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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Final Project Part 1





This food porn GIF is a perfect example of Henry Jenkins work about spreadability.  Jenkins, a scholar in communication and what makes things spread quickly on the Internet, writes that in order for something to be successful online it must be sticky.  These smores are both sticky in real life and on the Internet, as they spread quickly and easily with one click of the button.  It is appealing to an audience, making people want to share it.  Not only that, it follows recent trends of food porn and GIFs.  In line with Jenkins, with one click, people can share this; thus making it spreadable. 

Final Project Part 2



The photos are from a Buzz Feed article: “50 Best Food BlogPhotos of 2012.”  Howard Reingold, a communication theorist, writes about viral communities, that people can find and form support systems online, sometimes even better communities than in real life.  Through Buzz Feed, reddit, and other similar sites, people have the opportunity to meet others who agree with their thoughts and interests.  Not only that, but people collaborate and pull together similar blogs, photos, or ideas and have the ability to post them in a collaborative fashion on Buzz Feed.  Reingold would agree that as people follow the rules of Buzz Feed, policed by users, several internal communities are built.   This Buzz Feed article is a collaboration of many food bloggers, some of the best photographs.  It allows bloggers, people with a mutual aspect of their relationship, a forum to collaborate. 


Final Project Part 3




Yochi Benkler, a communication academic, finds that through social media and digital communication in general, the world has flattened out.  However, with that ease of access the type of conversation has decreased in importance.  Essentially, people have a platform to blabber all they want, but they are talking about nothing.  While I understand where he comes from,  my Storify proves he is not necessarily true.  This is a Storify entry, a place where tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos, etc. can all be combined to make a story.  Mine particularly pertains to food blogs because, as I’ve been blogging about food all semester, I’ve created a Storify hosting different recipes from a variety of food blogs.  Benkler is incorrect in this case, because these are important, high levels of communication.  Though the development of the digital world, recipes have merely shifted from books to websites.  However, in my opinion this is not at the price of quality. 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Kosher for Passover Pizza


In the spirit of Passover and my spur of the moment choice to keep kosher for Passover (which became a failure as soon as I saw the doughnuts at work), I decided to make a kosher for Passover Pizza.

After my pizza roll-ups two weeks ago, I had some extra ingredients still around.  

I also wanted to make something kosher for Passover, so my friend, Katie, would come over and eat dinner with me.  Despite the fact that she is not Jewish, she loves Jewish things, and I had not seen her in a while.  Well, my plan worked.  I got to try this new recipe and eat dinner with an old friend!

While this tasted delicious, I would not exactly call it pizza.  It was pretty easy and fun.  However, if I were to do it again, I would put the zucchini in a food processor to cut it, instead of doing it by hand.  It took me a really long time to do it by hand.  

Ingredients:
3 zucchinis, shredded
1 cup of Matzoh Meal
3 eggs
Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Whatever other toppings you want

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
Cut up zucchinis (I would use a food processor).  Then, mix Matzoh Meal, eggs, and zucchini in a bowl.  Lay flat on a pizza stone or a greased pan.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until browned on top.
Dress the pizza how you would like, and bake for another 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Pickling



A few weeks ago, I went to this amazing dinner at Seasonal Pantry.  It was the coolest restaurant in DC.  One of the cool things about it is that you sit communally.  Not only do you get to know the people you came with, but also you share a meal with people you just met! I was sitting next to this woman who loved pickling.  I explained to her how I once tried pickling, and it did not go so well.

This week in my farm box, I got the most gorgeous watermelon radishes.  They are so beautiful.  I couldn't just eat them right off the bat, so I decided to try pickling again.


The one tip the woman gave me was to cut whatever I was pickling into small, thin pieces, so the vinegar could infuse more easily.  She also said that with pickling there is a lot of freedom with types of vinegar and spices, so feel free to diverge from my ingredients/directions.

Ingredients:
Radishes, sliced thinly
Vinegar to fill the jar
5 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a jar and refrigerate.


Sunday, April 6, 2014

Pizza Rolls




One thing my mom used to make when I was little was pizza rolls.  It was so fun, because my siblings and I would get to help her without messing anything up.  

Today, when I was walking around the DuPont Farmer's Market looking for inspiration for a blog post, my eyes fell on the pizza booth they have there.  Literally, they will cook you a pizza right then and there.  Lucky for me, they had some extra dough, so I could make my own pizza at home!

It is really easy and fun to make, and you can put any toppings you want.  I decided to use just pepperoni today. I also used my favorite, Mario Balotelli sauce.  I highly suggest this as a jarred sauce; it's the best!



Good luck!

Ingredients:
Pizza dough
Cheese
Sauce
Toppings
Egg



Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
Roll out your dough similar to if you were a making a regular pizza.  Assemble your sauce and toppings.  At the last moment, roll your pizza like you would a piece of paper. 
Whisk an egg in a bowl, and glaze your pizza rolls with it. This creates a nice shiny, browned finish.



Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes and serve.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Italian Spices



For spring break, my lucky roommate decided to go to Rome to visit her boyfriend.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to Europe over my spring break, but I did feel like I was there, because of the gift she brought back for me!

She got me Italian spices! Aka she is the best roommate ever!

This is one of my go-to, quick meals, a simple rice dish.  You can put different spins on this dish depending on how you are feeling by mixing up the spices.  I sometimes make it with curry and cumin or even basic salt and paper.

I loved using the Italian spices.  They were really flavorful, delicious, and even a little spicy!

Feel free to try my recipe or mix it up!

Ingredients:
1 cup Rice
2 big handfuls Greens (these can be spinach, kale, or anything else, I had this Asia green from my farm box that I used)
1 handful Mushrooms

Directions:
Cook the rice according to the directions.  

Add mushrooms and greens to a saucepan with some olive oil.  Add whatever spices after about 30 seconds, to allow the greens to cook slightly.  Cook until the greens have become a vibrant color.  Serve over rice.  


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Duck for Dummies


This week, I decided to cook a duck!  I have been wanting to try to cook duck ever since I got back from study abroad.  Duck is all over Eastern Europe, and when I went to Prague, I accidentally ordered an entire duck for myself.. whoops!  Anyways, it was delicious, and with some help, I managed to finish the whole thing!




Anyways, this weekend, I have some free time, because there isn't a frisbee tournament.  I decided to venture to Eastern Market.  This actually reminded me a lot of study abroad.  Every city I visitied, I tried to go to a market.  I hadn't been back to any market since I've gotten back to the states, and this was a nice reminder.  As I was walking around, I saw a sign for duck, so I sprang for one.  My duck, at 5.4 pounds, is wonderful!

Little did I know what I was getting myself into.  Keeping in mind, I was the girl that sat in my Professor's office hours and balled my eyes out the day before our fetal pig dissection because I was too afraid to dissect.  This time around, I had a minor panic attack when I opened up the duck package.  I could actually see the things I had to look at in Biology.  Weird.  Anyways, I got over this eventually, to go on with the recipe.  

I found this awesome recipe to use, with an apple butter glaze.  I decided to roast some potatoes from my farm box to round out the meal.  The cool thing is, I used both sweet potatoes and blue potatoes.  I really like the color combination.  




And... on with the show!


Ingredients:
1 whole duck
Sea salt
Black pepper
2 Tb of fresh thyme
1 Jar of apple butter

Directions:
Take duck out of package.  Inside the cavity, there should be the innards.  This is like the heart, kidneys, liver, and other things.  (Do not panic).  Remove them, and either, 1. Throw them away or 2. Save them for other things.  I decided to actually make pate with the liver (recipe is here), and I am going to make duck stock next week to freeze.  However, if panic arises, just discard them.  No harm done. 

Rinse duck with cold water and pat dry.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme.  I used fresh, but dried would also work.  I also put some thyme inside the duck.  I thought this would be a good idea, but I'm not sure if it actually did anything.  Then, I put it in the oven at 450 for 10ish minutes.
  


After that, I lowered the temperature to 350.  Every 15 minutes or so, I brushed apple butter on.  This helps the apple butter flavors set in.  

Anyways, it turned out well!  Duck is a success!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Sprout Jar

For those of you who came here for duck.  Stay tuned!  The duck did not defrost in time for me to post tonight, but it will be updated soon!

Anyways, in a pinch, the blog post for the week is SPROUTS! A while ago, I saw this awesome blog post from one of my favorite blogs, The Free People Blog.  Anyways, it detailed how to grow bean sprouts in the winter.  Then, when I was at the garden store, I saw the seeds, and I made an impulse purchase.  I am now a proud owner of a Sprout Jar.


It is really easy to do, and I encourage everyone to try this.  Bean sprouts are good on most everything, super healthy, and extremely easy.  I will update next week to let everyone know how they are doing!

Ingredients:
Glass jar
3 Tb sprouting seeds
Mesh
Rubberband

Directions:

Put seeds in jar and fill a quarter cup of water.  Let sit for 4-8 hours. Drain.  Rinse 2-3 times daily, leaving the jar horizontally placed to allow sprouts maximum growth.  In about a week you will have sprouts!


Friday, February 21, 2014

Baked Ziti


Baked Ziti, basically, the best pasta dinner dish ever!  Today, I made baked ziti for my team.  We have been trying to have a bunch of pasta dinners this year, because the ultimate team has gotten so large.  We are almost 40 girls.  Getting to know everyone socially, would be a little difficult, except for pasta dinners. 

Anyways, a few weeks ago, I made lasagna, but this time, I wanted to try something different, spice it up a but.  I decided to use the food network's recipe for baked ziti, with some of my extra spice, aka meat for the meat-lovers and peppers for the vegetarians.  

I think everyone really like the baked ziti, and it was very simple to make.

Ingredients:
1 pound of whole wheat ziti or penne pasta
1 jar of marinara sauce
16 oz of shredded mozzarella 
1 pound of ground beef or 3 bell peppers cut to 1 inch pieces
1 cup of parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat over to 400 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package.  In a frying pan, cook meat/peppers until tender.  Once cooked, mix pasta, sauce, meat/peppers and cheese together in a 12 inch baking pan. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.  Cook for about 30 minutes and serve.  

Everyone at the pasta dinner loved it!  

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Potato Soup



Lately, I've been really into making soup.  Maybe its been the snow or cold, but also, soup is a great way to bring friends together.  I know that sounds cheesy, but I really like to make a big pot of soup and then invite all my friends over, for a Soup Party!  

As a snow day treat, I made a big pot of potato soup from this cool, new blog, The Pioneer Woman.  My friend discovered her blog, and she makes great, simple recipes good for large groups of people!

Anyways, I decided to try her potato soup recipe.  It turned out really well.  All of my friends loved it!

Ingredients:
1 small onion, diced
10 rustic potatoes, diced
8 carrots, diced
6 stalks of celery, diced
8 cups of chicken stock or broth
3 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of milk
3 tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup of heavy whipping creme
1 teaspoon of paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:


Add onion, carrots, and celery to the pot.  Cook for about 3 minutes, until slightly browned.  Next, add potatoes.  Cook for another 5 minutes.
  

Add stock or broth and spices.  Simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes are softened.  Whisk milk and flour together.  This is very important.  Otherwise the flour will all stick together and look more like dumplings.  Make sure all of the chunks are out of the milk.  Add to pot.  Stir.  Allow to simmer for about 5 more minutes.  Add in heavy whipping creme. Taste and add more spices if necessary.  Serve.