Not Quite a Burrito

Today's recipe is with much thanks to a friend that taught me this trick back in middle school. It's been a while since then, but I still remember how good this tastes. I've modified it so that it can be made in a dorm room, but it's only slightly modified since the recipe contains only three ingredients.

That's right, only three!

How's that for dorm food?

Before I tell you the recipe, though, I should specify. This is not a burrito. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but, it is not a burrito. It's not Mexican food. It has more of a Mediterranean taste to it than anything else. Or at least, that's how I feel.

Now the recipe for my not quite a burrito:

1. Place a tortilla flat on a plate.

2. Spoon about 2 spoonfuls of canned black beans onto one half of the tortilla. If you happen to have a straining spoon, that is perfect. Otherwise, avoid the juice as much as possible. Juices make your Not a Burrito sloppy and harder to eat.

3. Spread some mozzarella cheese on top. If you do not have shredded mozzarella cheese, here's a trick. String cheese is made out of mozzarella cheese. Use about half of one string cheese for each Not a Burrito and shred it by hand by tearing pieces apart. I happen to have a lot of string cheese lying around, so for me that's more convenient. You can buy individual string cheeses if you so desire, but if you eat it a lot, get the packages...much more affordable.

By this point, it should look a bit like this:

4. Microwave for 45 seconds. The black beans are cold. Especially if they came out of the fridge. So, this step is actually kind of important. Don't freak out if the mozzarella cheese isn't melted. It probably won't be.

5. Wrap like a burrito. Yes, I know. It's made with a tortilla and wrapped like a burrito. But this is Not a Burrito. The more skillfully you do this last step, the less of a mess you're likely to make. If you don't properly fold the ends of the burrito, this is what will happen:

6. Eat, enjoy, and clean up. Put the leftovers from your canned black beans in your fridge. Eat the left over string cheese if you have any. And do your dishes.

This recipe is a standard in my house. Great for a snack or for lunch, the fiber in the beans is sure to keep you full, while the cheese provides plenty of calcium. I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU TRY THIS.

Dorm Food

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Tummy Achin', Milkshakin', Test Takin' Wednesday

I feel like this week just sucks in general. I don't know if it's just because it's no longer the first week of classes so I no longer have the awesome excitement that I had last week. Or, it might just be one of those weeks. But today, the worst day of my week, is especially awful. I woke up with a stomach ache. I've had the same pain in my stomach off and on the past couple of days. I think it's just the heat and the physical activity of walking all over campus, and the climbing in and out of my awfully heighted bed, in combination with the fact that I bruised my abdominal wall a few years ago and my side just occasionally acts up. Whatever the cause, it's getting on my last nerve. Choir on Monday and today has been especially difficult because taking deep breaths physically hurts and this week in choir (especially today) we've been working on our breaths. Ugh.

But anyway, with a stomach ache and no appetite, I made myself some toast and forced myself to class. And then another class. And then to studying, finishing off the last of my yogurt covered pretzels. And then to choir practice. And then another class, which had a test I didn't know about. And then one more class, which had a quiz I did know about (I only got the chance to eat a granola bar before this class, but I really wasn't hungry anyway). And then, finally, I went back to my room and took some ibuprophen and...wait for it...went to my freshman workshop right after. Right now is the first real time that I've gotten to sit down in my room, and because of that, I have not made anything interesting today. But...some good news.

On horrible days like today, there are few foods that can make a dent in improving the day. Cookie dough, cake batter, greasy burgers, and smooth milkshakes. I got to have two of those today with my freshman workshop group. We went to this nifty burger shop in St. John's, and I devoured a cheeseburger sans tomates and a wonderfully textured vanilla milkshake. They were good enough to make me stop forgetting about my still aching stomach, but not so good that I'm going to make myself fat by going there every day of the week. Both of which are good things.

Although this blog post contains very little information about food, it contains one new thing. An off campus dinning experience. There's a first for everything. And probably a second and third time as well.

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Homemade Soup on a Very, Very Long Day

Against all better intuitions, I decided to trek out to the cafeteria for lunch today. Perhaps I should go back and explain what my day has been today.

It all begins around midnight when I snuck back into my dorm room after hanging out with a friend all night (one of those you start talking at 9:00, then suddenly it's midnight type deals that I've always heard about but never quite experienced before...especially on a school night). Afraid to wake up my roommate (and also eager to go to bed), I got into bed without brushing my teeth, changing into pjs, or even feeding my poor beta fish. I seriously just walked in and got into bed.

Thanks to this late night, I woke up with very few hours of decent sleep (I'm still getting used to my bed). Luckily, I had class at 8:10 this morning! Hurray! So, I woke up slowly, got dressed even slower (unaware that it would be in the 90's today), and ate much quicker. Though I left with 10 minutes to spare, I was still one of the last students to reach class (the very last being the friend I had been hanging out with last night). Tuesday and Thursday classes are the longest classes, as they only meet twice a week, so the class lasted FOREVER.

As soon as it was done, I went back to my room to study (I have to have a history book finished by tomorrow and...it's not going so well...it's written in Old English). I fell asleep instead. It felt glorious.

When I woke up, I realized studying in my bed is not a good idea when I'm tired, so, around noon, I traversed to the cafeteria. And that's where this story begins to relate to food.

I am still lost in the cafeteria.

It' big and crowded and I don't want to look like a dumb freshman...but I am a dumb freshman. Luckily, I discovered soup today, so that's what today's blog is truly about.

My favorite soups in the whole wide world were, until today, as follows:

1. Miso soup (especially from Infinite Soup in Tacoma...where they include like three different types of mushrooms)

2. Clam chowder from the can

3. Brocolli cheddar soup (especially from Panera Bread, but I like it just about anywhere)

4. Chicken noodle soup with oyster crackers (I only eat this at Grandma's house, though).

5. Split pea soup

However, after today, split pea soup has proudly moved up to position number 2. Seriously, I loved the school's split pea soup. It had large chunks of actual ham. And, though you could tell it was from real peas, there weren't chunks of peas in the soup. The texture was smooth and creamy. And, best of all, there were hardly any spices. I could tell there was some salt and maybe a few other slight flavors, but, basically it was peas and ham. Soooooo gooooood. They don't seem to have it often, which is disappointing. But, I guess I'll just have to use it as a special treat. I am seriously in love with this soup. If it were possible to marry a soup, I'd marry miso soup and cheat on it with this soup.

In addition to soup, I had chocolate milk because I wanted milk (I didn't have choir today so I didn't have to worry about it coating my throat). And, after a bit of studying, talking to a fellow UP student who used to be in high school with me, and more studying...I ran into another friend and ate lunch with her. This time yogurt covered pretzels, which were expensive ($4 for a tiny bag), but oh so goooooood.

I went with this friend to class, ended up late for class, and then hung out with her and a bunch of other people after class. Then, I left the group to go with my roommate to get groceries (especially my missing cheddar cheese and some Ritz crackers). And now I'm back, and I'm blogging, and I still haven't finished the stupid book for history and I think my mind is going to either explode from all the stuff I have yet to do but don't want to do, or melt from the 90 degree heat (all my shorts are filthy and, since I still haven't done laundry, I am hottttt). I'm wearing pajama shorts but I'm still dying. I'm just not used to this crazy heat.

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Why I Should Always Pay Attention to Warning Signs

Today I was in the mood for a hot meal, but not in the mood for walking all the way to the cafeteria to buy some (partially because it's Monday and I'm tired and I'm lazy, but also partially because it's so darn hot that I don't want to do anything). Thus, I took a look at my food stock. Again, too lazy to make any real food, I decided to make a pre-prepared meal. I happened to buy one such item at the grocery store last week. Healthy Choices' Steak and Portebello Mushroom Noodles sounded appetizing at the time, and it wouldn't take up any room in my mini fridge. This should have been my first warning sign. Anything that contains meat but does not require refrigeration should be banned from my list of delectable items. But, of course, I wasn't thinking about that when I bought it, nor was I thinking about that when I made it. Instead, I thought FOOD, FOOD, FOOD. And that's basically all it was.

I couldn't even finish the whole thing, which was disappointed because I'm still hungry, but my taste buds are ruined for all future food. Seriously, it was awful. The noodles were tasteless and the sauce was pretty much just onion sauce. I kind of hate onions, so I wish the packaging had been more clear about the fact that it included pretty much just onions, with a few pieces of dried steak and sliced mushrooms. Perhaps, too, I should have been warned because it is supposed to be healthy for me. Healthy food just doesn't taste good. But this was what was on sale and, let's be honest, I'm always in the mood for steak, mushrooms, and pasta. Just not in this form.

If you like onions and honestly care about how healthy your food is, then maybe this is for you. But, for me, this was not a pleasant way to end my day.

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Nutella and Pineapple Toast

Yes, this recipe is exactly as the title implies. And yes, I know how ridiculous it sounds to combine the acidic flavor of pineapple with the rich flavor of chocolate and the starchy flavor of toast. Believe me, I was skeptical at first too. But, I’m the one who came up with the idea and I’m one to test every idea I come up with, before deciding that it was a bad idea. And this one? Not a bad idea, at all.

You’re still skeptical. And I understand that. But I urge you to give this a try, and I’ll explain why it tastes to good after I tell you how to make it.

First, toast your bread. I use Franz Columbia River Sweet Oat Bread. Partially because the founders of Franz went to the University of Portland and donated the building all but one of my classes are in; partially because they’re local and local food is always good; partially because it’s the sweetest bread and healthiest bread I’ve ever eaten; partially because it toasts really well; and partially because it’s what my family uses and it reminds me of home. I am no spokesperson for them, by any means, but, man, I would make a great spokesperson for them because I am becoming OBSESSED with their bread. Oh, also, I discovered that, while I am not allowed to have my own toaster in my room, there are toasters in our hall’s kitchens. The smoke detectors are super sensitive and there are eight floors in Mehling, so I decided to toast my bread on Level 2. I would recommend the same to any college student because, let’s face it, you don’t wan

t to be known as the kid who set off the smoke detector and made everyone have to evacuate the building. Plus, I like my toast warm and just slightly crispy anyway.

Second, spread Nutella on top of the bread. For best results, this should be done while the bread is still warm. That way, the Nutella slightly melts, which gets it into all the nooks and crannies of the bread and creates a nice texture.

Third, add pineapple chunks to the top. Try to avoid the juice by taking each chunk, one at a time, from a jar, can, or fruit cup of pre-sliced pineapple. I would suggest not using quite as large of chunks as I used (which you can see in the picture), because it made it a tad difficult to actually eat. If your chunks are too large, you can cut them into smaller cubes, again, avoiding juice by placing one cube at a time on top of your toast and Nutella.

Finally, eat, enjoy, and clean. Pineapple is acidic and Nutella hardens when it dries, so it is important to wash your dishes and utensils sooner, rather than later.

This recipe is sooooooo good! It might be my favorite thing I’ve ever made. And it’s so simple! Surprisingly enough, the chocolate and Nutella tastes combine really well. You know when you have a sundae and you use chocolate sauce and then add pineapple sauce or chunks on top? It tastes sort of like that. And the seeds in the bread kind of act to add some crunch, which I enjoyed. I really look forward to adding to this recipe. I can imagine adding bananas and strawberries (though not for a while because, as I grow my own strawberries at home, I refuse to pay for strawberries at a store) to this and having a super fruity, somewhat chocolaty, midnight snack. This is not your start-of-the-day breakfast toast because it is way too sweet to handle first thing in the morning. But it makes an excellent snack or dessert. And it’s so easy! Everyone should try this.

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My First Trip to the Grocery Store

I finally went to the grocery store! It was marvelous. We ended up going to the grocery store that was furthest from our school. It was worth it for the experience, though. The store was huge. Like, two stories huge. I’m from a town where Fred Meyer is one story, contains a small selection of produce, meats, and dairy, has a decent bakery, and a basic supply of dry goods as well. Our Fred Meyer in my home town is literally the smallest Fred Meyer there is. But this one? This was huge. Like, sells food, toys, clothes, furniture, and fridges huge. Like, two floors of nothing but store. I was a little bit overwhelmed. So I bought a lot: a plethora of fruits and vegetables, bread, milk, string cheese (I somehow lost my cheddar cheese before I made it to the checkout counter, and didn’t realize it until I got back to my dorm), a can opener, tortillas, and rope. Why rope? Well, because I have this nifty rack on the back of my bike and I would like to be able to use said nifty rack to carry things. My original plan was to get bungee cord, but amongst all the overwhelmingness of the store, I got a little lost. Rope was all that I could find. I got about 300 feet of it. I think I should have enough.

On our way back from the grocery store, Anna (who had just about as much stuff as me) and I looked like fools. My wicker basket was full of milk, jars, cans, and everything else that was heavy. My backpack was full of fruit. On my handle bars, I hung two plastic bags (which cost ten cents each here in Portlandia), filled with veggies, bread, and miscellaneous other food items. Anna’s bike looked similar (minus the basket). However, we had one conundrum. Anna bought a six pack of soda. So, being the creative college students we are, we used the rope I had just purchased, and tied the soda to the back of my bike. Using 300 feet of rope, several sailing knots, and several minutes of patience, I tied the soda to my bike. And my back tire. So, I had to undo and then redo all of my tying. Eventually, though, we were off. It was a challenge steering all three miles back, especially with the bags falling off my handles every couple of blocks, but eventually, we made it back to the dorm. So, we untied Anna’s soda from the back of my bike, took the basket off the front of my bike, piled bags on top of said basket, and carried all our earnings all the way up the eight floors of Mehling (using the elevator, of course). We looked ridiculous, but when all was said and done, we had accomplished what we had intended. We had food. And, best of all, we had room for all of our food in our dorm.

I was kind of upset because I forgot to take a picture before I undid everything on my bike, but I can promise you, I will be doing this again. And next time, there will be pictures.

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Non-Dorm Food

I almost skipped lunch today. And my stomach wasn't happy. My usual Thursday allotment of time between my two classes was shortened, as I had to venture to Vancouver, WA today. When I returned, I spent the remainder of my break studying and getting only 1/4 of one assignment finished...which is way less than I intended to complete. Thus, I was unable to eat until after my second class...which begins at 2:30. After class, my stomach was yelling at me to eat something and the rest of my tired body agreed, so I went to the nearest food...the cafeteria. I already knew this was a bad idea because a) it was in between meal times, so food was scarce, b) I have to walk past giant mint leaves to get into the cafeteria and the smell of mint makes me gag, c) the food there is really, really expensive...especially the to-go food that they sell between meal times, and d) to-go food is never all that good. Yet, knowing all of that, I still went because I have very little non-breakfast food items and because I really wanted something hot and was hoping there would be hot food (it's literally been several days since I had food that wasn't pre-packaged).

I was wrong to hope such vile hopes. The cafeteria had virtually no food. So, I bought the only things that looked good: an egg salad sandwich and a pear. This totaled to $6.25 (remember, Oregon doesn't have sales tax, then look at that number again. $6.25 for hard broiled egg and a couple sliced of lettuce on bread, and a pear). Still, knowing the price, I bought it, and walked the long walk back to my dorm. Too hungry to handle the stairs, I took the elevator up all 8 floors of my dorm, the entire time thinking about the money I had just wasted.

I decided to save half my sandwich for dinner because it was between meal times and why not split up the food...make all $5.25 of sandwich worth every bit. It was a tasty sandwich, don't get me wrong. And the eggs are only cage free eggs. And the bread contained no high fructose corn syrup. But still, it was expensive.

Worse than the sandwich, though, was the pear. For the same amount of money that I could probably buy several pears at the local grocery store, I bought one, single, crunchy pear. That's right, crunchy. I know what you're thinking, and that's what I was thinking on my first bite as well, Pears are supposed to be soft, not crunchy! I wasted a whole dollar that could have been used elsewhere on a single unripe pear.

This is why I'm experimenting with making my own food. Because at least when it's a waste of money and a waste of food, it's my fault.

Dorm Food

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