Strawberries Delight

Strawberries are simply awesome--stand alone sweet or combined with other flavors--these little bites make for an easy snack or light dessert! In other words, ideal for college cooking and college living especially when the farmer's markets start opening for business. Try seeing which fruits you can get during prime season to make your meals (and eating) bursting with flavor (and nutrition).

The recipe I am posting below was listed on the last page of Cooking Light May 2016 edition--almost like a side note or after-thought or space-filler--but what an idea for anyone trying to keep desserts simple, clean and healthy without sacrificing deliciousness and cravings. 

Additionally, this hidden gem of a recipe identified a simple way to ensure common leftover ingredients like low-fat sour cream do not go to waste, but instead, get incorporated as a component to making your fruit salad "sing"--multi-use in other words!  Add a few small chocolate chip cookies and you are good to go!

(Adapted from Cooking Light May 2016 edition. 

Would recommend less sugar when the berries are sweet...maybe none at all!)

Strawberry Delight

Equipment:

Large bowl 

Paring knife

Mixing bowl

Whisk

Ingredients:

1 lb of rinsed, hulled and quartered strawberries

3 Tbls of sugar or use Vanilla Agave syrup

1/2 tsp grated orange rind

2-3 Tbls of orange juice

1-2 basil or mint leaves, finely chopped (optional)

Dipping Sauce:

7 Tbls reduced-fat sour cream or greek yoghurt

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbls sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands and the strawberries. 

2. Prep your fruit.

3. Add sugar, orange rind and orange juice to the strawberries. Let stand x 20 min.

4. Prep your dipping sauce by combining sour cream, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla.

5. Add a few cookies, like Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chips from Crunchy Cookies.

6. Enjoy the sun in your mouth today!

Apple Cake 4 College Cooking

What I love about Thanksgiving is not only the obvious--friends, family and good food--but, I love experimenting with recipes that I have never made before on an unassuming crowd! 

This is good for several reasons: 1. Instant Feedback 2. Plenty of Food 3. Endless Variety 4. No Leftovers! 

That said…I went to town so to speak…especially with the sweets and desserts! I took total advantage of having the crowd to see if so-called "super-simple" or "genius" recipes are worth the effort, and really the "crowd pleasers" they promised because if they are, these recipes are perfect for college cooking!

Baking has to be straightforward for anyone living on a budget, living on their own, just learning to cook, or limited with equipment, i.e. as it is for college students living off-campus! Additionally, baking gear can get expensive; especially, if you are not using them daily or even regularly--it just becomes stuff you have to lug around.

That said, I proceeded with an apple cake promising to be easy, delicious, and "genius" from the recently released Genius Recipes Cookbook from Food 52 / Kirstin Miglore whose premise was to select the best (and most genius-"crazy-enough-to-just-work") recipes of our time into one cookbook.

Indeed….the crowd went "wild" for the Marie-Helene Apple Cake! Thus, if they liked it, I figured you would as well!

Marie-Helene's Apple Cake 4 College Cooking

Equipment:
10" Springform, well-greased and then floured
Apple Corer (optional)
Mixing Bowl
Spatula

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 large apples (different if possible), peeled, cored, chopped into 1" chunks
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbls dark rum
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Preheat oven to 350F degrees and prep your pan and apples.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together.

4. Melt butter and set aside to cool.
5. Beat eggs with a whisk until foamy.

6. Add sugar and beat x 1-2 minutes.
7. Add rum and vanilla.
8. Add half of the flour mixture and beat until smooth followed by half of the butter.

9. Repeat with other half of flour and melted butter until smooth.
10. Toss and cover apple chunks in batter.

11. Pour batter into springform and bake at 350F degrees x 55-60 minutes.

12. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enough said--Just Do It!

Rice Pudding 4 College Cooking

Leftovers easily get overlooked after sitting a day or two in the fridge...and then, suddenly...they are growing things you never knew existed, and wind up being ditched--gone! Money gone! Food gone! All valuable assets for the budget-conscious college student maximizing his or her college dollars!

Rice Pudding 4 College Cooking

Simple foods like rice, once prepared, can often be re-purposed for a separate dish; thus, avoiding waste and loss! I call these items 'high-yield' foods. For example, rice is a perfect college pantry staple--cheap, comes in bulk, has a long shelf life, offers versatility, requires little skill to make, and has multi-purpose for college cooking! 

White Rice

Other examples of high-yield, multi-purpose foods for college living and campus cooking include eggs, couscous, chickpeas, bulgher wheat, or oats--if you are on a tight budget...learn to store and use these foods--never mind the nutritional value these items provide!

Rice Pudding 4 College Cooking

Equipment:
Medium 3-quart sauce pan
Spoons

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked rice
1 cup milk
1/2 cup half & half
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2-3 Tbls cinnamon sugar (to taste)
Pinch of salt

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Combine rice, half-and-half, and milk in the saucepan. Liquid should cover almost cover the rice.

3. Add the cinnamon.
4. Add the cinnamon sugar.
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to 'SIMMER' / 'LOW'. Stir occasionally.

6. Adjust cinnamon and sugar components to taste.
7. Once the mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat x 10 minutes.
8. Mixture should be thickened but somewhat runny. Add a little milk if too thick.
9. Serve up with a dollop of whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon.

Perfect Chocolate Snickerdoodles

Awesome right here! Don't miss this super easy college cooking recipe! Not over the top with crazy ingredients or equipment--just pure delish!! These cookies roll up in a flash and go down in an easy bite that melts in your mouth. 

Even if you don't have the traditional 7-speed hand mixer, you can probably whip these up just as well with good ol' upper body strength. Make these happen and you will have a new set of friends! 

(Discovered from Hand Made Baking by Kamran Siddiqi in his recent cookbook)

Perfect Chocolate Snickerdoodles

Equipment:
Baking sheets with parchment paper
Mixing bowl
Hand Mixer (borrow one)
Extra bowl
Sifter or use a sieve
Spatula

Ingredients:

Sugar-Dip:
2 Tbls fine granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Batter:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa / unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt (or dash of table salt)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
3. Prep your baking sheets and Sugar-Dip (I suggest a double batch). Set aside.

4. Sift your flour, cocoa, baking powder, and sea salt together.

5. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Scrape down walls of the bowl.

6. Add eggs one at a time with the vanilla until well-combined, approx. 1 minute.

7. Add your sifted, dry ingredients until just combined.

8. Use large tablespoon to drop rounds of dough into the sugar dip. Dough is wet.

9. Separate approx 2" inches apart.

10. Bake x 12 minutes. Cool on a baking rack if you have one.

Say goodbye to these puppies within minutes of making them and have some ice cold milk on stand-by!

Popcorn Treats

If you are craving something sweet, trying to keep it simple, and don't have a lot of cooking gear...this might be the treat for you...even if you live in a dorm!

I tried making them by mixing chocolate chips into "just microwaved" batter. As you can see, it got a little messy;and, did not work out as planned--duh! Still good, but not as pretty. 

These are reminiscent of popcorn balls. Eat quickly, because popcorn doesn't stay fresh very long and friends won't wait!

(Adapted from Cooking Light magazine)

Popcorn Treats

Equipment:

8" x 8" pyrex

Parchment paper

Pam Spray

Large mixing bow

Ingredients:

10 oz mini marshmallows

1 Tbls butter

10 cups air-popped popcorn, kernels removed

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Prep your dish with PAM Spray and line with parchment paper extending over edges.

3. Spray paper with PAM spray as well.

4. Place marshmallows and butter into large bowl. 

5. Microwave on HIGH for 20-30 sec intervals stirring until smooth. Approx 2-3 cycles. 

6. Add popcorn in batches to incorporate.

7. Pour mixture into prepared dish and use sprayed, over-hanging paper edges to press / flatten mixture into dish.

8. Let set x 20 minutes before cutting.

9. If using chocolate chips...wait until very end to add to mix; otherwise, just melt and drizzle over top.