Positive Feedback

So happy. Kristen sent me an email today from one of the Cuisine at home readers in regards to the recipe I developed for the magazine. Quoted:

I made the Huli Huli BBQ Chicken (Aug 2008) what a hit w/ my family. Not paying attention that it was cooking for 2, I didn't make enough. My family loved the sauce so much they were thinking of other types of meat to try it on. Tonight I'm making 10 legs at my hubby's request so he will have leftovers for lunch, just to drive everyone crazy at the office w/ the wonderful aroma.

What's been happening?

Hi! This is Olga, Anna's guest blogger.

I thought I'd write a little post updating you on the happenings of Anna's life, because she's been rather busy ever since she returned back to CIA.

Highlights: overnight trip to Maine, wine tastings, taking another big exam, continuing to apply for jobs, and counting down to October 17th: graduation day!!!

But the most exciting news for now, is that Anna, her friend Erica, and I are getting together this weekend in Montreal! Very exciting: a lot of eating, waking around, sightseeing, dancing and even a bit of shopping. Check my blog for more updates (yes, totally and completely shameless self promotion).

This is all for now!

Seriously!??!

I don't check mail often - I don't get much mail in my campus box other than bills - and who wants to see those? Well, today was "check the mail day." And what did I find in the box?! A BILL!!! And not just a regular bill, but a violation fee for supposedly running a toll in New Jersey - a 35 CENT toll that they are charging me 25 DOLLARS. Is this a joke?! I mean, I drove from NY to DC for summer break, paying $20 in toll charges - WHY would I run a 35 cent toll!?
I'm fuming.

Apparently there's a way to argue against the toll, but what is my defense or explanation? I paid?! And of course, by the time I got the letter, the NJ customer service was closed, so I have the pleasure of looking forward to calling them tomorrow! Joy

In the News Again - Volunteering

Last Saturday, I visited the Poughkeepsie Farm Project at Vassar farm with members of the Nutrition and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs clubs from the Culinary Institute of America. I admit, I couldn't bear to wake up at 6am on a Saturday morning, following a long week of 5:30am daily alarms, so I came for the 2nd round of volunteering at 10 am.

My assignment was to plant the lettuce seedlings, but as I planted a row of about 50 feet, the weather interrupted. The thunder and rain had the farm workers gathering all the volunteers under cover. The task at hand then became to clip/trim/sort garlic that has been pulled several weeks ago and was drying in a shack. Funny enough, the two varieties of garlic they had were the Red Russian and German Hearty (or something along these lines). While clipping the garlic, the farmers interrupted us for a snack of watermelon, melon, and fresh bread. Yum! Then it was time to get back to work. An hour or so later, we had pounds and pounds of garlic sorted and ready for its final drying before it would be distributed to the farm members.

It was pretty incredible to be so close to the produce, seeing rows of lettuces, corn, tomatoes, squashes, etc. growing right there in the dirt. Members of the community pay an annual fee and visit the farm weekly to pick up fresh, seasonal produce June-November. In addition, they are asked to volunteer 12 hours of farm work, which is a great way of establishing a closer connection to food.

The story of our volunteering was published in the recent President's Bulletin (the president of the CIA of course).

Note: photos are courtesy of Raquel and Erica

Yogurt

I've never really been a fan of yogurt. The texture, color, smell combination has prevented me often from enjoying this potentially healthy (watch those calories and fat grams) and nutritious snack. I used to like the double pack of yogurt that came with a side of chocolate sauce - but then, what wouldn't be delicious and decadent covered by chocolate?

Over the years I've given yogurt a try, enjoying the rich, creamy and thick Greek yogurt on its own, or mixed with dill and cucumber. I tried the Light & Fit, attempting to go for a low-calorie, low-fat snack. But I could taste the artificial sweetener in the yogurt, and it never satisfies.

Enter the Stonyfield Farm Organic Yogurt. It is lowfat, but has a higher calorie count than traditional low-fat yogurts. It is creamy, but not too thick or heavy on the palette. I am not particularly a freak when it comes to organic products, but this one really works - no artificial flavors or smells or colors. I really enjoy the plan vanilla yogurt (they do use organic natural vanilla flavor - no Brown Color #47 here).

Best of all, I get it at school for breakfast from a fridge in the breakfast kitchen for free.
As a snack after a workout today, I sprinkled some Cheerios straight into the plastic container of yogurt, gave it a whirl and enjoyed it.

Perhaps this yougurt is sold in your local grocery store, give it a try and let me know what you think.