Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce, a photo by Kitchen Undergrad on Flickr.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It's crazy how fast we transition into Christmas. But even if the radio is playing holiday songs already, you can still hold onto a little bit of Thanksgiving with some leftovers. 

It's not Thanksgiving for me without any cranberry sauce. Homemade. By my mom. It's bitter, tart, sweet, and I love how it goes well with turkey, and with a slice of bread. Even in tea. My mom made extra so I could take back with me a tupperware-full of cranberry sauce. A little extra sugar to help me get through the day.

St. Johns Bridge is one of the most beautiful bridges I have ever seen, and crossed. It had this calming aura, even with cold gusts of wind coming from every which way.   

Oven Roasted Vegetables

Oven Roasted Vegetables, a photo by Kitchen Undergrad on Flickr.

I love having an oven. It's fun having different methods and tools for cooking. With these vegetables I put in a dash of olive oil, but the second time I made them, I didn't and they tasted just fine. Salt and pepper is a must, and I put in some herbs de Provence as well. You can eat them as is, or have them with pasta. I wish I had some cheese and crackers! Brie cheese with roasted peppers? Mmmm

On a Saturday Morning

After weeks of having cereals on the go, I decided to change things up a bit. It has been a goal of mine this month to make homemade granola, and today was the day. I like to keep things simple, and so my granola only has oats, cranberries and some walnuts. Recipes that I saw called for 3 cups of oats, but liking the idea of having fresh breakfast, I decided that 1 cup worth of granola would be enough for me. If I run out I will just make more. It takes about 10 minutes for a cup of oats. This recipe makes a non-chunky granola, and can be mixed in with yogurt, or just eaten as plain cereal. Mmm!

Fresh Granola

Ingredients:
-1 cup of oats
-1/2 tsp of olive oil
-3 tbs. of honey
-a handful of cranberries (or dried fruit of your choice)
-chopped nuts (walnuts or almonds)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, stir oats, honey, nuts, and olive oil. Mix well until the oats get a little clumpy. Lay out the mix on parchment or foil and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. *You want to mix in the cranberries AFTER the oats have cooked.

Greetings from Oregon!

Greetings from Oregon, a photo by Kitchen Undergrad on Flickr.

Much needed art break. Tried printing on light brown construction paper and the vintage-like effect is pretty cool. I think I will experiment a bit.

Potato Chip

Potato Chip, a photo by Kitchen Undergrad on Flickr.

Made potato chips! Simpler than I thought. Slice them about 1/8 inch thick and toss them around in a little olive oil and salt. It takes 30min+ with an oven temperature of 400. Yum!

Warmth of Vanilla

Warmth of Vanilla, a photo by Kitchen Undergrad on Flickr.

The cold kicked in, and as a seasonal trend, I CAUGHT the cold just like everyone else on campus. Lame! But life goes on. I have a midterm on Monday so I've been trying to study. It's so hard though when your mind is elsewhere, wanting to craw back into the warm sheets. But even on a bad day coffee seems to help brighten things up. Not for the energy rush, but I really love the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Wow am I that old? No not even. But I'm getting there. Anyways, the smell of vanilla is the sweetest smell, and so warm, it makes me want to twirl around.