This Week’s Ingredient: Cranberries!

They’re sweet. They’re tart. They’re harvested from bogs. And they’re a deep, beautiful, fire-engine hue. If your only exposure to cranberries is in combination with their fermented partner, vodka, then you’re totally missing out (not to mention that the “cranberry juice” served in bars is basically just sugar water). Long celebrated for their ability to prevent urinary tract infections, cranberries are also thought to enhance digestive health and prevent kidney stones. It’s not customary to eat raw cranberries as they are far too tart to snack on alone. Hence the popularity of dried cranberries and juice–but beware that both contain added sugar to temper their tang.

Easy Meals

1. Add dried cranberries to a romaine salad with crumbled feta for a simple and healthy plate of different textures and flavors.
2. Any combo of cranberries and oatmeal (for breakfast, in cookies) adds a twist to the classic oatmeal & raisin duo.
3. Place cranberry juice in an ice cube tray with popsicle sticks inserted in each divet for homemade pops. Read More »

I'm getting nauseous just looking at this spread...

Unlike the rest of the world, Thanksgiving is my least-favorite holiday. I know, I know—the food, the laziness, the time off from work, the family (well . . . maybe that’s not such a plus)—what’s not to love?

For starters, I am a near vegetarian (I say “near” only because I will eat meat if other people prepare it for me) and I just plain dislike the taste of meat. So while the turkey is the main event for almost everyone I know, it kind of makes me wrinkle my nose. No, thank you.

I’m not above tolerating a meal I don’t like for one day out of the year, but the smell of Thanksgiving food cooking actually makes me feel slightly nauseous. This isn’t just because of the turkey—it’s a long story. (Warning: If you are of the weak stomach, I’d recommend you stop reading now.)

In seventh grade, my family hosted an exchange student from Germany for a couple of weeks in the fall, and we thought it would be fun to make a “practice” Thanksgiving dinner to share with her while she was there so she could experience a new holiday. Read More »

New Year’s is long gone.  The singles just finished drowning their emotions in V-day bar specials.  What do we celebrate next? Ahh… St. Patrick’s Day.  The most nationalistic holiday that still manages to include people of every gender, race, culture, and alcohol tolerance.

St. Pat’s is the holiday that has never been sugar-coated with false meaning or wholly commercialized by Hallmark (sure greeting cards exist, but who really gives them?).  So make sure you embrace your inner Irish and do it up right on March 17.

1.  The Booze.

To throw a full-on Irish bash, you have to have an appropriate alcohol selection.  Well, what do you know? GoIreland.com happens to have a handy list of the most popular libations of the Emerald Isle, in case you’ve never heard of Jameson or Guinness.

Make sure you bar is stocked with whiskey, irish cream, and the beer they call “a meal in a can,” but don’t neglect some other favorites.  Other popular beers include Murphy’s Stout, Kilkenny, and Smithwick’s.  Cider is also a favorite.  If you’re a perfectionist, you might try to get your hands on some Meade or Poitín.

But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself.  We are college students after all – mix up some Green Appletinis and make a few trays of lime Jell-O shots, and you won’t hear any complaints.  Really want some green magic to happen? Try to get your hands on the ultimate green liquor, absinthe, and let the green fairy fly. Read More »

My mom and I like to live vicariously through each other in terms of food by sending pictures and recipes back and forth. A couple of weeks ago, she sent me an e-mail using the most exclamation points I have ever seen within the space of a few paragraphs.

“This bread is SO GOOD!!!!!” she exclaimed. “If you make it, FREEZE half of it immediately for your own safety, otherwise you will eat the entire thing and become a balloon!!!!!!!!!!”

OK, Mom, I thought. No bread is that good. So I trekked to the grocery store to find some frozen cranberries (turns out that’s more difficult than you might think in the cranberry off-season, but they’re around in a few places) to make the bread.

I must have messed something up somehow, because my bread and muffins didn’t rise very well. Despite the fact that they ended up flat, they tasted GOOD. Mom wasn’t lying. Read More »