Monday 11 June 2012

June 5-11: FOOD

Well, I haven't blogged in quite awhile. I'm so busy at this point that its hard to just sit down and actually write something other than a paper. But I can take a break because I just finished a paper for this morning, and then I'll have another for Thursday. It hasn't stopped raining in about two weeks. I think I'm getting  a little depressed from the rain after coming here from the beach. This blog today will be dedicated to food. There's been alot going on the last week so I have to break it up into a couple blogs.

So on the 5th, Melissa, Will, and I decided we wanted to cook dinner. Not just cook dinner though, we told the Michigan boys downstairs that we would cook them a good ole southern meal. Nothing like trying to impress boys to get me to cook. If you know me you know I don't really cook unless I can help it. And I am a pretty good cook, if I want to be. Thats the problem though, who wants to be when I live in a sorority house where they cook for me 3 meals a day. I could survive if I had to. So we decide to undertake this task of cooking for these boys. They were going to take alot of impressing. Two of them Vinny, and Steve like love to cook. Well Vinny does, and he's pretty picky about how good food is and he worked at a fancy restaurant so we had to impress him.

So Melissa and I decide we want to make shrimp and grits. I love shrimp and grits and I didn't really know what it was until I got to State, so that means it's gotta be pretty darn southern. All I could think of was the movie My Cousin Vinny when he's like "What is a grit?" Thats kinda how this was, the boys didn't know about grits. So I go to the grocery, and wander for awhile trying to find something to substitute for grits since thats not a thing here. But fortunately I looked it up online before I left that grits here is like semolina, which turned out to be cous cous really. (Side note: How do I live without my iphone??? Being in the grocery and not being able to call anyone or look up a recipe is torture. I actually have to think now. No phone, No tv, no internet outside my apartment) Anyways everything is in grams and liters etc etc. And I'm not the best at like just cooking by feel, so it was an interesting task. I made the grits, and they were delicious. Then I had Vinny make the bacon to go on top, then I sauteed the shrimp and fixed all that up. I did it all by myself! And it was so so so so good! They were all like whoa actually you can cook, we weren't expecting much since you kept saying you can't. Had to keep their expectations low.



Will made batter and fried some zuccini and mushrooms in the grease. We all had a grease bath, but the boys loved it. They said they would make it all when they got back home. Unfortunately there wasn't anything unhealthy like twinkies and snickers to fry, or okra. They didn't know what fried okra was either! Goodness. Anyways dinner turned out wonderful, and everyone felt terrible afterwards because we havent been eating anything that greasy or heavy in weeks.

The next day I left for Paris. That whole story is for the next blog, but while I was there I tried to eat as much french food as I could. And being cheap college students that isn't the way to do it. But I survived. We went to a Cafe de Deauville the first night. I had a yummy ham and cheese sandwich with a whole egg on the top, with a great salad, and our first french baguettes. They were sooo good. The next day I got some pastry with apples in it for breakfast. It was pretty good. Alas, there is no good coffee in Europe. Everywhere has espresso, like drip coffee doesn't exist. If you get some other type drink its just espresso mixed with milk. Not my favorite but it's Europe. For lunch I had a yummy hotdog baguette type thing in the Louvre. Then as an afternoon snack I had a crepe outside Notre Dame. Nutella crepes are so great! Even better than the marquesitas than I had last year in Mexico. I have a tendency to just love the nasty food off street carts in big cities. Probably not the healthiest, but its always yummy. That crepe was really really good. I think the whole week Will ate Mcdonalds 3 times, and Melissa ate nothing or meal bars. So I was the one always stopping for food. That night I got dessert on Champs-Elysees, a delicious chocolate banana tartlette. Then I woke up and had quiche lorraine. Best quiche I've ever had.

When we got home friday night, I had the Michigan boys make us dinner. Well they said they would do it anyways, but it was perfect after our long day of traveling. They made us a healthy meal of course. Homeade bruschetta, and pasta. Then special broccoli, and Vinny's mom's secret Salmon recipe. It was so good, and I'm going to get that recipe before I leave. It was a great meal, and they are so impressive that they cook all the time, and we benefit.

That's all the food I think! Today we ate in Trinity college. It's pretty good food, definitely not college cafeteria food. Everything is homeade. Tonight we're going to formal dinner in our robes at New College. Pictures to come. Also PARIS blog to come. Sorry to keep you waiting!

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