Meatless Monday 2021

Hello! And happy Earth day! PEST has been hosting a full week of activities to celebrate Earth week and help promote better environmental practices, including making meat-free meals. So, several students cooked up some delicious, environmentally-friendly meals.

Before I get to the meals, here’s a reminder to attend PEST’s meeting with Peddie Alum Dr. Fred Davies on Wednesday, April 28 at 8pm. The talk is titled,  “The Food Ecosystem & Sustainable Intensification: Can We Feed the World?” Specifically, his work deals with reducing fertility and pesticide usage while maintaining primary productivity in ecosystems. Look at PEST’s email for more information and the zoom link.

Now on with Meatless Monday:

Avocado toast by Elle Grillo ’22 – Team Potter

Ingredients: 

• 2 slices any bread (I prefer plain bagels or sourdough) 
• 1 avocado 
• An onion
• A tomato 
• Lime
• Chili flakes 

Steps: 

1. toast your bread how you like it (if it’s not crunchy tho what are you doing) 
2. slice your avocado and remove the pit (be careful there has been a mass epidemic avocado-related hospital trips from 1998-2017)
3. dice your onion into tiny cubes
4. dice your tomato into tiny cubes
5. either mash the onion and tomato into the avocado and spread it on the toast OR place the slices of avocado on your toast and sprinkle onion and tomato on top
6. add lime juice or put it on the side to add later
7. sprinkle with chili flakes if you want a little spice
8. enjoy the best meal ever created by the human mind 

Meatless Pasta by Emma Janssen ’22 – Team Degray

Steps:

1. cook pasta and drain
2. In another pot, cook mushrooms, asparagus, and zucchini for 5 minutes.
3. add tomatoes and cook for 3 more minutes.
4. add garlic, salt, pepper, and cream cheese and stir until it is broken up.
5. Pour sauce over pasta and add cheese.

Easy Salad by Grace Edelstein ’23 – Team Seltzer

Ingredients: A mix of romaine, carrots, and yellow pepper. Add almonds and blueberries, too.

Rosemary Sourdough Avocado Toast by Abbey Jordan – Team Seltzer

Ingredients:

• Sourdough bread
• 1 ripe avocado
• flaky salt
• pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes
• olive oil
• rosemary

Post-Workout Lunch by Faith Szarvas ’23 – Team Green

Meal: scrambled eggs with caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms and spinach with a side of blueberries and a glass of water.

Sweet Potato Rice Bowl by Madison Kowal ’21 – Team Green

Cauliflower Tacos by Maddie Lallier ’24 – Team Degray

Recipe: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cauliflower-tacos-with-cashew-crema

Chongqing Tofu by Zoe Pruthi ’22 – Team Degray

Recipe: https://thewoksoflife.com/chongqing-chicken/ (sub tofu in for the chicken)

Salad Recipe by Priyanka Nanayakkara ’22 – Team Degray

• 3 cups of kale
• 1 cup of tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of carrots
• 1 apple
• 2 avocados
• 1/2 cup of pomegranate
• 1/2 cup of almonds 
• **sometimes we add feta cheese

Vodka Pasta by Nitasha Gupta ’22 – Team Green

Recipe: https://graziamagazine.com/articles/gigi-hadid-spicy-vodka-pasta-recipe/

Lentil Dahl With Spinach

Indian recipe by Isabel Desai ’24 !!

Dahl is a lentil soup very common in Indian cuisine. It is often consumed with Naan (bread) or basmati rice.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup Moong dal (soak for 3-4 hours) 
• 1 box 8 oz chopped spinach 
• 1 large tomato chopped 
• 1 small onion chopped 
• 1 tbsp Dhania Jeera powder 
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder 
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ tsp kalatikat curry powder 
• Salt to taste 
• 2 tbsp butter or oil 
• Serve with rice 

Steps: 

1. In pressure pan, heat butter & saute drained dal for 1-2 minutes 
2. Add kalatikat, tomatoes, spinach, 4-5 cups of water, turmeric powder, salt to taste, & Dhania Jeera 
3. Put pressure cooker on & once the whistle blows, reduce heat & cook for 5-7 minutes & shut heat 
4. Once pressure is gone open & add lemon juice 
5. Enjoy! 

Chicken, Peas, and Noodle Soup

American Recipe by Tess Staples ’23 !!

Recipe:

• It’s rotisserie chicken (pull apart)
• Can of chicken broth
• Frozen peas and wide Dutch egg noodles. 

Sweet and Sour Ribs

Sweet and sour ribs is a very common dish in many Chinese families. It is especially popular in Shanghai so this dish would appear on my family’s dining table every week. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods and one of my first dishes I cooked. My grandfather came up with the perfect portion of sweet and sour, so I hope you enjoy this family recipe!

Ingredients:

• 16 short spare ribs
• 1 spring of green onion
• 3 slices of ginger
• 2 Tbsp wine
• 30g rock sugar or any sugar
• ½ Tbsp soy sauce
• ½ Tbsp oyster sauce
• ½ Tsp salt
• 4 Tbsp vinegar
• Optional: 1-2 Tbsp vinegar
• Sesame seeds

Steps:

1. Wash your ribs and put them in a clean pot with cold water
2. Put the green onion, ginger, and wine in the water
3. Turn on high heat and wait for the water to boil
4. Once the water is boiling, strain out the ribs
5. Start a frying pan on with some oil
6. Fry the sides of ribs until golden brown
7. Take out the ribs and add the sugar
8. Turn pan to low heat until sugar caramelizes
9. Turn off the heat and add the ribs until it’s fully coated
10. Add all the remaining ingredients and warm water
11. Turn to high heat until it boils, then turn to medium heat and put on the lid
12. After 30 minutes, take off the lid and turn up the heat
13. Let all the water evaporate and it’s done!
14. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve

~Yule Fu ’23

Zalabia

Here is an Egyptian dessert provided by Fay Ahmed ’24!

Ingredients: 

Syrup

5 cups of sugar

2 ¼ cups of water

½ a lemon juiced

Batter

½ teaspoon of salt

4 cups all purpose flour

Dry yeast

2 ⅔ cups warm water

Vegetable oil

For Syrup:

Simmer water on medium heat while slowly adding sugar to. Add lemon. Mix until mixture becomes thick. Cover and set aside.

For Batter:

Combine salt, yeast, flour and water. Mix until smooth. Set aside, covered, for 1 ½ hours. Uncover, beat, then set aside again for ½ hour. 

Frying: 

Heat oil for frying. Spoon small tablespoons of batter into hot oil. Rotate/flip around until crisp, puffy, and golden. Remove and drain from oil and set aside to dry. Once said is done, dip them individually into the syrup for 2-3 seconds to soak and coat. You’re done!

What I Ate at Home

We have been remote for over two months. In that time, I ate pretty much the four same meals every day: two breakfast options and two dinner options. Usually when I go home, I cook a lot and try about ten recipes within a week. But these four meals were really good. And honestly, I mostly only ate them because they were the easiest meals I could make. I also ate a lot of Costco favorites: bread, Bark Thins, and croissants.

Here were my top meals:

1. Smoothie Bowl

I know it is winter, but that will not stop me from eating a smoothie bowl, no matter how much I start shivering. Also don’t mind my strange ingredients, all are optional.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack Costco smoothie blend mix (has strawberries, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, and kale)
• 1-2 tbsp of barley grass juice powder (it tastes better than you think)
• 1 tsp spirulina
• 1-2 tbsp hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 mango

Just blend that all up and top with whatever you like (I top mine with granola, fresh berries, and peanut butter).

2. Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I do not have to explain why chocolate chip pancakes are my favorite food. Like, what is a better breakfast??? I used a vegan pancake mix and semisweet chocolate chips and then topped them with berries.

3. Pad Thai

Pad Thai is surprisingly easy to make. And it is soooooo good. Just make some brown rice noodles, add whatever veggies you like (I used broccoli, carrots, and edamame), tofu, and a peanut sauce (I don’t have an exact recipe, I just mixed together peanut butter, maple syrup, sriracha, ginger, garlic powder, water, soy sauce, and sesame oil).

4. Stir fried tofu and broccoli over rice

So delicious and so easy to make. Just make some white sticky rice and cook broccoli and tofu with soy sauce and sesame oil. That’s it! Green onions and sesame seeds are also a nice addition to top it with.

Of course I did occasionally mix up my meals. Some additional highlights: coconut curry, vegan pizza, and tofurkey (which I tried for the very first time and is not as bad as it sounds). Hopefully you can give some of these a try if you are still at home or during our next break.

~Lauren Gabruk ’21

Hanukkah!

Other than being very tasty, there are many other significant cultural and religious reasons why eat latkes on Hanukkah. Hanukkah, essentially, is the celebration of the Israelites driving the invading Greeks out from Israel and reclaiming the Holy Temple. They dedicated the temple to G-d by lighting a menorah with a small bit of oil, and, miraculously, the oil lasted for eight nights. We make yummy food like latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) that are fried in oil on Hanukkah to commemorate this miracle, as they serve as a reminder of the significance of the oil burning for eight nights and the brave actions of our ancestors.

Latkes

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-4 large baking (Russet) potatoes (washed and cut in half)
• ½ medium yellow onion (peeled and cut in half)
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs or matzo meal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ground pepper
• 2 cups canola or vegetable oil (NOT olive oil)
• Applesauce
• Sour cream

MATERIALS:

• Large box grater or food processor
• Mixing bowl
• Large spoon for stirring
• Large skillet
• Spatula 
• Paper towels
• Large plate or baking sheet
• Cheesecloth or dish towel (optional)

Step 1 – Grate the Potatoes

1. Place your box grater on a flat surface, either the bottom of a large mixing bowl or on a cutting board. 
2. Working with a half of a potato at a time, use the large holes on the box grater to shred your potatoes.

Tips: 

• Be careful not to scrape your fingers!  
• You can peel your potatoes but you don’t have to.
• If you have a food processor, you can shred your potatoes using that instead.

Step 2 – Grate the Onion

Repeat Step 1 with the onion.

Tips: 

• Be careful not to scrape your fingers!  
• Your eyes will likely start to tear up. No pain, no gain!

Step 3: Remove Excess Liquid (Optional)

1. Put your grated potatoes & onions into the center of your dish towel or cheese cloth.
2. Squeeze the mixture over a bowl or sink to remove excess liquid.
3. Put potatoes & onions into a large mixing bowl. If using a dish towel, scrape the potato starch from towel and add to bowl.

Tips:

• This step, though optional, removes moisture, which creates a crispier latke.
• Tying the cheesecloth to a handle of a wooden spoon provides extra leverage in squeezing.
• You can also use a Foley Foodmill for this step if you want to get extra fancy.  Potato starch will gather at bottom of bowl with this method.

Step 4: Mix Ingredients

1. To the potato, onion & potato starch mixture, add:

• 1 large egg
• 2 tbs. breadcrumbs or matzah meal
• 1 tsp. salt
• Pepper to taste

2. Mix ingredients well with a spoon. 

Tip:

• The potato starch can be hard to mix in; if using, make sure to distribute it evenly.

Step 5: Heat Oil

1. Pour your oil into a large skillet so that it comes about ¼-½” up the sides of the pan.
2. Heat the oil on medium-medium high.
3. Your oil is hot when a drop of water added to the pan sizzles and pops.

Tips:

• The oil can splatter when you test it with a drop of water.  Please be careful!
• You want your oil heated completely before you begin to fry your latkes.

Step 6: Scoop and Fry Latkes

1. Using a spoon or scoop, place about ¼ of potato mixture in hot oil.
2. Gently press down on center to flatten latke.
3. Fry until bottom is brown and crispy (see picture at right).
4. Gently turn latkes over, using a spatula (or spoon) against side of pan and fry other side.

Tips:

• Be careful when placing batter in hot oil, as it may spatter.
• Don’t patshke (Yiddish for “fuss, mess around”) while latkes fry.  Let them be.

Step 7: Drain Latkes

1. Transfer cooked latkes onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil. 
2. Cool for a few moments.

Note:

• After paper towels have soaked with oil, replace with clean, dry ones.

Step 8: Plate & Serve with Sour Cream and Apple Sauce!

Don’t forget to come to the JHC/Peddie Food Blog latke making event on Saturday, December 12 at 12pm!!

~Peddie Jewish Heritage Club

How to Make Pecan Pie

Credit: Food Network

It’s November and that means that the holidays are coming! It’s annoying to the people around me, but I start decorating my room and singing Christmas carols as soon as Halloween is over. Personally, my favorite way to celebrate is by eating and what’s yummier than pecan pie? Pecan pie is easily the best way to celebrate anything, and no one can convince me otherwise. (I’m looking at you, Ms. Corcoran.) Here’s a recipe that’s worked well for me and I hope it’ll bring you some delicious holiday cheer. 😉 

Ingredients: 

For the dough

• 1&1/4 flour 
• 2 tsp. sugar 
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 stick of diced butter 
• 1 large beaten egg
• Flour to roll dough

Filling

• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter 
• 1 cup brown sugar (preferably light but I’ve used dark and its worked for me) 
• ¾ cup light corn syrup
• ½ tsp. salt 
• 2 cups pecans (toasted or not toasted, both have worked for me) 
• 1-2 tsp. bourbon (optional for TASTE, alcohol goes away in the baking process) 
• 2 tsp. vanilla 
• 3 slightly beaten eggs 

Directions: 

DOUGH

1. Whisk the sugar, flour, and salt. Mix the butter into the whisked ingredients using your fingers. Do this until the mixture looks like a yellow mash with little pieces of butter all over. Make sure that the mixture is cool before proceeding. If it is warm, pop it in the fridge for around 10 minutes. Then, add in the beaten egg and stir it all up in the bowl. (If you’re not feeling up to making the dough by hand you can also buy some at your local supermarket or use a food processor. Fit the machine with its metal blade and pulse the dry ingredients together. Then, add butter and pulse until you have like a yellow mash with little pieces of butter all over. Add the egg and pulse only a few (1-2) times, making sure not to let the dough become a ball. Add the egg and pulse 1 to 2 times; don’t let the dough form into a ball in the machine. Take the dough out and bring it together using your hands.
2. Make the dough into a disk, wrap it, and chill for an hour.
3. Then, cover a flat surface with some flour. Roll out the dough until it is around 12 inches in diameter and around 1/8 inch thick. To be honest, I just eyeball it and it works. No need to actually measure. 
4. Put the dough into a 9 inch pie pan, making sure to leave around one inch of extra dough around the edges. Tuck in the extra dough underneath itself until the dough is even with the pan. Optional: Make it look nice.
5. Freeze for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and place foil over the pie shell. Fill the shell with dried beans or pie weights. Bake around 20 minutes to set the dough, then take out the pie and remove the foil and weights. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the pie is golden at 350 degrees F.

FILLING

7. Put the brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, and butter in a saucepan, bringing the heat to a boil over while constantly stirring for a minute. Then, remove the pan from heat and mix in the pecans, vanilla and the optional bourbon. Set it aside for around 5 minutes to cool a bit. (At this step make sure that the crust has not cooled – if it has, put it in the oven for around 5 minutes.) Then, whisk the eggs into your mixture until it is smooth throughout. Place the prepared pie shell on a pan and put the filling into the crust. 
8. Bake until the edges look done but the center is kinda jiggly, or around 40-45 minutes. If your edges are burning, you can cover them with some foil halfway through baking. 
9. Cool and enjoy!

~Arantxa Galvan ’21

Growing Bell Peppers

As I write this I sit in my bed drowning in my college applications, however, does anyone want to know how to grow lots and lots of green peppers? If you do, keep reading this short but sweet blog post! (shoutout to Mrs. DeMesa for being brave enough to accept my homegrown peppers!!)

Here is the end result: 

Here is my face with the end result:

But anyways, to grow a green pepper, take one of your peppers from your groceries and plant the seeds in soil- room temperature soil. Start this process 8 weeks before spring. After the warm weather comes, put them outside- the roots being no deeper than the cup they were in. AND WATCH IT GROW!!!

Thanks for reading everyone! If you have any questions- EMAIL ME 🙂

~nIV mANTHA ’21

My Favorite Halloween Candies

As a child, I trick-or-treated every year. Most years I went with my dad, some years with my friends. I usually am not much of a candy person, but Halloween was that day that I fell back in love with sugar. My favorite activity after trick-or-treating was sorting the candy into different piles of the same candy. Therefore, I could decide which candy I should trade with others, which I can eat a lot of, and which I should save. Now I am going to share my favorite candies – aka the piles I would try to save as long as possible!

• 3 Musketeers

Chocolate, nougat, what’s not to love? This was always my absolute favorite candy.

https://www.upnorthservices.com/w/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/3-MUSKETEERS%C2%AE-Candy-Bar.jpeg

• York Peppermint Paddies

Some people don’t like peppermint, but I love it. This candy is like mint chip ice cream in a candy bar. And it leaves your breath smelling fresh!

https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.iJcIACcAuVsIkC2_xlOv2AHaHa&pid=Api

• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

This is a classic. And if you know me, you probably know I love both chocolate and peanut butter, so they are paired so well into this amazing candy.

https://peopledotcom.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/reess-peanut-butter-cup.jpg?w=1800

• Butterfinger

This was always my sister’s favorite candy bar, so I eventually grew to love it too. It is much like a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but more sugary and buttery, yum!!

https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.5dwx2ixaij5w0_LLNzR25wHaHa&pid=Api

• 100 Grand

Is 100 Grand still a commonly consumed candy? I feel like it is one of those candies that has been around for awhile and that my generation knows vaguely about. But trust me, no matter how much you know about 100 Grand bars, they are definitely worth trying!

https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.nBB7T3Zfhe_QvVkpIgTNBwHaCH&pid=Api

Yes, all of my favorites are chocolate candies, but who can blame me? When I was very young, I like the sweeter ones, but now I am a chocoholic. But at the end of the day, all sugar is welcome 🙂

~Lauren Gabruk ’21