8 Simple Rules for Feeding Yourself at University...

My initial motivation for starting this blog was to have a way to convey recipes to my kids when they one day (sniff, sniff) move out of our nest and out on their own...well it's happening.  The oldest is off to university and although he is quite capable and accomplished, the Mom in me can't help but feel nervous that he won't eat properly, won't take care of himself etc...it's a 'Mom-thing'.

Z has decided not to stay in residence for his first year, so he will be in an apartment with his buddy and  I am trying not to imagine the mess or the state of the refrigerator....it gives me hives.  He will also be far enough away that there will be no 'zipping home' for a weekend meal or quick visit.  Waaaa!

So, in an effort to exert some control over a situation over which I have no control....here it is...8 simple rules for feeding yourself at university.  I'm sure he will be studying this daily, so there is no need to worry...(sarcasm).

Drum roll please...

1)  Try to eat protein and complex carbohydrates at every meal...What are they, you ask?  Put very simply...

Proteins:  Meat, poultry, fish/seafood, eggs, beans/legumes, cheese, greek yogurt

Complex carbohydrates:  veggies, fruit, whole grains (whole grain bread, bagels, pasta), brown rice

Just try to pick one from each group every meal and you will be on the right track.  Remember that fresh is always better, but if keeping fresh veg and fruit in the fridge is problem...then go for frozen next and then canned.  Frozen is better because there are more nutrients and fibre in frozen food.

2) Drink lots of water.  Yes, tea and coffee count, but water is best.  You should be trying to drink 8 glasses a day.  If you carry a water bottle around with you, you will drink a lot more...guaranteed.

3) Don't skip meals.  You'll find you will become really hungry and reach for stuff that is not good for you more often if you skip meals.  In particular, eat breakfast.  You'll be smarter for it!

4) Aim for simple recipes to increase the likelihood that you will eat at home rather than eat out.  I'll be posting some ideas here.

5) Buy pre-cut veggies or fruit...they don't last quite as long, but you are more likely to use them if you don't have to do too much prep. Just stir fry with chicken or beef strips and add a jarred sauce at the end and voila...stir fry dinner.  Similarly, pre-made rice or potatoes that you pop in the microwave are also acceptable and will go well with your stir fry.

6)  Take your lunch.  Even if it is just throwing left overs in a bag, or fruit with pita and hummus...stuff you don't have to 'make'.  It is going to be better and less expensive than eating from the Student Union Building every day.

7)  Stock good snacks to avoid the late night pizza call or poutine run...

8)  Tupperware...Rubbermaid containers...plastic sandwich bags....these are the vehicles to portable, nutritious meals...without them, it will not happen!

Mothers of university students unite...we are all in this together and they will be FINE!  Really.  I know this.  I believe this....

Choolate Hazelnut Banana Toaster Strudel

Well, this isn't really toaster strudel, more like a hand-held pie...but it was meant to mimic the famous 'Pop Tart' (R)....which could actually be toasted.  Nutrition be damned...sometimes you just need a treat!  This was a HUGE hit in my house and a perfect post-exam treat.  Believe me....we needed it.  The stress of final exams is becoming so intense these days.  I think our kids feel that every decision is a career decision...that is a lot of pressure for a teen.  So, a little chocolate hazelnut spread, banana, cinnamon and pastry must be able to ease some of that??  There is a cure for everything.

I left these out to cool while I was out and came home to find a missing pastry and a sweet note...

This is another recipe of 'assembly', rather than culinary art, but you are certainly welcome to whip up your own favourite pastry recipe to substitute for the 'express' pastry version here!  I will try it again with my own pastry recipe, but this one was so easy and fast...I had a cute little plastic mould from Williams Sonoma, but these could easily be made in triangles and folded over.

Chocolate Hazelnut  Banana Toaster Strudel

One package ready-made pastry
Chocolate hazelnut spread
1 banana, sliced very thin
cinnamon sugar
1 egg (beaten)

Preheat oven to 350F

Roll out pastry on floured surface.  Cut into triangles or use square pastry strudel mould.  Add one heaping teaspoon of chocolate hazelnut spread, lay a banana slice on top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Brush edges of pastry with beaten egg and fold over (for triangles) or add top (for rectangle mould) and press edges together to seal.  Brush top with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or granulated sugar.  Bake on parchment-lined cookie sheet for 25 mins (less for triangles) or until golden.  Let cool for 10 mins on baking rack.  Enjoy quickly...they disappear fast!

Buttered Popcorn Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

Yes, I just said that...

In my quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, these are ranking up there.  In the words of a recent visitor to our house..."I don't know where you got those cookies from, but they are like crack cocaine"....I suspect the comment is due to the influence of the recent Toronto Mayor Rob Ford 'Crackstarter' scandal, but it's a descriptor that I could only take as a compliment!  No drug dealers were killed in the making of these cookies.

Also, it is exam time in our house, so the 'post-exam' treat posts will be fast and furious.  Keep a look out for indulgent goodies!  That's the best stress relief that I know...

This recipe was inspired by both Joy the Baker and Smitten Kitchen, who have featured similar recipes.  I have decided to use my own cookie recipe and add in the buttered popcorn and sea salt.  I've also tried using store-bought kettle corn, which works quite well too.  Let's face it, sweet and salty goodness together in one cookie is just too good to pass up!

Buttered Popcorn Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

1 cup butter (room temp)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 - 3 cups popped popcorn, lightly buttered (you choose how much popcorn...personal preference is important!)
sea salt  (I use fleur de sel)

Heat oven to 350F.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar.  Add egg and vanilla and mix well.  In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, soda and salt.  Add to butter and sugar mixture and mix until just combined and there are no flour bombs.  Using a wooden spoon, mix in chocolate chips and popcorn.  Scoop cookie dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheets, 2 inches apart.  I use a 2" ice cream scoop for uniform size.  Sprinkle cookies with a bit of sea salt.  Bake for 15 mins or until golden and slightly brown on the bottom.  Let cool on pan for 5 mins and remove to a wire rack.

Epic Journey - A Feast For The Eye....And The Stomach!

Is it April already?  Yes, my epic journey to Japan has taken place and I am still overwhelmed by all that I have learned and experienced.  Truly a journey of a lifetime!  I kept a blog while I was there, so if you are interested in more than just food relating to Japan, you might want to check it out at www.yonseiinjapan.blogspot.ca.

The food?  Wow.  The first thing I will say is that presentation is so important in Japan.  Everything is presented so beautiful...lacquer boxes, delicate dishes, gorgeous wrapping...it is something to behold.  In our Japanese-Canadian culture, we refer to boxed lunch as 'bento' boxes....well let's just say that in Japan, a bento box ('obento' in honourific culture...which translates directly to 'honourable bento box') is an art rather than a way to pack your lunch!

  
Small portions, beautifully cut, artfully presented....inspired a feeling of tranquility.  Zen.

And I LOVED breakfast!  Rice, tea, salted fish....you'd think you would get tired of it and yearn for an omelette?  Not me...I really enjoyed the Japanese breakfasts.  The only downside is that coffee (especially large, North American quantity) is not generally a part of it.  My fellow delegates and I could often be found in the wee hours of the morning, wandering swiftly through the hotel labrynth hoping to find the only coffee shop in the hotel open before our day began...the one with the good coffee and the BIG cups...some North American habits are hard to shake.

Kyoto really is the cultural capital of Japan, and there you will find unique, 'Kyoto-style' cuisine.  For example odofu is a meal of tofu.  Sound boring?  Anything but.  It comes in various forms...simmering in a lovely broth, infused beautifully with sesame (I need to find a recipe for that), covered with a thick miso sauce...all different ways to enjoy tofu as a main course.

On a 'free' and memorable night in Kyoto, my colleagues and I went out in search of a good restaurant in Gion. Gion is an area of 'old' Kyoto, a cultural hot spot where the Geiko (Geisha) and Maiko (apprentice Geisha) can sometimes be spotted.  We searched through the dark, narrow streets and finally came upon a place that seemed right.  It was a small restaurant and like most, we were greeted warmly at the door.  There was only one other couple in the restaurant, which made the experience seem much more intimate.  We sat at the sushi bar and ordered a multitude of amazing food and drink...including fried tempura, fresh sushi, grilled beef, even blowfish...and all finished off nicely with Japanese scotch.  If my colleagues are reading this, they will be waiting for me to say that I'm not exactly a scotch person, but I'll admit the experience was finished off nicely with the conviviality of a toast of scotch!

Inspired?  I am.  I am not having salted fish for breakfast today...but I am definitely feeling inspired both culturally and culinarily...is that a word??  Kampai!

Epic Journey - Japan

So this is exciting....Part of being a true foodie is not just the love of making food, but the love of eating and admiring food...agree?  Well, I am about to embark on an epic journey to the 'homeland'....a homeland I have only been to once before, but homeland all the same!

I've been privileged to be invited on a trip to Japan to explore Japanese culture, business and politics.  While I am excited to discover Japan on all fronts...I must express my great excitement at the prospect of such a culinary adventure!  So, I'll be very business-like at my meetings...of course....but I intend to warn the other delegates that I have a slight obession with food and will likely be snapping photos of my food as we go along.  Gotta have full disclosure to form good relationships and hope that they do not think that I am certifiable!  So we'll start in Tokyo and travel to Kyoto, then Sendai (where the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami took place)....I hope you'll join me on this adventure.

Happy New Year - Cold and flu season means it is time for okayu

Happy New Year!  I know it is mid-way through January, but my policy is that it is always okay to say that as long as it is January.  Come February it is time to get down to serious business...

Unfortunately, this year, January is flu season and it is a big, raging, ugly, monster....So when Kara came home from school on Tuesday with body aches, headache, sore throat and cough, I decided it was time for okayu.

Now, you might not know that I've spent the better part of two years discovering and exploring my Japanese heritage.  Being fourth-generation  Japanese Canadian means I've spent most of my life aware of but not living my Japanese roots.  In 2010 I decided to change that.  I travelled to Japan with my father for the first time (for both of us) and I took on a volunteer director position at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.  What an incredible and enriching experience it has been....

So, of the many discoveries of my heritage (paralleling with my love of food and cooking....) I have discovered okayu....which is really rice porridge.  It is Japanese short grain rice, cooked in an abundance of water and garnished with Japanese condiments.  I know... it sounds blah...but actually it is very easily digestible and when you are sick, have no tastebuds and nothing looks interesting...okayu actually does the trick.  It is standard Japanese fare when you are sick.  The added benefit for Kara is that it is easily eaten in front of the television....bowl and spoon in hand with CSI on the telly.  In actual fact, it may be the act of having your mom make something warm and comforting when you are feeling especially miserable and needy that may hold the magic....but so be it.  I'm making okayu.

Okayu

1/2 cup short grain Japanese rice
3 cups water
1/4 tsp salt

Optional garnish:
umebushi (pickled plum)
furukaki (seaweed and sesame-based condiment)
nori (seaweed)

Rinse the rice under cold water and drain.  Add rice and water to a small saucepan, cover and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30 mins.  Turn the heat off and let the rice steam for 10  mins.  Add salt and stir.  Garnish.

Nothing Says Christmas Like Gingersnaps...

Christmas is all about tradition at our house.  Despite having spent time living overseas for three years and in a few different homes...one thing always stays the same at Christmas...gingersnaps.  My kids won't have Christmas without them and this recipe is to-die-for when straight out of the oven....crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.  This year, we were very late in putting up our tree...December 23rd to be exact...but the tree-trimming celebration still included hot chocolate and our yummy fresh gingersnaps...comfort in a cookie.

Gingersnaps

3 3/4 cps all purpose flour
3 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups butter at room temperature
2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs well beaten
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
granulated sugar for rolling

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy.
Add eggs, beating until fluffy.  Add molasses, lime juice and vanilla.  Continue beating until well combined.  Gradually add the flour mixture, beating until just blended.
Divide the dough into two portion, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.  (The dough can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for a few days).
Preheat the oven to 350F  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball.  Roll the ball in the granulated sugar and place on the baking sheets.  Bake for 10 - 12 mins.  Transfer to a rack to cool.  These will keep in an airtight container for a few days...or freeze and take out as you need them.