Cheesy Asparagus February 3, 2009

I know what you’re thinking right now: “ew. What is that weird greenish blob?  Is it food?  Is she really posting this on her food blog?”  Well, the answer is yes, and while it may not be the most photogenic thing I’ve ever cooked, it really is quite delicious!

Necessity was definitely the mother of invention today.  I was really hungry, and after being at school all day, I didn’t feel like taking the time to cook something extravagant. I had some asparagus in the fridge that I needed to eat before it went bad.  My rumbling stomach told me that roasting it was out, as was steaming it and trying to throw together a cheese sauce.  Then I remembered this pasta dish that my old roommate and I used to make quite frequently, which combined asparagus with onion and sour cream.  I have an irrational love for sour cream, and will mix it into or dollop it on top of just about anything.  I’ve even put it in ice cream.

I didn’t really feel like pasta today, so I decided to experiment a little and try to take the same flavors from the pasta dish and turn it into a simple side dish.  I’m really proud of this, because I came up with it myself, and it was actually good!  It’s just too bad that it doesn’t photograph well at all.  But trust me, I’m sure you’ll love this lumpy green stuff just about as much as I do, and it is incredibly quick to make.  Even though there’s only a few ingredients in this, it has a really big and bold flavor. The sour cream and sharp cheddar add a nice tang to the smooth sauce that holds it together, and that smoothness is balanced out really well by the crisp asparagus.

Cheesy Asparagus

Source: me!

Makes: a little over 1 cup

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 c. bite-sized asparagus pieces

1/2 c. white onion, chopped small

2-3 tbsp. sour cream

2 tbsp. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

1) In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

2) Once hot, add the onion and asparagus and saute for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is translucent and asparagus has reached the desired amount of done-ness (I like mine crisp, but if you like yours softer, cook for 3-4 more minutes)

3) Turn the heat down to low and add the sour cream and cheese, stirring until cheese has melted and everything is completely combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Parmesan Crusted Potatoes December 21, 2008

Well everyone, it’s official!  I’ve finished my first semester of pharmacy school.  And passed with As and Bs, too!  I’m pretty excited about it.   I also finally got around to getting all of the pictures of food off of my mom’s camera and onto my computer, so I can start posting them!  So, be ready for quite a few posts in these next few days.

I made these potatoes when I was home last.  I randomly found them on TasteSpotting, which is a fantastic website where bloggers from all over the world can showcase the food they’ve made.  If you haven’t yet, I would definitely recommend checking them out!

These are definitely one of my new favorite ways to make potatoes.  Parmesan is one of my favorite cheeses, and it makes a delicious, salty crust on the potatoes that’s to die for.  My dad and I fought over who would get to eat the leftover crispy pieces of cheese from the bottom of the pan.  Extra virgin olive oil does impart a very noticable taste to the dish, so if you’re like me and don’t really care for the taste of EVOO, you can use light olive oil (which is just as good for you in the way of unsaturated fats, but with less of a strong flavor), or if you’re not so much worried about your fat intake, use melted butter! I also think that the addition of some herbs – maybe some crushed dried rosemary -would be a really nice addition to this dish.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

Source:  For the Love of Cooking

4-5 small Idaho potatoes

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

garlic powder, to taste

1) Wash potatoes, and chop into bite-sized pieces.  Boil potatoes until fork tender, but not falling apart.  Drain and set aside.

2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3) Grease a small casserole dish.  In the dish, mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Add potatoes to the dish, and mix until coated with olive oil mixture.

4) Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top of the potatoes, and mix until combined.

5)  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese has melted and browned.

Sweet Carrot Salad September 13, 2008

I’ve officially finished my first two weeks of pharmacy school.  This semester is going to involve a ridiculous amount of work, but so far the classes have been really interesting.  Biochemistry is definitely going to be the bane of my existence.  I really like the biology-related parts of pharmacy, but I’ve always disliked chemistry, and apparently pharmacy school chemistry is no exception to the rule.

Now that I’ve gotten into the swing of things living by myself (and I absolutely love it!), I’m working on trying to include a few more fruits and vegetables into my diet.  I’m usually pretty good with fruits — there are very few that I don’t like.  Vegetables are a different story.  I’m a pretty picky eater, and there are a lot of vegetables I don’t like.  Then some I only like raw, and some I only like cooked.  So I’m working on trying to find new uses for the ones that I don’t like as much, to try and see if I can make myself like them.

This is a salad that my dad will make every once in a while, and I really like it.  I’ve made a few changes to it — I used vanilla yogurt instead of plain, and added apples and cinnamon.  It’s delicious.  Crunchy, chewy, sweet and refreshing.  The carrots offset the sugary sweetness of the yogurt and fruit, and the marshmallows add a chewy bite that goes really well with the crunch of the apples and carrot.  This salad is even better once it’s been allowed to sit for a while.  The flavors will meld, the marshmallows will get a little soggy (which I like, but if you don’t you can just add the marshmallows to your individual portion), and the raisins will absorb some of the moisture from the yogurt and get plumper.

This salad is really versatile — you can add or subtract anything you want.  The possibilities are endless!  You might want to try adding crushed pineapple, peanuts, pear, or a different flavor of yogurt.

Sweet Carrot Salad

1 (10 oz.) bag matchstick carrots (about 4 cups)

1 c. raisins

1 apple, roughly chopped

1 c. mini marshmallows

Around 2 1/4 c. vanilla yogurt (I used three containers of Yoplait, so the cup measurements are approximate)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1) Combine the carrots, raisins, apple and marshmallows in a large bowl.

2) Stir in the yogurt and cinnamon, mix well.

3) Cover and refrigerate.