Change of Plans

It’s late in the quarter, and for all the college students out there, I feel your pain. Every night is a late one due to the group projects, study sessions, and incessant amounts of homework that seem to be looming over my head as the days progress. So, how does cooking play out in any of this? Well, any decent doctor will tell you to find a way to channel or relieve your stress, and by cooking, you can absolutely do both! Try to contain your disappointment when I say that my next cooking adventure didn’t take place in my dorm kitchen. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the home of one of my good friends from SCU in San Jose and (drumroll please) cook a mouthwatering, cheesy pizza. If you have a car and a friend who lives in the area, take a gift from the food gods and indulge in a self-cooked meal.

It seems to me, that great meals start with a trip to a farmer’s market. It could almost be deemed a crime to say that I have been going to Santa Clara for three quarters now and have yet to attend the Saturday farmer’s market just a few blocks from campus. So, with the days coming to an end, I persuaded two hungry boys from my dorm to accompany me on this momentous journey in the warm sun. The first little tent I ventured to had some of the brightest colored fruits I had ever seen. A woman with a black apron and a sun-kissed face beckoned me over to try a sliver of a fruit that had golden droplets of sweet nectar sliding down the sides--one of the best peaches I’ve ever tasted. I tried to savor every last bit of it and quickly scanned my surroundings for some more organic eye candy. I saw a father holding his daughter’s hand while directing her towards a box of strawberries that she could sample. I must have been staring a little too long because the young girl looked up at me, smiled, and handed me a plump, ruby-red strawberry with the utmost excitement. Her father chuckled, and I expressed my genuine gratitude for this random act of kindness. By this point, the boys noticed that I had strayed from our group, and (getting the hint) I walked quickly to catch up with them. 

When we started to slow down, I noticed an unpleasant stench that I was quite familiar with. Clearly, this penetrating smell had no effect on the boys because they appeared to be walking right towards the source of it. Fighting the urge to plug my nose, I walked up to the stand and smiled up at the friendly face of whom I would like to call, Mr. Cheese Man. Anyone that knows me understands my love-hate relationship with cheese. Provolone, Monterrey Jack, and Mozzarella are about the only cheeses I allow through my digestive track because when people start getting fancy with the Manchego and Gorgonzola cheeses, my face convulses and my stomach screams. However, this man was quite persuasive and was able to nonchalantly plop three different types of goat cheese into my palms. I could not possibly reject the small cubes of cheese that happened to be Mr. Cheese Man’s very own creations and main ingredients for most of his meals. What a pleasant surprise it was to taste a cheese that was so light, garlic-infused and satisfying. This man had me one-hundred percent convinced that without this garlic goat cheese, my life was terribly incomplete; so naturally, I walked away with a seven dollar container of it. With only a few dollars in my pockets to begin with, it was safe to say this cheese was the only thing I bought from the market. Walking out of the clusters of tents, I had the look of pure pride spread across my face--this cheese was the best cheese. 

After a short journey back to the dorms, I ran to my door and breathlessly held up the glorious cheese for my roommate to gawk at. To my disappointment, her reaction was less enthusiastic than I had anticipated, and she asked what exactly I proposed to do with this goat cheese. Well, when I think of cheese, I think of pizza, and I knew there had to be a healthy twist to a conventional pizza in Joy Bauer’s list of recipes online. Just to make sure that this particular cheese was going to be a healthy alternative, I found useful information on Livestrong.com that stated, “a serving of goat cheese generally contains fewer harmful substances than a typical brand of cow's cheese, while providing similar, if not more, vitamin and mineral content” (Ulmer). After doing a quick search on Joy Bauer’s homepage, I came across the “Ricotta-Mushroom Pita Pizza” that was conveniently located under the tab for food and recipes and found the following information:

NUTRITION FACTS

Amount per Serving

Calories: 225

Total Fat: 5 g

Saturated Fat: 2.5 g

Cholesterol: 20 mg

Sodium: 425 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 38 g

Dietary Fiber: 7 g

Protein: 16 g

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 whole pita, 100% whole-wheat, (about 150 calories)
2. 1 cup(s) mushrooms, sliced
3. 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
4. salt, Kosher, to taste
5. pepper, black, to taste
6. 3 tablespoon cheese, ricotta, part-skim
7. 1 pinch pepper, red, crushed, (optional)

By substituting the ricotta cheese and the garlic powder for my newly acquired garlic goat cheese, I knocked the ingredients list down to six and gave myself another easy recipe to tackle. Now, the only thing left to do was to call my friend Mark and make sure it was okay to attempt a cooking fiasco in his home. With his mother not being home, it was much easier for him to allow me the permission to take hold of his kitchen for a night. After I received the okay sign from Mark, I quickly collected all my ingredients (except the mushrooms that were at his house) and piled into a car with four other kids who were ready for a night of fun. 

The actual cooking process was not very complex, but the kitchen itself was pretty hectic. Boys were coming in and out of the kitchen grabbing snacks and constantly asking if the food was ready. My mood was quite anxious, mainly because I was missing Batman and Bane’s epic battle scenes in parts of the fairly new, The Dark Knight Rises movie. All the same, I was also trying to make sure I refrained from destroying any of Mark’s kitchenware as I am still a beginner at the whole cooking ordeal. Someone monitored the pita bread in the oven while another person set out the plates and napkins on the table. After melting the cheese over the toasted pita bread and cooking the mushrooms, I was relieved to finally call everyone into the kitchen. Everyone grabbed his or her own personal pita pizza and showered me with gratitude. Fearful of any burnt pita bread, I watched my friends take their first bites into the pizza while we were still standing in the kitchen and noticed the same ear-to-ear smile I had made when I tried my first cooked meal. A crisp crunch was the perfect sound to hear as I bit into the pita bread with the gooey goat cheese that happened to be nothing less than fantastic. The garlic gave the pizza such wonderful flavor, and the soft mushrooms completed the package. 

Recipe number two was a complete success, and I felt a sense of triumph yet again. The ambience in the kitchen changed from the moment that food hit my lips, and I no longer felt the need to worry. We all rushed to the couches with our paper plates and pizza to continue watching our favorite superhero take on the city of Gotham. As I snuggled into a pillow, I felt content and full. These two feelings happen to be reoccurring emotions I get after cooking my very own meal. The location of my cooking experiences as well as the outside factors that stress me out when I’m in school seem to have no effect on how my food turns out. When I start cooking, I zone in, aiming to complete a recipe, and nothing else except the meal at hand matters. It’s not realistic to say that every college student is going to have the opportunity to take a trip to a friend’s house to cook, but it’s definitely an exciting possibility. College is all about trying new things, and readers, you will be surprised how much fun it can actually be. I encourage you to buy something from a farmer’s market and embrace foods you have never tried before because you just might surprise yourself. Venture back to Foods, Moods and Attitudes for one last time to see if I’ve convinced you that time, cooking, and college can all come together in a harmonious recipe.

Works Cited

"Healthy Food and Recipes." JoyBauer.com. Everyday Health, Inc., n.d. Web. 15 May 2013.         <http://www.joybauer.com/food-recipes.aspx>.

Ulmer, Graham. "What Are the Health Benefits of Eating Goat Cheese?"LIVESTRONG.COM. Demand Media, Inc., 14 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 May 2013. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/402645-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-eating-goat-cheese/>.