Author: angimag

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Recipe: Banana Pancakes

As college students we hardly have time to have breakfast. Having something to eat before starting the day keeps our energy up and makes it a little easier to go on with the day! For our cooking class we prepared easy breakfast recipes that you all can try. This recipe was adapted from Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown. We have several copies of the book, you are welcome to come check out the cookbook!

Banana Pancakes:

Serves 4 (Makes 10-15)                                                           

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

¼ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

4 bananas

2 eggs

1.5 cups of milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Butter

Syrup for serving

  1. Combine the flour, brown sugar,baking powder,baking soda, and salt in a medium-size bowl. Mix thoroughly with a spoon.
  2. In another bowl, mash 2 of the bananas with a fork. Add the eggs,milk and vanilla, and mix well to combine.
  3. Add the dry mixture to the bananas, stirring with a spoon until everything just comes together. Tender pancakes come from not over mixing the batter.
  4. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile slice the 2 remaining bananas.
  5. Turn the griddle to medium heat. Once its hot, melt a small amount of butter, about ½ teaspoon, in the skillet and ladle some pancake batter into the center of the pan.

Cook until it’s browned on both sides, about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side.

Serve hot with syrup plus the remaining banana slices.

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Black Bean Chili with Acorn Squash and toasted pumpkin seeds

 

Serves 6

  • 1 teaspoon Chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 acorn squash, peeled and diced
  • 2 cans (15-ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 teaspoons tomato paste
  • 2 cans (14-ounce) fire-roasted tomatoes
  • Toasted pumpkin seeds, for topping

Directions

1.In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add acorn squash and onion. Saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add black beans, vegetable broth, tomato paste and fire-roasted tomatoes.

2.In a small bowl, combine spices and mix. Add to chili pot.

3.Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

4.Top with toasted pumpkin seeds.

 

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Get to know our Staff: Gloria

Gloria; Nutrition Education coordinator

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Major: Food Science and Technology with a minor in Chemistry

Career aspirations: I keep changing my mind about this but, currently I would want to work in Food and Agriculture research, using science and technology to address the world’s food and agriculture challenges.

Why did you want to work at the HSRC?

I first learned about the HSRC when I had just transferred to Oregon State University. I wanted  a job that would give me the opportunity to connect with other students and the Corvallis community. I also wanted to be able to make a positive impact by joining the fight against hunger and poverty on campus, so HSRC was just right for me!

What will you be working on?

I will be working on cooking classes! I love cooking, and learning new things in the kitchen. I’m also looking forward to having more conversation and discussions about classism, food insecurity and several other topics during the classes.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I am always down for a Netflix Binge. I  also really like cooking and trying to recreate some of my mom’s recipes (doesn’t always go well).

Favorite yummy and cheap meal:

Black bean Chili and rice. This is one of those meals that I grew up on. I think it’s always really easy to make,really yummy and filling. Also, for one of the cooking classes we had during Spring term we made a really quick and easy bread recipe! The bread always goes really with the black bean chili!

What are your favorite things to do in Corvallis?

I really like trying out new restaurants and walking around downtown especially over the summer!

Favorite TV show?

I have quite a couple, but my current favorite is Mr. Robot. It’s a show that follows a young man who is computer programmer by day but a vigilante hacker by night. He’s trying to bring down multinational corporate companies that he believes are running and ruining the world by hacking them. (He’s kind of like a modern day robin hood.)It’s easily one of the best things I’ve ever watched, the writing is really good and the actors do a really good job giving life to the characters.

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Recipe Spotlight: Chicken and Orzo with Spinach and Feta

This is the recipe we prepared during our first cooking class this term; Cooking for 1 or 2. The goal of the class was to learn how to cook efficiently for 1 or 2 in order to cut down on food waste.

Recipe serves 2

Why this recipe works:

In order to make a simple skillet chicken memorable we made the side the star of the show. We used Orzo pasta, which is a small pasta that is easy to cook.

Image result for orzo

In order to add a  deep and complex flavor, we toasted the orzo until golden brown and then simmered it in just the right amount of turkey broth until it was perfectly tender.

Image result for toasted golden brown orzo

To give the recipe some flair we added garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and stirred in baby spinach, feta cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving.

You will need:

3/4 cup orzo

2 ( 6-8 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded if necessary.

Salt and Pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano

1(1/4) chicken/turkey broth

4 oz (4 cups) baby spinach

2 oz feta cheese (1/2 cup)

1 (1/2 )teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

1.Toast orzo in 10 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat until golden brown, 3-5 minutes, transfer to bowl.

2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in now empty skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Brown chicken lightly, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

3. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil, garlic, oregano and pepper flakes to now empty skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth and toasted orzo.

4. Nestle browned chicken into orzo add any accumulated juices, bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until chicken registers 160 degrees, 10-12 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking. Transfer chicken back to skillet, tent loosely with aluminium foil.

5. Continue to cook orzo until al dente and creamy, 2-5 minutes, stirring in additional broth, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to loosen consistently. Stir in spinach, 1 handful at a time, until wilted about 2 minutes. Stir in feta and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken with orzo.

(Recipe adapted from The Complete Coooking for 2 cook book)

 

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HSRC PRESENTS: COOKING CLASSES!

 

Eating is one of life’s greatest pleasures. In an ideal world, healthy and delicious food would be all around and easily accessible to everyone. But we all know that it is not a perfect world and there are several barriers keeping us from eating nourishing food. Money and time should not be among the reasons. As college students with very busy schedules and not a whole lot of money, making delicious and healthy meals can be challenging.If you can gain a few more kitchen skills, you can be creative with the ingredients available to you and make some healthy and fun meals.

The cooking classes this Spring at the HSRC are FREE and focused on empowering the participants with basic cooking skills. The recipes that will be used are easy, cheap and quick, because yes, we always have tons of homework and deadlines to beat, but of course we need to eat healthy yummy food too!

Rice Every Which Way- April 17th, 5-7pm.

Versatile ingredients save meals time and money! Rice is definitely one of them. Boiled rice on its own is not very difficult to make, but it can be pretty bland and definitely get old. In this class we will be playing around with herbs, spices and vegetables (more vegetables=more flavor) to make rice healthy, tasty and fun. The other amazing thing about rice is that you can make a lot of it over the weekend and make different meals from it, all week long to save a lot of time. Rice is one of those staples that you can have for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ramen Revamped-May 3rd, 5-7pm. 

We have all lived off one too many Ramen bowls at one point in our lives. They are quick and easy, and don’t require any cooking skill but most of all they are cheap! while we have certainly come to accept Ramen as part of ‘the college experience,’ we can have fun making it  healthier, tasty and more nourishing.

 

Knead Bread?  May 15th, 5-7pm.

When you consider the simple ingredients that form the foundation of all breads—flour, yeast, salt and water—it’s truly remarkable how many varied products can be made from it. Bread baking can often seem very intimidating and complicated. This class will be focused on stove top breads, which can be an easier and cheaper alternative.We want to empower you to feed yourself, and take your baking skills to the next level!

 

 

Cheap and Gourmet- May 31st, 5-7pm.

Good and cheap! Eating healthy and tasty food while on a budget can be a real hustle. This class is designed to explore ways you can create an amazing meal with simple affordable ingredients. Improvisation is the soul of great cooking! Our hope is after this class you will be able to tailor things to your taste and preference all while on a budget!

Registration is recommended not required. Click here to sign up!  The classes will be held at Avery Lodge.  

We are looking forward to cooking with you!