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Well Food Lovers, there's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months. Especially the holiday that makes a Foodie out of just about everyone: Thanksgiving! In order to prepare you (and ourselves) to savor every delicious morsel that passes your lips next Thursday, we're going to provide you with Thanksgiving recipes and article for before the big day, and maybe even a few for after (some creative ways to use those leftovers). So we won't skip straight to Christmas like the stores, after all, who doesn't like thinking about all that food?
That's not all either, shortly after Thanksgiving we will start our two month weekly review of a cookbook. It's called Freshman in the Kitchen, written by Max and Eli Sussman. So every week for eight weeks, we'll pass around the book to a new writer and they'll tell us about their experience and of course the end result of a recipe from the book. It's tons of fun for us and sure to be entertaining (especially if I cook something...) so be sure to tune in and see how it's going!
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Quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wah) an ancient Mayan grain which, in addition to being very healthy, holds the largest amount of protein of all grains, making it an immensely valuable addition to a vegetarian’s diet


See J.F.'s Recipe
 
 
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      Have you ever wondered why you gain weight when you work out? Usually, it’s not because you haven’t spent enough time lifting weights, running on the treadmill or using the elliptical machine. Simply put, muscle weighs more than fat. Although muscle is denser than fat, it takes up less space. Consequently, you may be losing inches around your waist and at the same time see the numbers gradually escalate, rather than dwindle, on your scale. Don’t worry it’s perfectly normal. 
 
 
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Bok Choy one of the main ingredients
So you’re in a bit of a dilemma. You have a friend who’s coming over for a quick weekend visit from MSU (or *gasp* even worse, Ohio State!) and you’ve offered to make dinner to impress them before they return to their inferior school.

The problem is that you’ve only been cooking mac and cheese from a box for a few weeks now...

Well, no fear! These pork wraps are not only visually appealing, but easy and fun to make!
 
 
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In case you missed it, chef, author, and all-around-bad-ass, Anthony Bourdain spoke last Saturday at the Michigan Theater as part of the "Ann Arbor Conversations" series. Walking out with a beer from the Ann Arbor Brewing company, he seemed thrilled to be in Ann Arbor, home to "one of the greatest bands ever, The Stooges." And Ann Arbor was thrilled to have him, the ultimate rock star of the food world. 
 
Bourdain opened by stating that he would lay off the Rachael Ray jokes for the night, for the sake of them being too easy. Instead, he opted for a story about food network personality (I'm not going to say cook) Sandra Lee. On multiple occasions, Bourdain has publicly called Lee "the hell spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker", and her show "Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee" "a war crime on television." At the recent premiere of "Julie and Julia," Lee approached Bourdain, who was sitting with his wife, and began to run her fingers all over his body, telling him that "he had been a bad, bad, boy." She then tugged on his earlobes, asking if they were red yet, before moving on. Bourdain sat there, frozen, and at that moment realized that "It's Sandra Lee's world and we all just live in it."
 
 
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The worlds of Syrian cuisine and French baking are not often intertwined, but the so aptly named Exotic Bakeries and Syrian Cuisine proves that this combination can stimulate the pleasure receptors of most every taste bud residing in a college student’s mouth.  Often overlooked, this walk-in sandwich and dessert shop has subsisted for almost 20 years under the masterful guise of Jinan Elkhatib and his wife Monib.  Through providing enormous portions teeming with overwhelming quality, this couple has captured the hearts of savvy Ann Arbor foodies for years.

Located in the plaza at the intersection of Murfin and Plymouth Road, just beyond North Campus, Exotic Bakeries and Syrian Cuisine is a positive island among the sea of negatives that is North Campus living.  For $6-10, a guest can receive any permutation of sandwiches or combos involving shawarma, kafta, tabbouli, hommous, kibbee, and all the other Middle-Eastern favorites that make its cuisine so delectable.  Jinan or his wife will assemble the food right in front of you, heaping on enough tantalizing ingredients to make you wonder why you would ever spend $7 on a Panchero’s burrito again.
 
 
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Success!
Our first ever potluck turned out great! Fall themed foods were bountiful along with a variety of other treats like Nick's Jalepeño surprise and Rajesh's delicious pork chops! 
The Trotter House provided us with a large kitchen that helped dishes get heated, baked, melted, and ready to eat. Thanks to everyone who participated in the potluck and get ready to feast yet again at the next one
 
 
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Now that you have your new knife and are using it, there are some certain precautions you should be wary of when taking care of it. 

The first being that the knife is not made to be cleaned in the dishwasher; it will slowly ruin the blade if you do this. To safely  wash the knife, run it under some soap and hot water and scrub it with some sort of brush, making sure to go from the top to the bottom (the edge). Then dry the knife and place it back in its home. I prefer to do this in order to avoid any accidents that could result from leaving the knife out.

The second part of caring for your knife regards housing. I like a good solid knife block. The knives are covered and also kept in a straight alignment thus protecting them and their owners.There are other options out there such as magnetic strips that hang on walls and hold the knives up or they can be placed in a drawer. I don’t care for either of these options because the knives are still exposed and accidents can occur. In addition, the knives are not covered and can get bent or “injured”.

Many varieties of knife blocks are available, just explore and find what feels best. Make sure to know the size of your knife (both its maximum width and length) ahead of time to make sure it will fit in the knife block you purchase. I hope you continue to enjoy your knives and that these tips will help it last longer.
 
 
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You can do it. Just say no. Even if you refer to your french fries as “pommes frites,” it doesn’t trivialize the lethal saturated and trans fats, which will undoubtedly clog your arteries. I know that every college student loves their fries, so I propose a solution: substitute sweet potatoes for (white) potatoes, and bake ‘em! Sweet potatoes are composed of complex carbohydrates and contain nearly twice the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin A, almost half of the suggested intake for Vitamin C, and offer 4 times the RDA for beta carotene.


Also, baking instead of frying will save you a ton of calories. What could be better than that? Well, if you choose to consume the skin as well, your body will absorb more fiber than what a bowl of oatmeal provides.1 Now that’s just a bonus! It’s obvious why sweet potato “fries” have become all the rage—they don’t have to be deep-fried to be tasty:
 
 
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In the U.S., salad is nearly synonymous with lettuce.  It is a crucial ingredient and the first thing I add when making a salad. When I was abroad in Greece, I ordered a side-salad in a restaurant on one of my first days in Athens.  As the waitress brought out my food, I did a double-take after glancing at the salad.  To my surprise, there was no lettuce at all.  At first, I wondered if it was a specialty house salad but everywhere I visited in Greece served the same salad without lettuce.
  
During my experience, I learned that a typical Greek salad only consists of five main ingredients: tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, and feta cheese.  Then you add a little bit of seasoning (usually salt and pepper) and some olive oil and some lemon juice.  It can be served in a bowl or even on skewers.  

So the next time you have a Greek salad with lettuce, know you are having an Americanized Greek salad.   At that point, why bother calling it a Greek salad?