hummus sandwich

Eating for a college student can be tough, especially if you live off campus. You have to make all your own meals (for one person) and buy your own groceries (hoping you use them before they spoil). However, the upside to making your own food, you have a chance to eat way healthier than what is served in those dining halls. So for the past couple weeks, I have begun my journey to beat the typical "freshman 15", and in turn eat nutritiously  and organic than I had before.

The other day, I had lunch at this joint called the "Main Squeeze". It's niche is that it's menu is all vegetarian (with the majority being vegan and organic as well) and with most of its produce from local venders. It was wonderful. I ordered their hummus sandwich, which consisted of whole wheat bread, homemade hummus, vegan chipotle mayo, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and red onion.

However, although I wish I could afford to buy myself something from this cafe everyday for lunch, being a college student also inhibits my spending money. Fortunately, my pantry had just the right amount of materials to make a mock-hummus sandwich similar to the one I had enjoyed just days before.

For me, I used again whole wheat bread and hummus. Then chopped some slices of yellow onion in there. The variation came in my use of spinach leaves and a slice of provolone cheese. The result, dare I say, is almost equally as delicious (although I plan on buying an avocado since that is my love, second only to hummus).

Featured next to the sandwich is an apricot and a plumcot (plum+apricot). Eating for myself has inspired the addition of either fruit or greek yogurt to almost every meal, it's easy, sweet, and great for you! So with this, let me encourage you to go organic, try new combinations of foods, and give health food a chance. You won't regret it!

quiche lorraine

Tried something new for dinner the other day: quiche. This is something I've only ever had once in my life, but it was so good I had to try baking it myself. The neat thing about quiche is that there are so many ingredients you can use to make a different meal each time you make it. I choose to go with the most traditional version, known as quiche lorraine. To my surprise, it actually turned out quite nice. I was a bit worried about it more than anything else I've made recently (probably because of the strangeness of the actual ingredients). But anyway, as I discovered, quiche is super easy to make and something I will definitely continue cooking in the future. It's great for any meal of the day! I served it with a spinach, strawberry, onion, and avocado salad (favorite salad ingredients by far) in order to add another course to the dinner. Delicious. Click the jump to get the recipe!

bruschetta with chicken

 

Today was my turn to make dinner again. At work I was looking through our Cook This, Not That book and saw a recipe for bruschetta. Unfortunately, this dish is traditionally just a served as a appetizer. After surfing the web for a bit, I came across this recipe for bruschetta with chicken, thus allowing my dish to graduate onto being an entree with a minimal amount of extra work.

Incendies

 

I have been seeing a lot of movies lately it seems...some good and some not so great. I recently went to my town's small independent theater to see this movie "Incendies". This one definitely has potential to win Best Foreign Language Film in my opinion. Also, has some Radiohead music in it, which is always a plus. haha. But anyway...

Without spoiling anything, I'll say the plot follows two adult children's journey to discover the mystery of their mother's past after her death. The neat thing about this movie is as the children are traveling and discovering new information, the setting will switch to the past with the mother and further develop the discoveries taking place in the present. The scenes in the past take place during times of fighting between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon (I think). It's very interesting to see the horrible things that happen during the war going on and it's effects. One aspect that particularly stood out to me was the recognition that the fight between Christians and Muslims was not a matter of religion, but rather a means to peace. Basically, there is this realization that the acts of both sides of the war are not by any means "good" or even "religious", but are violent and sinful. The most compelling theme from this movie comes from how these sinful actions end up building up to have an ultimately horrible consequence. Although it may not be the most heartwarming film, it does have some redeeming aspects towards the end, no worries. However, it can be quite disturbing at times. 

But ultimately, I enjoyed the how thought-provoking the themes and ideas presented were. It was not the most action-packed film, but it kept my interest and always had my waiting to find out more about the characters. I also really loved the foreign aspect, being able to not only see several cultures different from mine, but to hear it in their language. I highly suggest this picture for any movie-goer with a more eclectic taste and an appreciation for the art and story of a film.

tilapia and quinoa with corn, peppers, and cilantro

After a long time away, I've finally found some time to blog again. To kick-off my return, I'm starting with the meal I made for my family the other night. My friend had given me some quinoa because I had read about it and wanted to try it out. The great thing about quinoa: it's very high in protein (and gluten-free too!). Thus began my desire to cook a healthy meal.

dreams

Picasso's Le Rêve or "The Dream"

Tonight I watched a special feature on the Inception dvd that was a documentary about dreams put on by movie actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I found the information incredibly interesting, especially when they described the different types of dreams. One particular type, lucid dreams - where you control what you do in the dream, intrigued me. Tonight before I go to sleep I will definitely try to think about controlling whatever dream I have. I had friends telling me about how they told themselves they should fly and they just started flying! How cool is that? Anyway, in honor of this topic, I wanted to post some of my favorite quotes and poems about dreams. Feel free to share any that you have as well!

A Dream Within a Dream
Edgar Allen Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?


We live, as we dream - alone
- Joseph Conrad
"Heart of Darkness"


People say that your dreams
Are the only things that save you
Come on baby, in our dreams
We can live our misbehavior
- Arcade Fire
"Rebellion (Lies)"

It is possible to believe that all the past is but the beginning of a beginning, and that all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn. It is possible to believe that all the human mind has ever accomplished is but the dream before the awakening.
- H.G. Wells

That which is dreamed can never be lost, can never be undreamed.

- Neil Gaiman
"The Wake"

classy vs. casual

Yes! Finally a post with some cupcakes, right? Today's cupcake menu featured the very classy and pretty Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes, as well as the casual and fun Ants at a Picnic Cupcakes.

Seeing as today was a half day of school, it was most definitely the perfect time for my fellow cupcake-maker-in-crime, Maureen, to show some cupcake-naiveties, Magali and Bhavana (see "noodles") exactly how we do what we do.

The Oreo Cheesecake had been made before and was well-beloved by all, thus prompting our decision to again make this extremely rich cupcake. This cream cheese heavy treat was made extra sweet with the addition of chopped oreos. Recipe found from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Cookbook.

However, we also wanted to do some decorating. After flipping through such cupcake books as "Hello, Cupcake!" and "What's New, Cupcake?", we ultimately decided on the ants from the latter cupcake book (mainly for their simplicity...the other option would have been these adorable apples, which may still be made later). We tried to think of a more compelling reason for our decision, and thought that we could also say that since Magali had a childhood obsession with ants and frequently observed their behaviors, that she insisted on us making the ant cupcakes as soon as she saw them (however, this reason was quickly discarded by Magali in order to avoid the possibility that she might appear to be strange). The ant cupcakes were made from devil's food cake mix, with the substitution of coffee for water in order to make them more moist, and topped with green-colored vanilla frosting. Chocolate covered peanuts and watermelon sour patch contributed to the ants at a picnic theme.

Ater three hours, the cupcakes were complete and ready to be enjoyed and photographed.
Click the jump for more pictures!

contemporary craftiness

Today was a craft day for me. A friend of mine, Sam, had made this really awesome splatter painting that he showed me. I, naturally, wanted one of my own and enlisted his help to create it.

So pretty much, we just put some tarps in the garage, got some paint, and started frantically whippin' some paintbrushes around all over this piece of canvas. Simple enough right, not to mention extremely fun. Didn't turn out too shabby either in my opinion. Plus, kept the garage and ourselves paint-free (Sam had a cow apron which protected him while I wore a plastic bag, sadly he looked a lot cooler than I did).

Since I don't think of myself as a great painter, this was a good way to paint something that was pretty much guaranteed to turn out somewhat decent. I think it will make a great accent on a dorm room wall someday. And I secretly hope that someone will see it and say "It says so much, while saying so little" because I just really like it when people say that about art, it amuses me.

Anyway, click the jump for more pictures and a crafty surprise!

noodles

So a couple of friends and I love getting together to make what they simply call "noodles". This is something they'd done for a while and have graciously let me join in, and boy has it been deliciously fun. Tonight, we had a noodles and jersey shore night, which is always a recipe for success (sorry for the lame pun, but I couldn't help myself). Anyway, I have some pictures to document the night and share with y'all the greatness that is noodles.

more pictures and the recipe after the jump.

skrik

Skrik or The Scream by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch

"I was walking along a path with two friends — the sun was setting — suddenly the sky turned blood red — I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence — there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city — my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety — and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature."

everything is illuminated

Last summer, my good friend, Kelsey, recommended the book Everything is Illuminated. I can honestly say that this is my favorite book I've read to date. Since I don't want to spoil too much, I'll just summarize with some of my favorite things about it, (so y'all can read it and enjoy too!)

In its most basic terms, it is the story of a young Jewish man's journey to discover the past. However, the format that Foer uses is genius. The main story is told in broken English by the Ukrainian tour guide, which results in some of the most hilarious reading. However, mixed in to the funny tale of the present day, there is also a story focused on the past. It was this tale in the end that stole my heart. It described life, sadness, and beauty in such a different but brilliant way. By the end of the book I had laughed countless times, but also cried a few as well.

Another sign that this is a great piece of literature is the fact that I started highlighting passages and quotes as I read. This I had never done with anything I had read for pleasure before. There are so many beautifully deep lines that Foer writes, I could fill a whole post with them! However, I won't. But I will drop a few in here and there, no worries.

The point is, if you're looking for a quick read, but want a book with substance and depth...Everything is Illuminated is a premium choice. I've reread it several times and something new hits me each experience. This is a novel definitely worth buying.

And to end with the quote that first inspired my to get my highlighter out:
I do not think that there are any limits to how excellent we could make life seem.

drama + cupcakes

I love the food network. They recently started this new show called Cupcake Wars. Naturally, since making cupcakes has become a hobby of mine, I tuned in. Ah, there is so much drama! I love it, (so much so that I decided to use it as inspiration for this blog).

The contestants get so worked up, and there is always some disaster that occurs to make things interesting. Who knew baking cupcakes could be so stressful? However, despite the craziness, there is always a guarantee you'll see some beautifully decorated mouthwatering cupcakes - success. Not to mention the cute host who only seems to speak in puns, entertaining but sad. I do not particularly like puns, but I try to take comfort in the idea that he is scripted.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend this show. It's simple and carefree entertainment to watch in your free time (and when 30 Rock isn't on).

And now for the typical "first post" blabber: we're going to see how I do with this blogging stuff. I'll try to keep everything short and interesting, but I'm pretty excited to start writing. Anyway, more posts to come later.