some college cooking

this is a brief interlude in my recent conquests of desserts, baking, and swede culture.

I started this blog last summer to showcase simple, tasty recipes I consider a step-up from the stereotypical college fare. I generally cook myself 2 meals a day, 6 days a week. It's just what happens on a budget. Mind you, I do often splurge at the grocery store. It’s also partially because I need at least one creative outlet per day. Sometimes its thinking and writing, often painting. Mostly: cooking.



A few days ago I awoke without the trace of appetite. Regardless, I sat and thought of food until 3, then had a chocolate cake to hold me over until dinner. Enter: appetite. And: rice. Recently I've been preparing rice by sautéing it in the saucepan with sesame oil, ginger, and garlic until crisp before steaming. The rice absorbs these flavors beautifully. I've also convinced myself that the grain holds form better...maybe true?
The more exciting part of the meal: carrots. Chopped then sautéed with potatoes and garlic and smothered with a nice sauce of tomato paste, sesame, chili pepper, soy. A happy compromise of sweet and spicy.


potato salad. no mayo. thanks. tomatoes would have been nice, though

Boiled potatoes are popular in Sweden. And not seasoned. usch. So, with a hefty portion of leftover potatoes and boiled eggs I made a simple, light potato salad. Too easy, in fact: too good.
::boiled potatoes
::boiled eggs
::garlic
::fresh basil
::olive oil
::fresh lemon juice
::sweet, white "balsamic"
::salt
::pepper

Okej, key to good cooking: fresh ingredients.

The grocery store only sells herbs in soil...so I won't be buying any more basil for the next month. Thanks, ICA.

rice pudding ice cream

Rice pudding, that wonderful dish. Thick and thin, buttery with cinnamon, or fresh with flower essence. All good. I'd come up with this idea about a month ago, maybe longer. I intended to preserve the flavor and (relatively) texture of one dessert in another, more chilled creation.

RICE PUDDING ICE CREAM
- Heat 3 cups milk with 1/4 cup white rice, simmering about 30 minutes, until rice is nearly tender.
- Mix 4 egg yolks with 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup honey (heating honey allows for quicker, more accurate measuring). RESERVE EGG WHITES
- Slowly stir in milk/rice with sweet eggs.
- Bring back to heat until custard thickens.
- Mix in 1.5 cups cream.
- Beat egg whites to soft peaks (or more, I had to whisk by hand, which proved tiring, inefficient, and only yielded soft peaks)
- Stir/fold the whites into the custard and chill.
- Add 2 tablespoons ORANGE BLOSSOM WATER before running through machine.

This was awesome. It's cold, smooth, fresh, and undeniably rice pudding-ish. The texture of the frozen rice feels great and chewy during a brief moment of pre-swallowing enjoyment.

I had been hoping to add some pistachios, perhaps a touch of cardamom, but those will have to wait for the next batch. And though I'm interested in trying a buttery, cinnamon version, it will be hard to veer away from the fragrant blossom scent.