Egg Foo Young

Having sprouted half a cup of mung beans, which became huge, we needed to eat them in something.  So we had Egg Foo Young for breakfast every day that week. The first batch was dressed up with pork and shrimp.  By the end of the week the dish included nothing but egg, sprouts, and one minced green onion.  It is just as good without all the extras!

Egg Foo Young
It's so much prettier at the restaurant.  Then again, it's so much oilier, too.

Pour a tablespoon or two of oil into a pan, and heat it

Drop in a minced green onion, and anything else you want to include, such as diced celery, shrimp, cooked pork or ham, water chestnuts, or sesame oil.

When these are browned a bit, add a good handful of bean sprouts.

While the sprouts are wilting, beat up eggs with soy sauce for the number of people you are feeding.  Then collect the sprouts and other ingredients towards the center of the pan and pour in the eggs.

Allow it to cook unstirred until the eggs are set and a bit browned.  Then turn the whole thing over to brown the other side.

Serve as-is, or with brown gravy poured over it.  It's usual to have rice on the side.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Rice Pasta

For someone who loves pasta and can't safely eat it any more, rice pasta is a great blessing.  Welcome back, comfort food!  Macaroni with Cheese is better than ever.

Rice Penne with Butter

There are various brands and blends. As we are focusing on rice now, we have bought "DeBoles" brand which is made entirely from rice.  In the small print we see that DeBoles is a division of the Hain Celestial Group.  We have the product in two forms, spaghetti and penne.  (Other shapes are available but not at Walmart.)  Note that each box contains only 8 ounces. The typical package of durum wheat spaghetti contains twice that.

Rice pasta is an acquired taste, but only because it doesn't taste, as one is expecting, like wheat.  I now like it as well as I do wheat pasta, because it is tender and has a delicate flavor.

Start with:

Large potful of boiling salted water

Pour in the pasta, stir, and allow the water to return to a full boil.  Then turn it down so that it continues to boil but not violently.  Do not cover the pot.

Rice pasta requires close watching as you boil it, because it is a bit too easy to go from underdone to overdone!  Test often for doneness.  You'll notice that rice pasta emits a lot of starch into the water. As soon as the pasta is done, but still firm, drain off the hot water and then add cold water to the pot in which to rinse some of the starch off of the pasta.  (If you have drained by pouring it all through a colander, return the pasta to the pot to rinse.)  Cold water will also stop the cooking so it doesn't become overdone.  Swish it around a bit and drain again.

Your pasta is now ready to serve or to use in a recipe.  I usually add a small amount of oil to the cooked pasta if it isn't used right away to stop it from sticking together.

If your intention is to make oven-baked macaroni and cheese, it's better to take the pasta off of the heat when it is still slightly underdone as it will of course cook more in the oven.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Meals for the College Student

Many college students have to feed themselves with only limited funds, difficult conditions, and little experience.  How many George Foreman Grills go to school with Johnny Freshman, only to make the return trip home with the parents when they check into the dorm and discover that nearly all cooking appliances are forbidden?

American students often live in college dormitories, where there may be one snack room per floor.  It's generally assumed that students will participate in a "Meal Plan" which is paid by the semester, and can be expensive as well as starchy; after all, the student is paying not just for food but also for preparation.  Therefore, many students buy the minimum meal plan and then attempt to manage as many meals as possible in their rooms.

Food preparation in a dormitory room is not easy, because schools severely limit what appliances can be brought in (and the internet is rife with tricky and time-honored work-arounds - which we won't get into here.)

Texas A&M Corps of Cadets housing has published this online.  It's more thorough and concise than the usual but rules are typical:

...prohibited appliances and equipment include, but are not limited to, the following:

    •    Air-conditioners

    •    Halogen Torchiere Lamps

    •    Camping Stoves

    •    Hot Oil Popcorn Poppers

    •    Ceiling Fans

    •    Hot Plates

    •    Crock Pots

    •    Oven Broilers

    •    Electric Skillets

    •    Rice Cookers

    •    Gas Power Tools

    •    Steamers

    •    Griddles

    •    Space Heaters

    •    Grills (George Foreman type, electrical, charcoal or propane)

    •    Toasters

    •    Toaster Ovens

    •    Electric Power Tools (with the exception of storage for use outside the halls)

    •    Sandwich Makers

    •    Smoke/Fog Machines

APPROVED COOKING APPLIANCES

Approved cooking appliances will have closed coil elements and are limited to: Coffee pots; Hot pots; Hot air popcorn poppers; Blenders; and microwaves up to a stated FCC rating of not more than 700 watts.

Thus, the students are limited to cooking in hot pots and small microwave ovens. (Popcorn poppers aren't very flexible.) Actually it's worse, because in TAMU cadet housing a maximum of 2 appliances is allowed, so assuming that one will be a small refrigerator, the only other possibility is a microwave oven.  One might make an arrangement with the room next door to share appliances, perhaps.

If there is a hot pot, it's good for two things that I have discovered: boiling water and making hard-boiled eggs.  That second thing is not to be scoffed at because it's something you can't do in a microwave oven, and hard-boiled eggs are great take-along food.  You can boil water in a microwave oven.

If the student is fortunate to have access to a decent snack kitchen on his floor, then the constraints will be time, storage, and mess -- not enough time and storage, and no tolerance for mess.  A student with an apartment (and, presumably, roommates) is constrained by storage and his own finances.

As we consider ways to manage the best possible diet for the student at the least possible expense and difficulty, we will need to focus primarily on microwave cooking.

[This is the first in a planned series on students and meals.]

Update: we have moved this topic to its own blog, Dorm Food Survival, or Dining in the Dorm.