Let's say food is a person. Not to make this sound like cannibalism, it's not. So, once you have the image of cannibalism out of your mind (it took me awhile), let's say that food is a person. Seasoning would be like its personality. What gives someone that, ah, panache. Is that the word? Oh well, any who, seasoning is pretty necessary. But just like people have different personalities, seasonings come in all shapes and sizes. Well, similar sizes, I mean, it's spices so not too much variety. Well I guess you can have super fine seasoning and kind of large pieces like in chili flakes versus chili powder...
Back on track.
There's more to spices than salt and pepper, but most everyone knows that. There's Oregano and Basil, or if you like both, Herbs de Provence (Italian seasoning.) I really like Garam Masala, found in one of my favorite dishes, Tikka Masala. Cinnamon, nutmeg, you get the idea. So why am I telling you this. Well, when one has a tiny kitchen, one has to use every tool in the toolbox, so to speak. Seasonings can be a sort of cheat, minimizing how many ingredients you have to use and creating less work for your. Which means more time for the important things, like Netflix.
Find what type of flavor profiles you like. Big fan of Italian? Stock up on Italian seasoning, basil, and garlic powder. Prefer Chinese food? Try some chinese five spice for some kick. How about Indian (my personal favorite)? Garam Masala, cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, ginger and curry are wonderful stock spices for that. There are a lot of options out there. One of my favorite things to do is go to the Farmer's Market and see if anybody sells homemade spice mixtures. I've picked up things like Lime Chile Rub that works on chicken, fish and veggies to give a nice Tex Mex kick to whatever I'm cooking. Spices like that are great for quick meals because they add flavor without the need to chop, dice, or mince. Check out local spice shops as well, a good spice mix can give any simple meal a wow factor. And you can really impress guests with your incredible flavor profiles, always a wonderful feeling. Impress! Amaze! You're winning this adult thing, give yourself a well deserved pat on the back. You go dude. Isn't that a nice feeling? Seasoning, it's the spice of life.*
Think Delicious,
J
*Sorry about that.
Pro Tip: I like to add lemon pepper to greens so I have a wonderful lemony spice flavor without letting any lemons go bad. You'll be having people saying; Le-mon that was delicious!
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Welcome to my Tiny Kitchen. I'd bring you inside but…well.. it's tiny. The internet is just a bit bigger, so welcome to the blog!
Break out the hot plates and minimize your elbow room, because this one is for those navigators of the nanoscale, the musketeers of mini, the trekkers of tiny, the-you get the idea. Anybody who has lived in a college dorm, a city flat, or a one person apartment that's actually fitting four knows that kitchen room can be as precious as that last donut or uninterrupted streaming (you see where my priorities lie right?) Throughout my years foraging in the world of hot plates and stacked kitchenware, I've picked up a few tips, though I'm still learning as I go.
The kitchen can be a pretty terrifying place if you've just moved out, whether it be across the country to school or across the street, or anywhere really. I'm not going to lie, I feasted on many a microwavable Kraft mac and cheese bowl (mmm cheese product) before venturing into the communal kitchen of my freshman dorm.
The first thing I did make was a panic recipe. Do you know those or did I just make that term up? I think I just made that up. Anyway, a panic recipe is for when you make something in a rush at the last minute. For example, when you sign up for a bake off, forget about it, and realize that you have 45 minutes to make something with whatever you stuffed in your dresser when you moved in. I had shake and pour pancake mix, chocolate chips, vegetable oil, and 10 Oreos from a very kind next door neighbor. First Pro Tip for you freshmen out there, the people on your dorm floor are probably just as nervous as you about meeting the people they have to share a bathroom and wifi with. A friendly knock can bring about a lifelong bond, or you know, get you some Oreos.
Anywho, so I have these lovely ingredients and 30 minutes. I managed to paw through my as yet unpacked box of supplies (which mostly stayed that way throughout the year, holla for lazy organizers) and pull out a pot as well as a cupcake tin. Victory! Now to bake something. I scurried to my kitchen and was met with a tired looking stove and an oven that was having a mid life crisis without the shiny sportscar. In a hasty daze of desperation, I decided to make brownies. And in order to melt the chocolate chips, I figured, a pot, some oil, it'd be perfect. When they melted they kind of looked like that the tar pit from those history channel shows where they recreate a mammoth being devoured by sludge. Delicious description, no? Unfortunately with my dwindling amount of supplies I had to use them, tar or not. Then in a burst of inspiration that can only come from having 20 minutes until you disappoint the first few friends you've made, I crushed up Oreos, added the half melted chips, added pancake batter, put it in the oven and waiting with excruciating patience. Now this oven had no viewing window so every two minutes I would spastically open the oven in the hopes that a pastry worthy of Cupcake Wars had materialized. Shockingly this method produced a reasonable facsimile of a brownie in 15 minutes, giving me 5 minutes to burn my fingers taking them out and running the three minutes to the bake off. Where I told everyone that I had used pancake batter on purpose to up the creativity. I'm pretty sure no one bought it but I think the effort was appreciated. I didn't taste them before I put the plate out (not recommended by the way) but the reviews weren't bad and at the end when I took a bite of what could nicely be classified as brownies on an acid trip, they tasted like chocolate Oreo pancake bites. Not terrible.
After that, I realized that limitations in the kitchen could really lead to creative solutions. I mean, an Oreo brownie is not the worst thing in the world. After awhile I tried the recipe again with a few tweaks and without micro managing the oven, what I got was essentially Oreo Stuffed Brownies. I'd like to think of it as a life lesson. Is that stretching it too far? Ah well, call me Mr. Fantastic then. Sometimes life gives you a tiny kitchen, but it's a kitchen and food will inevitably come from it. Good food, even. It's really just perspective and hey, the tinier the kitchen, the more you can see, the better your perspective. Maybe? Does that work?
And if life gives you Oreos and pancake batter make Oreo Stuffed Brownies. Or Oreo pancakes. That sounds delicious actually, I'm going to go do that.
Until next time, Think Deliciously,
J
Break out the hot plates and minimize your elbow room, because this one is for those navigators of the nanoscale, the musketeers of mini, the trekkers of tiny, the-you get the idea. Anybody who has lived in a college dorm, a city flat, or a one person apartment that's actually fitting four knows that kitchen room can be as precious as that last donut or uninterrupted streaming (you see where my priorities lie right?) Throughout my years foraging in the world of hot plates and stacked kitchenware, I've picked up a few tips, though I'm still learning as I go.
The kitchen can be a pretty terrifying place if you've just moved out, whether it be across the country to school or across the street, or anywhere really. I'm not going to lie, I feasted on many a microwavable Kraft mac and cheese bowl (mmm cheese product) before venturing into the communal kitchen of my freshman dorm.
The first thing I did make was a panic recipe. Do you know those or did I just make that term up? I think I just made that up. Anyway, a panic recipe is for when you make something in a rush at the last minute. For example, when you sign up for a bake off, forget about it, and realize that you have 45 minutes to make something with whatever you stuffed in your dresser when you moved in. I had shake and pour pancake mix, chocolate chips, vegetable oil, and 10 Oreos from a very kind next door neighbor. First Pro Tip for you freshmen out there, the people on your dorm floor are probably just as nervous as you about meeting the people they have to share a bathroom and wifi with. A friendly knock can bring about a lifelong bond, or you know, get you some Oreos.
Anywho, so I have these lovely ingredients and 30 minutes. I managed to paw through my as yet unpacked box of supplies (which mostly stayed that way throughout the year, holla for lazy organizers) and pull out a pot as well as a cupcake tin. Victory! Now to bake something. I scurried to my kitchen and was met with a tired looking stove and an oven that was having a mid life crisis without the shiny sportscar. In a hasty daze of desperation, I decided to make brownies. And in order to melt the chocolate chips, I figured, a pot, some oil, it'd be perfect. When they melted they kind of looked like that the tar pit from those history channel shows where they recreate a mammoth being devoured by sludge. Delicious description, no? Unfortunately with my dwindling amount of supplies I had to use them, tar or not. Then in a burst of inspiration that can only come from having 20 minutes until you disappoint the first few friends you've made, I crushed up Oreos, added the half melted chips, added pancake batter, put it in the oven and waiting with excruciating patience. Now this oven had no viewing window so every two minutes I would spastically open the oven in the hopes that a pastry worthy of Cupcake Wars had materialized. Shockingly this method produced a reasonable facsimile of a brownie in 15 minutes, giving me 5 minutes to burn my fingers taking them out and running the three minutes to the bake off. Where I told everyone that I had used pancake batter on purpose to up the creativity. I'm pretty sure no one bought it but I think the effort was appreciated. I didn't taste them before I put the plate out (not recommended by the way) but the reviews weren't bad and at the end when I took a bite of what could nicely be classified as brownies on an acid trip, they tasted like chocolate Oreo pancake bites. Not terrible.
After that, I realized that limitations in the kitchen could really lead to creative solutions. I mean, an Oreo brownie is not the worst thing in the world. After awhile I tried the recipe again with a few tweaks and without micro managing the oven, what I got was essentially Oreo Stuffed Brownies. I'd like to think of it as a life lesson. Is that stretching it too far? Ah well, call me Mr. Fantastic then. Sometimes life gives you a tiny kitchen, but it's a kitchen and food will inevitably come from it. Good food, even. It's really just perspective and hey, the tinier the kitchen, the more you can see, the better your perspective. Maybe? Does that work?
And if life gives you Oreos and pancake batter make Oreo Stuffed Brownies. Or Oreo pancakes. That sounds delicious actually, I'm going to go do that.
Until next time, Think Deliciously,
J
Ingredient Highlight: Tomatoes
Tomatoes. Fruit or veggie? Technically fruit but since I found tomatoes in the veggie section of my first grade food pyramid, I think they're having an identity crisis. That's okay, so do a lot of us going from adolescence to adulthood. Tomatoes really embody the changing identities we have as we grow up. And tomatoes come in a lot of varieties too. Guys, tomatoes are PEOPLE. Metaphorically anyway. Unlike people, however, they're delicious. Can I be real for a second though? I used to hate tomatoes. I didn't like marinara and I used to get White Pizza which isn't racist pizza, but pizza that usually uses an olive oil mixture (or sometimes I've seen alfredo sauce as well) as the sauce instead of a tomato based sauce.
Now I like them. Isn't it funny how that happens? Same thing happened for me with avocados, which now can't last two days in my apartment. But we're talking about tomatoes.
My favorite tomatoes to use are grape tomatoes, which have a ton of versatility. They're super popular for salads. Grape tomatoes, spring mix, olive oil, vinegar, salt/pepper, basil, oregano, YUM FACTOR TIMES 100. I also like them for sauces. Roast them in the oven, maybe 350 degrees, wrapped in foil for about 15 minutes, or until they look kind of shriveled. Blend with some extra virgin olive oil and your favorite seasoning. I like fresh basil, Italian seasoning, garlic or garlic powder. Pro Tip: Either sauté the fresh garlic prior to adding or pop some garlic in the oven with three minutes to go on your cooking time. Burned garlic is not fun folks, so mind that timer. Sometimes I add a bit of spinach as well. Blend some more and add to…basically anything. You can also keep this as a leftover for a few days, the sauce is really good the second day when it's been given the time to sit absorb all the seasoned goodness. Note, this process is good for cherry tomatoes too.
But let's back up here, because picking your tomatoes starts off this whole process. For me, picking tomatoes can be a long and annoying routine for whoever is with me. Okay, I'm picky. And for that reason, I love getting tomatoes from Farmer's Markets. Save for avocados, anything that I generally eat raw I try to buy either organic or from Farmer's Markets. Now that's not always feasible, either economically or logistically. So in order to work around cost and time, I ask the grocery store when they tend to get their produce in. I know that sounds sort of annoying, I'm not sure if the grocery workers think it is or not, but I try not to be too pushy. Trader Joe's is very helpful when applying this tactic as well. Their clerks were exceedingly helpful, not to mention cheerful! In short, they were awesome and I've learned that it never hurts to ask, especially when it comes to your confused veggie-fruit items. To be honest, I do all this for the taste. I really prefer the taste of organic tomatoes, not that I begrudge the scientific acumen necessary to create tomatoes that stay fresher longer. Granted, I was at Publix the other day and they had these Ugly Ripe tomatoes that were fantastic, so I guess it depends on preference and whether you find a good batch. Also, let's talk about how amazing the name 'Ugly Ripe' is. They're not even ugly, just, different. I'm telling you, tomatoes are like people.
Any foods you guys like to go the extra mile for? Let me know in the comments! Or, you know, psychic message. That's a thing right?
Think Delicious,
J
Now I like them. Isn't it funny how that happens? Same thing happened for me with avocados, which now can't last two days in my apartment. But we're talking about tomatoes.
My favorite tomatoes to use are grape tomatoes, which have a ton of versatility. They're super popular for salads. Grape tomatoes, spring mix, olive oil, vinegar, salt/pepper, basil, oregano, YUM FACTOR TIMES 100. I also like them for sauces. Roast them in the oven, maybe 350 degrees, wrapped in foil for about 15 minutes, or until they look kind of shriveled. Blend with some extra virgin olive oil and your favorite seasoning. I like fresh basil, Italian seasoning, garlic or garlic powder. Pro Tip: Either sauté the fresh garlic prior to adding or pop some garlic in the oven with three minutes to go on your cooking time. Burned garlic is not fun folks, so mind that timer. Sometimes I add a bit of spinach as well. Blend some more and add to…basically anything. You can also keep this as a leftover for a few days, the sauce is really good the second day when it's been given the time to sit absorb all the seasoned goodness. Note, this process is good for cherry tomatoes too.
But let's back up here, because picking your tomatoes starts off this whole process. For me, picking tomatoes can be a long and annoying routine for whoever is with me. Okay, I'm picky. And for that reason, I love getting tomatoes from Farmer's Markets. Save for avocados, anything that I generally eat raw I try to buy either organic or from Farmer's Markets. Now that's not always feasible, either economically or logistically. So in order to work around cost and time, I ask the grocery store when they tend to get their produce in. I know that sounds sort of annoying, I'm not sure if the grocery workers think it is or not, but I try not to be too pushy. Trader Joe's is very helpful when applying this tactic as well. Their clerks were exceedingly helpful, not to mention cheerful! In short, they were awesome and I've learned that it never hurts to ask, especially when it comes to your confused veggie-fruit items. To be honest, I do all this for the taste. I really prefer the taste of organic tomatoes, not that I begrudge the scientific acumen necessary to create tomatoes that stay fresher longer. Granted, I was at Publix the other day and they had these Ugly Ripe tomatoes that were fantastic, so I guess it depends on preference and whether you find a good batch. Also, let's talk about how amazing the name 'Ugly Ripe' is. They're not even ugly, just, different. I'm telling you, tomatoes are like people.
Any foods you guys like to go the extra mile for? Let me know in the comments! Or, you know, psychic message. That's a thing right?
Think Delicious,
J
Handy Devices
YAY GADGETS. I was always a fan of movies and books with gadgets. When I was in elementary school* and my mom would take me shoe shopping with her, I would I would haunt the spy section of the closest toy store for the latest night goggle set or secret message pen. They would always have displays and I could happily amuse myself for hours. Since it was shoe shopping, I do mean hours. So when I discovered kitchen gadgets, well, you can imagine my giddiness.
While gadgets can sometimes lead to a cluttered area, deadly in a tiny kitchen, the following tools are useful and can actually maximize space.
These are the tools that I can consider the most important for a Tiny Kitchen. Other than pots/pans/utensils, these might not be on your list. If they are, congrats! You're all set. If not, here ya go!
7. Mason Jars: A favorite among hipsters, these should be your favorite too. THEY ARE SO USEFUL. Seriously, you can use them as drink ware, to bake, to hold leftovers, and make cocktails. Also to make jam and preserves, which is what they're originally made for. Seriously though, if you're making jam, please send me some of your adultness, I could probably use it. The versatility is the key here, it means you can dial back on your tupperware and cups, freeing up valuable cabinet space. Also if you buy a bulk of 12, you can just open maybe 6 and store the rat to retrieve when needed. Finally, they look really cool. Plain and simple.
6. Brita Water Filter: I remember seeing this on a lot of "must get" lists, so I won't elaborate too much on it. If you want to not buy a whole pitcher, I recommend getting one of the water bottles, pictured below. I bought two, I switch them out periodically, always keeping one in the fridge, so I have cold water on the go. An investment of 18 bucks for two has saved me a bunch on bottled water.
5. Electric Kettle: I'm a big tea drinker. Coffee too, I'm an equal opportunity caffeine addict, but tea's a big staple in my apartment. I got one of these when I lived in a dorm and it was life saver when I didn't have a stove, now that I have one, it's great for mornings when my stove is in use for breakfast. Or when I'm working at my desk and just want to keep refilling my tea cup, I'll have a pitcher of water and the kettle next to my workspace and just keep refilling. It saves me a walk. One note, if you live in a dorm and want one, check what you're allowed to have one. Normally I think electric kettles are okay, but you never know and better safe than sorry, I always say. I don't actually say that but you get the idea. If you're not allowed one in the room, check with your R.A. and see if you can set a communal one up in the common room. They might be able to get that paid for by the residence hall. YAY FREE THINGS.
4. Egg Muffin Microwave pan: Currently, I am sans microwave. When I had one though, this was awesome. You put your egg in the tray, microwave, and voila! Egg sandwich without a pan. WONDERFUL INVENTION. Egg purists may or may not hate it but hungry students and morning workers or egg sandwich lovers will surely sing its praises. I certainly am.
3. Panini Maker: Okay so sandwiches. They're amazing, fact. Paninis are warm happy sandwiches. They are also amazing. This machine gives you paninis. This machine is amazing. Logic.
2. Hot Plate: I'll start off with saying it again, check your dorm restrictions if you want to bring this to a college dorm. If you don't have a communal kitchen, see if you can have this little beauty put in the common room. I have to say, my first experience with one of these was in a high school chemistry class, but darn it, this thing is glorious. Portable and with most you can even set the temperature! I got one from Amazon for I think 20 bucks? The ability to make scrambled eggs and pasta in a tiny cramped room was worth it.
1. HAND BLENDER: THIS IS MY FAVORITE THING EVER. I don't know if you can tell my excitement from the caps lock, but it's there. I love my hand blender. The one I got came with a blending cup and a whisk attachment as well as a standard blending attachment. I think the technical term is immersion blender. I use this for smoothies, for soups, for homemade pasta sauce, for a lot of stuff. It's perfect as a substitute a blender because A. less to clean and B. it makes smaller portions because chances are you're only making something for you or two. Also, my old blender kept making my smoothies taste like rubber. Not sure why, but this thing sure doesn't. It blends smoothies perfecting and I can just drink it out of the cup. OR I can make a smoothie ahead of time for the next morning when I know I'll be too groggy and grumpy to blend things properly. If you like smoothies get this. If you like time savers, get this. SERIOUSLY YOU SHOULD GET THIS I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Final Pro Tip: I get/got most of my gadgets from places like Marshalls or Nordstrom Rack. They usually have pretty cheap kitchenware that actually works well. If neither of those sounds appealing, Amazon is always pretty wonderful.
Think Delicious,
J
*Also, I may or may not still check out the spy gadget section of Target whenever I happen to go there.
While gadgets can sometimes lead to a cluttered area, deadly in a tiny kitchen, the following tools are useful and can actually maximize space.
These are the tools that I can consider the most important for a Tiny Kitchen. Other than pots/pans/utensils, these might not be on your list. If they are, congrats! You're all set. If not, here ya go!
7. Mason Jars: A favorite among hipsters, these should be your favorite too. THEY ARE SO USEFUL. Seriously, you can use them as drink ware, to bake, to hold leftovers, and make cocktails. Also to make jam and preserves, which is what they're originally made for. Seriously though, if you're making jam, please send me some of your adultness, I could probably use it. The versatility is the key here, it means you can dial back on your tupperware and cups, freeing up valuable cabinet space. Also if you buy a bulk of 12, you can just open maybe 6 and store the rat to retrieve when needed. Finally, they look really cool. Plain and simple.
6. Brita Water Filter: I remember seeing this on a lot of "must get" lists, so I won't elaborate too much on it. If you want to not buy a whole pitcher, I recommend getting one of the water bottles, pictured below. I bought two, I switch them out periodically, always keeping one in the fridge, so I have cold water on the go. An investment of 18 bucks for two has saved me a bunch on bottled water.
5. Electric Kettle: I'm a big tea drinker. Coffee too, I'm an equal opportunity caffeine addict, but tea's a big staple in my apartment. I got one of these when I lived in a dorm and it was life saver when I didn't have a stove, now that I have one, it's great for mornings when my stove is in use for breakfast. Or when I'm working at my desk and just want to keep refilling my tea cup, I'll have a pitcher of water and the kettle next to my workspace and just keep refilling. It saves me a walk. One note, if you live in a dorm and want one, check what you're allowed to have one. Normally I think electric kettles are okay, but you never know and better safe than sorry, I always say. I don't actually say that but you get the idea. If you're not allowed one in the room, check with your R.A. and see if you can set a communal one up in the common room. They might be able to get that paid for by the residence hall. YAY FREE THINGS.
4. Egg Muffin Microwave pan: Currently, I am sans microwave. When I had one though, this was awesome. You put your egg in the tray, microwave, and voila! Egg sandwich without a pan. WONDERFUL INVENTION. Egg purists may or may not hate it but hungry students and morning workers or egg sandwich lovers will surely sing its praises. I certainly am.
3. Panini Maker: Okay so sandwiches. They're amazing, fact. Paninis are warm happy sandwiches. They are also amazing. This machine gives you paninis. This machine is amazing. Logic.
2. Hot Plate: I'll start off with saying it again, check your dorm restrictions if you want to bring this to a college dorm. If you don't have a communal kitchen, see if you can have this little beauty put in the common room. I have to say, my first experience with one of these was in a high school chemistry class, but darn it, this thing is glorious. Portable and with most you can even set the temperature! I got one from Amazon for I think 20 bucks? The ability to make scrambled eggs and pasta in a tiny cramped room was worth it.
1. HAND BLENDER: THIS IS MY FAVORITE THING EVER. I don't know if you can tell my excitement from the caps lock, but it's there. I love my hand blender. The one I got came with a blending cup and a whisk attachment as well as a standard blending attachment. I think the technical term is immersion blender. I use this for smoothies, for soups, for homemade pasta sauce, for a lot of stuff. It's perfect as a substitute a blender because A. less to clean and B. it makes smaller portions because chances are you're only making something for you or two. Also, my old blender kept making my smoothies taste like rubber. Not sure why, but this thing sure doesn't. It blends smoothies perfecting and I can just drink it out of the cup. OR I can make a smoothie ahead of time for the next morning when I know I'll be too groggy and grumpy to blend things properly. If you like smoothies get this. If you like time savers, get this. SERIOUSLY YOU SHOULD GET THIS I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Final Pro Tip: I get/got most of my gadgets from places like Marshalls or Nordstrom Rack. They usually have pretty cheap kitchenware that actually works well. If neither of those sounds appealing, Amazon is always pretty wonderful.
Think Delicious,
J
*Also, I may or may not still check out the spy gadget section of Target whenever I happen to go there.
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