Intro to Cooking: Sweet Dijon Carrots

Okay, so we now know asparagus can be really yummy. Let’s keep yummifying vegetables, shall we? The next victim I bring to the chopping block: carrots.

Featured Ingredient: Carrots

We learned in first grade that carrots are a good source of beta carotene, that stuff that prevents eye problems. But the antioxidants in carrots have also been found to help prevent heart disease and cancer.  Carrots also help to regulate blood sugar, in addition to promoting lung and colon health. Now let’s make them as good for our tastebuds as they are for our bodies….

You will need:

1 pound fresh carrots
3 heaping TBS honey mustard (but the plain yellow stuff works, too)
2 TBS brown sugar

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Do It Yourself Tuesdays: Make Your Own Veggie Burgers

veggie burgerYou know how when you go to a restaurant and order a veggie burger, you always end up paying $8 for a tasteless circular patty of cardboard? Or, worse, a freaking Boca Burger that you can get for $.50 at home?

Yeah, what a rip-off.

Is it that hard to make a decent veggie burger? No, and I’m here to prove it.

Seriously, restaurants have no excuse to pull that kind of crap on people. Veggie burgers are super easy to make, and make well. Next time you want a nice juicy veggie burger that actually tastes good, save your 8 bucks and hit the kitchen instead.

(This recipe is modified from Cooking for Two, a book I can’t recommend enough.)

Here’s what you need to make 4 burgers:

- Olive oil
- 2-3 green onions
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons rolled oats
- 1 zucchini
- 1 large carrot or 2 small carrots
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1½ tablespoons fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup flour Read More »


Labor of Love: Best Chicken Soup Ever

chickensouppic.jpg

It’s that time of year again: cold season.

Ew.

I’ve been noticing more people sneezing, which is why sanitizer is my new BFF. Unfortunately, thanks to all the common surfaces in college – computers, desks, ice luges – no matter how hard we all try we are gonna catch a cold. Pretty much everybody does. Even if they can avoid the germy keyboards and doorknobs on campus, the change in weather usually has them sniffling before too long.

But I have the cure for what ails us all: the best chicken soup EVER. Don’t use that canned stuff; the time and effort to make this soup is totally worth it. It will fill you up and make you feel all warm and toasty inside, no matter how chilly and snowy it is outside. Read More »


A Culinary Paradox: Healthy Mac and Cheese

23705042.jpgSo, the Food Guide Pyramid. What was the last update it gave us? Three to five servings of veggies per day?

Ha, ha, ha. I’m laughing all the way to the grocery store.

No, seriously, though, that’s a lot of vegetables. And it’s not that I don’t like vegetables—it’s just that I don’t really eat them. I can eat about ten zillion servings of fruit per day, but when it comes to vegetables… I feel like a small child sometimes because I have to sneak them into my own food. I mean, who does that?

Maybe you will after trying this awesome homemade mac and cheese. Read More »