Eating Clean During Finals

As the semester draws to a close and finals loom in the near future, many of us might be more concerned about our precarious grades than what we’re fueling our bodies with. However, it’s more important than ever to make sure we provide ourselves with proper nutrition during academically stressful times. Throughout Quarantine 2.0 — a.k.a, the gap between the in-person portions of the school year — I have spent quality time trying new foods and cooking up a storm in my parents’ kitchen. The result of all of this hard work? I’ve put together a day in the life of eating entirely from scratch (as a vegetarian).

AUSTIN | Does Mollie Katzen Know You Raid Her Cookbook?

Normally, I’ll cook one stand-alone recipe or two dishes that go together every week. But this week I was feeling very productive and made two completely separate dishes — one sweet and one savory. For my sweet dinner, I made Cottage Cheese Apple Pancakes, and for my savory dinner, I made Spanish Couscous Paella. Please do not eat these together. I am a proud card-carrying member of the Breakfast Club.

Step-by-step: A Homemade Pumpkin Pie Tutorial

I don’t know about you, but for me, the highlight of Thanksgiving has to be that pumpkin pie served at the end of dinner. Bursting with flavors and rich in texture, pumpkin pie is a blessing to anyone with a sweet tooth. The good news is, this treat is also very easy to make. After trying out multiple recipes over the years, I have come up with my own version that provides the best result. I have revamped the ingredients to make sure they are as natural as possible and got rid of all unnecessary steps. So don’t worry if you have never made pumpkin pie before, for this recipe is completely beginner-friendly.

Recipes for a Boozy Election Night

Have you cried recently? You hear the hate on the radio, see it on the TV and it builds and builds inside until something breaks. It starts with a knot in the back of your throat but quickly grows into something bigger, wanting to spill out from where it has been kept safe. “Wake up!” I scream in my head. “This is really happening, so get used to it.” This is no time to get down and stay depressed or let your anxiety overcome your will to work and live.

Farmers Market Report: COVID, Farmers’ Recipes and Must-Get Treats

COVID Safety Report:
I was a little nervous going down to the farmers market this past weekend, as I have actively been trying to avoid public places since March (grocery stores and other necessary stops being the exception). But, when I got there, I didn’t see nearly as many cars as I have in past years, not to mention that it seems much of the foot traffic was locals. This apparent emptiness proved a fallacy as Amelia and I approached the entrance. Stretching from the front gate and all the way around the bend in the road was a line of market-goers, young and old, local and semesterly transplants. We walked to the end of the line, a good 250 yards long and for which it took us nearly an hour to get through.

Eating in Season

As July turns to August, the growing season in central New York is at its peak. A bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables can be found at your local farmer’s market, community garden or even your own backyard. If there was ever a time to attempt to eat more ethically, it’s now! There are few ways to eat more ethically and sustainably than eating in-season, locally grown produce. When you purchase local and in-season goods, you diminish your food’s carbon footprint tremendously by eliminating the need to store, cure, freeze and transport your produce.

Summertime Heat: Grilling is the New Baking

Summertime can be difficult for baking aficionados; the Philadelphia heat and humidity discourages me from turning on the oven and heating up the house. Luckily, the grill can fulfill my craving for a homemade baked good. Many desserts that can be made in a skillet can be cooked on the grill. The difference between baking in an oven and on a grill is that an oven heats from all sides, while a grill heats from bottom up. On the grill, most desserts become crispier on the bottom and fudgier on top.

Measurement Experiment: By Weight or Volume — Which is Better?

Part 1 — Amelia Clute and French Macarons
French macarons are only scary if you actually care about doing it well. Let me elaborate — you would have to try extremely hard to produce a legitimately inedible macaron. Almost any combination of almond flour, sugar and meringue will give you an extremely tasty pastry. So why are macarons touted as one of the most difficult, fussy and intimidating challenges in the culinary world? Simply put, it is because we place too much emphasis on aesthetics without asking ourselves if we actually enjoy what we’ve created.

I Made Bread Too

The only thing better than the aroma of freshly baked bread is the sweet smell of hot chocolate chip cookies; quarantine has provided ample time for my family to make (and consume) both. Over the past few months, we have experimented with many different varieties of bread in an attempt to make our lives more exciting. My family has always been a bread-loving bunch. For years, my mom has used a bread maker that mixes and kneads the dough. With this time-saving machine, we can add ingredients to the machine, leave it for two hours on “dough” cycle and return to shape and bake it in the oven (which we prefer over baking in the bread machine).