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College Cooks -- Salad

A salad is one of the quickest routes to refreshment and good nutrition if you do it right. Use the freshest ingredients you have or can purchase. Don’t drown the salad in dressing, in fact, use ½ T Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 1 tsp of a good quality vinegar with salt and pepper and you’ve got the easiest of the great-for-you dressings. Even if you’re out of lettuce, you can still make a salad. One of the best salads I’ve ever had consisted of radishes, carrots, red onion, and cucumbers. I added chickpeas the next day to dress it up and some fresh parsley and croutons the day after; I enjoyed three fairly distinct “fast food” meals on a budget.

Following are five recipes for salads that will transport you (well, maybe not) to some rather exotic or romantic locations. ;)

QUICK -- MAKE THESE SALADS!!

College Cooks -- Barley

This week we feature barley, a grain so versatile it’s often referred to as the chicken of the grain world! It’s a thirsty grain (an invention – really) that absorbs whatever liquid it’s cooked in. Barley was developed to make long-cooking wheat kernels into “fast food”. You’ll mostly find pearled barley (not the best choice because pearling strips the barley of it’s germ and most of it’s bran) in your food markets but I encourage you to look for hull-less (not hulled) barley. Hull-less barley – introduced to us over the past few decades -- is simply barley without the hulls (they fall off during the harvest); the bran is intact and there’s no need to pearl this barley so no nutrients are lost.

College Cooks Wednesday - Quinoa

This week’s featured ingredient is quinoa (keen wah). Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like chard. The seed is rich in amino acids -- this means it’s a good source of protein and in the case of quinoa – a complete protein! Quinoa has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture with a nutty taste when cooked. It is so utterly nutritious that it was once considered the “gold of the Incas.”

Washing: Wash quinoa in a bowl of water several times and drain well.

Cooking: One cup of quinoa to two cups of water or stock with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. You can tell it’s done when the seeds resemble tiny ringed planets – you know – like Saturn.

Continue reading for recipes.

College Cooks Wednesday - Rice

THIS WEEK THE FEATURED INGREDIENT IS RICE
(continue reading for info on washing and cooking rice AND the delicious recipes featuring this week's ingredient.

Welcome to College Cooks Wednesdays (Yes, we know it's not Wednesday yet!)

Yesterday, my son asked me to write a column on healthy cooking for college students. It’s a good idea. And the truth is if you eat healthy meals, your mind will work better and the rest of you will run pretty smoothly as well. Good food improves productivity and enhances thinking. If your school doesn’t offer the nutritious fare schools like Harvard (check out the Harvard School of Public Health Healthy Eating Pyramid) and some other schools do, fear not – you can make your own good eats with one burner, a small refrigerator, a few bucks, and College Cooks!

Everything you cook will depend upon what you have on hand in the pantry, freezer, etc. and the tools you have to transform those ingredients into meals.

In this first post, we've created a pantry filled with all that you'll need to begin cooking and eating tasty healthy food and a linked equipment list for convenient purchasing.

PLEASE REMEMBER: USE YOUR COMMON SENSE, FOLLOW BASIC SAFTEY RULES AND YOUR SCHOOL'S RULES.

COLLEGE COOKS PANTRY

Note: While I prefer that you use organic and local ingredients for your sake and the health of our planet, I realize that when you’re in college, the main goal is often to just eat. But you’ll never know how much of a culinary adventure you can have at a local farmer’s market if you don’t visit at least once. Be careful though as farmer’s markets are not the best place to stretch a buck.

On the shelf:

Brown rice stored in an airtight container
Pastas (whole grain and semolina in various shapes but at least one small shape like orzo and one larger like penne)
Crackers (Barbara's Rite Lite Rounds or saltines)
Whole wheat bread crumbs (Jason)
Canned beans (black, chick pea, navy, kidney, refried)
Chicken broth in cartons
Tortillas
Canola oil
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Rice wine vinegar
Canned tomatoes (fire-roasted, diced, pureed)
Spices and herbs (ground chipotle, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, basil, curry powder)
Other seasonings (kosher or sea salt, Nori – this comes chopped in a jar ready to sprinkle on rice, salad, pasta, soups)
Blue corn chips

In the fridge:

Several cheeses (long-lasting parmesan, goat cheese or gouda, cheddar)
eggs rice (the best), soy, or cow's milk Fat-free Greek style yogurt (optional) Fat-free milk
Butter -- Use the stick butter; it comes with measurements on the paper it’s wrapped in. This is important if you try baking brownies or cupcakes in a convection oven.

Mustard
Catsup
Canola mayo
Red and yellow onion

In the freezer:

Pre-cooked grilled chicken breasts
Good quality frozen meatballs (home made or store bought)
Ice (!!!)
Frozen veggies (green beans, spinach, collards, carrots, peas, corn)
Juice concentrates (apple, orange, lemon)
**Try to use fresh veggies once in a while. Cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers are quite versatile and readily available.

While this may seem like a daunting number of foodstuffs, it really isn't. Most of it will fit in a plastic lidded storage box and a small fridge/freezer. In addition, much of this will keep for several months or more and will take at least as long to use up. The only things you'll need to replenish are the perishables. (You know, things like butter, milk, and yogurt -- things that grow those colorful molds.) Eggs are a very nutritious food and will last several weeks; they are worth keeping on hand. TIP: If the word "yuck" comes to mind -- throw it out!

EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS:

CLICK LINKS TO PURCHASE

A one burner or two burner hot plate

Small refrigerator/freezer -- GH favorites here and here.

Electric kettle

Smallmicrowave/convection oven

One 2-3 qt. saucepan with lid

One medium skillet

Small colander

Sharp paring knife (this can be used for everything – even peeling)

Cutting board set It's good to use a flexible (easy to store) colored set like this. designate a color for a particular use. For example: Yellow for chicken, green for veggies, blue for fruit (you don't want an onion odor permeating your peaches!), red for meat, white for breads.

Measuring cups and spoons

Veggie peeler

Measurement:

Tablespoon = T

Teaspoon = tsp

Cup = C

Here at Gathering Home we’ve decided to host College Cooks on Wednesdays (well Wednesday from now on!) Each week College Cooks will feature a grain or bean with five meals using the featured ingredient. Portions can be adjusted to allow for a dinner to yield enough leftovers for a lunch the next day. We hope you will join us each Wednesday for College Cooks!