Little Meals

This is a short list of basic ingredients you can mix together to create something a little heavier than a snack and a little lighter than a meal. As always, quality ingredients count for everything.
I mention specific brands (e.g. Fage greek yogurt), but the important part is the yogurt – it doesn’t have to be Fage or even Greek.

• Fage greek yogurt (yes, there is Greek yogurt on campus) and chopped up strawberries¹ with sugar sprinkled over
• Sabra hummus with roasted red peppers and Stacy’s pita chips

This turned out to be a little post about little meals. Oh well. Enjoy.
1 Please, please don’t use the C-store strawberries. They are not good strawberries. Good strawberries are much smaller and much better. Go to your local store or farmers’ market and buy strawberries.

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Now playing: Stars – Calendar Girl
via FoxyTunes

Boston College Thinks Locally

About BC Dining – Boston College

Look at that first item.

Farmer’s Markets – Thursdays in September and early October from 3:00-6:00 on the Corcoran Commons Plaza come and enjoy local produce from around New England.

That’s right. BC has farmer’s markets as a meal plan. Needless to say, I think this is a wonderful idea, and I wish Brandeis did it; it’s not like we don’t have farmer’s markets down the street. Personally, I can attest to the quality of the fruits and vegetables there, and they’re a lot better than what we have at Usdan.

Of course, they’re more expensive, but if BC did it, why can’t we? Why can’t you?

The Importance of Ingredients, Plus Some Pie

If you have farms in your area and a car, I highly recommend getting something, even if it’s not immediately edible like apples. If you can get basil, it will make anything you eat taste better, though you might want to keep it off your cake . It’s been said before, but the most important part of any dish is the ingredients. Good ingredients are healthier and better tasting, and if you buy them locally you’re supporting your local farmers.
Caprese is a great example of the importance of ingredients. It is one of the most basic dishes you can make: sliced tomatoes layered with sliced mozzarella cheese topped with basil leaves. But it’s easy to do it badly; because it’s so simple, the ingredients will make or break the dish. My ideal is mozzarella di bufala (mozzarella made with buffalo milk), local organic heirloom tomatoes, and fresh organic basil. If you can get any of these without breaking the bank, do so. It will show you more than anything I can write that every dish starts before cooking even begins, with the ingredients.

I visited a local orchard today and picked a nice selection of apples; unfortunately I didn’t get more since they were $2/lb. Sadly no honeycrisp apples, but I did get some nice Jonagolds, as well as some Asian pears:

Pictures of pies after the jump.