The Cheese Sandwich Kids

Check out this extremely unappetizing cheese sandwich.



This is a picture from a stranger on the internet, but it looks almost identical to what the cheese sandwich kids get to have for lunch.

So here's the deal.  At my school if kids don't bring lunch money they can charge their lunch.  But if they owe too much their lunch gets taken away and they get a cold cheese sandwich very similar to the one pictured above (but usually on a skinny bun because childhood obesity) and milk.  Last year I had a kid whose mom didn't send him lunch money often so I'd occasionally put money in his account (secretly).  Because getting your lunch taken away in front of everyone after you've already filled your tray is mortifying.

This year one of my students wrote in his journal that the worst part of school was when you have to get a cheese sandwich at lunch.  And then it happened to him the other day because he owed $9 or so in charged lunches.  And he wouldn't look at or talk to anyone for the rest of the day. I gave him an extra apple and cheese stick that I had, but the whole situation was awful.

My mom and sister won't let me talk to them about this because it's heartbreaking.  So I'm coming to the internet.  What do I do (or what is the solution) to the problem of the cheese sandwich kids?  Do I throw money in the lunch accounts when I know they're getting low?  I stopped doing it last year after I was out about $60.  Or do I just ignore it?  Should the cafeteria just suck it up and let them charge indefinitely? Or what?

I know the theory is that if they get a cheese sandwich then they'll finally remember to tell their parents, but that usually doesn't work.  Is it really the kid's fault?  I really do want to know what you think.

Food Delivery

I camped out for the Fourth of July parade all night Sunday night and realized that I live in a crazy place and didn't get a wink of sleep and also got to go to Stadium of Fire and see David Archuleta and Brad Paisley and other awesome things.  Perhaps I'll blog about it more later, but probably not. 

Last night Destiny and I ordered Chinese food for dinner.  It was from Saigon.  If you live in Provo or know Saigon you will not be surprised when you hear this story.  Ok so I figured it would be the same delivery guy it always is (the surly waiter guy).  Imagine my shock when an hour later a bearded white guy shows up at my doorstep.

"Did you order Chinese food?" 

"Um...yeah."

"Oh, well I don't work at the restaurant I was just there eating and they were busy so they asked me to deliver for them, but I know the owners."

"Oh ok, do you have a pen so I can sign this?"

Hello, is this weird and awkward or what?  If this was any other restaurant I would be surprised, but not from Saigon.  That whole place is bizarre and awesome in its unique way.  

Butter

That's right.  You read the title of this post correctly.  I said butter.  Here's the thing.  What do you call the amount of butter pictured here?

Me? I would call it 8 tablespoons of butter, half a cup of butter, or a stick of butter.  Never in my whole life did I think anything of this until a little over a year ago when someone referred to it as a cube of butter.  Um, what?  Since the I've heard it all over the place.  Is this regional?  How does that butter look even remotely like a cube?  Let's get really specific and just call it a rectangular prism of butter.  I really don't have a problem with this, it just makes me curious.  So, what say you?  Cube of butter?  Stick of butter?  Four ounces of butter?

Desserts

I got asked to make dessert for break the fast as well as host mix and mingle this week.  You know what that means: making about a thousand jillion desserts.  For mix and mingle I picked an ice cream dessert since it's supposed to be pretty hot today.

Firstly, I made a graham cracker crust (I doubled this recipe which was plenty for two 9x13 pans).  Let me tell you, this is DELICIOUS crust.  I just want to eat it with nothing on top.  

While you're making the crust, set out some ice cream and frozen juice.  I was making two pans.  One raspberry lemonade flavor (with vanilla ice cream, obviously), and one good chocolate based one (no juice in that one).  You really can use whatever combinations you want, but even though I love chocolate, I like the flavor and texture the juice ones have.

Nextly, once your ice cream and juice are pretty thawed, dump them in a big bowl and mix thoroughly.  I'm not patient enough to let them melt thoroughly or I don't have the appropriate tools or something so I used occasional microwaving to help the process.

Since it's spring I added a little food coloring to make the pink brighter because the color is extremely faint.  Full disclosure: I also added a little squirt of lemon juice to up the acidity.  Really you can do what you like.  

Spread the ice cream mixture over the graham cracker crust nice and smooth.  Realize you forgot to take a picture of stirring the chocolate ice cream so that it's soft and spreadable AND a picture of it in the pan.  

After the dessert is frozen solidly again spread some thawed Cool Whip on top (or in my case, be impatient again, thus ensuring the ugliness of your dessert).  If you want to you can drizzle some caramel and chocolate syrup over the chocolate one and some raspberry sauce on the lemonade one.  Store in the freezer.  Dip the bottom of the pan in warm water for 30 seconds before serving to make it easier.

I'm not into food photography at all.   That being said, I wish the light in my kitchen actually showed color....

It occurred to me yesterday that despite my love of cooking and watching Food Network, Top Chef, and the like, I'll never make beautiful food.  I don't know if it's because I'm impatient or because I lack an artists eye, but I am unable to create something gorgeous.

Other things I made yesterday:

Homemade oreos (which are often pretty disgusting, but not these) in case there's not enough snacks for mix and mingle.

Rice krispy treats for break the fast (yes, that's chocolate on the bottom and yes, I'm five and covered the top with rainbow sprinkles).  

Restaurant Review: Roll Up Crepes

Today I hit up Roll Up Crepes on State Street in Orem.  I'd passed by a few times and been intrigued, so I figured I'd give it a try.  I ordered the ham and cheese crepe (full disclosure: I secretly like bizarre and crappy ham and cheese things like Hot Pockets).  It cost about six bucks and came with a side of tomato basil soup.

First, the soup.  It was good, but it wasn't soup.  It was thicker than marinara sauce, more along the lines of a tomato-y dip.  The crepe was ok, but I would have rather had a Hot Pocket and that would have been a lot cheaper.  Perhaps I should have tried the special of the day (pulled pork crepe), but I already admitted my strange taste preferences.  The portion size was large (think of a big burrito).  The staff was friendly and I found the strange fake tree in the middle of the restaurant bizarrely appealing, but the place was DEAD empty.  I predict that it really won't last long (the location is a little weird and inconvenient and I've seen at least three restaurants through there already).  That being said, I'll probably go back and try a dessert crepe and perhaps even give one more try to a savory crepe before I make my final judgement.

Oops! All Berries

I was at Wal*Mart the other day and I saw that Quaker has brought back this childhood memory (always for a limited time, just like the McRib - except way tastier, but most likely with an equivalent amount of sugar).  I didn't buy any (mostly because I'm cheap, but partially because I have three boxes of cereal in my cupboard already).

This morning while eating my breakfast I started thinking about Oops! All Berries once again.  Suddenly, I was smacked with a stroke of genius.  What if I bought a box of Oops! All Berries and combined it with this?

What a genius and delicious cereal I could make by combining these two!

I now give you the liberty to look away from this blog as you either face palm or place something padded in front of you to minimize the danger of the slightly more dramatic head desk.  

We all have our moments, right?

Fresh Ravioli

Sometimes I start feeling domestic (often) then I start thinking about delicious things I've made in the past and want to try again to make them bigger and better (minus the bigger part in most instances). So, today I again attempted homemade ravioli.

This is not a food blog so I don't have pictures of every step, but I did put some here for you to enjoy. And no, I don't have a recipe for filling. Except when I'm baking I don't normally operate from recipes.

First I heated up my frying pan to medium high, added about a tablespoon of vegetable oil (I'm poor so I don't have olive oil), and then cooked half a diced onion (I used white, just don't use red because that would look awful in my opinion and they're super strong, again my opinion) and a diced clove of garlic. I didn't cook it so long that it was all translucent or caramelized. I just got it a little tender.

Then I added about a pound of hamburger. When I did it before I used ground turkey and it was great (though I did use a little more oil because of the less fattiness of the meat). This time I used frozen burger patties from Costco (stop judging me immediately, this is ravioli filling, not a gourmet truffle-topped fancy something or another). I added salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and LOTS of Italian seasoning because it is delicious. Cook it until it's all cooked, drain off the fat, and dump it into a bowl. At this point taste the meat because it might need some more spices. I like lots of flavor.

I know ricotta filling for ravioli is delicious. I love ricotta. I worship at the church of ricotta cheese. However, ricotta cheese is kind of pricey so I don't buy it. Instead I added some cream cheese (about 3/4 of a block in this case because I'd already used some on crackers) and mixed the heck out of it. Taste it now. Delicious (but maybe a little ugly).

A note: after I took this picture I added a handful of shredded mozzerella to the filling and mixed it in all thoroughly. I'm all for a good cheesy filling. Also, one time I tossed in a few diced up cooked mushrooms. Tasty.

So I stuck my filling in the fridge for awhile and made some pasta dough. About 2 cups of flour, a good shaking of salt, make a well just like they tell you on the Food Network. Then I beat three eggs with about a tablespoon or so of oil and two or three tablespoons of water. Pour about half of the wet into the well and start to mix. Slowly add some more wet until it's a good stiff (but not dry) dough. I've never used all the wet stuff, but I suppose it could change depending on where you live. Now knead it for about ten minutes. Seriously. I bet most of you have some relief society arm (better identified as wings) that you want to work off. This will do it.

Wrap your pretty dough in plastic, and put it in the fridge for an hour.

Now's a good time to take a picture of the apron your grandmother sent to you. Your roommates might judge you while you take this strange photo.

After an hour (during which you may have read a few chapters of East of Eden) get your dough out of the fridge, pull off half to use, and roll it out.

I used my fondant rolling pin because I can get more direct pressure exactly where I want it. Use whatever makes you happy.

As soon as you think your dough is thin and beautiful enough take a little break for thirty seconds then roll it until it's about twice as thin. Mine still wasn't quite as thin as I would have liked. Alternately, buy a pasta machine and save your arms.

Use a pizza cutter and cut off the edges, then cut the sheet in half.
Brush one sheet with egg wash then scoop on the filling. You can do little scoops at a time or use a frosting bag and a pair of scissors (which looks kind of sick). I like small raviolis, but I always fail.

Put the other pasta sheet on top...

And seal down all the edges: outsides and in-between. It's easiest if you start at one edge and move methodically to the other so you don't trap a bunch of air inside.
Cut the individual pieces apart. I used a fondant tool I had that sealed the edges and cut at the same time. I've also done the method where you separate them with a pizza cutter and then use a fork to seal the edges.
Pull the raviolis apart and stack them on a plate or something (but be careful if your dough is sticky that they don't get gummed together).
At this point you're going to have to set them aside while you do the other half of your pasta. Now send a picture to your mother. She will be proud. Boil some water and add a decent amount of salt. Cook your raviolis. Test one and make sure the pasta's done (mine always takes a little longer than I expect it to even though they say as soon as it floats it's done).

Serve your ravioli however you like it. Try some pesto, some parmesan (if you can afford fresh grated I am jealous of you), or some marinara (is marinara just one specific type or is all red sauce marinara?).

Now, eat up. It's delicious. Don't forget to take one or two or a few to your roommates to try. They will like you more that way.

If anyone out there actually made it through this post and decides to try their hand at fresh pasta because of it, let me know how it turns out. I'm truly interested.

Life's Important Questions

- Why are my post titles so similar these days?

- With friends like Brittany who bring you Jimmer posters when they're being given away on campus because she knows you don't even go to campus anymore, who needs other friends?

- Why have the best pasta dishes I've had in my life been made by men (I'm looking at you Dad and Kevin)? This is no offense to my mother, of course.

- What makes it so hard for me to bake consistently delicious food here in Utah? I'm going to blame the altitude. Seriously, though, last weekend I made crappy cinnamon rolls and crappy raspberry rolls.

- Why are so many of these questions food related?

- Who knew that ramen noodles were deep fried? I didn't.

- How many of your families have "Thanksgiving" throughout the year? I'm talking turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, pie, stuffing for dinner no matter the time of year.

- Not a question, but a fact: refrigerated creamed peas start to look like peas sitting in shortening. Still taste great, look awful.

- What is it about blog posts sponsored by a product or brand that really bothers me? I feel like I'm getting something shoved down my throat maybe? My Baking Addiction does it all the time. Pioneer woman made it big without having all her recipe posts as a paid advertisement for a product. Even if the recipe is delicious, this makes me not want to read the blog....

- What is it about the sound of stirring mac'n'cheese that makes it so disgusting/unique/fantastic?

More Baking

I think I should open a bakery. I really just find myself wanting to bake all day every day. This morning before conference I tried the Oreo filled chocolate chip cookie recipe again except this time I used mini Oreos. They turned out even better than the originals. Try it and let me know what you think.

After conference I made these (they're tiny and delicious).

Then I wanted to try something else so I made these. Braided bread sticks with garlic and Italian seasoning. Also yum.

Then I started experimenting and made this. A nice braided loaf with a light dose of raisins, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

See, not too many raisins.

Yeah yeah, I know these aren't the best pictures. Get over it. This isn't a food blog and I took them with my iPhone.

Baking

I've been in a baking mood this weekend. As I mentioned in my post about wickedness I burned the rolls I was going to use for hamburger buns for the super bowl party. I saved them and late Friday night I made some sugar free bread pudding. It's delicious and I maybe ate it for breakfast this morning. Yum.

Saturday morning I wanted to bake some more and I'd gotten this recipe in my email. I know Sarah loves raspberry chocolate things and I knew I wouldn't be baking for myself because of the no sugar thing and the fact that I had plenty of bread pudding. I'm a big fan of Sarah's roommates too, so I thought it would be a nice Valentine's Day gift type of thing.

I had a lot of fun making the brownies, they smelled great (excepting for the fact that I don't like fruit and chocolate put together) and were pretty simple. I love trying new recipes and I love getting them right. Sarah's mom already asked for the recipe so I'm taking that as a good sign. Also, everyone who tried them said the brownies were delicious.

And they don't look too bad (though they're not as pretty as the picture on the website).

Snack Time!

A new lovely snack that I discovered and decided to love today (and by discovered I mean I invented it, but it's not that creative).

Start with one of these (fajita size, perfect and tiny, and get the fresh made ones if you can).


Already delicious. Now, spread with a layer of this (I'm using chunky, but creamy will probably work too).



Add a little sprinkle for deliciousness sake.


Thinly slice and kind of squash down (but not in a disgusting way) across the whole thing until there's a good layer.



Microwave about 15 seconds and then top with a tiny handful of these (Crispix) crushed up.



Cut into slices (six works for me) and enjoy.

Yep, it is love.

Back in Provo

I have now been back in Provo for one week, almost exactly (I'm a few hours off). Let me tell you something, it is so good and I've done about a zillion things (and not that much at the same time). Here's what's I've been up to.

-Watching Chopped and Cupcake Wars at Sarah's since my cable doesn't work

-Watching Stadium of Fire fireworks from the side of the mountain

-Almost kicking the annoying kid down the mountain

-Helping Ashley move

-Realizing my brakes were shot and spending 300 bucks to get them fixed

-Learning to play euchre at Robbie's apartment

-Taking over Sarah's hand in euchre

-Having some strange agenda to beat Robbie at euchre for no reason

-Going to Salt Lake to see Ashley and T

-Making jokes about little chocolate tears (after going to Hatch Family Chocolates)

-Going to lunch with Caroline and Robbie at Zupa's

-Having a barbecue at Britt and Kyle's

-Kyle and Britt not being awkward

-Going to the freedom festival and buying stuff for the kids

-Watching "So I Married an Axe Murderer" for the first time ever

-Doing my very best to get the ants out of my apartment (including coating my cabinets and dishwasher in salt and cinnamon)

-Reading another book

-Trying to make plans with Steph and her being flaky (but I still like her)

-Hearing her hilarious story

-Seeing my ward friends again

-Realizing the ward has changed a lot

-Purchasing more Disney VHS at DI

I really could make a much longer list, but I won't (partially because Sarah listed many of the things that I too have been up to recently on her blog and I don't want her to feel like I'm copying her). I do love being back in Provo, though. There are more fantastic plans to come.

As much fun as Provo is, I still miss things like this:

Destiny being a model

And this:

Gabe and Tori cuddling in their mom's bed one morning.

My New Favorite Toy

I have a new favorite toy. Sarah introduced me to it. It's called RealPlayer (I know, you've already heard of it) and it's magical. Any video I find on the internet that I want? It's mine. All I do is click and it downloads and then I convert it to my iPod. So what if so far everything I've downloaded has been BYU sports videos? I kind of love BYU sports. Remember? I started a whole blog on the topic?

After Sarah, Caroline, and I went to the BYU baseball game today (which we won - it was payback to Kansas State for basketball) we decided we needed a sweet. So we headed over to The Chocolate in Orem. After several minutes of observing I wasn't very excited. I was trying to pick something I wanted but nothing really appealed to me. Naturally we just went ahead and left and headed over to the tried and true Cocoa Bean Cafe back in Provo. Yum. I couldn't decide which flavor I wanted, so I got two (one for then, one for later). My favorite flavor is ultimate brownie, but I definitely want to try this one some day. Yum.

Weekends are Amazing

Can we please talk about the awesomeness that was my weekend for a minute?

Friday -

1. Met Jonathan Tavernari's fiancee during a group meeting

2. Got a Jamba juice from Sarah (and planned a girl/movie night)

3. Picked Sarah up, bought snacks, watched the Mormon version of Pride and Prejudice

4. Played Pirates of the Caribbean Life with Marci and Paul Shade

5. Did homework

6. Went to bed.

I know it doesn't sound that fun, but I really enjoyed it. I found it relaxing and productive.

Saturday -

1. Slept in until I was done sleeping.

2. Took my time getting ready and experimented with my hair

3. Made a lunch like 4-year-olds have for Jaimie, Sarah, and me (grilled cheese, applesauce, cookies, and we drank out of small cups).

4. Did a group project with the two of them and did our grammar midterm

5. Went to Wal-Mart (bought new razor blades [hooray] and fourteen pounds of chocolate pudding)

6. Went to the basketball game super early and played War with Sarah (and Sarah played gameboy for a little)

7. Watched the Cougars beat Airforce and clinch the [tied] number one spot in the MWC

8. Stayed for the presentation at the end with the confetti in the air and the cutting of the net

9. Went to the ringing of the victory bell.

10. As the players went back inside I touched all of the following (I am extremely starstruck at this point): Gavin McGregor, Jimmer Fredette, Chris Miles, Jonathan Tavernari, Jackson Emery, and James Anderson (I hope I didn't forget anyone). This was probably the highlight of my week.

11. Went to Spoon Me with Sean, Jaimie, and Sarah. Paid too much for a mediocre dessert. I was informed that the spoons were biodegradable and edible so I ate one. Video will appear on facebook.

12. Ate chicken barbecue at my house with Sean, Jaimie, and Sarah.

13. Played games (first with Sean and Jaimie, then with Ben and McKenzie).

14. Had roommate bonding with Meghan and McKenzie.

I don't think I can express how excited I was to have touched those players, just to have been so close to them. It was amazing. Those guys are awesome and just...ah. It's amazing.

That's Lee Cummard. Number 30 who played his final game (he's a senior) in the Marriot Center tonight. He was amazing and BYU will miss him. Plus, how awesome is this picture?