Graduate applications are a pain

So in the past month, I've made risotto, chicken, some sort of dip, cheese straws, holiday cookies, milk chocolate (by accident), more bread, cream biscuits with cheese, roast lemon chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Also a couple drop biscuits here and there. I've also been working on my application to grad school and that's kind of awful... so more updates once those are done.

Also

http://loltonbrown.blogspot.com

Beer Bread

Okay seriously... beer + bread... sounds too good to be true, right? Well... maybe.

I've recently taken an interest in quick breads because they're pretty easy and I actually have baking soda/baking powder, as opposed to yeast. This recipe was ridiculously simple.

3 c all purpose flour
3 tbs sugar
1.5 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder

Mix. Put into a well greased (like with Pam) bread pan. Put in a 375 degree oven for an hour. Eat.

So the beer that I used was a wheat beer called Zoomer from the New Holland Brewing company in west Michigan. My problem with that beer is that it's entirely too hop-y for being a wheat beer and you can definitely taste that in the bread, though it's not a strong. My inclination would be to find a different beer whose flavors I appreciate more, but it was either Zoomer or Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat... and just... no. I mean, it's not horrible, but it could be a lot better. I'd actually think that if you did this with Stella or Sam Adams or, hell, Budweiser, it would be a lot better.

Spinach Tomato Pasta

Since my Thanksgivings are usually a lot more brief than everyone else's, I spent a lot of time staring at the TV. We were watching when Giada De Laurentis came on and she made this pasta which seemed super simple... and now that I've stolen my dad's huge ass pan (or what I've been calling a wok), I had something to make it in and it was yummy. Even Colby (who I made eat it) thought it was good.


1 lb pasta

1 clove minced garlic
1/4 c olive oil
8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
1 bag pre-washed fresh spinach coarsely chopped

1/2 c Asiago + Parmesan or some other hard, salty cheese
salt and pepper to taste


boil the pasta until al dente in heavily salted water. Save 1/2 c of the boiling liquid. Drain. Cook the garlic in the olive oil until you can smell it, then add the spinach and tomatoes until the spinach starts to really wilt. Add in pasta, pasta water, cheese and toss. Season with salt+pepper to taste.

It was super simple and really good. I was going to add chicken, but my refreezerator got to the chicken before I could. :( Damn freezer burn.

Kyle, you should make this.