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Taco Dinner Party

May 5, 2015 by Forks and Recreation Leave a Comment

Dinner parties are the best. Friends get together, laugh, and eat. The cook(s) get to share the food they prepared and the love that went into the preparation with the ones they love. Dinner parties are a perfect example of where the recreation comes into Forks & Recreation. The first definition of recreation that comes up from a Google search is "an activity done for enjoyment when one is not working". Even though dinner parties can be a fair amount of work to plan and execute, it sure does not feel like work when it is something that is bringing so much love & joy! And what better 'activity for enjoyment' is there than kicking your feet up and enjoying the homecooked meal you lovingly prepared with your friends around [Read more]

Tortilla Soup

April 26, 2015 by Forks and Recreation Leave a Comment

As a graduate student, my schedule is all over the place. Sometimes I have classes first thing in the morning, sometimes I have classes late into the evening. Sometimes I head downtown for an internship, sometimes I spend hours at school on the weekends trying to finish grading problem sets. Having something ready in the fridge to grab and go is essential. This tortilla soup is the perfect meal to pack for wherever the day may take me. Having a big batch of something in the fridge ready to take with me is a lifesaver, but I also have to balance that with my tendency to quickly grow tired of food. Nobody wants a big tupperware filled with boring slop to take with them to work or school each day. Snore. I [Read more]

Banana Bread with Peanut Butter and Nutella Swirl

April 17, 2015 by Forks and Recreation Leave a Comment

I usually have a couple sad, old bananas lying around. Their fate is almost always the freezer for smoothies. But last night, I was overcome with the urge to bake and my eyes landed on the spotty brown bananas on my shelf. Next thing I knew, I was throwing every yummy morsel I could find into the mixing bowl for this banana bread with peanut butter and nutella swirl. Chocolate chips. Chopped pecans. A streak of peanut butter. A handful of cacao nibs for crunch. A swirl of Nutella. All inside this perfect banana bread. I had never made banana bread before, but I figured The Kitchn would be a great place to find a recipe. When I searched the site, the first article to appear was "5 Easy Ways to Make Banana Bread More Awesome". Of [Read more]

Chia Seed Pudding 3 Ways: Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla

April 9, 2015 by Forks and Recreation Leave a Comment

Pudding really isn't my thing. Or so I thought until I started playing around with chia seed puddings. These three chia seed puddings - chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla - will provide an excellent starting point to experimenting with the whole range of possibilities in the chia seed pudding world! You can layer them with fruits, yogurt, nuts, peanut butter, granola, or whatever else your heart desires (and your pantry provides). In order to understand why I was so doubtful about chia seed pudding, you must understand a key thing about me. I love almost all foods except for a couple very specific things, one of which is oatmeal. I just cannot bring myself to eat more than two bites of oatmeal before my body and mind says "STOP [Read more]

Acorn Squash with Roasted Chickpeas and Curry Yogurt Sauce

April 2, 2015 by Forks and Recreation Leave a Comment

I must admit something: the majority of what I cook is the first time I've ever tried cooking it. I graduated from college almost two years ago and started cooking on my own at that point, but there is a lot of food out there to try! This was my first time ever cooking an acorn squash and oh boy, I was impressed. But it was also my first time buying an acorn squash and I forgot to check that the stem area was undamaged. It was damaged, which explains the oddly cut acorn squash in the photos since the top had starting going bad. I salvaged what I could! Another thing that I must admit is that I am still testing out the waters of recipe development. When I started cooking, I stuck with things I knew how to do. I knew what was supposed to [Read more]

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

March 27, 2015 by Forks and Recreation Leave a Comment

Why is corn the best vegetable to talk to? It's all ears! I hope you enjoyed that little joke. Some people think corny jokes are bad, but I think they are a-maize-ing! Okay, I'll stop now. I must just be feeling a little cheesy today : ) That is why I'm bringing you this recipe for Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread today. It's corny, and cheesy, with a little bit of a kick. All of my favorite things! I am a firm believer that this cornbread will make you even more friends than cookies. I know that sounds like a bold claim, but I have evidence. Exhibit A: I once went to a friends house party and instead of bringing booze, I brought over the extra jalapeño cheddar cornbread muffins from a big batch of this recipe. The [Read more]

Chicken Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

March 21, 2015 by Forks and Recreation Leave a Comment

Today I bring you a wonderful chicken and vegetable stir fry with peanut sauce. I think we can all agree that peanut butter is great. Add peanut butter to anything and it automatically becomes even more delicious. Chocolate + peanut butter = bliss Apples + peanut butter = best snack ever Vegetables + peanut butter = sounds weird, but always delicious So that is why I have been on the hunt for a perfect peanut sauce for stir fry dishes. I love my veggies and all, but adding peanut butter just makes them that much better. When I started searching for peanut sauce recipes though, I was surprised to find that many of them were fairly complicated and called for ingredients that I do not typically have in my kitchen. That is [Read more]

Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

March 15, 2015 by Forks and Recreation 1 Comment

As winter turns into spring, we have been having some dreary rainy days here in NYC. I holed up in my apartment yesterday and made this healthy, warm, creamy broccoli and cauliflower cheddar soup. I had been craving good bread for the past couple days, and knew I needed to make a creamy soup to dunk it it in. I made this broccoli and cauliflower cheddar soup once last year, but the recipe needed some revisions. I pulled out my notebook where I jot down recipes and looked at the notes at the bottom of the page for this soup. I had listed at least five different ways to make it thicker (less liquid, more flour, etc) followed by a note that reads "If you didn't notice...it was too thin last time." But I had the time yesterday to [Read more]

Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Meatballs

March 10, 2015 by Forks and Recreation 2 Comments

My brother called me one day from his apartment in New Orleans and asked me if I had ever tried spaghetti squash. I heard excitement in his voice...about a vegetable. If you knew my brother, you would know what a shock this news was. I knew immediately that spaghetti squash must really be something special. He went on to tell me all the details of how you can pop a whole squash in the microwave for a few minutes, scrape it with a fork, and then viola, you have a squash that is masquerading as a pasta. However, I like the oven more than the microwave. So when I bought my first spaghetti squash, I roasted it. Excellent decision. The best part of this dish is when you get to turn this perfectly normal looking squash into noodles. Yes, [Read more]

Welcome to Forks and Recreation

March 9, 2015 by Forks and Recreation Leave a Comment

My motivation for this blog came from trying to feed myself in New York City. It surprised me to see the culture around eating out and ordering food in NYC – it’s just so easy when there are so many restaurants all around you. But the dollars and the calories quickly start piling up and it is so much more satisfying to sit down to a meal you know you prepared. So then I turned to the internet for recipe inspiration. I have always loved to bake, so picking up a skillet was the natural next step. I grew quickly discouraged, however, when I started scrolling through blog posts with twenty ingredients and incomprehensible words in the title like “ricotta gnudi” and “sieved eggs.” I just wanted dinner tonight and some leftovers for lunch, [Read more]