Bumps In The Road

Picture this: You're sitting in your room doing homework. Or you're doing something of equal value - like teaching English to poverty-stricken children in Madagascar or potty-training your baby emu - for those of you who have graduated or are simply "too cool for school". Suddenly, your stomach lets out a low rumble. You jump and look around. No, it wasn't the emu growling because you stepped on his foot, it was your stomach. You're starving.

That feeling of "starvation" is one that many people experience. Of course, as Americans, we can do something about that. We can walk right into the kitchen and grab whatever our grubby, little hands can reach. Unfortunately, this exact experience happened to me (But it was the lame one with the homework - my emu's already potty-trained.). As a BIT (Baker-in-Training), I can't just grab whatever I find in the kitchen. I had to make cookies!

I wasn't going to get too fancy. All I did was follow the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip bag. Because those things are amazing. But I did run into my very first bump in the road when I realized that we didn't have any chocolate chips lying around the house. That was a simple fix - I used dark chocolate M&Ms instead! Those are much prettier. I'm such a sucker for bright colors. But that was that - so I thought. Then I pulled out the brown sugar container to find it completely empty. Crazy, right? Who would do such a thing? I couldn't give up on my cookies now. That's when my mom piped in. She told me about something that changed my life forever. Do you want me to tell you what she told me? Are you sitting down? 'Cause you need to brace yourself for this.

You can make your own brown sugar.

Say what? Huge. I know.

I'm even going to go as far as to tell you the super-secret recipe that I clearly didn't just hop on the internet and look up... It's kinda difficult, so down beat yourself up if it doesn't work out the first few times you try it. Just take a deep breath and believe in yourself. Ready?

• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. Molasses

Blend both ingredients together with a hand mixer or a fork.

Like I said, don't be hard on yourself if it doesn't turn out right. Those two ingredients can be tricky to combine. But if you're a master chef and can make this two-ingredient recipe, then you're in business. Put it into your cookies! I cannot believe the taste difference it made. These cookies were better than Chick-fil-A's fries. And that's saying something. I kinda plan to never use store-bought brown sugar again.

I really wish I still had some cookies left. But alas, they didn't last long. No food ever does in my family.

In The Kitchen At Last!

Yesterday, I was in the mood to cook! Luckily, my day was cleared out and I could do whatever I wanted. That's what normal college students do with their free time, right? I went through two of my mom's cookbooks, and picked out a few recipes that sounded good. I went to the store, bought my ingredients (with my mom's credit card, of course!), and spent hours in the kitchen cooking. Quick side notes: If you're going to be spending hours in the kitchen, you need floors that aren't going to kill your feet and back. People say that it would help if I wore shoes while cooking, but we all know that's not gonna happen... Also, if you live with your dad, you should get a CD player or speakers in the kitchen. 'Cause if you use the ones in the other room and blast them at loud volumes, it'll really tick him off.

Getting back to the point – here's two of my recipes that I used for dinner last night! I made them for the guys' Bible study that meets at my house on Saturday nights, and they seemed to like it. Well, either that or they were just happy to get free food. They are guys, after all. Either one works for me!

Bruschetta Chicken

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 10 breasts) *Tip – When buying your chicken, be willing to spend a few extra dollars on the more expensive kind. It makes all the difference in taste!
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 6 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 6 tablespoons minced fresh basil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs; place in 2 greased 13” x 9” baking dishes. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and butter; sprinkle over chicken. Loosely cover baking dish with foil.

2. Bake at 375º for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until top is browned.

3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over the chicken. Return to the oven for 5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through.

This should make about 12 servings. Could be more or less depending on how much people eat.

Spinach Parmesan Linguine

• 1 package (16 ounces) linguine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook linguine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring broth to a boil. Add onion and garlic. Reduce heat; cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in spinach; cook for 2 minutes.

2. Add the milk, cream cheese, salt, and pepper; stir until cheese is melted. Drain linguine and place in a serving bowl. Add sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses; toss to coat.

One last note: I didn't measure everything perfectly, so a few of these numbers were guesses of what I did. Happy eating!

Tying Ties

I have done things in these past few days that I never thought I'd do. I've learned to tie a tie (well, a neckerchief, but it's the same knot), and I found the highway from downtown without getting lost first. Two extremely large feats for me!

Before yesterday, I had never found the highway from downtown without a GPS or some sort of map. However, I don't have to say that anymore! Leaving school for the first time on Thursday, I knew I was going to spend a few minutes - or hours - maneuvering my car around the one-way streets of Denver trying to find the entrance to I-25. But I had my Panic! at the Disco CD and was ready for a little quality time with downtown. The time came to leave campus. And of course that time was rush hour. I walked out to my car ready to face the adventure that lie ahead. I stuck the key into the ignition and revved up the car. I even put on my squinty eyes (not to be confused with Mr. Potato Head's angry eyes), ready to take on any competition that came my way. A car pulled out in front of me, and I quickly followed. We darted through the city streets. We took on the one-way signs with ease. Suddenly, a sign appeared. It was those glorious blue and white colors that announce the highway. I did it. Well, the random stranger I was following did it... Close enough.

Okay, I admit it. Even though I've already been through two days of class, there isn't much going on. I'm just trying to make me sound awesome, but obviously I'm failing. I don't get to start cooking in class until the beginning of October, so the only things I'm learning are how to communicate with people and run a business, where to sit so you don't have to breathe in the cigarette smoke of your classmate, and how to keep sweat off my neck using that tight, hot neckerchief. All very important things, yes, but I want to cook!

Actually, I've had a lot of fun in this first week of class! I've learned a lot, made some friends, had some fun, and even eaten food from another class. Although, if anyone from that class is reading this, your omelets could use more salt.

Soon. I will cook soon! Maybe I'll even stick some amateur recipe up here for you guys to try out tomorrow. Get hungry!

Let The Fun Begin!

Culinary school is a go! I start in just two weeks at The Art Institute of Colorado. Of course, I probably won't be in their kitchen until October, so don't go begging for my gourmet food just yet.

The school looks amazing. Even my mom was getting excited! However, I think she was more excited for the fact that I'll be cooking dinner a lot more for her...

Apparently, whenever I make something in class, I get to take it home. Gosh, I'm gonna get so fat. And that's not a joke. I really like eating food. ← That's probably why I'm becoming a chef.

I get an awesome chef's outfit to wear everyday! Actually, I get three. Because I'm messy. With this outfit, I can't wear jewelry, I can't paint my nails, my hair has to be completely hidden, it has to be cleaned and pressed every day, and I can't wear goth makeup (That last one's obviously going to be the hardest one for me). The outfit consists of a heavy-weight white jacket, some unisex, drawstring, checkered pants, a traditional chef's hat, and the world's ugliest shoes. Well, scratch that, I don't have to wear Toms. I guess my shoes are the world's second ugliest shoes.

I feel like I should go exercise right now in preparation for everything I'm going to be eating. Treadmill, here I come! Oh, who am I kidding; I have episodes of Psych I need to catch up on. Why waste a sunny summer day exercising?