Welcome to Culinary Pursuits on a College Campus

I've been wanting to start a cooking blog for awhile - basically ever since I saw Julie & Julia in theater. But, I never knew what to talk about, what my niche would be! It finally came to me as I was searching the blogosphere for food blogs - cooking for college students. Because, let's face it, college cooking can be an oxymoron in itself! With dining courts, late-night delivery, and fast food restaurants at our disposal who would want to cook. And with our busy schedules there generally isn't time to eat, let alone cook, and it can be difficult for most college students to find the time to cook healthy and delicious meals. There's a reason for the freshman 15 (and I was a victim of this myself).

But, I'm here to show that it can be done, and it can be done without breaking the bank! You might be sitting there right now saying, Liz, you're full of it! There is no way I can cook healthy food with my crazy schedule and not run out of money before midterms roll around! And, in the past I probably would have agreed with you, but I've learned a few new tricks and realized...it can be done! And that's what I hope to show you throughout the life of this blog.

I'm not claiming to be an expert by any means, but I'm volunteering to do the research and the legwork, and just present you with my findings! I'm going to be scouring cooking magazines, food blogs, recipe websites, and watching the Food Network to find some delicious tasting, healthy recipes. I will take the recipes I find and modify them if necessary to make it healthier or quicker! I am excited to start this new adventure!

I'm going to present you with recipes for main dishes, side dishes, desserts, appetizers, and everything in between! And, I'm going to be totally honest about everything, including how much the meal cost me, how it tasted, how long it took me to cook, and if I would make it again. I also want to include special posts about other things that revolve around college cooking, including ways to get around using expensive cooking equipment (because I don't own a dutch oven, a complete set of pots and pans, or a blender cover - that's right I have a blender, but no cover, it's forced me to be creative), leftover ideas, and tips for ways to stay healthy during the school year.

To end this post, I'm going to leave you with a recipe I made last night. I do not have pictures because I currently do not have a camera (I lost my power plug and my tech-savvy boyfriend has yet to help me find a new one!) and Adam's camera was forgotten at his parent's house over Thanksgiving break. So, bear with me for now - I promise that my posts will include lots of pictures!

Vegetable Tian
adapted from Ina Garten's recipe

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 2 large white onions, cut in half and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound medium round potatoes, unpeeled
• 3/4 pound zucchini
• 1 1/4 pounds medium tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs
• 2 ounces fat-free Mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.


Spray a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with Pam. In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.


Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes in 1/4-inch thick slices. Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly, making only 1 layer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and thyme sprigs and drizzle with 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Uncover the dish, remove the thyme sprigs, sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake for another 30 minutes until browned. Serve warm.



Photo of Ina's Tian, courtesy of The Food Network Website

I know you might be saying didn't she just say the recipes would be quick! And I would say, you're right, but...this recipe really didn't take that long work wise. So, the chopping of the vegetables and sauteeing of the onions took about 20 minutes, the other prep work (foiling, removing foil, adding cheese, etc.) took another 7 minutes, that's less than 30 minutes! It cooks for awhile, but you just stick it in the oven and go do homework, stalk Facebook, or do whatever else you want! See, it really doesn't take that much time out of your productivity!

For the review: this recipe cost a total of $15.67 which comes to a total of $7.84 a person (if you are cooking for only 2 people, less if cooking for more!) Now, you might say - I can get a foot long sub from Subway for $5. True, but this dish lasted Adam and I two meals each, yesterday and today. We had it on the side of pasta, but it's hearty enough to have on its own. My reaction to the dish: I didn't like it very much, but Adam loved it! I switched out Gruyere cheese from the original recipe because I couldn't find it at the store. This may have made a difference, and I would definitely be willing to try it again with the right cheese!

So, I hope you will continue to follow this blog, find some new recipes, and learn a thing or two :)