Look at a few paintings from different artists and you see an assortment of materials, scenes and colors that will evoke a collage of emotions and memories.
Then take a look at a plate of food, and you will indulge in a similar experience, mixing in taste, texture and smell.
You don't have to be a chef to share a passion for food in diverse ways.
There's Monet, Picasso and the sidewalk artist with his easel. ASU has some food lovers that are just as talented and different.
Hungry in the Wild: A backpacker's menu Ask Kayla Frost what she did this past summer and I promise you won’t guess it.
Frost, a journalism major at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, went backpacking for three weeks in Denali National Park, which stretches across the center of Alaska.
About a year ago, Frost discovered her love for backpacking,
“I love being able to fit everything I need into a big backpack and just go somewhere,” Frost says.
This summer, she made the trip to Alaska with her best friend, Monica Wolfe, who is studying English at the University of Arizona. Frost got to do what she loves — live out of a backpack.
One of the most challenging but crucial parts of backpacking is sustenance. Food must be nutritious, but it also must be simple, compact and quick.
Eating dehydrated meals for a few weeks was plenty of motivation for Frost to discover protein — packed and speedy meals.
She searched for those types of meals so “if you wanted that kind of thing on the trail or backcountry, you can make it yourself.”
Frost began to research recipes and tried a few out for herself, planning for her next adventure.
And where would she like that to be? The mystical, ancient Inca trail in Peru that ends at Machu Picchu.
Her love for traveling and breaking out from the everyday routine of life has Frost trying new ways of making food.
Below is a recipe for homemade yogurt she came across on her hunt for delicious, trail-friendly foods, with little tidbits and tweaks Frost added after the endeavor of following the recipe on her own. (You can see more details and pictures here.)
Homemade Yogurt It’s best to start making the yogurt in the evening so you can let the mixture sit overnight, a full 12 hours if possible. The recipe calls for four ingredients:
Ingrediants 8 tablespoons milk powder ($3-4 for a box) 1 teaspoon yogurt culture powder ($4-5 for a box) 2 cups water honey, vanilla sugar or agave nectar, if you don’t like unsweetened yogurt
The yogurt culture powder was a bit tough to track down, but Whole Foods had it. You’ll have more luck finding this uncommon ingredient at health food stores than at regular grocery stores.
The first step was to boil 1/4 cup of water to get the thermos warm, and then mix milk powder with 1 3/4 cup boiling water. Easy enough! The next step, however, got a bit messy.
Next, pour the milk into a thermos. It’s better to use a pot than a pan for this step so the milk doesn’t spill. After mixing the milk and yogurt culture powder together in the thermos, it’s time to seal it up with a tight lid, put it in a large Ziploc bag, and slip it into a “cozy,” which is a mitt that goes over cups and bottles. This is to help keep the thermos warm all through the night so the bacteria from the yogurt culture have a favorable living environment.
Next, put the thermos in your sleeping bag or wrap it in clothing and set it somewhere stable. When you wake up, the yogurt is ready, which means that while you sleep, bacteria are fermenting the milk and producing creamy lactic acid, which you will then eat. Doesn’t that sound delicious?
Though it might not sound appetizing now, yogurt is nutritional because it’s a good source of protein, calcium and vitamins. It can boost your immune system and help the absorption of nutrients.
After a night’s sleep, I opened the thermos and was delighted that the recipe worked. I tried a spoonful of the unsweetened yogurt and it was much too tangy for my taste. After adding honey and agave nectar, it was tasty. Not perfectly smooth like store-bought yogurt, but I can imagine it’s delicious accompanied with some granola or berries/dried fruit.
Frost's verdict: Unless I’m trying to pack ultra-light, I will definitely be making yogurt on my backpacking trips. A Thermos adds a bit of extra weight. For food junkies (not junk foodies) out there, yogurt on the trail is a treat that could be well worth the effort. And it sure is more impressive than a typical oatmeal breakfast!
Original Source: Laurie Ann March’s backpacking food blog. The recipe and tips are by Kayla Frost.
Future Cooking Show Host Gabriela Rodiles was a food enthusiast since she was big enough to hold a mixing bowl in her hands.
Rodiles can tell you about a time in the kitchen when she was only 5 years old, her cousins teasing her that one day she will be a chef.
“There’s no way I’m doing that!” Rodiles laughed back at her cousins.
But here she is, 19, with the dream of one day having her own cooking show on Food Network. Pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism at the Walter Cronkite School, Rodiles wants to share her love for food on camera, bringing her gusto to viewer’s homes.
Rodiles’ connection and passion with food travels back to the joy and chaos of putting together a huge meal with her family.
Making food and being with family are “my two favorite worlds coming together,” she says.
Over the summer, Rodiles had the opportunity to appear on Sonoran Living, a show on ABC 15.
She made peanut butter Nutella sandwiches on camera, pulling the recipe and preparation together in barely a week.
“It was a peek into what my future could be like,” Rodiles shares.
Rodiles, a former blogger at State Press Magazine, continues to experiment with unique and healthy ingredients for her own food blog.
She draws inspiration from her Cuban father and energetic mother.
When Rodiles was 15, her mother, a marathon runner with a love for healthy food, suddenly died from a brain aneurysm.
Rodiles remembers her mother’s positive attitude and love of life.
“I just want to keep carrying on her spirit,” she says.
Her love for food is one of Rodiles’ ways to continue in her mother’s steps-bringing her happiness and zeal to everyone else, one recipe at a time.
Check out one of her creations below, a simple, nutritious recipe for college students. It features some of the best vegetables of fall, but requires minimal time in the kitchen.
Roasted Vegetables: 2 sweet potatoes 1 yellow squash, butternut squash and/or zucchini 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbes de Provence A pinch of salt & pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Dice produce into small cubes and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt & pepper and Italian Seasoning. Cook in oven for about 30-45 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Keep in fridge and warm up for leftovers. Eat as a side dish, toss in a salad, or top over pasta.
Enjoy!
No Short Cuts in His Kitchen Ryan Espinoza-Marcus, a 19-year-old San Francisco native, also gleaned his love of food from family. Well, let’s narrow that down to one special woman — his grandmother.
Espinoza-Marcus’ mother was in medical school when he was young, leaving him to spend a lot of dinners and nights in the kitchen with his beloved grandmother, Gladys.
When he was 15, though, Espinoza-Marcus got serious about food.
He read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, and dived into the world of culinary genius.
Barely 16, Espinoza-Marcus landed his first “stage,” an internship in the chef world, at Spruce, a classy restaurant in San Francisco.
“That really ignited my passion for food. I grew to appreciate food as more than just sustenance,” Espinoza-Marcus says.
He shares that the most commonly offered piece of advice from chefs around him was “Don’t cook, go to school.”
Espinoza-Marcus reluctantly listened, saying to himself, “but, God, do I love it.”
He was originally a business major at ASU, but after realizing that he and numbers do not have the best relationship, Espinoza-Marcus switched to journalism. He hopes to one day get back into the world of the kitchen, whether it is through management, advertising, or being a food critic. Espinoza-Marcus has already made ripples on campus with his affection for a beautiful dish made from quality ingredients.
He started the Desert Epicurean Society at ASU with friend and fellow Sun Devil Alex Goody, which aims to educate people about where their food comes from.
Spending time on campus, Espinoza-Marcus came to the realization that ”people could be a little more educated about where their food comes from.”
Espinoza-Marcus still has his foot in the kitchen as a chef at Engrained Café in the Memorial Union.
Describing his personal cooking style, Espinoza-Marcus shares, “I don’t like taking shortcuts. I really like intricate foods with complex-layered profiles. I’m all about taste.”
And you can see that for yourself with this detailed, but absolutely delightful Risotto dish.
Pumpkin Risotto with Chestnuts and Fried Sage Risotto is one of my favorite things to cook in the fall and winter. A welcome respite from the foggy San Francisco cold, a warm bowl of risotto is also the perfect antidote for the blues, a broken heart or stress of any variety. The smell, alone, will make even the most reluctant foodies swoon.
Ingredients: For the pumpkin puree: 1 small pumpkin, quartered Nutmeg
For fried sage and chestnut garnish 2 bunches of fresh sage leaves Grapeseed or canola oil ½ cup of fresh chestnuts
For the risotto: 4 cups chicken stock at the simmer 1 cup of Arborio or Carnaroli rice 1 small onion, minced (ideally minced smaller than the grains of rice) ¼ cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano Olive oil 5 tablespoons butter Salt and pepper
Gently massage the pumpkin quarters with olive oil and season them generously with salt and pepper. Roast them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper at 350 degrees until they are tender and effortlessly pierced with a paring knife, about two hours. Peel the pumpkin quarters while hot, but take care not to burn your fingers. Should your hands be burn-prone, use a towel draped about the fingers to prevent discomfort.
Meanwhile, assemble the chestnut and sage garnish. To peel the chestnuts, cut a slit around each chestnut. Rub with a thin coating of vegetable oil to keep the shell moist and accelerate the cooking process. Roast at 375 degrees until the shells begin to pull away from the chestnuts, about 15 minutes. Peel while still warm. Thinly slice the chestnuts and set aside. Heat a small pot of oil to 275 degrees and fry the sage leaves briefly, just until they are crisp (their color should not change) and drain atop a paper towel.
Cut the peeled pumpkin quarters into 1-inch square chunks. They need not be pretty. Place them in a blender with a few nuggets of butter and blend into a smooth puree. Add a small pinch of nutmeg; eat a little bit; and set aside.
Cooking risotto is a reward for patience. In a medium-sized saucepan, sweat (cook very lightly without browning) the diced onion in olive oil and a tablespoon of butter until translucent and add the rice. Cook over medium heat, stirring all the while and ensuring that the rice does not burn. When the rice begins to turn opaque and smell toasty, add a ladle of hot stock and bring to a simmer. Continue to stir all the while, until the stock has been absorbed by the rice, adding more liquid as it is absorbed. Don’t stop stirring. Cook the rice until it is al dente, or has no trace of crunchy rawness and gives the very slightest resistance to a lucky diner’s tooth. If the rice is not completely cooked before you run out of liquid, don’t fret. Heat up a little more stock or use hot water. Over low heat, stir in about one cup of the pumpkin puree (dilute the rest with chicken stock and serve as a soup); add cheese and the rest of the butter; and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in warmed bowls and garnish with chestnuts, fried sage leaves, and grated parmesan.
Spices, Sauces, Knives, Oh My! Alex Goody, 19, has no problem confessing his obsession with kitchen knives and sharpening them. In fact, he would rather spend all day in the kitchen making all his own food (with his wonderful knives) than studying economics, his major at ASU.
“It’s an obsession, and it’s kind of a problem, but I enjoy it,” Goody says.
Originally from Oakland, California, Goody came to ASU for weather and cycling, another passion of his.
As vice president for The Desert Epicurean Society, he and Espinoza-Marcus share a similar intensity when it comes to food. They can be found by their pool, grilling ribs and talking food. Espinoza-Marcus will utter a respectful smatter of French culinary terms at Goody and Goody will attempt to translate.
The fun times Goody experiences with cooking started when he was young. He loves cooking with and for his family. His younger siblings admire his meals. His youngest sibling is 10, and Goody remembers cooking for himself at that age.
When Goody was 17, during his senior year of high school, he catered for large crowds at a seafood restaurant in Oakland called Lake Chalet.
Goody is still figuring out what his dream job may be, but he knows that he will always love food.
“I’m not sure I could or would run a restaurant, but no matter what I would continue to enjoy it, enjoy cooking, and going out,” Goody says.
Ask him how often he cooks, and well- you may not be surprised.
“Constantly. I’m cooking all day. And freeze anything extra,” Goody says.
From his experience with a bunch of “eccentric French chefs” at Lake Chalet, Goody still loves to experiment with French flavors.
“I was doing a big thing on French sauces a week ago, re-learning it. So I made like a half-gallon of all these different sauces and froze it all,” he says.
Goody treats ingredients like a scientist treats chemicals in a lab: always experimenting.
He doesn’t limit himself to one type of food or way of cooking, and as you will see from one of his recipes below, there is no coloring inside the lines for Goody when it comes to great food.
Alex Goody's Carnitas Potstickers Ingredients: 1 pork shoulder (about 2.5 lbs.) 1 onion 3 celery Stalks 3 carrots
Braise Fill pot halfway with water. Chop up carrots, celery, and onion. Place into pot. Then, trim fat on pork shoulder and rub in salt and pepper to taste (Don't use too much because you'll just have salty broth) After, boil the mirepoix and add pork shoulder. Braise at 180 degrees for 8 hours
The Next Day Take a large pan and add the onion from the broth; cook until carmelized. Then, take pork shoulder and cut up- add to pan. Add salt, pepper, sugar, and garlic to taste. Cook until brown all over.
Potstickers Buy premade dough (making your own is a pain and no one does it). Form potstickers with carnitas (I sometimes add sour cream into the meat) and steam until cooked. Saute in oil
*Serve with hot sauce, soy sauce, or teriyaki
And just in case you are feeling extra ambitious, here's Alex's recipe for a killer hot sauce (no pun intended): Ingredients: 2 jalapenos, diced 1-2 habaneros, diced Half of a white onion 1 carrot diced 3 tablespoons unsalted butter Red wine White wine vinegar
Melt butter in pan and start caramelizing the onions. Add carrots and peppers once onions are done. Only slightly brown the peppers, then remove and place in food processor/blended. Keep carrot and onion and brown in red wine. Add that to the blender. Add white wine vinegar at 1:1 ratio with the vegetables. Blend and leave overnight. Blend the next day and bottle.
Goody says: “It's going to be hot!”
Contact reporter at mfidura@asu.edu.
