Not Feelin' the Bloggin' Tonight

I had a few preconceived ideas about what I would write about tonight. None of which I will actually write about since it is already 12:45 AM and I have essays about medicine and science to write about. Gotta love that carefree senior year (wait what?). So, think of this post as an ultra-hip alternative, creative writing exercise. Or something. Just go it with.

1) Nilla Wafer Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches

My friend's and I do this little thing called "Wolfpack Mondays," which started off as a singular evening of cheese and bread to celebrate a dear friend and to commiserate with a rather unfair rejection. Given, we are all seniors, the urge for nostalgia and friendship formed Wolfpack Mondays. It's actually quite a nice little tradition, though like all college extra-curriculars, its fallen a bit by the wayside during the midterms/ahhh I have to deal with real life things.  And honestly, I'm mildly a sucker for waxing in exclusivity when it comes to friends. Which is a rather poor combination when your negative personality (as demonstrated just now) tends to make forming great friends a rather uphill battle. But hey, the most negative people are often the most idealistic because they hold such high expectations about the world right? But anyways, I've been trying to make Wolfpack Mondays into an excuse for me to make food night. It's been a bit of a hit/miss. On one had, I did manage to make oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies. But on the other hand, the attempt to make Nilla Wafer ice cream sandwiches with sliced strawberries ended up becoming an eat Nilla Wafers and strawberries party when the ice cream turned out too be a bit too goopy for forming structurally sound sandwiches. 

Oh, btw, there are only 5 Mondays left, including commencement, for those who are wondering.

2) Gluten Free Pasta Partay

My second alternative after Monday night Nilla Wafer ice cream sandwiches were a dud was to make a little post infused with science on gluten-free pasta, what it means to be gluten intolerant, what celiac disease is exactly, and why you should not consider switching to gluten-free just because you think its healthier. On Thursday, I attended a special Pasta E Basta guest chef dining event that featured a gluten-free pasta menu (sponsored by Barilla), that included a little demo on how to make pesto and boil pasta (since that is a skill...?). Alas, since listening to an America's Test Kitchen podcast episode where they discussed the practice of taking pictures while dining out, I've been a little self-conscious of the act. Regardless of pictures or not, the pasta was really excellent. Barilla definitely gets major props for making a fine mixture of corn/rice taste and have the texture of normal wheat pasta. Plus, the macaroni and cheese they served was to die for.

But, speaking of gluten free, definitely check out the blog Science Based Medicine about gluten sensitivities  (list of gluten related posts). I've also linked one of their more recent posts that gives a good overview of celiac vs. non celiac gluten sensitivities. Gluten-free is definitely a little confusing since it is both a serious disease for some, and a rather silly diet fad for others. I remember thinking that both celiac and gluten sensitivity were primarily a fad diet thing before I found out one of my childhood friends has celiac and she made me realize that there are several people out there who do suffer serious consequences from eating gluten. Celiac is actually a very specific autoimmune response to gluten that can kill you if you don't eliminate gluten from your diet. There are other non-celiac gluten intolerances that are an active area of medical research, which you can read more about in the links I have posted. Some of the fad-diet gluten-free labeling is actually detrimental to people with actual celiac because they can only tolerate a very specific parts-per-million (ppm) of gluten in foods. However, currently there isn't very strong regulation about what this ppm is, so companies looking to cash in on the gluten-free diet fad may label foods as "gluten free" when in fact they have a higher than tolerable ppm of gluten in them.

I think this post turned into just a 2x as long post rather than a short, hey look at the things I was thinking of writing about. My bad. Also, I apologize for the lack of food photos, but check out my tumblr on the left side bar if you ever need to stare at food pictures. Or you know, go to foodgawker.

An Egg Sandwich Tale

This is again that part of the year where I don't really bake or cook because I'm occupied with eating in the dining halls and thinking about how happy I am to have gotten a 40/75 on an exam (only 2 points below average! hell yes!). 

So instead, we have another long rambling food ode. This time, on the more savory side. This story is rather a star-crossed tale if you believe in the mildly endearing, alumni donation campaign better known as the Harvard-Yale rivalry. While my family is currently solidly in the dark blue camp of things (I mean, come on, dark blue is just such a swoon worthy color), there was once a period of time a few years back where we may have become a split H-Y household. My sister stood balanced between these two schools. One with a strong undergraduate community filled with student organizations and passions teetering at the edge of overpopulation and catastrophe, the other with the best damn egg sandwiches ever. Ok, so technically Crema Cafe, the location of said best egg sandwiches is not actually at Harvard, but Harvard square is approximately the same thing. Just with more tourists.

Egg sandwiches are a classic at any point in your life, but even more so during your college years. Late night snack, morning hangover "cure" (the eggs may help a little but thats about it), and you've basically covered the two most important meals for a college student. Unfortunately, the go-to place for egg and cheese sandwiches over here is no longer a place I can visit due to a they-don't-pay-their-workers kerfluffle. Nevertheless, even if those egg sandwiches were made by paid workers, they still wouldn't be as good.
The perfect egg sandwich must not only consist of bread, eggs, and cheese at a minimum, but also must combine said pieces in the appropriate ratio. Each component must also stand alone as an edible individual food. This means, perfectly toasted english muffin, fluffy eggs so light and perfectly shaped you'd think a special mold was needed to make then (which is true), sharp white cheddar cheese that cuts through your sandwich like a long, lost friend. And in this particular case, a perfect slice of tomato that doesn't get awkwardly pulled out in its entirety on your first bite.

There are few things quite as lovely as a perfect english muffin. No, those thomas english muffins are not the perfect english muffins. I don't have much experience with english muffins to be quite frank, but I want all my future english muffins to be like the ones from Crema. So flipping light and soft, with such a deliciously crispy outer layer. The perfect exterior for the perfect toasting--not too mushy, not too crumbly. Combined with my endless love for quality cheese and my immense appreciation for fluffy eggs, well, lets just say I would gladly accept warm egg sandwiches as payment in lieu of cash.
I may be a bulldog/yalie/whatever half endearing, half pretentious name you'd like to use today, but when it comes to egg sandwich loyalties, you'll see me up north in a square surrounded by crimson.

Quesadilla Remixes: The Infinite Playlist

By infinite, I mean exactly three. I was going to save this post for later after I've accumulated many more quesadillas that I have photographed. But then, I didn't bother to take pictures of my meh Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies stuffed with mini oreos since it felt mildly like cheating, and lighting at night in the student kitchen is mildly embarrassing. So instead, quesadillas! 

I already can tell. Quesadillas are the things that are gonna get me by next year when I am out in the big scary real adult world with no meal plan. You'd think a person running a food blog would be tizzy about the idea of getting to cook up elaborate, fun, fantastic meals. But this person running a food blog is also seriously lazy and has a hard time getting off the couch once she's sat down with her laptop for the evening.

Granny Smith Apples, Cheddar Cheese, and Pumpkin Butter

The best thing about quesadillas is that they can be endlessly varied and still taste great. After all, if you think about it, the tortilla is really just a vehicle for the ooey-gooey and whatever else inside. You could easily fill your daily meals with a breakfast quesadilla (eggs anyone?), two normal cheese quesadillas, and a dessert quesadilla (that melted pb and nutella guys) without much thought or effort.

Grilled Mushroom, Cheddar, and Avocado (yea its a repeat, sorry!)

And once you get bored of your most basics of basics, you can experiment with literally every part of the quesadilla. Tired of white flour tortillas? Try whole wheat! (they aren't that good tbh) Corn tortillas! Larger tortillas! Mini tortillas! Sick of cheddar? Stuff in every cheese you have ever loved for a giant oozy cheese party! Hell, you could even put ice cream in a tortilla (lightly baked with cinnamon sugar of course) and have yourself an ice cream quesadilla. 

Peanut Butter, Nutella, Banana

Qusadillas are the potatoes to my meal planning. I may not care for mashing, frying, baking potatoes or real food sometimes, but I've always got my quesadillas. And I could always just stuff one with a baked potato if I really wanted. Maybe.