based on how you like them and what kind you're using
Place cooked oats in jar. Then add the cinnamon, vanilla extract, and banana slices. Stir vigerously, or do what I do and screw on the lid then shake the jar.
Close jar, pack, and head out the door. The heat from the oatmeal will warm up the bananas, giving them an almost caramelized taste.
I got lazy. There's no other excuse for the lack of posts. Well, lazy and busy. After surviving finals, I flew back home to Denver where I lived up the Colorado experience: 2 Avalanche games, a Bronco's game, numerous trips to Boulder, a pretty drive but very short stay in Estes Park, and attempted skiing (unfortunately I slipped on ice and fell hard on my right knee the day before, so my knee wasn't too happy when I went to make turns in my skis).
Excuse time over. Now on to something much more delicious: muffins.
Last semester one of my guy friends talked me and my roommate into coming over to his apartment and making him muffins for breakfast. There were some requirements though: blueberries and no "healthy stuff". The muffins turned out DELICIOUS! I made them again when I was home and everyone there loved them as well. While not the healthiest muffin, these are perfect for a little morning indulgence:
No "Healthy Stuff" Blueberry Muffins
What You Need:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Blueberries (I used frozen)
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
Squeeze lemon juice
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup skim milk
1-2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
What to do:
Set oven to 375
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt
In small bowl, toss blueberries with 1 Tablespoon of the flour mixture -- this is an awesome trick I learned that keeps the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins
In another bowl, beat butter, sugar, and lemon juice with a fork until fluffy
Add eggs and vanilla
Gradually add the flour mixture then the milk. DO NOT OVERBEAT!
Fold in blueberries with a rubber spatula
Bake in oven for 23-27min (I know very random times)
As delicious as those muffins are, and surprisingly filling, I wanted to try making a healthier muffin that I could pack along with a smoothie for my long day of classes. While definitely not as sweet as the other muffins, these taste like baked oatmeal with bananas. I followed the recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook, except that instead of 1/2 c of yogurt I used 1/2 cup of almond milk.
I saw this music video on the music blog Communion a couple weeks ago. So cool!
