WIAW#34: I'm going to CAMP!

If you haven't read a lot of the posts here on the Cuisiner than you might not know my love for the Summer Camp, Nawakwa that I went to all of my childhood and worked at the Summer of 2010. This week I get to go back! I got a Facebook message last week begging for a fill in counselor for the week. At first I said, I can't I'm working. About 2 minutes later though I said, "I have to do this!"

So here I am, getting ready for a week of exercise (see WIAWers!), camp food, and barely any sleep. I can't wait!


The Reasons I can't wait to go to Camp:


I am in the need of some Fresh air time, I'm feeling cooped up here.

My wardrobe is feeling stale so I get to wear athletic shorts and t-shirts for a week and no makeup!

I get to hang out with some really cool kids for a whole week.

Can you say craft-time?!?!?

The amazing cook, Kathy makes me feel at home with her cooking and old-fashion charm.

Good friends.

A pool! What's that? I work in an office.

Gaga! It's Israeli Dodge ball, enough said.

Hiking (I'll have to bear it.)


Here's what I did in the Summer of 2010:

So that's my evolving view of exercise and trust me this WILL BE EXERCISE.

Not to mention the walks Aaron and I have been taking and the fact I spent a four day weekend standing, walking, and moving for my internship at the PA Civil War 150 Road Show and our stop in State College.


But for fun, I'll show you what has been my definition of exercise since then:

Now that I've covered the exercise, here's what I've eaten:




  Some of our State College Weekend Eats: 

 

Weekday Eats
Breakfast:

Chobani Yogurt

Coffee with Coconut creamer

Lunch:

Leftover baked rotini (out of ziti)

Spring mix tossed with homemade vinaigrette

Coke with Lemon

Snacks:

Pink Lady apple with Almond butter

Tea with cream

A couple of butter cookies and three squares of dark chocolate with almonds

Dinner:

Spiced Apple Chicken Sausage on Potato roll with Sriracha mayo,

Spring mix and shaved carrots
Ice Water

I'm looking forward to a great week and some cool stuff coming my way! Don't worry, I'm working on getting the quinoa stuffed peppers recipe on here, promise!

Since i'll be gone next week stay tune for some guest eats from my friend Jen! I'll be sure to keep the posts coming in my absence!

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

What To Wear for Study Abroad in London

Okay, I'll admit this is not a Fashion blog. Even though I would love to talk about fashion more often, this is a food blog and I'm proud of it. But after spending my Spring 2012 semester in London, I understand the need for a good check list for things to bring. Fall Semester is coming up and hopefully this will help a few of you out there.

Since I was there from Winter to Spring, it might be less helpful for those of you who will be living in London fro your Fall Semester. But hopefully this helps you both.

 Fashion here is as unique as the people, you never know what you may see on the street. And trust me there will be days you feel as if you ran into a fashion show on the tube or on your way to Uni!

There are many ways to survive living in London. Fashion ranges from posh to edgy, girly to femme fatale and every thing in between. Don't get lost!


As a half Brit with an English Aunt who in the 60's looked like Twiggy I really got into the fashion here. 

Here's my London look:

Preparing like crazy, I brought several items from home and supplemented my existing wardrobe throughout the semester. My roommate who didn't bring as much instead bought the majority of her clothing and looked a lot more the part than me. But you must also think within your budget. With shopping havens such as High Street Kensington, Spitalfields Market, and Oxford Street is so easy to overspend. But you don't have to! Shop around, invest in quality pieces and spend less on trendy items you won't wear as often.

Most of these pictures are of true London fashion so don't worry you DO NOT have to measure up to this but it is something to examine as popular fashion for the last few years.



http://www.thesartorialist.com/




What to Bring:

http://www.polyvore.com/capsule_wardrobe/set?id=36584634


Essentials: When it comes to living in London, when in doubt, wear black.

• Two pairs of Black fitted or skinny jeans
• Tailored pants
• Cute dresses for going out or for dinner, people like to dress up, one black
• Longer daytime dresses that are comfortable but stylish
• Black or cute colored leggings
• At least 3 pairs of black tights
• Comfortable, good quality black pea coat or fitted coat
• Two black blazers or cute jackets for going out when you don't want to bring a coat (coat checks can get expensive and there is no better way to loose a nice coat)
• Several comfortable v-neck shirts to layer
• Short sleeve shirts with simple patterns such as strips
• Two cute sweater jackets to wear over short sleeved tops
• Two-three nice sweaters (they call them jumpers) that are not bulky or too busy or patterned
• Seriously, at least 20 pairs of underwear as you will most likely be walking to a launderette and will not want or have time to do this more than every 1 1/2-2 weeks
• At least 10-15 pairs of long socks for boots and closed toed shoes (these will always get dirty first!)

Example of "doable" London Fashion for the non-Londoner:

http://www.garotasestupidas.com/

Shoes:

• Straight Black knee high boots
• Ankle boots black, tan, or other color
• Black flats
• Black heels
• Oxford flats in brown or other color

Accessories:

• Cute water proof hat to act instead of an umbrella, NOT baseball hats
• Pashminas or other scarves
• Waist belts both skinny and large
• A good handbag that is sturdy and good quality but not flashy. Make sure it clasps securly and has a hard bottom as not to get sliced by pickpockets.
• A larger side bag such as the very popular Long Champs for school stuff. Backpacks are less common but not discouraged.

Your outer wear: hand bags, scarves, shoes, and jacket is the first thing people see. This is where you will make your fashion statement.

What to Buy There:

• Black jeans
• Black boots, save about $100 for a nice pair as you will wear these almost everyday
• Longer sweater dresses- comfortable, and fashionable
• Button down blouses, different colors: white, light blue, black, nautical, etc.
• Tailored skirts, different lengths

      Trendy clothing:

• Items in style such as bright red or chartreuse skinny jeans
• Cute tops in trendy styles
• Trendy nylons and leggings in different prints
• Rompers and trendy jumpers in bold colors
• Bohemian floral prints and flowy dresses for multiple seasons
• trendy shoes or seasonal items like glammed chuck taylors



http://ashandbelle.blogspot.com/2011/06/loving-london.html

Her polka dot nylons were very popular and a steal for £ 3 at Primark!

The hipster/Bohemian trend is very popular in London but more mildy stated than in American cities. Think nice hipster/city look without grungy or cast away thrift store pieces.

http://www.waynetippetts.com/

One of the best things about London style is the hair! Women in London always have perfect hair styles so think about ways to make your hair look the best without the fuss. (Skip the saggy ponytails.)

What NOT to Bring:

• Sweat pants
• Sweat shirts, especially ones sporting American universities, Greek sorority or fraternity letters
• cut up jeans, only dark demin
• Sneakers, unless you are planning on working out you will never wear these in public
• Uggs, or crocs, seriously.
• Old Navy or cheap Flip flops, unless you will be sharing a dorm shower you will not need these
• Rain boots: no one wears these there, so instead focus on getting a high quality black boot that is waterproof or that you can treat
• Expensive jewelry, flashly clothes, or handbags.

Good things for travel:

While you won't often see blue jeans in London these trousers are more common in other European cities like Barcelona, Prague, Paris, etc. Bring your favorite pair of jeans for travel and laundry days.


Unfortunately London is one of the worst cities in the world for petty crimes like theft and pickpocketing. By blending in you will protect yourself as "touristy" looking people will be targeted more often than not.

Good Places to shop for Cheap clothes:

Primark- ponounced (PRY- Mark, not Prime mark or primm mark)
This place is crowded and full of foreign shoppers but their clothes are cheap and good for trendy or going out pieces. Not very good quality so don't plan on getting things there you want to wear every day.

H&M- Not the same place as in the States and a good stop for seasonal and trendy items. 

TK Maxx- (Yep, with a "K") Great place to look for clothes but not the same store as back home. While similar discounts as in the US, TK Maxx often holds more expensive clothes, accessories, and shoes so while they are discounted, they are still expensive. Good for special occasion stuff or handbags.

Charity Shops- Their thrift Stores. While I never had much luck in London every time I travelled to surrounding towns in England I found very cute things at charity shops! People donate designer clothes that are still in good condition so look first their for a much cheaper option. 

Preparing for your Trip:

Check out fashion blogs and other sites for ideas on things to bring but don't worry, if you didn't bring it you can get it later.

Use Pinterest to find cute ideas and styles just search "London Fashion" for lots of hits.

If you are going for the Spring Semester try to buy the majority of your staple items in the beginning of January when stores have very big sales.

Fashion is London is pretty incredible and it is very easy to get self-conscious. DON'T. The best thing about London fashion is confidence. While most people blend into practically indistinguishable what makes this a fashion capital is the people who stand out! Just wait, you will LOVE it! 

This checklist is probably not 100 percent complete but hopefully it will give you an idea for fashion budgeting and what to bring with you. And trust me, you could do a lot worse than London! No matter what make sure the style you adopt is still you! All you have to do is OWN IT! Just because peep-toed pumps (no joke!) were everywhere in the middle of Winter, I didn't get any because that wasn't me.

Trust your gut and you will be fine! British people are great for fashion tips so don't be afraid to ask once you get to know someone!

And of course the number one London fashion advice from me: No outfit is complete without the perfect lipstick. Trust me, be prepared.

Hope to come up with some more study abroad tips in the future. Let me know if you have or questions or comments!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

WIAW #33: Happy 1st Birthday to my Blog!

I thought for awhile what I wanted to do for my 1 year anniversary post. Funny enough my blog-bday feel on a Wednesday so I'm thrilled to share it with all of you!


I've been through a lot this past year, living in 2000 miles away, getting engaged, and starting this blog has changed me in many ways. This blog has become a big part of my daily routine so much I finally got my first blogger business cards!


Since it's Wednesday I would like to show my eats for the week but throw in some of my favorite moments from this past year along with the winners of the Tribe Hummus and Veggie Patch giveaway!


Hold on! This is going to be a long one!




First Things first: The fitness part of this month.


My slowly evolving definition of exercise:

• Going for walks after dinner with Aaron
• Kayaking
• Zuma...I'm getting there.

The lurking in the shadows still definition of exercise:

Jenga. Yep. Mental Sweat.

Frolicking...actually harder than it looks.

Drinking hot cocoa suspiciously 

I had a lovely week that started off with not only my business cards arriving on my doorstep but a box of Special K Granola Bars! Last week I won the giveaway from Sprint 2 the Table and they just arrived! I was very excited! Along with preparing for this month's Foodie Pen Pals, this has been quite a week!


Then I made kale chips which are totally worth making rather than buying.

Breakfast

Banana and blueberries bowl topped with agave, almond butter and almond milk

Lunch

 

Thrown together mezze plate at the office. Last of Roasted Garlic hummus with feta and kalamata olives, some organic carrots, homemade kale chips, and leftover couscous. Pretty good for a fridge-raiding lunch!

Dinner

Rotisserie chicken, Spring mix with homemade capris salad

Mediterranean Quinoa stuffed pepper- My mother’s own creation and something I MUST post! You would love it!

Snacks Etc.

Apples and Almond butter and the Special K granola bars from the Sprint to the table giveway!

Jenn from Peas and Crayon's suggested ice water with fresh cucumbers-obsessively refreshing!

Homemade kale and Sweet potato chips!

 

 

Loving the So Delicous Coconut milk cream in my morning coffee. Even if my bosses' boss drinks all the coffee and doesn't make more!

So amazing homemade Bordeaux Cherry and Coconut ice cream from the Chester Springs Creamery in Chester Springs, PA

Snacking on healthy cucumbers, cherries and crackers with salmon dip while flipping through my first wedding magazines!

...............................................

Now for the winners of my giveaway!!!

 

Congratulations to

Molly@New York at Heart

and

Robin O.!!!

Thank you so much to all of you who entered and to Tribe Hummus and Veggie Patch products for this great giveway! It was so much fun to host a giveaway like this and I cannot wait to do another like it soon!

I’ll email you so I can get your mailing addresses and you can get your vouchers!

.................................................................

It is so hard to pick my favorite moments from the Cusiner over the past year but I'll do my best. Let me know what you think!

Favorite Cuisiner Moments:

My very first post on July 11th, 2011 when blogging was still so new!

"Meeting" Carrie at Bakeaholic Mama who has become a great blogging ally over this past year. Our respective blogs have gone very different paths but no matter how successful and famous Carrie gets she always stops to give me a hand at promoting a giveaway, getting me new facebook fans and twitter followers and being just plain awesome. She's fantastic and man can she cook!

All of the little steps slowly but surely:

getting a facebook fan page, a twitter, instagram, pinterest, foodie penpals, unique domain name, Business cards! This blog has had a slow and steady climb but I've enjoyed every minute!

Going to London and Traveling all over Europe!

Meeting up with Kara at Food Baby Blog for wine and Whole Foods tastings while in London! what are the odds?!?

Grilling with Aaron...boy I''m lucky.

Engagment in Paris. Ditto.

My very first What I Ate Wednesday (which as far as I'm concerned put me on the "map!")

My 100th post! (Ironically also a Wednesday...must be good luck!)

All of the wonderful people I've met through the blogging community and all fo the wonderful places, products, ideas, etc. that I've gained from my time here!

I've done a lot on the Cuisiner and it would be impossible to highlight all of it but thank you to all of my readers, followers, and my friends and family who let me photograph all of their food and have put up with this endeavor for a year now. Looking forward to another year!

Aaron and I will be on location for my internship/part time job in State College, PA this weekend so I will try to post these amazing homemade Kale chips ASAP!

Thanks again for all of the love and support. Happy blog birthday to me!!!!

Love,

Marisa

Sunday Lunch: Peach Clafoutis

C'est Dimanche alors...let's bake!

Okay this one is French, so why is it under Sunday lunch? Because it is delicious. Simple. And great for summer when you need to use up the ripe peaches you may have lying around. And hey, I am the Cuisiner after all.


Originally from the French region of Limousin, clafoutis are normally made with fresh cherries with the pits intact. According to the French, the pits still within the cherries make the flavor more rich than without. At least that’s what Jamie Oliver told me. I’ll take their word for it as my mother probably wouldn’t like crunching on a cherry pit very much.

I hope to make the traditional cherry version soon as they are in also season but since we had these lovely ripe peaches sitting in the kitchen I couldn’t resist. Think custard meets pie meets delectable. I love the consistency of this pudding along with the very light simple sweetness it brings to pair with a cuppa, as Breakfast, or alongside a Sunday lunch with company. It makes quite the presentation and it couldn’t be simpler!

Clafoutis or anglicized Clafouti (kla-foo-tee) is served lukewarm out of the oven once rested. So it is still the perfect light summer dessert that will not feel heavy in the July heat. I brought my beauty to a summer party alongside homemade amaretto whipped cream because honestly, life is too short to eat “whip cream” from a can! Since I added a tablespoon of cognac to the batter I originally used cognac in the whipped cream but it tasted too spiced so instead I used amaretto for the final appearance. I also liked that the dessert isn’t too sweet so the sweeter whipped cream paired nicely.

Clafoutis is much loved, and of course a Julia Child specialty. There are many versions floating around the internet, here are the two on which I based my recipe:

Sugar & Spice by Celeste

French Cuisine- Suite 101

Try this recipe with all types of summer fruit such as cherries, raspberries, and figs for the Fall. I hope you enjoy my version and please PLEASE try this! You’ll love it for Sunday Lunch or just a summer treat!

Peach Clafoutis: makes 6-8 slices
(Adapted from two sources above)

Ingredients:

3 eggs
 1 cup milk minus a tablespoon (add 1 tbsp. cognac or peach liqueur)
 2 tsp. vanilla
 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
 ½ cup sugar
 ¼ tsp ground nutmeg or cardamon
 Pinch of salt
 3 fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
 unsalted butter to grease baking dish

Directions:

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Crack eggs into a medium bowl. Beat with electric mixer until foamy.

Add milk, cognac, vanilla, sifted flour, ½ cup of sugar, nutmeg and pinch of salt. Beat again until smooth.

 Pour batter into buttered 9-inch ovenproof dish or pie plate. Scatter peaches over batter and sprinkle ¼ cup of sugar over the peaches and batter. (Peaches will rise to the top.)

Place in oven and bake 40-45 minutes. Batter should rise, turn golden, and be firm when done.
Remove peach clafoutis from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving. Serve with a dollop of homemade whipped cream.


Enjoy your Sunday! Wish we could have lunch!

Love,

The College Cuisiner


TOMORROW (Monday, July 9th, 2012) is the VERY last day to enter my giveaway in honor of my Blog birthday from Tribe Hummus and Veggie Patch Products. Don’t delay!

Multi-Colored Bruschetta

It's summer, I'm hot aren't you? The weather silly.

So today I thought it wouldn't be best to post the amazing turkey sausage and primavera baked ziti I recently made. Instead I decided to post my multi-colored bruschetta. I can't believe that is has almost been a year writing this blog and I still haven't posted my bruschetta or my homemade hummus. I apologize. But today I'll try to make up for part of it.

I love bruschetta so much that my gbf Mark and I used to make 4 cups of it with his baked crostinis and sit and eat it while watching episodes of Doctor Who. That's normal right? Too bad, I still love it.

So the last time I made it I thought it would be great to make my bruschetta Julie and Julia style by using both red and yellow tomatoes over grilled bread. We even upped it by adding not only the delicious Italian basil growing in my mother's garden but also her purple basil, or red rubin. So this baby is super colorful and perfect for summer. We ate this for dinner with a simple grilled chicken side but you can do whatever you want with it. For my gluten-free friends, as always skip the bread and use a more friendly base instead. But still grill it! It makes all the difference I promise!

This was all I could think about after buying a deliciously yellow pint of tomatoes at the farmer's market earlier that day. Since it was going to be the two of us for dinner we thought it would be the perfect time to make bruschetta.

I love garlic so if you don't that's okay, add less. I also prefer balsamic reduction or a higher quality balsamic vinegar versus the plain more vinegary watery base. It just adds more flavor. So if that's all you have take the time to cook it down to a reduction and trust me you'll be happy you did!

I also love mixing bruschetta with pasta or on top of grilled chicken. Make it your own! If you have an infused olive oil such as basil, chile, or garlic, go for it! It will make a huge difference in the flavor!

Multi-Colored Bruschetta: 

about 3 or more cups

Ingredients:


3-4 medium-small yellow tomatoes
3-4 medium-small red tomatoes (campiniri or plum for the best flavor)
10-15 leaves of green Italian basil
10-15 leaves of red rubin (purple basil)
2-3 cloves of crushed garlic (depending on how garlicky you like it!)
3 tbsp. of garlic infused olive oil
3 tbsp. balsamic reduction (I used a fabulous red currant version courtesy of my wonderful sister.)
Sea Salt to taste
Fresh black pepper to taste

Optional:

1/2 tsp. of fresh lemon zest

Directions:

Cut tomatoes in half, taking off the top and bottom and scooping out the majority of seeds so the bruschetta won't become too soupy. Chop both varieties of tomatoes into chunks, put in large bowl.

Chop basil leaves finely  or cut into thin strips. Add basil and desired amount of garlic to bowl and mix together.

Add olive oil and balsamic and mix well. Add pepper and salt to taste. Add lemon zest if desired. Serve immediately or allow to sit in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes so the flavors mix well.

Serve with grilled bread (like us!) or on any like meat like tilapia, grilled chicken or eat
with zucchini cups!


Tip:
If you happen to have leftover bruschetta, (doubtful) give it a new taste by adding kalamata olives, fresh feta cheese, and even cucumbers for a Mediterranean salad with hummus and pita chips!


Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

Wednesday is my 1 year blog birthday! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway from Tribe Hummus and Veggie Patch foods!!

WIAW# 33: OMG I have to Exercise?

O-KAY, we've been doing WIAW for awhile now and everything has been great. But this week I have been hit with a dilemma. The wonderfully fabulous Jenn has made July's theme: Food...Fun...and Fitness.


Chirp. Chirp.


DO NOT take this wrong. This is a wonderful idea. Of course healthy eating goes with healthy living and what goes with that...I think the answer is exercise? Yes Marisa, it is.


I am a great healthy eater, I even went partially vegan this week (yeah I know you can't go "partially" vegan.) I've been eating quite a few vegan meals, not sure why but I really like it. But exercise has never, I mean NEVER been a strong attribute of mine. I'm the-oh-let's-occasionally-take-a-walk-and-standing-type exerciser. A.k.a. I don't really exercise.


This leads me to part this month's section called: 

My current definitions of exercise

Sleeping outside/sunbathing with a coat on

Reading cookbooks on public transportation

Yeah, I'm not sure what this is....

My hope this month is that my "current" definitions will become my former and be replaced by real exercise....hopefully. 


I played tennis is High school and walk at a near running pace but since getting to university I developed asthma. While I do not use my condition as an excuse and can be hard to overcome sometimes. I like running but only in the woods where no one else can see me and where I can take lots of breathing breaks. Since I no longer live anywhere near the forest I’ve just kept up my walking. While living in London I walked so much it was almost too much. The funny thing is Aaron is a fitness junkie while I would rather be cooking or reading than doing crunches or pushups.


But I am going to challenge myself to find a way to balance out healthy exercising with healthy eating. If for nothing else exercise helps your overall health and for me my everyday breathing quality.

Anyone else out there have a reluctance to exercise?

Any suggestions?

While I’m not a fitness person, I do love snacking (last month’s theme) and I’ve really committed to that. This weekend I finally broke down and bought a jar of Justin’s almond butter because if I buy anymore individual packets I could have bought a jar for cheaper.


While in Wegman's this weekend I found myself perusing the cost of roasted pumpkin seeds when I found Chunks of energy cocoa goji berry. nom nom nom. I've had to force myself not to devour these babies like popcorn. SOOOOO GOOD!! I also got a carton of unsweetened almond milk to see if changes in my diet might help with my lack of energy. Yes, exercise will help with that, so alas I must give in.


I have also done a few changes this week in the blog world. I'm finally on Twitter, took the "blogspot" off my url, and I ordered business cards Hooray!! I even experimented with instagram. This is getting serious people.


But now past my rant let’s get to this weeks’ eats. Pretty good ones if I do say myself.




P.s. Happy July 4th! Can't wait to hear about all of your holiday eats. 

Breakfast: (Two Days because they were so good!)
(Pictured above) Breakfast Quinoa bowl with Banana bread topping, agave, unsweetened almond milk, almond butter 
 
Fresh blueberries, one banana, with a scoop of Justin's almond butter, one goji berry chunk of energy, crumbled, unsweetened almond milk, drizzle of agave  yummmmm!
Coffee, splash of part almond milk part half-n-half

Lunch: 

Arugula salad, yellow farm market tomato, small piece of Cajun grilled chicken breast, grilled portabello mushroom cap, crumbled bleu cheese, homemade basil balsamic vinaigrette
water

Dinner:

Quinoa spaghetti with homemade simple tomato sauce, red wine sauteed carrots, celery, onions, basil, a little asaigo cheese(first time trying quinoa pasta, love it!)
water
Lunch Redo:

real quinoa with homemade simple tomato sauce, red wine sauteed carrots, celery, onions, basil.

Snacks:

Homemade Almond Power Smoothie: frozen banana, frozen vanilla chobani, almond butter, agave, unsweetened almond milk (noticing a theme?)
Pink Lady Apples
Cocoa goji berry Chunks of Energy oh yum!

Tribe Forty Spices hummus with red bell peppers (ignore the sandwich...)
 
 I think I've blabbed enough today to warrant a lack of recipe so expect so very soon (maybe Friday, I got some good ones a brewin')

Real Fitness TBA....promise.

Love,
The College Cuisiner

P.s. Don't Forget to enter my giveaway from Tribe hummus and Veggie Patch! The giveaway ends July 9th at 5:00pm. The winners will be announced on July 11th, my one year blog-anniversary!