When, What, Why?
As a little girl, I asked a lot of questions. My favorite word was “why,” closely followed by “what” and “when.” As in, “Mommy, when may I have dessert?”
During the times I noticed her in the kitchen preparing to bake, I started asking my questions before she even finished pulling out the flour and sugar!
“Mommy, what are you making?”
“When will it be ready?”
“Why won’t it be ready sooner?” Continue reading for recipe.
SWAK — And Baked Goods!
For Christmas, my grandparents sent me a gift card to Williams Sonoma. That afternoon, I scoured the store’s website, as excited as a kid in a candy store as I browsed page after page of rolling pins, cookie cutters, and grill pans. During my search, I discovered two differed sizes of pretty gold loaf pans that, with tax, added up to almost the exact amount on the card. Continue reading for recipe.
Shopping Spree
I’m one of the few girls I know that prefers shopping for groceries over clothes. I get to eat what I buy right away; no washing and drying before trying out my purchases! Even better, nobody ever complains that their butter doesn’t come in more colors or asks, “Does this milk carton make my butt look fat?”
But the last time I drove to the store for cereal, I went a little overboard. I looked like a teenage girl on a $1000 shopping spree as I dumped box after box into my cart. When the cashier asked if I was carbo-loading, I simply smiled sweetly and replied, “No, I just love my cereal.” Continue reading for recipe.
“Zukes Alors!”
My zucchini and pepperoni pizza took care of half a zucchini, but 27 more sat chilling in my fridge. And although I find both zucchini bread and muffins irresistible, I wanted something slightly more creative, something that reflected the warm spring sunshine that finally made an appearance this past weekend. A bag of juicy lemons picked from my parents’ backyard caught my eye, and the wheels in my brain started turning. Continue reading for recipe.
Do They Have Rehab For Food Addictions?
My obsession with yogurt and granola began when I was a freshman in college. Almost every freshman at my university lived in the dorms and was required to purchase a meal plan to eat at the DC (dining commons). Some of the food was edible, a couple things were actually delicious (Santa Fe chicken salad and the fresh warm cookies), but the majority of it was barely tolerable. On days where absolutely nothing looked appealing, I turned to the salad bar where they always kept two containers of yogurt—one plain, one flavored. Continue reading for recipe.
K is for Kettle Corn
Popcorn is a fairly common snack. It’s so easy to put those little packets in the microwave, press start, and come back in 3 minutes to perfectly popped kernels. Plus most companies have expanded their flavors choices to include more than just buttery popcorn, such as cinnamon, salty lime, cheddar cheese, and even spicy nacho, so there’s something for practically everyone. But despite all of those varieties, nothing beats simple stove-popped popcorn. Continue reading for recipe.
Taste the Rainbow
Snap, Crackle, Pop. What little kid doesn’t know these three iconic words? Coupled with the adorable characters on the front of the box, a big bowl of Rice Krispies in milk sure brought magic to my childhood mornings – my cereal talked to me! Sometimes in the afternoons, we made those yummy rice krispie treats. Even then, when we poured the hot marshmallow goop on the cereal, it snapped, crackled, and popped away. And since it’s been raining a lot lately, what better way to improve these simple goodies than with a little rainbow surprise? Continue reading for recipe.
H is for Hummus
H got the short end of the stick and happened to fall at the end of a very long, stressful week. I didn’t have the energy to make anything elaborately gourmet, super involved, or really exotic. I wanted something that required minimal effort yet had maximum flavor – and was also fail-proof, seeing as I was half-dead from my week. Hummus fit the bill perfectly, and clocking in at under 2 minutes, it’s the fastest “Alphabet Adventure” dish I’ve prepared yet! Continue reading for recipe.
G is for Granola
I have a confession to make. My number two vice, maybe even tied with dark chocolate for number one, is granola. Cinnamon raisin granola. Eaten plain or mixed in with yogurt, I’m completely smitten with its crunchy, delicious taste. If you told me I could never munch on granola ever again, I’d burst into tears on the spot. However, I’m extremely picky about my granola. I’ve sampled nearly every kind in the grocery stores, and none of them quite measure up to my standards. They’re either too buttery, too crunchy, too bland, too few oats, too little cinnamon… So this week, I set out to make my own. Continue reading for the recipe.
A is for Applesauce
I tried a multitude of internet searches for some inspiration for an interesting dish to start off the alphabet. The top three results? Apple pie, apricot bars, and avocado guacamole. All three seemed too ordinary and common, and besides, I’d already made the first two. But then, there it was—applesauce. It took me a minute, but I realized that in all of my life, I have never eaten homemade applesauce. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Mott’s cinnamon sugar applesauce growing up as a kid, but maybe it really wasn’t all that much harder to make it from scratch instead of just peeling back the foil on a plastic cup.
After smelling cinnamon mixed with apples cooking in a Dutch oven for half an hour, I was itching to try the applesauce. I impatiently mashed the apples with a fork, making a mental note to either buy a potato masher for the next time or befriend somebody who wouldn’t miss theirs when I permanently borrowed it. When it was finally the right consistency and I could take a proper taste, I licked the bowl clean and said good-bye to Mott’s forever.
Foods for the Soul 