Tea Sandwiches and Transversally cut bread

It has been beautiful here in western New York recently, and the SO and I decided to go on a picnic. There is a really beautiful lake nearby that we decided on as the spot for our munching, and the only thing left to do was to figure out what to munch. I didn't have much in my fridge (this is very typical, really) but the SO was hell-bent on making what basically amount to tea sandwiches. We had them a lot when on our trip to Argentina so see his family a couple years ago. They are square, usually thin sandwiches on thin white bread, with a very small amount of filling.

(Image taken from Asado Argentina)

The basic idea behind these is that you have to eat about 50 to satisfy hunger, but they are defninitely light and would be easier to haul around than thirteen Tupperware canisters full of potato salads, cocktail weiners, and all the other elaborate food I wanted to pack. So, we made them. Ah, but how does one get the bread so thin?

By cutting it lengthwise instead of width wise!

The fine people at Wegman's were understandably confused, but could not fight my rock solid logic. 

"This is the last loaf," the bread woman said skeptically. "I can't cut it that way here." We both looked from the loaf in my hand, to the machine, and then back to the loaf. I allowed my face to settle into a patient, oh so very patient smile.

"Is there any reason why you can't do it here? Can't you just put it in the other way around?"

And she did, and it worked. She was definitely not impressed with my bread cutting style, but since it was the last loaf and all (and it's not like I was at the bakery section of a grocery store or anything, right?) I can understand her attachment to it. The point I'm trying to make is that Wegman's is full of excellent people who always try to accommodate the customer. Even if we are weird bread-murderers!

The great thing about these sandwiches is that you can basically put whatever you want on them. We did three types: cuke/mayo/mustard/ham/salt ,  cuke/mayo/tomato pesto/turkey/tomato , and cuke/mayo/tomato/ham/mustard.

Yum!!! We had a great picnic, and though I didn't make fifty, I wish I had--because I really could have eaten at least three more. I wonder how much of sandwich eating is eating a bulky crust? Maybe that's why most people can only eat one real sandwich, but fifteen of these?

I like to cook how I dress..blending the basics.

I feel like a lot of college kids (and even some adults) don't understand the basic rules of cooking for one, or cooking to save money. They see cooking as something you do for someone you want to see naked someday, or maybe just because you feel really fancy. Flambe, cheesecake, some sort of stir fry with gold flakes in it...whatever. It's a one time deal, generally involves a giant mess, and leaves everyone feeling exhausted. And, it's so complicated that usually the cook wants nothing to do with the kitchen for the next three months.
It doesn't have to be that way. A few tips I follow are:

1. Find a good source of fresh, cheap produce. In my area, we have a ton of farms and even a PriceRite, which to me is wonderful. Produce should be the BULK of your shopping, not easy mac and Twizzlers.

2. Keep the staples on hand. These are:

• onions
• garlic
• potatoes
• a few plum tomatoes
• a cucumber
• a head of lettuce
• green beans OR asparagus
• lemons OR lemon juice
• olive oil
• butter
• eggs
• ground meats/shaved meats/salami
• citrus fruits AND a non citrus fruit
• two avocados
• bread
• pasta
• rice
• cheese of some sort
• salt and other basic spices, dried (oregano, thyme, basil, sage, rosemary)
• For breakfast, keep milk, OJ, tea, instant coffee, a bag of oats or instant oatmeal, and/or a box of cereal along with some dried fruits and jam

I also recommend keeping some chicken drumsticks and a pork loin in the freezer. These things are pretty easy to just whip up and cook, with minimal effort. If you want to be really lazy, keep a frozen pizza in there. But I kind of frown upon this, as pizza that is from the frozen section is usually pumped full of nasties and sodium.

3. Make basic dishes, and LOTS OF THEM, then mix and match. Chili and rice, for example, like the recipe I am going to show next. Or, put the chili on some chopped lettuce. Or, make a salad. Or.... (ok, see? my list above already has a lot of basic meals.)

The cool thing about being a college kid is generally, you don't have a family to worry about feeding. But even if you do, try making a giant pot of something and using it creatively throughout the week. Then, you stretch the dollars that went into that dish even further. Save the fancy stuff for the weekends or special occasions. You'll find that at least that way, cooking will actually save you a TON of money. I spend, currently, about $70 per two weeks of foodies, sometimes a little more if I have to replenish the salad items. I try to eat something green every day.

Here's a basic dish to get you started.

Randomly Herbed Turkey Chili and Brown Rice Bonanza

Ingredients
1 package ground turkey
some grape tomatoes or 1 plum tomato
1 package chili seasoning
1 can red beans, undrained
some random herbs
salt
butter
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
brown rice


1. So. Mince the garlic and chop the onion, and toss them in some butter. Saute until clear or browning. It doesn't really matter which. As the kids say, "Lol"

2. Add the turkey and some salt and random spices. I can't even remember what went into mine. Definitely thyme, rosemary, and sage, but I seem to remember some Herbamare?

3. Cook until turkey is fully browned. No pink stuff! You don't want food poisoning, do you?! Meanwhile, cook your rice. I use a rice cooker, which is a great invention and a super friend to all exasperatingly messy chef like myself.

4. Add some grape tomatoes or slices of regular tomato, whatever. These are just what I had on hand. Stir them in well and mash them up a little. Let those things stew for about five minutes.

5. Add your can of red beans, juice and all. Heat all the way through.

6. Now, I know it is in bad taste to deny you, my loyal readers, frozen pizza, and then turn around and be all WELL NOW YOU ADD SOME PRE-MADE CHILI MIX--but the fact of the matter is that this stuff is like magic powder for meat and bean combos. Also it costs like 65 cents and is good to keep around for flavoring things of all sorts.

7. Mix well, heat through again, and serve on rice or by itself or on a salad or in a sandwich or with a baguette or on pasta or...

In which I complete an apron and make the world's best sandwich!

I love the feeling of finishing a project! Sewing is great for this, because the end result isn't a model car or space ship or something, but actually a piece I can wear and/or use. Today, I finished my Valentine's Day Apron.

(I apologize for the terrible picture. I'm working on a tripod. Really.)

Super simple and actually made by following this tutorial over at One More Moore... Basically, a square of backing fabric + rectangles of fabric for ruffles + fabric for the band = apron.

Cool!

I had a little issue with my backing fabric, as after hemming it wasn't exactly wide enough to go around my hips. I have come to terms with this, as it's not really a protect your skirt kind of apron, more of a hosting apron...But, I love to dress up, and I don't have any pink aprons for V-Day, so this is perfect. The fabric is one I got off ebay with a radish fabric I love, but because this one is sheer I had no idea what to do with it...until now. The SO calls it "bacon n' pansies" because the little pink squares totally look like bacon. Ok, I'll buy it. 

It's a prototype, but I hope to make more. Some pointers for next time:

1. Check and RECHECK your ruffle rectangle measurements. I don't know if you can see, but I totally made the top 3 rectangles about 6 inches too short. Oops. I just figured they'd layer for some cascading ruffles, and it doesn't look too bad. Hmm.

2. Find a better backing fabric. I just used white for this, and it's not really all that pretty on the other side. I mean, no fabric will be, persay, but I could get one with a little polka dot or something...which is what the tutorial recommends anyway...Oh well...

In passing, I LOVE the fabric i used for the band. It's some sort of linen-look stretch type thing. Who knows what practical apparel applications this thing has, but it sure was nice to iron. 

Well, onto the sandwich. I don't have any real pictures of this, so I will just have to substitute. I made the world's best sandwich yesterday. 

Not even joking. For some reason, I rediscovered Price Rite the other day, which is like this cornucopia of food for really cheap. And, it's usually pretty good food! So I am in the meat section and I get this CRAZY idea. What if I get these really thin slices of beef and tenderize them, and then make a sandwich out of them?

So, I did. I got this meat, and I got some bread, and pickles, and stuff. And a tomato or two, though winter tomatoes are terrible--but it's just not a sandwich for me without a tomato. And here's what I did:

(except with meat.)

Yup, I pounded those suckers with a tenderizing hammer until they were paper thin. Then, I fried them in butter. Oh, horror of horrors! How will I ever live! Oh, stop it. I don't buy this butter is sin crap. Butter is so much better than any of that nasty processed stuff, and used in moderation is a good way to add NATURAL fats to your diet.

But I digress.

I also sprinkled them with paprika and salt, and once they were just barely cooked, drained them in some paper towels and put them between two slices of whole grain crusty bread with mayo, mustard, pickles, and a tomato.

Heaven.

I highly recommend this. Best thing is that I am still eating these sandwiches...unfortunately, the meat gets tough in the fridge, but I guess that's just my consequence.

Of eating butter, I mean.

Herbed Tomato, Garlic, and Noodle Soup and some CHANGES

Hey there!

Long time no see!

Well, I guess I've been a little lazy, and definitely BUSY, but I'd like to just get right back into the swing of things with this recipe I made the other day. It is the middle of bone-chilling winter here in New York, and I had a horrible cold last weekend, so I wanted to make some sort of a soup to help me weather the sniffles. Now, if you know me at all you will know I am a hoarder of all things cookbook, and I have a million of them, but one of my most recent acquisitions is a Williams Sonoma Cookbook called Pasta Soups & Salads. I know, the lack of a comma in between Pasta and Soups irritated me to no end until I figured out that it was literally a ton of recipes about pasta INSIDE of soups and salads. WooAAhhh!

I don't usually mess with pasta. No joke. I mean, it always kind of seemed like a cop-out dinner. It was the dinner of shame and not glory, especially when you're working on some sort of thesis or something and you just can't stomach the idea of doing more work just to feed yourself, so you just plop a cup of pasta on the stove. Awesome. But no glory.

This soup, though, was glorious. There are noodles in it, which is yummy when you are really sick, and there are tomatoes, which are not yummy in the winter, but I made do. And of course there is a ton of garlic. If you do not like garlic, I recommend cutting the amount down. However, garlic is really good for you. Some of the benefits I found here include:

• a treatment for acne
• a natural antibiotic
• a powerful antioxidant

Rock on, garlic!

Well ok, so here's your recipe. Not many pictures because I got so swept up in blowing my nose and drinking DayQuil every five minutes, making for the most psychedelic cooking experience of all time.

Herbed Tomato and Garlic and Noodle Soup

3 qt water
2 tsp salt
4 oz dried elbow pasta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and minced
1/4 c. garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tomaoes, peeled and seeded or 3 c. canned chopped tomatoes
4 c. Chicken stock
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1.5 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1.5 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a lrg pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the 2 tsp salt and the elbow pasta and cook until done. Drain pasta and toss immediately with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

2. In a lrg pot over med. low heat, warm the remaing 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute slowly, stirring, until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, parsley, chives, oregano, thyme, rosemary and simmer for 20 min. Add pasta, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until pasta is heated through, about 2 min.

I made provolone and chive grilled cheese sandwiches for this, but you can do whatever. YAY!

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In some other news, there are going to be some changes to this blog. I am going to start posting a little more of the other things I do, including sewing, local restaurant critiques, and even the occasional "What I wore" post where I spend a chunk of time discussing fashion and what I think about it.

It'll be fun. Stay tuned.