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I have a confession to make, and while I know that I may be angering the restless spirits of Halloween and Childish Indulgence, I need to get this out:  I am sick and tired of Halloween candy.  I'm not saying that I don't eat candy, because I do.  In fact, I might be physically incapable of turning away a Snicker's bar or a Reese's cup.  As a case in point, yesterday I happily ate a marshmallow shaped like a brain. That marshmallow gave me a Halloween-worthy scare when I realized that it was filled with a reddish mystery-filling — and I liked it!



I don't mean to vilify to joy of a scary, sugary Halloween. I trick-or-treated enthusiastically for an entire childhood. I had so many chocolate bars that I could identify the age of a Kit-Kat by the amount of chalky residue on it's surface. If a piece of Laffy Taffy was too hard and brittle to be chewed, I knew it would relent after a half hour of sucking. And I've nearly pulled my teeth out more than once trying to release them from the grip of multiple Jolly Ranchers.


I am giving myself a break from Halloween candy, but we still need snacks, so here are few snacking options that still sit comfortably in the Halloween tradition.
 
 
Black Russian Bread

One of the major staples my diet are grains, namely bread products, so almost every meal I incorporate a small piece of sourdough as a natural habit. The tangy taste of sourdough is a complimentary taste any assortment of cheeses and jams, my favorites combinations of sourdough topped with Kofalotiri cheese or homemade raspberry jam. 


Russia is the 4th in the world’s leading wheat production, consuming a little over 35 metric tons of wheat per year and beating America by a little over 2 metric tons. Around 50% of Russia is covered in permafrost, so despite it’s desolate tundra, they manage to produce a lot of grain! Many Russian proverbs often describe the character of a person through their bread consumption. “Bread is the head of everything.” Hospitality klyeb-sol’  (Bread-salt) directly links to the symbolism behind bread. The idea of wasting bread is somewhat of an abomination.
 
 
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If you love to bake, but also love to taste test during the process, you may end up eating more than you intended. I’m not saying an occasional taste here and there is really bad for you, but you might want to  think twice before you lick the entire bowl of double-fudge chocolate chip brownie batter clean.
Any person who bakes or cooks wants to get the recipe just right. Beware, though, that there is a difference between checking the correct proportions of ingredients and devouring the cookie dough simply because it’s calling out to you. Here’s a fun fact: gum suppresses hunger. Instead of binging on raw goods while preparing your treats, try chewing on a piece of sugarless gum. Get sick of the bubble-gum flavor before you put the pan in the oven? Spit it out and try spearmint, or cinnamon, or winterfresh…there are plenty of other flavors.
By preventing yourself from eating a pound of batter, you will probably find yourself baking the amount the recipe calls for and have enough to share with friends! 
 
 
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Hey there Michiganders! In case you haven’t heard, the #1 bad boy of cuisine, Anthony Bourdain, will be coming on November 7 to do a Q&A at the Michigan Theater as part of the “Ann Arbor Conversations” series. The series will feature three different Q&A sessions with celebrities such as Bourdain, David Sedaris, and Frank Warren.  Bourdain is most famous for hosting “No Reservations” on the Travel Channel, his provocative memoir, Kitchen Confidential, and for generally having one of the filthiest mouths in the industry. In addition to his impressive resume, “No Reservations” is the only show on the Travel Channel that has a viewer discretion advisory, so it’s sure to be an entertaining night. Vegetarians and Rachel Ray fans beware!

 
 
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“I’m only smiling because I want your money.”
You’re a college student.  After purchasing your $30 ticket to see Girl Talk, $200 worth of hockey season tickets, and a hyper trendy $50 Urban Outfitters cardigan, you realize that you bank account is running at a perilous low.  You need to get a job, but class starts at 11:00 and you despise hearing your alarm clock anytime before that.  Where do you go?  A restaurant, of course!  

As a veteran of this process, I hope to shed a little light on the different positions available and their respective benefits and disadvantages.  Most places are far from perfect, but knowing what exactly you are getting into could prevent a nasty firing, replete with broken glasses and middle fingers.

Here are the most common positions available:
 
 
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Living dairy-free is not as difficult as it used to be.  Fortunately, for those people (myself included), who are lactose intolerant and unable to digest the sugar found in milk products, there are a myriad of other healthy dairy-free options available.  Lactaid milk and calcium fortified soy-milk are great options to use as a milk substitute.  Most coffee shops on campus offer soy-milk, but be warned.  While soy is a wonderful alternative to regular milk because of its high protein content, some coffee shops, such as Starbucks, only offer flavored soy-milks, which can have a high sugar content.

The hardest thing about the commitment to a lactose free lifestyle is...
 
 
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Everyone loves having warm toasty S’mores right out of a campfire. When its winter though, and you have no intention of ever going outside much less sitting outside with a fire, these S’more cookies are quite possibly the most amazing things to ever come out of your oven. Toasty-golden fluffy marshmallows, gooey chocolate pieces and chewy graham cracker makes this cookie one of the most delightful treats you will ever sink your teeth into, and they’re addictive like Pringles… once you eat one you’ll want to eat the whole cookie sheet of them. 


Cathy's Recipe for these is here
 
 
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Frozen yogurt has become synonymous with a healthy dessert, a no guilt treat. Frozen yogurt shops have popped up all over the Ann Arbor campus and students are euphoric. A nonfat, tasty, and perceivably beneficial delicacy is hard to turn down. But what individuals sometimes don’t realize is that this “guiltless” pleasure is often loaded with sugar and may not even have enough of the beneficial bacteria to be deemed healthful. An ounce of frozen yogurt allegedly yields between 22-29 calories. Let’s put this in perspective. The smallest portion available is often about 5 oz., amounting to approximately 110-145 calories. This sounds miniscule, but let’s be honest, with Amer’s new self-serve style, you are more than likely to take a much larger portion. Then, consider the toppings. It’s great if you choose fresh fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries, bananas, or kiwi, but if you go for the sauces and candy garnishes, the calories can really add up... 
 
 
Last Saturday, I had the immense privilege of going to the farmer's market with several of the writers from the College Cooking section and my fellow editors Sara and Zak. It turned out to be a perfect fall morning!
We Started our excursion off with a trip to Ann Arbor's own Afternoon Delight (which is spectacular by the way) on East Liberty. After happily filling up on pancakes the size of plates, blueberry muffins the size of coffee cups and all manner of eggs, a very content group of CuiZiners ventured back outside and headed off to Kerrytown! At the farmer's market we found everything from  thumbnail sized potatoes to freshly baked bread. I also got a sneak peek at what certainly promises to be fantastic coffee for my upcoming coffee tour of Ann Arbor! It was a fantastic time, thanks to all that made it!

Cathy's photos from that day! 

Veronica Thompson
 
 
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Photo courtesy of Joyosity on Flickr
Caramel is a fall favorite:  caramel apples, caramel corn, caramel candies – they all have a warm, seasonal glow.  Caramel is also very sticky and making this treat is an even messier ordeal.  Hot melting sugar covers spoons, pans, bowls, and anything else it comes it touches.  While I very much wanted to write about, and make, caramels, I also knew the process would be quite a struggle.

Like any civilized society, my apartment has a set of rules; laws if you will.  Chief amongst these is:  “No homemade caramel!”  It seemed like a good rule at the time, caramel is really hard to clean up, and there’s so much potential for disaster.   I’m on a quest, however, to break out of my comfort zone and explore my culinary world, and caramel is just that, an adventure.