Thursday, November 7, 2013

Recipes From the Dorm Kitchen

Posted by David


Hello current and prospective students,

When choosing a college, one of the FAQ's (at least for me it was) is about the food on campus. As a 4+ year student, it always catches people by surprise when I tell them some of the best food I've had in college has been creations concocted in the dorm kitchens. This post is devoted to some quick, easy, cheap, creative and tasty recipes I have seen done in the residence hall kitchens. I would like to thank the creators of these recipes for their creativity and ingenuity that has inspired me to cook and to try new things.

1. Homemade Pizza

File:Dominos pizza logo.svg

The stuff I've seen made in the Moore Hall kitchen is actually way better than the local carry-outs, and way more fun than calling it in and spending lots of money.

Pizza Dough:

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 package yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp veg/olive oil
3-4 cups flour

Slowly mix in flour until firm. Once firm, spread flour on clean surface and kneed until more firm yet elastic. Place dough in bowl with veg/olive oil and let sit covered for about 45 min. Preheat oven to 375 F and prepare toppings.

Advice: For sauce, both Ragu and Contadina work well. For cheese, 2 parts mozerella 1 part cheddar works, but feel free to experiment (I've seen feta work really well). As for toppings... Go crazy.

Cost Comparison:
Large Pizza from Delivery: $20
Ingredients for homemade pizza: $10

2. Chili-Mac



When I was an RA in Stevens, I had some friends who loved to cook in the smallest kitchen in the world, and in the space equitable of a broom closet they made chili mac, which is easy, filling and affordable.

Recipe:

1 Box of Mac and Cheese
1 Can of favorite chili or leftover chili from previous dinner adventures

Prepare mac and cheese as noted on the box. Heat up the chili. Mix the two together. For extra credit you can put the mac in a dish pan, cover with a layer of cheddar and bake at 350 F for 20-30 min, but this is not necessary.

I like this recipe because it taught me that cooking is possible anywhere, even the broom closet.

Cost of Ingredients: $5

3. Dal (a.k.a. Spicy Indian Lentil Yumminess)

File:Dal Makhani.jpg

One of my friends from India would make this stuff in the dorm kitchen all the time and I learned how to make it from him. Since then, it's become one of my favorite foods and I cook it regularly for friends and to feed myself on a tight budget.

Recipe:

2 cups red lentils (in a pinch, regular lentils will work too)
Some source of tomato (I use tomato juice, but you can use tomato paste, puree, etc.)
Water (add as needed)
3 tbsp curry powder (or curry paste)
1-2 tsp ginger paste or chopped ginger
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt (add as needed)
Chopped chili peppers (use your spice preferences for this one. Personally I find 4 habaneros sufficient, but this may be too spicy for some.
Mixed veggies (whatever veggies you like, throw them in)

Add the ingredients together in a large pot and set the stove to high until the contents boil. Once it has boiled, reduce the heat to low, allowing the contents to simmer and stirring occasionally. The contents will reduce and the lentils will absorb water so you may need to add water as needed. There aren't many specific measurements in this recipe because there's really a lot of variance as to how you can do it depending on preferences. Typically, I just taste it as I go to see if the lentils and veggies are fully cooked or if more salt is needed. Normally, it will take 45 min to an hour for the lentils to fully cook.

Tips:

Can be served over rice or just by itself.

My friend advised me that if the mixture is too spicy, cream cheese or milk may be added to give it a milder, creamier flavor. I personally use either coconut milk or plain yogurt for this.

Some good veggies to add to this include potatoes, broccoli, onions, carrots, peas and sweet corn. This is a good way to cram a bunch of veggies (and essential vitamins for that matter) into your diet.

Lentils have one of the highest protein content of the legumes.

By leaving out the optional dairy component, this recipe is vegan and gluten-free.

Cost of ingredients: $5

4. Tostadas



One of my favorite Moore Hall kitchen creations to date, quick, easy, portable and fun. Perfect for group meals and so many different variants to play with.

The Hot Ingredients:

1 package soft corn tortillas
1-2 cans re-fried beans
1 package of preferred cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, etc.)
2 tbsp cooking oil

The Cool Ingredients:
2-3 avocados
1 jar of favorite salsa
chopped veggies (mix of tomatoes, onions, lettuce and cilantro can't hurt
1 container of sour cream

First preheat the over to 375 F. Next, fry the tortillas in a pan with cooking oil (about 20 seconds each side) while heating up the refried beans in a pot. Once the tortillas have had 20 seconds on each side, take them out of the pan and place them on a baking sheet. If your cheese is not pre-shredded, grate your cheese. Spread a sizable layer of the beans on the tortillas, followed by a layer of shredded cheese. Place in the oven for about 5-10 minutes. Once out of the oven, let cool for a couple minutes and then add the avocado, chopped veggies, sour cream and salsa. The avocado can be made into guacamole or cut into slices/cubes, it really depends on preference.

Cost of Ingredients: $15-$20 (depending on group size)


I hope that people reading this post have been inspired to try some new recipes or try doing group meals in the dorm kitchens, and I look forward to seeing new recipes and ideas take shape.

I would like to give a special thanks to the people whose recipes/meals I used for this post. Your recipes inspire me to try new things every day and to treat it like an adventure.


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Living with involvement

Posted by Kaz 

 

A student in service does not have much time to spare.

I remember, very clearly, being against extracurricular activities when I first got to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I didn't want to join clubs because I didn't feel like I had enough time to do anything extra. During my first two semesters, I enrolled in 15 credits each and immediately found on campus employment to support myself. I thought I was the luckiest student ever because my supervisor approved me to work above twenty hours per week. 

 Not everything was perfect though. My best friend, the person who dragged me to Fairbanks to begin with, was all about the extracurricular activities. If I wanted to see her, I had to attend the various social events that she did.

Then she was nominated for Vice President of Circle K, a student service club. This was the club I refused to get involved in the most! To me, it did not seem like a club that was going anywhere and everything about the club upset me. My friend asked me to help her though because she wasn't sure what a VP should do. 

So, I went to her first officer meeting with her and I found myself weighing in on the actions of the club. Then I went to a member meeting and signed up for an event to help her. Then before I knew it, I was up until 2 a.m. with her and the President, working on booth decorations.

This went on for a while until, unfortunately, my best friend had to drop out of school due to a family emergency. Someone had to take over for VP in her absence though. There were only a few months left in the school year and only one person knew what they were doing with her gone. Yes. I officially became an active officer in the club I had disliked so much the previous semester.

I spent my summer working and planning for the next year of Circle K and recruiting new members. I  also got to know the President better because we planned to be roommates at the start of the next semester. We were roommates for a little over two years. 

After her second year as president, she stepped down and I was voted into the president position. I began to invest even more time and effort into the club. After two years of working on this small club and giving it some structure to rely on, I am working towards retirement as the Chair of Fundraising. The former president, one of my best friends, and I advise the new president. 

I'm able to list my 4 years in Circle K as a source of service and leadership experience on my resumé. Many of my best friends were made through Circle K. I have had one of my best roommates because I got involved in Circle K and one of my best friends. I've met leaders in the Fairbanks community, leaders in Alaska, leaders in the United States and leaders in the world! I've received training that is incredibly applicable to my future as a classroom teacher. I've been able to develop my speaking and project management abilities. I've also had a lot of fun.

You might ask what I had to put in to get all of that. I put in more time than I should have, more money than I could afford and more emotional investment than could be considered sane, and I wouldn't take any of that back.

Circle K has been our pet project.  Being in this club helped me realize that, no matter what an experience looks like, sounds like or acts like, it is still going to be whatever experience you want it to be. I made my experience with Circle K amazing and I got so much out of it. 

When you attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks, I hope that you find the time to join a club. I hope that you are able to gain your leadership and service experience (because you'll have a hard time finding a job that won't ask for it) somewhere fun and applicable to your future. I also hope you find a project that you can devote yourself to as irrationally as I did. You'll learn so much more about yourself than you would if you don't. 

Feel free to ask me if you have any questions about time management with club involvement. I've got tons of experience!