A Bad Case of the Mondays

We've all had those days.  For some, it's sleeping through an alarm.  For others, it's getting a parking ticket the minute the meter ticks down to zero.  For me, it's getting locked out of my room.

Yep.  My lock stopped working.  My phone was in my room.  My phone, guys.  That's a big deal.  But not to worry, maintenance fixed it.

And this was after an awesome weekend too.

Every time I go home for the weekend, I feel like I gain the "Freshman 15."  I don't pig out at school.  Honest.  But when I go home...

No more than twenty minutes after walking in the door, my pizza rolls were in the microwave waiting to be eaten.  I enjoyed barbecue, Mexican food...

While I was eating my leftover chimichanga for lunch in my dorm room today, I came to the realization that I can actually eat well at school.  Case in point: the vegetable crudités I purchased in the cafeteria to eat alongside the aforementioned chimichanga.  It felt like a veggie cleanse after all the delicious junk I ate over the weekend.

I love being at home, but there's not a buffet-like plethora of über-healthy options to pick from.  I wish there were, but it just isn't realistic to have edamame and bell peppers and carrots and celery and pineapple and spring mix lettuce and vegan beans and rice and veggie patties.  Not everyone in our house eats like that.  Plus, it's the beginning of March, for crying out loud.

Where are the farmer's markets?!?

I can't wait for warm weather just because of those farmer's markets.  I have good intentions to binge on vegetation as soon as good produce becomes available.  But until then, I'm stuck eating from the cafeteria.  Which, as I'm finding out, isn't necessarily so bad.

~AF

Palatable Cafeteria Food? Say It Ain't So!

Well, lovies, the Foodie is having trouble getting to sleep.  Might have something to do with the caffeinated Coca-Cola she had not all that long ago.  But instead of just sitting here listening to Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl and looking at lame articles, I'm going to sit here listening to Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl and write you a little post.

(A side note, if you've never listened to any of the Live at the Bowl performances, you are missing out.  Freddie Mercury sounds amazing live.  Plus, Queen is just awesome.  I digress)

I tried something new in the cafeteria!  And I didn't hate it either.  Go figure.

It was barbecued salmon (by barbecued they mean baked far beyond doneness and slathered with barbecue sauce), steamed rice (really more like a pilaf) and roasted veggies.  The salmon was a wee bit on the dry side, and the barbecue sauce was piquant, but it had flavor, by golly!  The pilaf was tasty, not soggy like cafeteria rice can sometimes be, and the veggies were quite nice if they were cooked right, although they ranged in doneness from too al dente to 'is this zucchini or charcoal?'

Over winter break, I will be making my own variation.  I'm thinking a nice baked salmon with herbed butter sauce, a nice creamy risotto (perhaps mushroom, though I haven't decided yet), and some roasted root vegetables.  My faves are carrot, zucchini, and sweet potato tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika along with baby red pearl onions and roasted until soft and oh-so-good.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

~AF

A Foodie Aghast: Tales from the Cafeteria

The Foodie's on a weekend-long research binge (hip-hip-hooray!), and as such must stock up on sustenance early in the day in order to lock herself in her room and work.  Maybe I should have just hit the salad bar...

Today, I decided I would get one of the enormous egg scrambles from the cafeteria...I can never finish it in one sitting anyway, and it's cafeteria food, so it can't taste much worse re-microwaved than "fresh."  It's pretty basic, scrambled eggs (thoroughly cooked. Thoroughly.), hash browns, cheese.  I added sausage to it today because, well, why not?  I was starving.

My appetite was diminished slightly as I stood waiting to collect my food and go.  I had a clear view of the kitchen with it's flat-top griddle.  A mound of hash browns was sizzling merrily away, along with a little pile of chopped sausage patty.  All that was left was the eggs.  The line cook took out a tub and ladled (ladled!) one scoop, two scoops of oil onto the griddle!  He ladled oil!  I could feel my circulatory system crying out, 'Don't do it!!'  And then came the eggs.  A generous scoop and a half.  Nearly the same volume quantity as the oil.  Gulp.

I'm not quite sure what I was really expecting.  It's the cafeteria.  It's hash browns and eggs, not exactly health food as it is.  But golly, readers...

I don't think I can ever bring myself to order it again, although it is full of flavor (likely due to copious amounts of salt and cheeses).  I just did away with (read: ate) the leftovers a moment ago.  And now I'm going to go drink 2 gallons of water and eat some fruit.

Just to make myself feel better.

~AF