Who doesn’t love J Street?
The fresh food (my favorite is the Marvelous Market sandwiches that have been wrapped up for at least a month or so), the range of healthy choices (from Burger King to Chick-Fil-A to Taco Bell) and the prompt, friendly service are always a plus.
But all the same, sometimes it’s good to get away from J Street and have different food – maybe even food you’ve cooked yourself. There are a few problems with this, though. First, I am a lowly freshman and the only kitchen I have access to is in the basement of my building, Lafayette Hall. Second, I feel guilty spending money on real food when my parents were forced to shell out $1,250 for meal points. The solution to the first problem is what my roommate and I like to call “basement cooking” in a poorly-equipped kitchen that is filthy at best. The solution to the second problem is my own Provisions cookbook. I’ve been gathering and testing recipes that are made from ingredients you can get from Provisions (with no more than one ingredient from an outside source) and can be made with only the basic cooking tools: stove, oven, pot, cookie sheet, pan, measuring cup, etc.
If you don’t have things like measuring cups and measuring spoons, it might help you to know that a cup has eight ounces. Find a water bottle that only holds eight ounces, or get one that holds 16 and fill it halfway. In general, a tablespoon is a little more than can be held in a large soupspoon and a teaspoon is a little more than a small spoon.
Soda Bread
This is the first recipe I adapted to basement cooking. Soda bread is simple bread that uses baking soda to rise instead of yeast (which means you don’t have to sit around and wait for it to rise before you can bake it). And guys, nothing impresses a girl more than a freshly baked loaf of bread, especially if it is served with some individual butter and jam packets that you stole from the Marvin Center during the Customer Service Celebration breakfast.
2 c. Flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 c. milk, with 1 tbsp.
lemon juice
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda until well blended. Add milk and lemon juice and mix until all dry ingredients are wet. The original recipe called for 1 c. buttermilk, but souring milk with lemon juice works. Turn out onto a heavily floured surface (the dough will be sticky) and knead 10 times, incorporating more flour until the dough holds together and is no longer sticky. Shape into a 6-inch round loaf and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Cut a cross in the top of the loaf and bake for 30- 40 minutes.
Golden Bars
This next recipe is perfect for basement cooking because you can combine all the ingredients in the saucepan you use to melt the butter. You can add 1 c. pecans if you like, but I always preferred them without, (Provisions doesn’t sell pecans, anyway). The great thing about golden bars is, you can use them as a bargaining tool to get other ingredients – I can get a guy down the hall to shell out money for groceries from Safeway (like a bottle of olive oil) if I promise him a batch of golden bars.
2/3 c. butter (10 tbsp.)
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs- well beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients, first combining flour, baking powder and salt. Spread the mixture into a greased shallow pan, 12 in. by 8 in. (or 11 in. by 7 in.). Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until surface springs back when pressed. Cool, cut into bars.
Hummus
This recipe works well as an appetizer or an afternoon snack. You’ll need to go outside Provisions for this one and get a bottle of olive oil for about $5. If you do get olive oil, you can also use it for other recipes. A blender is also necessary for this recipe.
1 can chickpeas
3 tbsp. lemon juice
3- 4 tbsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp. salt
Drain the chickpeas and rinse well with water. To a blender or food processor, add the peeled garlic cloves and salt. Process until the garlic is finely chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it is a smooth paste. Add more olive oil as needed to keep the blender from clogging. Add lemon juice, salt and cayenne to taste. Serve with crackers or pita bread.
Chocolate Chip Scones
This recipe is good if you want to impress someone with a homemade breakfast in bed. Alternatively, you could always hoard the scones and make your roommates jealous and hungry.
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. butter, cut into
2-inch cubes
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. semisweet
chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl combine the flour and sugar. Use two knives or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter (put the butter cubes into the dry mixture and cut them into smaller and smaller pieces) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl combine the milk, egg and vanilla. Add egg mixture to the crumb mixture along with the chocolate chips, blending with a fork until the mixture clings together and forms a soft dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (preferably wax paper covered in flour) and knead gently five or six times. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a seven-inch round. A long, flat bottle with the label removed works as well as a rolling pin. Liquor bottles work well. Cut the round into four to eight wedges. Place the scones one inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Pierce the tops with the tines of a fork. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot.
