Hey guys,

Sorry for the lack of posts these last couple days/week. I've been very busy with papers and midterms at school. I will try to provide at least a photo update soon! Oh by the way... I am very excited for Halloween! I will post pictures of my costume even though it's not food related =P I spent a decent amount of energy trying to come up with something creative. Keep that edge-of-your-seat anticipation!

Oh and here is a great website for ingredient substitutions.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/IngredientSubstitution.html

Enjoy!-VT

GUEST POST! Alyssum's Strawberry Cookies

Hey everyone!

Our first guest post! This is Alyssum, a high school friend of mine back from my hometown, Millbrae (South Bay, Bay Area!)

ALYSSUM'S STRAWBERRY COOKIES

-1 strawberry cake mix (I think betty crocker is the only one that makes this)

-1/3 cup applesauce

-2 eggs

-1/3 cup chopped pecans

-1/3 cup dried cranberries

1. MIX all ingredients together. Cookie dough will be very sticky.

2. DROP spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.
3. BAKE at 350* for 11-13 minutes or until slightly golden brown on top.

**It is important to cook these long enough or they will not come off the cookie sheet easily.

**I also like to drizzle chocolate on top, but this is only if desired.

Wow, looks like I need to get my hands on some cake mix and try it this weekend. Ok...time to stop drooling on my keyboard and get some lunch!

Let me know what you guys think!

Lazy afternoon dinner

As I was trying to figure out creative ways to make an easy and relatively quick meal with my last few pieces of produce, I was fighting a losing battle with the laziness that many of my Saturday afternoons entail. I was this close *pinches fingers till they're only a centimeter apart* to making a plain cheese and tomatoe sandwich for dinner when my roommate (studying at the kitchen table) casually suggested, "Why don't we make food and share it." Wow...genius! haha.

As you will see in the photos below, if you have someone to cook with and motivate you, good food is bound to be made... if not, you've had great company!

L.A. and I quickly consolidated our last groceries and whipped up something quite tasty!



Photo1: We took out the nice TV dinner stand/table to our patio & enjoyed the beautiful fall weather

Photo2: Tabbouleh salad...from a box! We just added some green onions, tomatoes, and lemon juice

Photo3: Baked tilapia (was frozen), mixed vegetables (added yellow squash, veggies were frozen) and vegetable soup (with leftover orzo)

Photo4: Cranberry juice in wine glasses. Adds a nice touch, don't ya think?

Peanut butter oatmeal cookie

Cookies, anyone?

This is one of my favorite oatmeal cookie recipes and trust me, I've been seeking that perfect oatmeal cookie for awhile now. I have some other ones that include bananas as egg replacements; I will post them in the future.

This is fastfoodie's monster cookie recipe. I really like this one because 1) it's easy to make, 2) the ingredients are common cupboard items and 3) they taste great and stay pretty moist for at least a week!


-1/4 cup butter (or applesauce)
-3/4 cup white sugar
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 1/4 tsp baking soda
-1 cup peanut butter
-3 cups of oats
-6 oz. chocolate chips (optional)

1. BEAT the 1st 4 ingredients till creamy
2. MIX in the vanilla and baking soda
3. STIR in the peanut butter, oats & chocolate chips
4. BAKE at 350 for 10

TIP OF THE DAY: For healthier versions, you can swap out butter for the equivalent amount in applesauce. You can also swap a banana for one egg. I like to keep a good couple bananas in my freezer because I don't always have fresh eggs on hand.

Some of you may opt to complement the PB with chocolate chips. However, I am not a huge fan of chocolate so I left them out in mine. I've never tried them with raisins but I'm not sure how PB & raisins would taste together in a cookie. If it's your thing, go for it and let me know how it tastes!

Enjoy!

Run for your lives

This weekend was pretty low-key.

SATURDAY: I completed my usual morning run with GVH and did some grocery shopping at our local Farmer's market. At night, my roommate and I headed over to the downtown Starbucks to study. I ordered the green tea latte and worked on some readings and my nutrition essay.

(google-d photo)

TIP OF THE DAY: If you plan to enjoy your entire drink at the Starbucks, try requesting it in a mug! They will take 10 cents off your order! I paid for a grande (medium) sized drink but barista ended up making it a venti since the mug was so large (or maybe they just forgot). Score! double savings! Hmm... I wonder if they do this at all other cafes. I discovered this discount when I looked back at my receipt the next day. Regardless, I really enjoy my winter drinks in a nice heavy mug, somehow it becomes more savory (in my head, of course). It's not a huge saving but hey knowledge is power =P

SUNDAY: I volunteered with the UCD pre-pharmacy club at the Run for your Lives 5K/10K race. We and several members from a pre-medicine club coordinated a booth to provide free blood pressure checks, heart rate readings and BMI computations for the runners.

I love and hate races. I only hate being there when I can not run myself. However, seeing other runners just makes me so happy. I think, "Wow, you're running! I run, too! You enjoy it? Me, too!" I could go on and on about running but I'll save that for another entry. Anyways, this was a local race so a lot of members from my running club were participating. The club members often wear a bright yellow GVH singlets; this makes it super easy for us to identify and cheer loudly for one another at races.

Luckily, I had some free time and got to visit the other booths at the race's "health expo."

Here is a photo of my free goodies!

While my weekend was very relaxing, it is still the calm before the storm. I have two midterms this week (Food Science & Nutrition) and a short oral report (Current topics in Nutrition). Wish me luck!

I like to keep my entries short (and sweet) so I'll post again in a little while.

Real tomatoes

While I did not take any photos of today's meals, I figured I should still blog a bit...and add random information about myself etc...

Well, I live in a small college town called Davis. UC Davis is a great university and I have had an amazing time here so far. One of my favorite things to do is visit the local Farmer's market.

It's right next to campus and the downtown; it's open twice a week, Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings.

http://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/

I do most of my shopping there because...1) the food tastes better, 2) I just have to bike across campus (why not save some gas money?), and 3) I really enjoy the general vibe and feel of the place.

The farmers and sellers are also very friendly and they often let you slide a bit when you don't have the exact change for groceries ;) But don't worry! I remember this; I show them some customer loyalty the next weekend.

Here is a quick "dish" I made myself after purchasing some tomatoes at the Farmer's market last weekend. I'm not sure if you can actually call it a real dish because there wasn't any tremendous effort or planning put into it. There are very few ingredients...but I guess I'll call it a salad then.

WAY-TOO EASY FARMER'S MARKET TOMATO "SALAD" (1 serving)

-1 heirloom tomato
-small handful of cherry tomatoes
-1/2 cp (aka small chunk) sharp cheese or mozzarella (your preference for the type of cheese and amount)
-2-3 basil leaves
-olive oil
-balsamic vinegar
-sliced almonds (optional)
-pepper (optional)

1. Slice the heirloom tomatoe into wedges
2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half
3. Crumble on some cheese (slice if it's mozzarella)
4. Drizzle on olive oil and vinegar
5. Shred basil (make sure to bruise the leaves to get an awesome aroma and taste!)

*Optional: I diced up 5-6 almonds to add a little texture

This was a very delicious snack that Saturday afternoon, so try it out! Farmer's market tomatoes are very different from those chain-grocery store ones. They're 10x sweeter and more tender. The stores often sell mealy, bland, and tasteless tomatoes. Heirlooms have a lot more meaty flesh instead of those typical watery/seedy store ones. You should try a fresh one...you will be WOW-ed by the difference.

Unfortunately, this post is kind of late... heirlooms are falling out of season. Apples will soon be the new tomato. At least they're both a red fruit.

Well, I will leave you now with a picture of the worst tomato-mozzarella (aka Insalada Caprese) salads I've ever had.

This is twiffler-entangled's WTF face. Two slices of tomato and 2 slices of mozzarella for $14?! I think I can now see your WTF face through the computer screen.

TIP OF THE DAY: Don't eat by the Boardwalk in South Beach, Miami. They give you rip-off crap like this! Don't be swayed by the cute hostess either...like I was ;)








Caprese salads are my favorite thing to order in Italian restaurants. I judge restaurants a lot by this salad and the quality of their bread. hehe...

What's your standard "they-better-not-screw-this-up" dish at a restaurant??