Student Cooking

Quinoa Salad with Chicken and Black Beans (my very first gluten-free potluck)

~ Hilary ~ Leave a comment

Jane, who was the Student Experience Office’s administrative assistant up until a short two days ago, is now working in a different campus office (we’re really, really happy she got the job, she is awesome!) so we decided to have a belated birthday/going away potluck for her.  Now for any of you who actually read what I write, you’ll know that Jane has an intolerance to gluten (which is unfortunately one of my favourite things in the world).

With Jane’s allergy in mind and my strange urge to cook something with quinoa, I decided to make Quinoa Salad with Chicken and Black Beans. I was extremely pleased when this salad turned out to be a siesta-in-a-bowl, with mexican-themed ingredients like corn and black beans.  With there not really being a dressing, I found it had a perfect balance of flavours.

Near death experience: Getting my food to the office is usually a difficult ordeal, and this morning proved no different.  My poor early-morning decision-making skills placed me in a tricky situation in which I found myself in a short dress balancing a big salad bowl in one hand, while trying the steer my bike with the other.  Normally, I am a perfectly competent single-handed bike rider, however the added challenge of me having to constantly readjust my dress as to not flash the universe, combined with the heat of my new jacket made the ride a pain.  Needless to say my ankle is now cut up from a near bike-tumbling experience (my superb balancing skills saved my life!).  I hope the pictures made this ride worth it!

Home this weekend, planning on cooking LOADS of tasty stuff for the fam!

Dill Grilled Salmon and Mini Potato Zucchini Latkes

~ Hilary ~ 1 Comment

With the clock quickly ticking on my friend Gord’s blogger challenge, I knew that last night was as good a time as any to complete my task.  Just to remind you all, my challenge was to take one of Gord’s recipes and make it my own.  This being said, I decided to take his “Cheddar Zucchini Patties” post and ditch the cheese in favour of a hefty amount of grated potato and chopped dill.  I must admit, I can’t take total credit for this idea, and was inspired (as always) by the Canadian Living recipe for Mini Potato Zucchini Latkes.  I first saw this recipe in the mini cookbook that accompanied September’s issue of the magazine, which my mom very dearly supplied me with when she visited last week.  The only major alteration I made to the recipe was to add two tablespoons of finely chopped dill, to add some sort of consistent flavour to my meal.  These latkes turned out pretty well, however I think I definitely could have benefitted from cooking them a bit longer, as the insides still had a bit of a munchy consistency.  Overall, these latkes provided the perfect accompaniment to my salmon, completed a chellenge and were the best “dinner food that reminds me of a breakfast meal” that I’ve had in a while.

Alright, so the salmon!  Let me tell you, Canadian Living has countless recipes containing three ingredients: lemon, dill and fish.  It was quite the challenge to choose just one (I, of course, needed to use up the dill leftover from my potato and corn salad last week), but I eventually settled on the one called Dill Grilled Trout (yes, I realize I made salmon, but the recipe called for either!) This recipe saw the Glorious Return 2.0 of the beloved George Foreman grill, something which made me an extremely happy camper.

On an unrelated but otherwise interesting note: I have actually planned out my meals for the next week!  I’m not sure where this sudden urge for organization is coming from, but I’m excited!

Flourless Chocolate Cake (also known as Jane’s Birthday, part 2)

~ Hilary ~ 2 Comments

For those of you who were wondering why Jane was the only one whose birthday cake was chocolate, this post should serve as clarification for your questioning minds.  Jane, who is I swear the sweetest person in the universe, just happens to be allergic to a dear little thing called gluten.  This being said, there is gluten in things that I could never possibly imagine – licorice, Caramilk chocolate bars, etc. etc.  Needless to say, I would die.  Jane, on the other hand, is a super trooper (yes, like the ABBA song) and, since I always feel horrible for making Friday treats she can’t eat, I knew I needed to make her an extra special cake for her birthday.

That’s where this flourless chocolate cake came in.  Meant to serve as a joint birthday/happy last summer orientation day cake, the pressure was on.  I spent countless hours searching the Internet in and out for a gluten-free cake recipe that I thought I could duplicate.  I finally found this awesome blog, Gluten Free Goddess, which then led me to find this recipe.

Since there is (obviously) no flour in this cake, the ingredients were quite unlike what I was used to.  This cake contained a hell of a lot of chocolate – five dark chocolate bars to be exact.  Seeing me carting six chocolate bars through my check out (yes, I bought an extra milk chocolate bar just for me) my overly-curious grocery store cashier kindly asked me if I had just suffered an unfortunate break up.  I couldn’t help but laugh.

This cake also contained EIGHT eggs, the most I have ever used all at one time, including during omelette and breakfast making.  My fridge resources were exhausted.  Another ingredient I was unsure about was the coffee required for this recipe.  In the end, I took a leap of faith, bolted to my local Starbucks and ordered a grande bold to go.  Following what the recipe requires.. always a good choice.

The end result of this cake was a luscious, dense dessert where one could taste just a hint of coffee.   A little less solid and cake-like than what I was used to, it reminded me more of a giant brownie than anything.  Don’t get me wrong, it was still delicious, but I think this whole gluten-free eating thing could take a little getting used to…   Also, made some simple chocolate icing to go on top and added some coloured sprinkles, just for fun!

Dilled Potato and Corn Salad

~ Hilary ~ 1 Comment

I have finally decided to use the precious Prince Edward Island potatoes that my friend Emma brought me after her trip home to the island.  Waiting for the ideal moment and ideal meal to cook these potatoes was difficult, considering that I place PEI potatoes in the same value category as things like “gold” and “seasons 1-6 of LOST.”  That being said, my expectations were pretty high as I searched for a recipe worthy of their goodness.

This recipe came from the September issue of Canadian Living, which my mom kindly dropped off to me before leaving for Chicago.  The recipe incorporated the potatoes nicely (they are so key they even got a special mention in the title!) as well as took advantage of the fact that it is now corn season!  Since we don’t have a BBQ, I grilled the corn on the stove using a non-stick pan.  How did this work out?  Alright, I guess, but I am mourning over the absence of those photogenic grill lines that BBQ’s provide.  I may have to do something drastic and make my own homemade griller…

An added bonus for this meal?  It cost me a grand total of $3.56 to make.  This minimal amount included: a large bottle of red wine vinegar (which I am not extremely fond of but I think the taste may grow on me), fresh dill, green onions and corn.  Not too shabby for a filling dinner and leftover lunch.  Also, I’m so glad I went with the fresh dill, it was so refreshing.  New goal for the school year: plant and maintain my own spice garden.

The pictures turned out so well that I couldn’t select only two, so we have a hat trick of photos for your viewing pleasure!  Next up: more birthday surprises and the completion of Gord’s challenge.