Sniffles and Spaghetti

It's that time of year again... the time when every single person on my college campus collectively gets sick. We call it the plague. I thought I had successfully avoided it, but the endless amounts of Vitamin C and tea can only fight it off for so long.

Instead of wallowing in sniffles and coughs, I'm trying to look on the bright side of being sick, for once. Now, I can catch up on some much-needed sleep, watch movies that I've had saved up in my Netflix forever, and finally finish that great book I started reading! Yay!

...But let's be real. Being sick actually mostly sucks.

I was going to make myself a big pot of soup today, but I realized I'm all out of vegetable broth. Instead, I might make another batch of this cajun white bean spaghetti that I had about a week ago for dinner. 
I got the delicious recipe here, from Noelle at the Peaceful Plate, except I made some minor changes. I used spinach instead of kale and had to mix up my own cajun seasoning using equal parts oregano, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt. 

All in all, it tasted super yummy and made great leftovers for a couple days! This will definitely be a weeknight staple around here. Maybe the spice will help to clear up the stuffiness in my head a little bit, too.

More yummy dessert recipes to come when I'm better! For now, time to doze off watching reruns of Mad Men.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili

How did I end up in rural Ohio? 

This is the question I have been asking myself for the past 3 days.
Don't get me wrong, I love my school, but after being in California for a month, this place looks a little bleak. No more morning walks on the beach, no more farmer's markets open year-round, no more sundresses in January... Oh well. I'm just going to take advantage of everything this school has going for it and head West the minute I graduate. That's the plan.

In the meantime, I will keep myself sane by periodically redecorating my room...

and making soup.

This pumpkin and black bean chili is the perfect college meal. All you need is an onion, some fresh garlic and three 15-ounce cans and you have a flavorful, hearty winter soup that will feed you for a few days. Cheap, healthy, and did I mention it tastes like spicy pumpkin pie? Yum. It can't get better than this.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili (adapted from Keeping it Real Food)

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can black beans
2 cups diced tomatos
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups water

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the onions and garlic. Saute until the onion becomes transluscent. 
2. Add in the black beans, tomatoes, pumpkin and spices. Stir well for about 2-3 minutes, then pour in the water.
3. Put on some tunes and take a dance break while you let the soup simmer for 40-60 minutes. 
4. Serve with sliced avocado (smuggled back from Monterey), coconut shavings, vegan sour cream, or just keep it plain and simple!

Oh wow, I can't believe classes start in just 2 days. Wish me luck for my incredibly daunting add/drop period!

Escaping Cafeteria Food

It's not that bad, really. Sometimes you walk out with a plate of great food- an awesome salad from the salad bar, a yummy vegetable soup- but honestly, most of the time being vegan, what I get in the Stevenson dining hall is mush. Mush that gives me a stomach ache. So after less than a week of eating there already, my friend and I decided it was time to take action and make our own dinner with fresh ingredients.

We basically mixed together we had on hand and maybe what we came up with also looked a little mushy... but I promise you, it was delicious and super easy.



Chickpea, Zucchini and Cherry Tomato Sauté

1 cup cooked grain of your choice (we used Trader Joe's Three Grains Blend)

1 can chickpeas, drained

1/2 large zucchini, sliced and cut into half-slivers

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat up the olive oil in a large pan, then add chickpeas and tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to shrivel and the chickpeas start to brown a little.

2. Add the zucchini and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Then add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve over grains and add salt and pepper to taste.



This dish is so simple for any college student to whip up, and it's so much better than what you get in dining halls. Sorry for the not-so-great lighting in these... unfortunately our kitchen is plagued with florescent lights only. College life.



Cooking buddies are the best. We actually made a little something for dessert too... but that recipe will come later. Time for me to rush off to class!