Glazed Pepper Salmon



Usually, I'm not a huge fan of salmon. I took a chance today in the dining hall with the glazed pepper salmon. It was very yummy...after I scraped off the majority of the pepper. There was just entirely too much pepper for my liking and it burned my mouth. Afterwards, though, it was delicious. It was sweet from the glaze and just plain good. I don't know what else to say about it! It was salmon. It was slightly sweet from the glaze. It was super peppery, but good after scraping off the pepper. I ate it. I enjoyed it. I wanted more.

Isn't that all you need to know about food? If it's worth having more of, you know it's worth trying in the first place. So you should definitely find a glazed pepper salmon recipe! Oh, you don't want to go to the effort? Well, it's your lucky day! Guess what I went surfing the internet for when I returned from dinner. A SALMON RECIPE! (Shocker, I know.) Yummly is always good for recipes. The advanced search features are fantastic for getting the exact results you want.

This recipe seems very similar to what I ate tonight. I also had rice pilaf and lima beans with the salmon. The rice was awesome and I was surprised at how much I liked the lima beans. For all of my childhood, I had heard of how awful lima beans were. I had never actually tried them. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I have ever tried them. They were good! I had always just assumed I didn't like them because it seemed like no one else did. I thought wrong. They're not a favorite food of mine, but I would enjoy eating them again. So, if you have never tried lima beans before, I suggest that you do. You don't need to eat a whole bowl of them, but try a spoonful or two. You might be surprised. Well, here is the salmon recipe. The rice pilaf recipe can be found....right about....here. Wait, no. Here. Yes that is definitely it.

I really hope you enjoy the recipes! The rice pilaf is asparagus cashew rice pilaf. I think the salmon would be a nice pairing for it. If I had a kitchen at my disposal, I would definitely make it. But I don't. And that is sad. Maybe I can go home soon and give it a shot. (hint, hint, Mom and Dad)


Picture from http://www.sangiorgiositalianbistro.com/menu.html

Super Waffle Saturday!

Waffles are a truly magnificent creation. They have perfect compartments to hold syrup and other wonderful toppings and they go well with just about anything you can imagine. Saturday, my friend and I made two amazing types of waffles. The first kind I already wrote about. The strawberry banana waffle had fresh fruit and whipped cream. Between the two of us, we only had one waffle. We each had half then we each did half of our half with the strawberry banana waffle toppings. The other half was the reasoning for splitting one waffle between the two of us. Chocolate peanut butter waffles! Sounds simple, right? No. We had to work with what the dining hall gave us (which was actually quite a lot). We used everything we possibly could have for this waffle. We started off with peanut butter and spread it into all of the little waffle compartments. We then put the waffle in the microwave to get the peanut butter perfectly ooey gooey. Next, we dropped a spoonful of whipped cream on top. After that, we sprinkled peanuts, mini chocolate chips, peanuts, crushed Reese's Puffs, and chocolate syrup over top. May I just say that we are geniuses? The waffle was gooey, sweet, and crunchy. The absolute perfect combination.

See that picture up there? That lovely sideways picture is not a waffle. It's peanut butter pie (recipe). The pictures on Google of chocolate peanut butter waffles did not even come close to what our waffle looked like, so I grabbed this instead. It looks delicious doesn't it? Let me answer that for you. Yes.

Well, I can't just give you a picture of something and not give a recipe. First thing's first. The waffles.


Strawberry Banana Waffle


Ingredients:

Belgian waffle
strawberries
banana
whipped cream

Directions
Slice the bananas and strawberries. Spoon the whipped cream on top of your waffle. Sprinkle the fruit slices over top. Eat!



Chocolate Peanut Butter Waffle


Ingredients:

Belgian waffle
about 8tbsp peanut butter
1 cup whipped cream
1/8 cup mini chocolate chips
1/8 cup peanuts
chocolate syrup
1/4 crushed Reese's Puffs

Directions
Spread peanut butter over waffle. Microwave for about twenty seconds, until peanut butter is melty. Spoon whipped cream over top. Sprinkle chocolate chips, peanuts, and Reese's Puffs over the entire waffle. Drizzle chocolate syrup over top. Serve.

All ingredient amounts are suggestions. By all means, put the entire bag of chocolate chips on the waffle if that's what you want to do!




The picture was from http://site.delishcaterer.com/

"Proper" Meal Mondays

Before I really get into today's post, I would like to rename Waffle Saturdays to "Super Waffle Saturdays," because it's much more fun, appropriate, (the waffles are going to be superbly super) and I think the alliteration sounds better. Hopefully I don't come up with a better name by Saturday because naming the day three times before I actually have one is slightly ridiculous. Also, I actually have a picture and recipe for today's post, so I'm not being really plain and boring anymore. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a preview!)

"Proper" Meal Mondays! I came up with that brilliant name on the way back from the dining hall. It seems like I come up with all of my good ideas while walking back to my dorm room from the dining hall. It must be some sort of extra special ingredient they put in the food. Back to the point. I decided to go ahead and follow the meal suggestions today. When I say "suggestion," I mean the food is placed side by side so that the two foods (usually a meat and a veggie and/or grain) compliment each other. Today, cajun shrimp and rice were available, along with flank steak, wild rice, and beans with carrots. I chose the flank steak, wild rice, and beans with carrots. Then, I added my own spinach salad on the side with tomato, cucumber, and red pepper. It was slightly awesome.

The really cool thing about that meal was that it almost made me feel as if I was home. Plus, I had nearly every spectrum of the food pyramid and it was healthy ("A" plus!). Honestly, the rice was really, really yummy. The steak was, too. The beans left something to be desired, but the carrots were sweet and made up for the beans. All I want to do now is go home and fix this meal my own way. While I was eating, all I could think was that it was a shame the kitchen didn't serve medium rare steak. Personally, I think it tastes much better that way, but that's just me.

I also started thinking about what the dining hall will begin serving when Thanksgiving comes around. Then, I thought about Halloween. They have to serve at least a special dessert, right? My friends and I had a conversation about Thanksgiving food today (the reason for my thoughts at dinner). All I could think about was my aunt's cornbread casserole, because cornbread was served at lunch. The casserole is to die for. My friend and I began talking about what we did and did not like about Thanksgiving food. Well, in her case it's "I like this, not that." In my case, it's "I like this and that...ooh and that over there. OH MY GOSH, WHAT IS THAT? I'm gonna eat it. That wasn't as good as what I thought it'd be, I better try some more of it, just to make sure my tastebuds weren't mistaken. Hmm...nope, not quite as good as what I thought. Third time's a charm. Ooh, pie!" Funny thing was, when I started thinking about traditional Thanksgiving food, my first three thoughts were different sorts of casseroles - sweet potato, cornbread, and green bean. Thanksgiving's all about the casseroles, isn't it? I'm not complaining about it. I think it's fantastic, but it never occured to me before.

The last paragraph may have seemed off topic, but during the conversation, I thought about this amazing wild rice recipe that my mom and I found over the summer. We both agreed that between its pretty color and flavor, it'd probably have to be inducted into the holiday food menu. See? Everything ties right in! The recipe has wild rice, craisins, orange juice/peel, and maybe some other ingredients, but they're not important for the picture I'm trying to convey (deliciousness). I don't think the recipe would taste really good with the beans and carrots I had at dinner, but pairing it with a marinated steak would be good. The dining hall is a very inspirational place. Who knew?

Now that I think about it, I need to share the recipe for the wild rice. It's even called "Harvest Rice Dish." How appropriate for Thanksgiving! My mom changed the recipe a little bit, because we didn't have all of the ingredients necessary. The end result was probably better anyway.

 

This picture isn't representative of my mom's creation. The use of white rice in place of the brown rice really adds to the contrast and beauty of the dish.

 

I think that just about wraps up my thoughts for today. If I come up with some weird name and theme for another day, I'll be back soon. If not, I'll be back for Super Waffle Saturday.

Waffle Saturday

Before I get to the main point of this post, I would just like to declare Saturday as "Waffle Saturday." I just want some sort of food project for Saturdays. This way, I can feel almost as if I'm baking.

Just so everyone knows, I realize it's Sunday. I didn't get to go to breakfast yesterday, so Waffle Saturday became Waffle Sunday. This will happen whenever I miss breakfast on Saturdays or if I just happen to forget (unlikely.)

So you know how you can be somewhere, doing something, and the second you leave you come up with this great idea that you could've used just thirty minutes before but then it's too late? Yeah, that happened to me at breakfast today.

I went to the dining hall today, ready to try out my friend's peanut butter banana waffle idea, but then decided it'd be too dry for my liking. Instead, I went to the topping bar to check out what was available. I spooned blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and the juices they were sitting in all over my big, fluffy waffle. Whilst looking at my magnificent triple berry waffle, I felt there was something missing. I glanced back at the topping bar. I saw a lovely, white, fluffy substance staring back at me. Bingo! I scooped a spoonful of whipped cream on top of my berries and practically pranced to my friend's table.

This is when some serious innovation took over. I mixed the berries and whipped cream together to make an entirely new substance. I'll call it whipped cream with berries. Well anyway, I frosted my waffle with my new creation, making sure every crevice was thoroughly covered and moistened by the mixture. I then devoured my delicious waffle.

It wasn't until I had walked through the dining hall doors (point of no return) that my fabulous idea hit me. Prior to leaving the dining hall, I grabbed a banana to stash in my room for some other occasion. While leaving, I thought, "Darn! I probably should've grabbed a peanut butter packet. That would've been great with my banana." THE BANANA. MY WAFFLE. Nooooooooooo! (Proper pronunciation - low, in slow motion, like the movies.) My idea? Strawberry banana cream waffles. Now that would have been absolutely magical. I could've even used fresh strawberries with it! (healthier) I'm just going to have to wait for brunch on Saturday to give strawberry banana waffles a try. Then, on my way out of the dining hall, I'll come up with some other great waffle idea that I'll have to wait to try until the following Saturday. It'll be a vicious cycle. At least, I'll get some awesome waffles out of it.

On another note, I watched "Being John Malkovich" last night. It was one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen, but it was pretty good.

College Food

So, I'll admit it. I'm terrible at keeping up with this blog. I am happy to say though that for the past (almost) month, I've had a very good excuse. College. I am now in my freshman year and I do not have a kitchen at my disposal. This is very sad. I actually went to my boyfriend's  house and baked cupcakes last week. This was slightly unexpected and I still had a lot of homework to finish, so that explains why I did not update my blog.

On my way back from the dining hall today, I had an idea of what I could write on here. Although I cannot bake or cook, I can eat! And eat, I do. I have heard so many complaints about the dining halls here. Usually the complaint has something to do with there always being the same things brought out at each meal. This is not entirely true. The dining hall closest to my dorm has a sandwich station (YES. A sandwich station! This may not sound amazing, but someone makes the sandwich for you. All you have to do is say "I want blah blah blah," and presto! there it is.) At this station, you have the option between wraps and bread. The combined totals of options there equal about fifteen to twenty. You can get ciabatta bread, pita bread, white panini, wheat panini, italian... You name it, they probably have it. Then the meat options - roast beef, corned beef, bacon, turkey, ham...and more. You can choose between the vegetables, cheese,  and condiments that are usually available at Subway. To top it all off, you have the option of having your sandwich/wrap put into a panini press! I feel like I've been rambling on about the food at the dining hall forever and I've only covered the sandwich station. Can you believe people complain about this place?

Next is the salad bar. There isn't much variety to really be had in a salad bar, but the one here is (in my personal opinion) pretty awesome. The options for "leafy greens" include lettuce, spinach, and a spring mix. They have tomatoes, red peppers, carrots, cucumbers...the usual. That's only one half of the bar, though. The other half is frequently changed. Yesterday, they offered pitas and hummus in addition to hard boiled eggs, tuna salad, and a few other items I didn't stop to read up on. On top of this fantastic salad bar are options for dressings and croutons. Dressings tally in at at least ten a day - and those are changed too! So, let me see...so far I have covered the sandwich station and salad bar. Still not done.

Brick oven pizza. Need I say more? Today, I walked in and my jaw nearly hit the floor. Ten different types of pizzas were just sitting in front of me and more were coming straight out of the oven. It was a beautiful sight.

Now for the items that are "always the same." Healthy options, with the nutrition chart, are available everyday. These are grouped with the "hot meals" served in a buffet setup. I can't really go into detail about everything they offer, because it changes so much. This is how it works - two or three types of meat are available (sometimes they will be in the form of sweet and sour chicken, etc.) at least one cooked vegetable, usually two types of rice/grain, and they always have pasta with alfredo/marinara.

Next station! Soup. There are always two different types of soup available, complete with special soup spoons and bowls.

Drinks. Two types of Icees, three types of juices, plenty of soda, lemonade, iced black tea (sweetened and unsweetened) sweetened iced green tea, water, coffee, hot chocolate, cappuccino, hot water for tea are ALL just sitting there, waiting for you to drink them.

Desserts. The holy land. Chocolate, vanilla, and mixed frozen yogurt in your choice of a kid cone or sugar cone. Top it off with three different topping options. Sugar free desserts appear everyday along with four other types of desserts that range from cookies to brownies to cake to pie. And yes, those are different everyday, if not every meal.

I forgot to mention this - they have a massive jar of Nutella sitting in the dessert section, waiting for you to dig in.

Breakfast! I'll make this section quick because I have homework to do. The cereal bar includes varieties from Raisin Bran to Lucky Charms. Milk includes chocolate, skim, and 2%. The salad bar is turned into a fruit bar with fresh fruit, including strawberries, melon, and blueberries. Yogurt and granola are also available. The basics are always there too. Eggs, sausage, bagels, donuts, toast, english muffins, and BELGIAN WAFFLES can be eaten at will. The waffles even have their own topping station! It makes me drool just thinking about it. Mmmmm.....

Well, back to my main point. Can you believe people complain about this place? I've been going there all year, for nearly every meal and I haven't run out of options. There are at least six more places on campus to go eat, too. If they're not happy, they must be very picky.

I actually wanted to write this so I could follow it up with other posts about great options for college food. The great thing about all the options is that you can get creative when you want to! Today at breakfast, my friend made herself a waffle, then covered it in peanut butter, bananas, and peanuts. I was so envious. Now for homework! I'll try to write again within the next week!