Freezing Your Favorites

Ice. Cold, hard, unforgiving ice. In a matter of a few days , Athens has been hit hard with the slick stuff, making it difficult to leave the house without having an almost embarrassing wipeout on the way to class.

So in the spirit of the cold weather, I decided to do a post about foods that make great freezer meals for college students. Making food ahead of time and putting it in the freezer is a fantastic way to eat something homemade when you’re in a rush. While there are a variety of dishes that do well frozen, it’s important to keep in mind that most college students have small refrigerators. In my house, making room for all of our weekly groceries is a big enough challenge. With space being an issue, I freeze items that can shape to the space I have available.

So stick to sauces and soups. My two favorite freezer picks are vodka sauce and chili. The vodka sauce is something everyone in your house will want to try. At first, they may be a little confused by the concept. “You’re making what with what?” But once they taste the creamy tomato and fresh garlic chased by a hint of vodka, they’ll be happy you doubled the recipe so you have more for later in the quarter.

When shopping for your ingredients, there are a few things you can leave out and substitute. The recipe I use is Rachel Ray’s, which calls for shallots and fresh basil leaves. I like to use both because this sauce is my favorite. But because shallots are not cheap, my mom uses onions instead. The basil is a tasty touch to top off the dish, but that can be expensive as well, and it also should not be added to the bag of sauce you plan on freezing.

Saturdays in many college houses are usually fairly lazy days. Chili is a great Saturday afternoon meal because it’s something everyone can relax around the TV and enjoy. Pair it with tortilla chips and cheese to make a great game-day snack. I have found that people are particular about their chili and should find a recipe that works best for them. Some like it a little hotter, while others enjoy a milder flavor. Whichever recipe you choose, remember that you can always spice it up after you defrost it.

So while most in Athens are slipping up on the icy conditions, use it to your advantage to make youself a satisfying meal that will keep you warm all quarter long.

Pictures of My Mother

I wanted to post a picture to go along with my "How It All Began" post. Below is a picture of my mom. She cooked a delicious meal for my roommates and I when she came to visit with my dad last weekend.

She likes to clean my kitchen when she visits.

We baked a cake together, and then I ate most of it myself.

I told you she was tiny. This pan is bigger than she is!

A Culinary Experience

I was sitting on a plane the day after New Years. It was cold. And that sad, depressing feeling of the holidays being over wrapped around me like the complimentary blanket the flight attendant handed out to passengers to keep warm. I was flying somewhere between Boston and Berlin. Nothing but dark blue drifted below me. I was scared.

After tossing and turning through the 8-hour flight, I finally landed. But landing only feels good in somewhere familiar. I knew before arriving in Spain that making the decision to study abroad for the winter was a good one. I knew that I needed to be in a place that wasn’t Athens, Ohio--just for a little while. But I was looking into faces that didn’t smile back at me the way they used to on Court Street. Grabbing my two suitcases, I hoped like hell that I remembered to pack my heart somewhere in the shuffle between my clothes and my camera. Because I knew it fell out of my chest when I left Athens.

When I finally arrived in Salamanca, I started to find myself in the daily routine. On the surface, everything about my life looked the same as it did in the U.S. Class. Friends. Going out. But I felt like I was reading a new book in a series by my favorite author. The big parts were similar, but the details were entirely different. New classes. New friends. New language.

One day, while in class, a friend of mine asked me to lunch. She wanted to go to Burger King. In an attempt to make myself experience as much as I could while abroad, I vowed that I would not live in fast food restaurants. But greasy, salty fries smothered in ketchup squeezed from a packet sounded amazing.

And it was amazing.

Now I want to be clear that the three months that I spent in Europe were some of the best that I have ever had. I want to go back after I graduate. And do what? That part, I am not as sure about. As my very worldly roommate would say, (she studied abroad in Spain for a year) “I just know that I love the feeling of being in a place where not learning isn’t an option.”

I couldn’t agree with her more. I loved finally learning how to use the subway system after being lost beneath the city of Paris the night before. I loved enjoying paella for the first time in Toledo, eating the whole plate prior to discovering that you could remove the heads, which were still attached to the shellfish scattered in the rice, first. And I loved that a trip to Burger King with a friend on a cold day brought me home to Ohio for a short half an hour.

So it may not sound like much, but that is part of the reason why I love food. Not only that, but it is why I thought it would make an interesting blog. It’s the carton of chunky monkey that catches my tears after a bad day. It’s the Thanksgiving dinner that seats me at the “kid table” every year with my eight cousins. It’s the burger and fries that start a friendship strong enough to keep going through facebook messages, missed calls, and voicemails. When goodness like that can come from a meal, who wouldn’t want to share the recipe?

How It All Began

I have smelled like garlic, onions and beef for 22 years.

As a teenager, I would try to escape the aromas of my mother’s cooking to save myself the embarrassment that I would experience at my locker that day in school. Questions like, “Who smells like a bucket of onions?” followed me almost as closely as the savory scents of my mother’s kitchen did. Although dishes like moussaka and keftedes smell amazing on the stovetop or in the oven, having the meaty stench stick to my clothes was something entirely different. Besides, no one wants to bring the girl who smells like a leg of lamb to the prom.

Despite the fact that I grew up smelling like a casserole, I have come to appreciate my mother’s zealous attitude towards food. My mother is half-Greek and half-Italian, and nearly everything in her kitchen is made from scratch. From freshly baked breads to a stockpile of homemade preserves, her cupboards and countertops are piled high with Nadia originals. And she uses real butter. “To me, if it has low and fat together, I’m against it,” Nadia Logar said. In our low-card-low-calorie-workout-obsessed culture, I find that extremely refreshing. And delicious.

So when I began this blog, I realized that I would be a fool not to consult my mother for some cooking tips. Not only is she the first person I think of calling when I have a problem in the kitchen, but she gave me my love for cooking. My life has been filled with good meals and good company because of her. When a family member or friend is getting married, she bakes months in advance, ensuring that the cookie table at the reception will overflow with wonderfully decorated pastries to celebrate with. And when that same family member or friend loses a loved one, she sends over a pot of sauce, fresh cibatta and a box of noodles to make their difficult time just a little easier. Her heart is as light and as warm as the homemade bread she pulls from her oven. At 5-foot-7 and only 105 pounds, sometimes I wonder how that big heart fits inside such a tiny little body.

So maybe I didn’t grow up smelling like the rest of the girls in my class. Big deal. I’m not afraid to use real butter, even if I do smell like a bucket of onions.

Ingredient Substitution Links

Here are some useful sites I found that contain lists of ingredient substitutions.

http://www.e-cookbooks.net/ingresub.htm
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Common-Substitutions/Detail.aspx

Making the Most of Your Ingredients

One of my favorite between-class snacks is pumpkin bread. Pair it with a cup of coffee in your travel mug, and you have a great breakfast for on the way to class. Pumpkin bread is also something you can bake a few recipes of and throw in the freezer to enjoy later in the quarter.

Last week, I decided to make a few loaves for me and my roommates. I found an easy recipe online and got to work. After mixing my dry ingredients, I found myself in a bit of a pickle.

Because everything in our kitchen is either used or half-broken, my can opener demolished my second can of pumpkin. There was no way I could use it, and there was also no way I was walking to the store in sub-zero temperatures to get a dumb can of pumpkin.

So I improvised. My roommate, Sarah, had a few extra bananas that she didn’t plan on using. Pumpkin banana bread? Why not? I googled to see if there were any recipes online for the mixture, and sure enough, there were. So I mashed them up and threw them into the batter. The combination of the sweet smell of banana and the spices of the pumpkin was incredible.

So when you are cooking or baking, don’t be afraid to substitute ingredients. Although baking is more exact, there are many options you can find that will save you from having to throw away an unfinished batch of what could be a very yummy snack.

A Night Out for a Great Cause

Ohio University students involved in the Empower Campaign are hosting two events to help raise money for children in Africa. A Beer Tasting Benefit Event is scheduled Jan. 24 at Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, while a Wine Tasting Benefit Event will take place at Latitude 39 in Ohio University's Baker Center on January 31. More information, including how to buy tickets, can be found on the Empower Web site.

Cooking In College

Welcome to my blog all about how to cook in college. Living in Athens for the past four years, I have spent quite a bit of money uptown buying everything from late-night burritos to early-morning lattes. With Court Street just feet from my house, it’s convenient for me to buy food on my way home from class or work. Unfortunately, these hard economic times have made me think twice before I step into Big Mamas for a baby size chicken chipotle ranch with guacamole and extra sour cream. And the fact that I am a poor, hungry college student does not make it any easier.

Because of all the money that I have spent on takeout, I decided to try cooking some of my favorite kinds of food myself. I have always loved to cook, but never realized how much it cost to make a meal that doesn’t start out in a can or a box.

Now I am not saying that it is realistic for a person in college to have the time or money to cook elaborate meals seven days a week. But I do think that once or twice is doable. Not only will it save you money if you split the cost between your roommates, but I can almost guarantee that there will be leftovers for lunch the next day. It is also fun—tons of fun. Family-style dinners are a great way to catch up with your friends about the busy week they had. And for me, cooking is a stress reliever. There is nothing like putting on some music and having a glass of wine while I am in the kitchen. It makes me feel home.

So stop back in for a bite. You’ll be sure to find great recipes that you can make yourself either after class or at the start of your weekend.

Making pasta for some friends on a Friday evening.