Food Rules

I have been most excited to read this little handbook that came out recently, written by Michael Pollan. He wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma (which I read for a class during the fall...highly recommend it) as well as In Defense of Food (which i am currently reading). When I was in the Drexel bookstore between classes last Monday, I saw this on the table and decided to flip through it, since I had some time between classes. Well, I ended up sitting down on a comfy chair and reading the whole thing! I think it is funny how he calls food that many people eat nowadays (particularly in this country) not food, but "edible foodlike substances." hah! so sad, but oh so true. While I have not finished reading In Defense of Food quite yet, this book seems to be a brief summary of that book. So I would recommend it if you just want an interesting quick read with highlights from his other book. I believe there were a 64 "rules" and for each rule, he gives very interesting and often humorous support to back it up.

The book was divided up into three sections and I took notes of my favorite "rules" from each part:

I. What Should I Eat?
Rule #7: Avoid food products containing ingredients that a 3rd grader cannot pronounce.
#8: Avoid food products that make health claims.
#13: Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
#19: If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.

II. What Kind of Food Should I Eat?
Rule #23: Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.
#36: Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
#37: The whiter the bread, the sooner you'll be dead.
#39: Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
#40: Be the kind of person who takes supplements--then skip the supplements.
#41: Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.

III. How Should I Eat?
Rule #46: Stop eating before you're full.
#51: Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it.
#54: Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.
#57: Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.
#63: Cook.
#64: Break the rules once in a while.

Puffed Apple Oven Pancake

(In the fall, I plan on taking the Food Photography class. Until then, you will have to make do with my very poor photography skills. I will try to post a picture for each recipe, because I know that I at least have to see a picture of the food before I decide to make the recipe. :) )

I love breakfast--both the making and eating of it! I definitely enjoy baking and doing desserts more than cooking and dinners, and many breakfasts can actually be served as desserts too! This must be why I like them so much.
Every Saturday the hubby and I have a tradition of making a special breakfast together. To start off with my first recipe ever on this blog, I chose one that has always been one of my favorites growing up, and still is! I also usually make it for birthdays or extra special occasions because it looks real yummy and tastes delicious.

NOTE: For just two people, a pie pan is a good size (or it could even serve 4 if they are small eaters....not me! I could even eat a whole one all by myself, but I guess I'll just stick with half). Growing up, my brother was the one who usually made this breakfast, and he made it in a large pyrex casserole dish (double or triple the recipe for this) and just cut it into squares to feed our whole family.

Puffed Apple Oven Pancake (Originally from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 baking apple, thinly sliced
2 lg. eggs
1/2 c AP flour
1/2 c milk
1/4 tsp salt
lemon juice, powdered sugar, fruit

Heat oven to 400. Beat eggs slightly with wire whisk or hand beater. Beat in the flour, milk and salt just until mixed, do not overbeat. Melt butter in pie plate (9 inch) in oven. Brush on sides of pie plate. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the melted butter. Arrange the apple slices over the sugar. Pour batter over the apples. Bake 30 minutes (or until puffy and golden-brown). Immediately loosen edge of pancake and turn upside down onto serving plate.** Sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar (mmm...) and serve immediately.

**this is the best part because the butter and sugar on the bottom caramelizes with the apples. To have a successful flip, first loosen the edges with a knife all the way around. then put plate upside down on top of the pie plate. Then holding both, flip it over!

My Story

Finally! The food blog has begun! I am so excited to have a blog to share all my foodie thoughts and what I am learning at school. But where do I go to school and what am I studying, you ask? Well, that's a very interesting question. Let me explain.

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It was around 1:30pm on Thursday, July 9th 2009, that my life changed. The year preceding this moment had been full of excitement and many changes itself---leaving BYU (where I was studying German and Health Science with plans to go to PA school), getting married, moving to Philadelphia, beginning independent study (with only six choices of majors for independent study students, I went with Family Life), getting an office job at the University of Pennsylvania's Fitness Center, and life as a newly married couple. Independent Study had not been going as well as I had hoped--both in the rate of completion and the lack of mental stimulus. At work, I had a lousy boss that just made life not so pleasant. I felt like life was just in a rut, and I needed some motivation to get out of that rut.

The week before the 9th, I had started researching culinary schools. I figured that culinary school would be my motivation to get through independent study and receive my bachelor's degree. Once I received my bachelor's, perhaps I could go to culinary school and do something I love! This sounded like a pretty good plan to me, even if it was me just dreaming. I got information mailed to me from different programs in the area and put it all in a folder.

Now it is 1:30pm on that momentous Thursday in July, when, I realize (and my family knew for some time), that I needed to make a change! Surely there had to be some better educational alternative for me, that could even possibly change my reasons for receiving that education. With independent study, I felt like I was just dragging through it to receive a fairly insignificant piece of paper, instead of doing it because I want to learn and grow (as it should be). As I researched, all the schools had not surprisingly already passed their deadline for admissions. All the schools except one, that is. Drexel University.

It just so happened that as I looked at Drexel's website, I found that there was a "Prospective Transfer Student Information Session" on Friday, the very next day. Coincidence?? I did not think so either. I eagerly canceled work for the following day and went to the meeting. Yes, they have majors in German, Health Science, Music, and all the rest, but one stood out to me:

CULINARY ARTS.

No way? Could this truly be? My fanciful dream of culinary school could actually come true as I receive my bachelor's degree IN culinary arts? It almost sounds too good to be true! Where do I apply? At the meeting I found out that they have a late admissions process for transfer students called "instant admissions" where if you bring your sealed college transcripts plus their completed application and meet with an admissions counselor, they tell you right then and there if you are accepted or not. After the meeting, I contacted BYU and had my transcripts overnighted (is that correct english? overnit? oh the subtle complexities of the English language). I received them Monday morning and went in for my interview that afternoon. I was accepted on the spot and they also told my what kind of scholarship I would receive--a very substantial one indeed! In the following weeks I planned out my courses and also chose to have a 6-month internship experience specifically in Culinary during my time at Drexel.

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So here I am now, 7:28pm on March 25, 2010, two terms completed, about to start my internship, and then just two terms left before graduation. I cannot believe I am going to SCHOOL for something I absolutely love so much. It is amazing how things just worked out so perfectly. This is a blog to share all the many food-related thoughts, details about my classes, and some yummy recipes. Life couldn't be better.