Off Meal Plan

This site has moved…

Christopher Unseth — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 13:01:15 +0000

To read my new foodblog, please head over to

www.risenloaf.com

Filed under: Uncategorized

10 Tips For Avoiding Thayer

Christopher Unseth — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:08:01 +0000

Here we are, slamming into midterms and hurling ourselves through the last winter bluster.

In the meantime, I’m still scrounging up what’s left of my latest french silk pie and eating rice krispies for breakfast. I don’t know how I’ve managed to survive for so long without succumbing to Thayer (and who’s to say I haven’t) but as a solid display of fortitude, here is a delicious chicken sandwich topped with spinach, greens and a tomato.

Yes! It was delicious. In the middle of this homework blitz, it’s getting real tough to be so optimistic about cooking food.

But let’s get practical. I have a quarterly checkup for myself and my public.

It’s time to re evaluate my decision to go off of meal plan and offer some very practical advice.

10 Tips For Avoiding Thayer:

1) Find another person with whom you might share some meals.

2) Remember that Thayer gets boring after about a week.

3) Make a sacrifice to the dairy gods – always have delicious cheese!

4) Never run out of mlik

5) Store bread in the fridge and never let yourself run out

6) Do your dishes everyday

7) Keep a staple food that’s quick and easy, at the ready (rice, pasta, toast)

Make the grocery store a regular thing (Saturday morning is so wonderful)

9) Know thyself – don’t give into a Subway craving every time you have one; you know when these will come about so pack some food for the all-nighter in the Sci-Li

10) Remember that food is perishable – you can’t eat on Thayer if you have fresh veggies that need to be eaten!

I hope you find this advice a little bit less abstract. Munch on!

Filed under: other

Fundraiser for Haiti

Christopher Unseth — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:47:46 +0000

Nothing else occupied more of my time this week than Chi Alpha’s Haiti Fundraiser. Fortunately (and I’m not actually sure how fort fortuitous this actually happened to be) it was a bake sale.

I, along with 8-10 other dedicated individuals, made and sold baked goods in our university’s mail room for three days. The bags under my eyes betray my fatigue and to my dismay, there is still a “power” weekend of deliverinig breakfast-in-beds to several lucky students.

I honestly don't know why Sarah is so scared right here, maybe it's the unsanitary way in which she'll be licking our only spatula.

On Saturday and Sunday morning, I will play church hookie and make food for fellow classmates instead.

It’s not a far cry from what I did last Sunday. During the Superbowl party, where my Pastor sat commenting on the Saints’ “cinderella story”, myself and two other lucky ladies slaved over an extremely large batch of sugar cookies. Before the night was through, we had made over a hundred and proceeded to add an ambitious helping of homemade frosting.

We are donating every cent to Mission for Hope in Haiti. I will be posting the sugar cookie recipe as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Praise God for passion and ambition. Let us never misplace it.

Filed under: dessert, food Tagged: chi alpha, fundraiser, haiti, sugar cookies, superbowl

God’s Grace In Our Day To Day

Christopher Unseth — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:48:01 +0000

Good evening, or maybe morning is more appropriate.

What a life? College that is; I don’t think writing this late is advisable and my conscience is screaming almost banefully. But this is catharsis and I won’t refuse my fingers the elixir of late-night expression.

I have a little passage to share with you.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 2:4

As much as I’d like to tell you those are the words of Paul, I’m convinced they are not. But they certainly hold truth, regardless of what secular scholarship says.

Just before the verse, the author writes food -created by God- should be received with thanksgiving by those “who believe and know the truth.” Going off meal plan has been stressful and I’m sure some pictures will appear shortly here, but it’s also a great gift from God. I thank him every time I place rice in the pan and even for the large and bruising burn on the back of my hand.

What a Creator we serve! He provides us with clothing, beds, schools, and great cuisine; we as totally depraved and undeserving wretches commune with the Alpha Omega, picking from His creation and sating hunger.

Only by grace.

Filed under: other Tagged: grace

French Silk Pie

Christopher Unseth — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:24:13 +0000

Hot and muggy was the order of the day, but I decided to add the cool, rich cream of a French Silk Pie as an appetizer. It was more than we could handle. The delicious chocolate mousse that rose from two eggs and a stick of butter was decadent and refreshingly chilly.

My aunt was sewing in the room next to me while I tried my hand at my first real cooking experiment. All went well, though there was a hitch when it came from converting grams to cups; oh what a life-saver the internet really is.

We all sat down around a smallish table, Tio Marcos with a headache and my two cousins squirming in their seats. Our problems vanished. No one could get enough. And all I could really do was think of my Mom back home. She would have made this pie in half the time and with twice the flavor. Praise God I will be home in less than two weeks, if only for a day.

French Silk Pie

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and relatively cool
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 prepared 9 inch pastry shell, baked and cooled

Directions
1. Beat 2 eggs for 5-6 minutes on medium speed, adding 1/4 cup sugar until formed into a merangue-like consistency.
2. Cream butter in the mixing bowl and slowly beat in the rest of the sugar with an electric mixer until well blended. Stir in the chocolate and vanilla extract.
3. Add the beaten eggs to the mixture, beating for 5 more minutes on medium speed.
4. Spoon the chocolate cream into a cooled, baked pie shell.
5. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Posted in dessert, recipes Tagged: french silk pie

The Waiting

Christopher Unseth — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:17:23 +0000

It’s another dreary day in Campinas while the heavy clouds roll in and drop their payload all over my sunny afternoon. But no fear, I’m still drying from my dip in the pool and I thought I’d check in before the internet was deactivated for the night.

(By the way, the hardest part about writing anything in Brazil is the all Portuguese spell-checker.)

I thought it would be good to check-in and let myself know there’s a vibrant world outside of this small missionary base. I think I’ll be making French Silk Pie tomorrow and hopefully be able to lend some insight on the process during the coming week. It’s all I can do to stay plugged in to my American and English-speaking half.

Posted in other Tagged: french silk pie, waiting

Brazilian Missionary Bread

Christopher Unseth — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:56:56 +0000

While being stationed in Brazil as a missionary for the next month does nothing but make me antsy (all I want to do is grab the nearest plane and hitch a ride back to the States) I’m content with merely writing about blogging for now; until I can finally start making my own meals.

I discovered something wonderful yesterday, the people of Gather.com love reading about food. The last post was blockbuster for ‘em. I already have about 1,250 Gather Points stored up, which were going to purchase me two $10 gift cards at Starbucks, but now I think I’ll shoot for the moon and use this blog to propel me to new coffee-drinking heights.

Unfortunately for all of you, MacBook Pro went down yesterday and I’m now writing on a computer that has files from when Moses wrote the 10 Commandments in Word. But, before I leave, let me leave you with a wonderful recipe for break-making that we use here in Brazil.

1 cups of water
1 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Mix flour, salt, yeast, sugar, and oil in large bowl, adding water as needed until dough becomes sticky and there is no more flour.

2. Fold in more flower and knead until you can leave a handprint in the dough.

3. Beat by throwing against counter for at least 5 minutes, rotating the dough every time. Knead and repeat process again.

4. Place in pan, let sit until bread rises. Put in 400 degree pre-heated oven and bake until golden brown.

Posted in food, recipes Tagged: bread

5 Foodblogs You Should Be Reading

Christopher Unseth — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:00:47 +0000

I have been perusing the internet for weeks now as the ennui of the holiday season slowly climaxes here on my little rural island in Brazil. When it storms, we lose our contact with the outer world, all of it. And with all of this free time, I’m either reading, writing, or imagining the food I could be eating if I had a kitchen or even the ingredients.

When we do have a satellite connection, there’s nothing better than reading about fine cuisine. Let me share some of these delicious websites and hopefully get you as addicted as I am.

1. The Wednesday Chef – This food blog features beautiful photography and the delicate writing Luiss Weiss.

2. La Tartine Gourmet – Though somewhat rougher than the Wednesday Chef, La Tartine Gourmet has wonderful recipes, terrific photos, and an opportunity to really get to know the author and chef.

3. Cream Puffs in Venice – This is simply a blog with wonderful food and for that, I applaude.

4. 101 Cookbooks – Another writer with simple flare and great recipes.

5. Ratty Gourmet – From your very own Brown University, these two twins amaze me with their creativity and ingenuity. Don’t miss what they’re cooking up.

Posted in food, reading

A Change In Intent

Christopher Unseth — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:04:02 +0000

A Change In Intent:
There’s been an upheaval. A small one…well the blogging world hasn’t stopped in it’s tracks but this particular writer is changing directions.

Up until now, this blog was intended to chronicle the tumult of giving up a Brown University meal plan. And, certainly, there will still be plenty of information, tidbits, and pointers to get you from point a to point b. But life holds much more importance than what we eat.

The value of food isn’t in its oral, olfactory, or corporal pleasure, but in the significance it possesses as a metaphor for how God sates his followers with His Word. Food is what brings us together, catalyzes celebration and the fellowship of people. If we want to see how the Word of God moves through our spirits as a living text, we need only watch the starving child savor his first morsel of sweet relief.

Like mana from Heaven, like the breaking for bread, God gives us this magnificent metaphor. That is what we are exploring from here on out.

Posted in other

Pots and Pans

Christopher Unseth — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:43:35 +0000

Another list that will come in useful is this directory of kitchen utensils (from the Brown University Health website). Enjoy!

Basic Cooking Utensils for the Dorm Kitchen:

2 microwave-safe mixing bowls, 1 large and 1 small
9″ x 9 ” baking dish
2 sharp knives, 1 paring knife, and 1 larger knife for chopping, dicing, etc.
Liquid and dry measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Small cutting boards (2)
1 wooden spoon
1 rubber spatula
Can opener
Bottle opener
Small hand grater or electric chopper
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap, graded for microwave use
Ziplock bags
Sponge
Colander
Paper towels, Plastic plates, Napkins, Eating utensils, Glasses, Cups
Potholder
Dishtowel

Posted in equipment, getting started, preparation, shopping Tagged: dishes, pans, pots