BRC Internship: Day 2

Second day at the internship. I spent a large part of the day learning more about the company and the employees, researching articles to post, and “scoring” the chips. To score, the chips are cut into rectangles (or something close to a rectangle) with a large pastry wheel contraption before they are put into the dehydrator to dry. Scoring them ensures that they can easily be broken apart once they are dried. I got to work with two guys that I didn’t get the chance to meet yesterday; both were my age, also students (at one point or another, if not currently), and fairly nice. The rest of the day was spent doing social media marketing- keeping the conversation going about things I post on Facebook and Twitter.

Considering how often I have to post, I need to try and keep things fresh while filtering out what isn’t “acceptable” as much as possible. It is challenging because raw foods is such a niche; there are only so many quality news articles directed towards raw foods per week, only so many recipes I can post per day, etc. I tried broadening my scope and though that vegan and vegetarian news, recipes, etc. would be good additions (things I understood and could talk clearly and intelligently about) in addition to making comments about what activities people might be doing to celebrate a beautiful day (eating outside and grilling- if you’re not a raw foodist, but still like and follow the company), but I was pretty much shot down in flames. It came down to a miscommunication about the company directive and what I should and shouldn’t expand on, but it was my first day and nobody does their job perfectly on their first day. Hell, there are some people who never do their job perfectly, those who hardly put as effort into their work or brainstorming ideas… so I’m over it.

Thankfully, I was able to find some quality links fairly quickly this morning and save them for posting in the next few days; I’ll probably do more research tonight so I can have a nice bookmark folder filled with content to post as the weeks go on. I like stumbling across nice, well-designed raw food websites that have delicious-looking recipes. Most “raw” recipes often sound complicated, calling for a lot of special or uncommon ingredients (in my pantry, at least), but there have been a few that sounded “normal” and very tempting to make. I actually might try a few someday, like one “raw” Key Lime Pie recipe I found today.

Going with the topic of recipes, my favorite question to ask people on Twitter and Facebook is what they are planning to eat for lunch/dinner/breakfast. I hope my question doesn’t get to be redundant after a while, because I posted the same variation of the question a few times already, but I feel that it is justified. Not only does the exchange of ideas and recipes stimulate conversation, but it also gives me a much-needed chance to learn more about what, exactly, raw foodies eat. The supporters of the company are certainly very active and seem to like answering the questions I ask; some even go as far as to answer different questions daily or multiple times a day. One fan even posted a recipe for “raw fajitas” that she makes often; they (honestly) looked simple and delicious when I saw the picture that she posted of them, and I was able to give her a few suggestions about what she might consider adding the next time she makes them.

Well, tomorrow is another day. Apparently a local TV station is coming in to do a feature about the company and we might visit a farm, so that should be exciting.

Four Foods on Friday #115

1. What kind of olive oil do you use?
Generally I use whatever is on sale for sauteing, pan frying, etc. My friend just gave me a bottle of olive oil that she got in Italy and I also use olive oil from this local store called Seasons for special applications like putting on grilled and roasted veggies, salads, vinaigrettes, finishing sauces, etc.

2. Do you prefer salted or unsalted butter?
I personally like unsalted butter, a must for baking, but my parents generally also buy salted for eating on bread and other things.

3. What size eggs do you usually buy?
Generally the large or extra large for eating, medium or large for baking.

4. What’s in the bottom drawer of your fridge?
Two drawers with fruits and veggies.

From: Four Foods on Friday

Spicing up Chinese takeout

Hey everyone. I thought I’d share some food tips for jazzing up bland Chinese takeout and making Asian-style meals at home. I was inspired to write this because the other night I came home from school around 8:00pm and didn’t feel like cooking- it was just too long of a day. I saw some leftover shrimp lo mein in the fridge that we got from a local Chinese restaurant the other night, but it really lacked flavor. I thought about ways to make it better, so it was actually enjoyable to eat, then the lightbulb went off in my head. I raided my kitchen for the following ingredients:

-A few tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
-A few tablespoons of hoisin sauce
-A dash of rice wine vinegar
-Chili garlic sauce, added to taste
-A few fresh mushrooms, sliced
-A handful of frozen long green beans, broken in half

Since I was kind of in a rush, all of those ingredients were just put into a skillet with the leftover lo mein and a little oil and cooked until heated through. Unfortunately, the noodles kind of got a little sticky because – again – I was in a rush and just threw them in there right from the cold container. I should have waited for them to warm up to room temperature a bit so they’d be easier to get out of the container. Oops.

For the next time, I would mix up the first four ingredients to make the sauce while letting the mushrooms and green beans saute; a smashed and minced garlic clove added to the saute would be good, too, because I like garlicky food. After a few minutes, I’d add the leftover lo mein and the sauce and cook until heated through. I bet this could also be done in a microwave by putting all of the ingredients into a microwavable container, covering the container with a loose fitting lid or plastic wrap, and cooking for a few minutes until the mushrooms are tender and everything is heated through.

Regardless of cooking method, with a few additional ingredients that I had in my refrigerator, leftover lo mein can be transformed into something much tastier. The sauce I made to add to the leftover lo mein could also be used when making a homemade lo mein dish. Just make a little more of it, add it to cooked lo mein noodles (also sold dried in the ethnic foods section, or substitute linguine or spaghetti if they are easier to find) along with some veggies and a protein. I generally use the frozen vegetable medleys, like the sugar snap pea veggie medley that Birds Eye makes, and vegetarian meat, like Morningstar chicken strips, or tofu.

Now, I’ll make some comments about the ingredients because I know for some people they might not be common pantry items. Asian ingredients are pretty easy to find in the supermarket now, as most supermarkets have ethnic/international foods sections, and they are good to have on hand for making sauces, marinades, and quick homemade Asian-style meals that are much healthier than takeout.

-Ginger is sold fresh in the produce section, but can also be available in other forms, like candied or dried whole (they look like little pieces of coral or hands). Dried ginger could be substituted for the fresh in this recipe, but you don’t have to make that substitution if you do what I do: buy a hand of ginger, use what you need, and then stash it in a zip-top bag in the freezer. It’s easy to take the ginger out of the freezer when you need it, grate some off with a Microplane, and stash it again. Ginger is also good for making a quick tea: peel the thin skin off using a spoon or knife, slice off a 1in “knob”, throw it into a hot cup of water, add another herb (if desired), and sweeten to taste (if desired). Ginger tea is good for making upset tummies feel better.

-Rice wine vinegar is less acidic than other vinegars that you might be familiar with and neutral tasting. Because of this, it can be used to cut the tastes of stronger vinegars in salad dressings and pickling recipes. In a pinch, lime juice could be used a good substitution in the sauce I made above.

-Hoisin sauce tastes kind of like BBQ sauce in the sense that it has those sweet and spicy notes, but it has different spices in it that sort of change the flavor profile so it’s a different kind of sweet and spicy. It’s hard to explain, so just try it.

-Chili garlic sauce looks and tastes exactly what it sounds like, but it is SPICY, so be careful how much you use if you are sensitive to spice. I generally get the kind where you can see the seeds of the chilis and pieces of garlic. There is also Sirracha, which is essentially the same stuff, but it is smoother without those visible seeds and pieces of garlic.

Chickpea stew

I did a Google search the other day for vegetable stew because I was in a “stew” kind of mood since it was chilly out, and I found a great recipe for a Middle Eastern-inspired chickpea stew. Of course I added to the recipe and changed a few things, but overall it turned out wonderful served over couscous. This is supposed to be a hearty stew, so don’t chop the vegetables too fine. I stuck to a medium dice on most of the vegetables and cut the carrots into half-moons about 1/4 inch thick, and everything turned out to be about the size of the chickpeas and cooked evenly. I bet cashews would be excellent in this dish, too…

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 white or Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
2-4 carrots (depending on their size), cut into 1/2 inch thick half-moons
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced
1 32oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 16oz can diced tomatoes (recommended: Hunts)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup raisins
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon cardamom*
1 teaspoon cinnamon*
1/2 teaspoon allspice*
1 tablespoon paprika*

*spices were added to taste, so these are approximate measurements

Saute garlic and onion until translucent. Add bell pepper, celery, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and saute for another 5 minutes. Add chickpeas, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable stock, and spices; stir. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. If too thick, add water or vegetable stock as needed; if too thin, add tomato paste as needed. Before serving, add raisins and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve over a bed of couscous or rice, if desired.

Four Foods On Friday #99

1. How do drink your hot chocolate? Marshmallows? From boxed or scratch?
I try to make it from scratch every so often because it tastes so much better, but I also have some Godiva hot chocolate on hand that is a good substitute for scratch. I like mine with whipped cream or marshmallows, depending on my mood. :yummy;

2. Do you prefer cider hot or cold?
Cold.

3. Do you like egg nog?
Yes, every once in a while. I find that if I buy a pint of it, though, I never drink the entire container; one or two small glasses is usually enough, then I am good on it for the rest of the season, lol.

4. How do you make punch?
We used to make punch all of the time on New Years Eve at my house using lemon-lime soda, fruit punch, frozen fruit, and a container of sherbert.

Four Foods on Friday