Pizza Night!

College kids love pizza right? Yes we do! And since I have a lot of ricotta cheese and pizza dough (it was on sale last week - remember?) I decided to make a white pizza. I'm using a lot of the same ingredients to save money, but the way it's prepared it won't taste too similar.

What you'll need:
Pizza dough
Ricotta cheese
Shredded cheese
Basil
Broccoli

How to cook:
Spread out the pizza dough on the pan and sprinkle with basil. Bake for 3 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

While it's in the oven, bring a half cup of water to boil. I use frozen broccoli (that I previously stored from the farmer's market). And cook the broccoli for about 6 minutes. It's perfect timing because your crust will be in the oven for about 3 minutes and then it will cool for another 2 minutes. 

Then spread the ricotta cheese on the crust. You don't have to spread it all over the pie because it will soften while it cooks. Sprinkle shredded cheese on the pizza. And then add your broccoli to the top. (My roommate added banana peppers, too) 

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. 

Once again, this recipe can be adapted to many different ingredient. I mean you can put anything on pizza. You don't have to go to crazy, but this is a really easy option for pizza night. 

Customized Crazy Calzones

This week ricotta cheese and pizza dough was on sale. So, my roommate and I decided to take advantage of it. We looked up a bunch of recipes and finally settled on one from Rachel Ray. It's a little different, but it tasted so good! As you noticed from my previous posts I like breakfast foods. We have a small waffle maker - but we're not making breakfast. We're making wa-zones or waffle calzones. And they make a great lunch.

What you'll need:
Waffle Maker (I think it could also work with a George Forman grill)
Pizza Dough
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella
Basil or Italian Seasonings
Garlic

Optional:
Pesto
Marinara

How to make:
Mix about a third cup of ricotta in a separate bowl with basil and garlic.
Spread out your pizza dough to approximately the size of your waffle maker.
Top your pizza dough with your specific toppings, I used pesto.
Spread out your ricotta mix and top with shredded cheese.
Fold over the pizza dough and seal any gaps.

Spray the waffle maker with canola or vegtable oil (Rachel Ray used olive oil, but that's too expensive for my budget!)
Next, put your calzone in the waffle maker.
Gently close the lid and let it rest on the calzone. As it cooks it will close, the dough will settle into the waffle nooks. Be sure not to smash the lid on your calzone.

It only takes about 8 minutes to cook. And once it it's done cut into halves. I dipped mine in maninara sauce as well.

It's deceiving how easy this recipe is. It looks like it would be complicated but really it is very simple. The best part about it is that any ingredients will work. My roommate made a ricotta and pepperoni calzone. You can use whatever ingredients you have around.

I adapted this recipe to fit a college budget (because my ingredients were on sale) and to the size of the waffle maker (because mine is tiny compared to hers). My presentation isn't as professional as Rachel Ray's, but it sure tastes good! If you would like to see the original Rachel Ray recipe, here is a link to her video.

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/wa-zone-waffle-calzones/

Where does your food come from?

Obviously food is something I care about and recently I’ve been caring a lot more about what I eat and where it comes from. So, I’ve been researching sustainable and organic foods.

Sustainable agriculture is beneficial in many ways. 

1. First it is better for the animal, they do not have to live in cramped cages – they are allowed to roam and consume nutrition, instead of being forced to eat corn and chicken byproducts, which is not their natural diet. 
2.  It is good for the environment. Industrial farms are responsible for more pollution than sustainable farms.  Their soil quality is poor, their air pollution is great and they have a ship across the country, which generates a lot of carbon emission. Sustainable farms rotate their plots and the waste from animals is used as natural fertilizer. They tend to serve local areas – so their transportation emissions are less. 
3. Finally, sustainable food is better for the consumer. Animals that are on a grass diet are less fatty and provide more nutrients than industrial farms’ meat. The grass-fed or free roam animals tend to be more filling and more tender because they are less processed than food from factory farms. Here’s my reasoning, when farmers care about what goes into their animals, then they care about what goes into me.

Now, let’s turn to organic foods. Organic foods contain less-pesticides than foods that come from large industrialized farms. The more chemicals you consume the more it affects your health. Many of the nation’s health problems are the result of over-processed and added preservative foods.

So, what can we do about it? We can get our groceries from local farmer’s markets or Whole Foods. When we go to restaurants you can ask them if they use local or free-range products and meats. If people show an interest in the lack of local products, restaurant owners will realize the problem and cater to their customers. If you have yard space, grow some vegetables. If you live in the city like me and have no outdoor space, try growing fresh spices like basil or parsley on your windowsill.

We need to start doing something about the over abundance of over-processed and unhealthy foods. Not only are we harming ourselves by consuming these foods, we are harming the environment and animals’ wellbeing. Support local businesses and farmers by going to farmer’s markets. And most importantly, start caring about how your food is prepared before it gets to your table.

Now it’s often difficult to eat organic especially on a college budget. But if we become more aware of what we are eating we will care more about how our food is prepared. I admit I don’t always eat organic, but I try to when I have a choice. And I’ve come up with some tips that can help you eat organic on a budget.

Tips:

Buy from Farmers’ Markets – it’s now the spring and many foods are in season. When buying from farmers markets, not only do you know where your food is coming from, you are reducing your carbon footprint because you are not eating foods that have traveled thousands of miles.

Freeze your food – during the summer stock up on fresh food. Then freeze them and save them for during the fall and winter when fruits tend to be more expensive.

Write down what you eat – by writing your meals not only can you preplan to buy from the store that is cheapest, you’re less likely to daily overeat. 




And if you want more resources on organic stores and restaurants in Philadelphia check out Farm to Philly. 

Wit Wiz or Wit Out?

This wouldn’t be an accurate food blog about Philadelphia if I didn’t mention cheesesteaks. I’m not from Philly and I didn’t realize when I first came to school here the most common question besides “what’s your major?” would be “Pat’s or Geno’s?”

This is also probably the most debated topic in Philadelphia. A writer from philadelphia.about.com writes about this heated debate, but doesn’t offer much of a solution. The article talks about the origin of cheesesteaks and how it became to a turf battle in Philadelphia. He mentions Pat’s, Geno’s and Jim’s steaks, but he doesn’t describe any of the sandwiches or talk about the differences between the shops.

Even if you disagree about your favorite cheesesteak you can still agree on the three judging criteria. The author of this article fails to mention any of them. From my experience in Philadelphia a cheesesteak is judged on is bread, meat and of course, cheese.

Instead of talking about all the options of cheesesteak locations around the city, the author talks about the venue and the seating options. Let me say that again…. seating. Why? I don’t understand, the place should be judged on their food.

Pat’s and Geno’s are the two places that are always brought up. But, for those who have spent some time in the city realize there’s much more to this debate. Jim’s Cheesesteaks on South Street and Tony Luke’s which has several locations around the city including one at the Phillies Stadium.

Then you have your next tier of steaks that only the pros know about. This includes Steaks on South, Campo's and my Dad’s personal favorite Rick’s Steaks.

I am so disappointed in this “so called” expert on Philadelphia food and cheesesteaks. If you want an actual review of several cheesesteak locations around the city, I suggest you check out visit philly for an unbiased opinion and review of cheesesteaks. But, really you have to try them yourself to decide which is your personal favorite. 

P.S. In my expert opinion, Jim’s is the best. 

Crunchy Cinnamon French Toast

I'm starting to see a pattern here. I've had several posts about breakfast, but it's so easy to make and you don't need a lot of ingredients. Ok, so this weekend I decided to make French Toast with a twist, earlier this semester I talked about the typical foods you'll find in a college apartment and one was Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Here's a recipe that uses the cereal in a different way.

What you'll need:
2 slices of bread
1 egg
Milk
Cinnamon
Vanilla Extract (optional)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

How to cook:
This is one of the more complicated dishes I've made because it takes a little longer to prepare than other meals but, if you make it on a Sunday morning it's totally worth it.

Preheat a skillet and coat with cooking spray.
First, mix eggs, milk and cinnamon together in a bowl (only add a small pinch of cinnamon in and I put a little vanilla extract in too, but you can leave both out if you want).
Next, crush a handful of Cinnamon Toast Crunch on a plate.
Dip the bread in the egg mix until both sides are covered.
Next, dip the bread in the Cinnamon Toast cereal mix.
Then put the bread in the skillet for about three minutes on both sides.

The Cinnamon Toast Crunch gives the bread a great crunch and it's a good way to use up your cereal if you don't have enough for a full bowl. Or your can stay on the traditional side and skip the cereal coating. Even though this recipe takes a little longer than others, you still don't need many ingredients so it's a great option for another filling breakfast.

Owl Breakfast

Ok, I have a confession. I love sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches. And there is a new breakfast place at Temple University called Owl Breakfast and Lunch. I went there for the first time this weekend and of course, I had to try a breakfast sandwich. It was amazing. It was on a fresh and flakey Kaiser roll the cheese was perfectly melted AND it came with two sausage patties. I also split an order of hash browns with my roommates.

I was so full after my brunch I didn't eat the rest of the day. The place was great and I would recommend it to anyone who lives around Temple or who is visiting for the weekend. Definitely a hearty meal for college students. The only catch is that it closes at two, so you have to make sure you wake up a little early on the weekend!

Fight Hunger in Philadelphia

It’s difficult for most of us to imagine being hungry. But, hunger is a very large issue in Philadelphia. Almost daily at Temple University I have been asked by a homeless person if I can spare any change. In Pennsylvania’s First Congressional District more than 31% of households don’t have enough money to buy food for their family. This district ranks as the fourth highest in the nation for food hardship.

The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger is an organization that works to fight hunger. There are over 700 soup kitchens and food pantries in Philadelphia and the Coalition helps to supply these kitchens with food throughout the year. This organization works in three different ways to provide education, outreach and advocacy throughout Philadelphia region. They collect donations to supply food kitchens and they help to keep these pantries open in the winter when people need a hot meal the most. They also evaluate individuals to see if they qualify for food stamps. Through their assistance, over 440,000 Philadelphia residents use food stamps.  The Coalition relies heavily on donations and on Saturday, April 9^th they are holding a 5K Walk + Run to raise money for food and kitchen equipment.

During this recession, it has become more difficult for working parents to provide food for their family. That’s where Philabundance comes in. They provide food not only to pantries in Philadelphia, but in the Delaware Valley as well. In addition, they help families and individuals who don’t qualify for Food Stamps. Philabundance works with grocery stores to collect items that would otherwise be thrown away. Last year, through their partnership they collected 1.2 million pounds of food through this program.

I am very involved with the Temple Ad Club and we are holding a food drive during the month of April to benefit Philabundance. We will be collecting canned food during our general meetings. I encourage you to donate to these organizations and if you are a Temple student you can donate to our food drive by emailing tac@temple.edu.