Peach and Creme Fraiche Pie

I wanted my first attempt at making pie and pie crust from scratch to be perfection. Simply put, it wasn't quite that. Actually, making this pie went smoothly for me, and I was sure I did everything perfectly. The final pie tastes amazing and was a great success for a first try. But the main problem is the crust. Making crust from scratch is a very picky process, and though I thought I did everything perfectly, mine turned out a little tough. The flavor is great, but it's hard to cut with the fork due to its off texture. I am not sure what I did wrong, but that aside, I'd still recommend this pie because it's simple and delicious and perfect for summer. As for the crust, only attempt if you have time and effort to spare on something that might not turn out!

My First Complete Menu

This recipe came from Lee Bailey's Cooking For Friends cookbook. It's a soy sauce and herb broiled petrole sole fish with onion-hot pepper topping, with sides of rice and peanut pilaf and warm green bean salad. I have to admit, my mom helped me a lot, and I'm too lazy to write out the recipe, but anyway, it was delicious!

Brioche Buns

Ok, baking bread from scratch sounds really scary, I'll totally be the first to admit it. But it's actually not that bad. These buns turned out so delicious and I had no trouble with the recipe. My whole family loved them, and they're good with anything: butter, honey, jam, cheese, burgers, or sandwiches! They are so good, better than store bought or bakery buns, I couldn't believe that I had made them!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I know this blog is supposed to be healthy fresh fruit and vegetable recipes, but I was bored and felt like trying to bake something since I am still home with access to baking ingredients and a cuisinart. My first baking attempt was inspired by this recipe. I was curious to see if there were any other Stephs that cooked, so I typed Steph Cooks into Google, and this girl's blog was the first hit. I am very picky when it comes to chocolate peanut butter desserts. I have eaten countless versions of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. These caught my eye because of the picture of a poofy round little cookie. I thought my cookies would turn out like that picture on her blog. Clearly, I'm not joking when I say this was my first baking attempt, because I didn't realize that picture is of the cookie dough, not the final cookie.

These cookies came out pretty standard. I'd be short cutting them if I said they were ok, but I would be totally lying if I said they were the best. The cookie dough was delicious though.

Peanut Buckwheat Noodles w/ Tofu and Veggies, and Why Sunlight is Photography's Best Friend

Fresh cucumber, orange bell pepper, and green onion with buckwheat soba noodles and tofu. The sauce, as with any Asian peanut sauce, does have a lot of ingredients, but we already have the sesame oil, rice vinegar, and those types of ingredients. The sauce is made in the blender, and it was my first time using fresh ginger and garlic to cook with, and after seeing how easy and healthy it is, I will use it more often. The original recipe is here, but I made some changes. Most obviously, I used wheat noodles instead of white ones. I also found the sauce too thick so I added more water (and it was still thick after that), and a little too salty so I added extra honey. I also heated up the tofu in a small frying pan in some oil before adding it to the dish, I think it makes it taste much better after being slightly stir fried as opposed to straight out of the package.

I started this recipe late as the sun was going down. By the time I was done with this recipe, there was no sun out and the kitchen is not well lit for digital macro photography, resulting in a blurry final image. The cut veggies were photographed when it was still a light outside and the window shades open, and the noodles were photographed using only my kitchen lights... what a difference a little sunlight makes in photography! Also, my standard 5+ year old digital camera isn't the best, but it's all I have to work with.

Multigrain French Toast w/ Blueberries and Cinnamon

Quick delicious breakfast with multigrain bakery bread (I used one with sesame seeds on the crust) dipped in a mixture of egg, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Brown to perfection, and dust with cinnamon-sugar and fresh blueberries.

Herbed Summer Squash and Potato Torte

I was home for the week and decided to try a real, complete recipe that required some kitchen appliances and pans that I definitely do not have with me at college. The recipe is thin-sliced yellow squash, thin-sliced yukon gold potatoes, and a seasoned parmesan cheese and green onion mixture, all layered in a round cake pan and baked in the oven. I used my mom's cuisinart with a 1/8" slicing blade to cut the veggies and a 8" cake pan. Find the whole recipe here.