Asian Cabbage Salad

I've always been a coleslaw hater because of the mayo, so some how I assumed that I hated cabbage too, just by association. This summer I learned that is not the case.  At somepoint my host mom made an Asian coleslaw and I tried it to be polite.  After one bite I was hooked.  Cabbage has such crunchy texture, so it is perfect for a salad where it can sit and marinate, taking on flavors and softening slightly. 

14 oz. cabbage coleslaw mix
10 oz. shredded carrots ( I love carrots so I loaded this recipe with them, if you are not in love with carrots you might find half this amount more suitable)
1 small red pepper, diced
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white vineagar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tsp Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

In a large bowl combinge all ingredients.  Toss until coated. Cover and refridgerate for for at least 2 hours before serving. 

*This recipe is also delicious using broccoli slaw instead of cabbage.

peanut butter banana chocolate chip cookies

Yesterday I set out to make NORMAL chocolate chip cookies.  Seriously I was like "I know you want to improvise--RESIST" in my head.   Well, you can see how that turned out...

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1 medium ripe banana
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1.5 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
12 oz. chocolate chips

Cream butter, banana, peanut butter and brown sugar til fluffy.  Mix in the eggs and vanilla.  Add flours and soda, mix til combined.  Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

  I like to make tiny cookies so I can justify eating more of them, so they take 8 minutes at the most to bake, but if you make normal cookies 8-10 should be about right.

Making a change

For some time I have felt increasingly dissatisfied with my major being food science.  When many people hear "food science" they think of food processing and safety and quality assurance. That is not what I want to do with my degree.  I would like to work in a test kitchen developing recipes. 

During my time at ISU I've been involved in the Food Science Club and the Culinary Science Club and the more time I spent with the people in the clubs I've found kindred spirits in the Culinary Science Club.  My goals and dreams and interests are more in line with theirs than those people in the Food Science Club.  I still enjoy the Food Science Club and have some great friends there, but don't fit as well there.  The advisor of the Culinary Science Program and Club has talked with me multiple times about changing major.  I've just brushed off her comments because I thought food science would prepare me for the job I want as much as Culinary Science. 

Over the summer I got to work in a test kitchen, it was amazing and I would love to work in an enviroment like that again in the future.  While there one of the other interns had a couple of conversations with some professionals in product development and other food areas at General Mills and she said they would like to hire people who have a bachelor's or master's degree in a program that balanced food science and culinary skills.  That is pretty much Culinary Science. 

Even though I have been resistant to changing my major this really started to make me think.  I decided that Culinary Science is a better match for me and will help better market my skills and knowledge.  So after getting back to Ames this summer I met with the Culinary Science Program Coordinator and my advisor and formally changed my major to Culinary Science.  I should still be able to graduate on time, without taking summer classes, if things go according to plan.  I also dropped a journalism class because I don't need it for my new major.  It's nice to not have to take a class I don't need, but I felt bad telling the professor I was dropping it.  The professor didn't mind at all and happily signed my drop slip, wishing me well in my new major.  How kind.  Then I took my drop slip to Enrollment Services and they charged me $12.  How not-so-kind.  Oh well.

I've never been a big fan of change, but I feel like this is going to be a good one.

Scotcharoo Cheerio Cookies

Sometimes you want schotcharoos but don't have any Rice Krispies or butterscotch chips.  Tonight was one of those nights.  This is what I did instead.

1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup (spray the cup with Pam before measuring the syrup, it will make your life easier)
1.5 cups peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups Cheerios
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Place a long piece of parchment on your counter.  In a large bowl combine Cheerios and oats.  In a 2 quart  saucepan over medium heat add the sugar, syrup and peanut butter.  Stir constantly until just boiling, take off heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour over Cheerios and oats, mix until everything is coated.  Spray your hands with Pam and scoop a heaping Tablespoon of the mixture, roll into a ball.  Place on parchment and flatten slightly.  Put the chocolate chips in a zip top sandwich bag and microwave for 30 seconds, squish it around, then microwave 30 seconds more or until melted.  Using scissors cut a small hole in one of the bottom corners of the bag.  Drizzle chocolate over cookies.  Store in a air tight container.

Choose your adventure

My junior year of college is off to a good start. None of my classes look too horrible: Public Relations (a random journalism class I am required to take), Microbiology, World Food Issues, and Food Chemistry. My professors seem pretty cool, especially my micro lab instructor. He is always trying to make us laugh. My Public Relations professor is really interested in what we want to get out of the class so she can orient her plans to help us learn what we want to, sweet.

I am now a student supervisor at Conversations Dining. It is great to get to wear a red shirt and make an extra dollar an hour, but supervising thus far has been pretty stressful. Yesterday I supervised a breakfast shift where no one I was working with had worked a breakfast shift before. Uff da. So I was training employees on the espresso machine, how to make oatmeal, etc. while helping customers. Then on top of that most of the customers had not been to Conversations for breakfast before, so they didn't know how we do things, so I had to explain the logistics over and over. Breakfast at Conversations is more like a coffee shop than a dining center. Customers can use their meal plan or they can just buy a bagel and a coffee with their CyCash or Dining Dollars. Anyway it was not an easy shift. It will get better as the semester goes on, the employees and customers will understand how we do things more and more every day. Even though it is sometimes challenging I really do enjoy working there. We have an awesome community of employees.

This semester I started working for the FSHN department helping organize groceries for the classes that are in the food labs in MacKay. I'm only working 4.5 hours a week there but I'm enjoying it. My job there is similar to what I did this summer at General Mills. I get to put groceries away and organize them for each of the classes. I also get to clean a lot.

At Lutheran Campus Ministry I get to be a peer minister. Woo-hoo!! I am in charge of Sunday Night Suppers every week at 5 pm before worship at 6pm. Last weekend we had peer minister training and it was amazing to be surrounded by people who are also passionate about seeing Lutheran Campus Ministry glorify God. We talked a lot about hospitality and how to be a theologian of the cross (Lutheran Handbook p.136-137)

This year I am living in Frederickson Court, a series of apartment buildings owned by ISU on the North side of campus. It is really great, I'm in a two bedroom apartment with 3 other gals. On Sunday we made a chore chart to separate out kitchen, bathroom, garbage, and floor cleaning duties. My favorite part is I don't have to have a meal plan so I get to cook my own meals in my own kitchen!!

Final book of the summer

Book update #10: Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert-This book is kind of a sequel to Gilbert's best seller Eat Pray Love. It follows the story of Gilbert and her boyfriend, Felipe, whom she met in Bali in the Love section of Eat Pray Love. They are happily living together in the USA (committed with no intention of getting married) when Felipe gets detained at an air port and is deported. The book focuses on their journey to coming to terms with the fact that they will have to marry if they want to live in the USA. It takes 10 months and lots of paper work to get the fiance visa, during that time they travel around Asia living as cheaply as possible (this is before Eat Pray Love became a resounding success). Gilbert takes this time to learn as much as she can about marriage: reading books, talking with friends, asking the locals she meets in Southeast Asia. It was a good book, but slow at times. I'm interested in the topic of marriage and it was neat to see her look at it from so many perspectives. *** out of *****

Closing a chapter

Yesterday was the last day of my internship at General Mills working on The Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest. I worked there for 11 weeks, so it was hard to say goodbye. On Wednesday we cleaned the kitchens and organized all the leftover food. At the end of the day we got to take home some of the left over food. I took home some basil pesto, half a red onion, a few green onions, a yellow bell pepper, and some brownie mixes.

When I was filling a bag with the leftover food I was trying to come up with something I could use most of the ingredients in. I came up with this pasta salad-

Here I am making my final meal at my summer parents' home. Sandwiches and pasta salad.

Mix in a big bowl:
1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup prepared basil pesto

1 cup shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend)

Add:

1/2 box pasta, cooked, drained and cooled

1 large yellow pepper, chopped

5 green onions, sliced

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 a red onion, diced

Mix. Store in the fridge.

We took the sandwiches and pasta salad to Baker Park and sat at a picnic table near Lake Independence. It was about 75 degrees with a cool breeze, so it was an almost perfect evening.

Yesterday morning I moved out of my summer parents' home before heading to my last day of work. Before I said goodbye they prayed over me, I left with tears in my eyes. This couple's kindness and generosity never ceases to amaze me. It was an utter joy to live with them this summer.

At work we finished cleaning and then helped reshelve the cookbooks, that had been used for searching the originality of the recipes, in the library. The whole Pillsbury Bake-Off team went out to lunch and had great time. When we got back to the kitchens we looked over the pictures of all the recipes and picked our the ones we hope will win. Each of the interns got a bag full of Pillsbury items, including a Doughboy doll that laughs when you poke its tummy.

We all hugged and said goodbye. It really was a splendid summer. I got to work with some incredible people and learn a lot about how a test kitchen works. I feel so blessed to have had this internship.

I honestly applied for this internship thinking it would just be good experience to apply for it. Then when I got a phone interview I thought that would just be good experience. Then I got an on site interview and thought that would just be good experience. I never thought they would actually hire me. When they did I had a lot of anxiety about living and working in and traveling to and from Minneapolis. I spent a lot of time praying. Praying that God would open my heart to this opportunity, that I would feel at peace about the internship, that God would provide a church family and host family for me. God provided in so many ways this summer. I have not felt alone or homesick, I have enjoyed my work environment and got along well with all my coworkers. I can now merge onto a busy freeway without breaking a sweat. I am more capable than I thought.