The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Staff Recipe

  • The arroz with the most

    The arroz with the most

    Arroz con leche is a delectable delight, come to save you on your freezing nights. This Mexican rice pudding had my tongue rolling out of my mouth like a fruit roll-up as I would float through the hall after a hovering trail of steam all the way to my mama’s sweet, creamy arroz.

    The soft sweet rice will over stuff you and your friends, leaving plenty of leftovers for you to fiend after at midnight (I wont tell if you don’t) because arroz con leche tastes good hot AND cold, and you’ll want to try it both ways, trust me.

    The name translates to “rice with milk,” which is pretty much all this dish is (two kinds of milk, to be specific), making for an uber-simple recipe that takes less than an hour to prep and cook. This dish is simple and sweet with miles of room for improvisation and improvement. Add raisins, almonds, chocolate, strawberries, bananas, churros, apple slices- these are just a few of the unlimited ideas you could throw in the rice. There are lots of different variations, but without further ado: my mama’s bomb ass bare-bones recipe.

    Here’s what you’ll need:

    Ingredients

1 cup regular long grain ricey rice

3 cups soaking wet water

2 sticks of cinnamon

1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 12 oz can of evaporated milk

Ground cinnamon to sprinkle on top

    In a big ol’ pot on the stove, add your water and cinnamon and bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling, add your rice and reduce the heat. Let simmer for about ten minutes, or until the water has reduced about half way. At this point, lower the heat a touch more and add in your evaporated and condensed milks, stirring it in and mixing every few minutes until hot. Bada bing, bada boom- rice in your spoon, taste it and you’ll be on the moon. Give it to your lover and they’ll swoon. Dust with cinnamon powder, top it off with whatever you fancy, and chow down!

  • Staff Recipe: Oh No, I Bought Too Many Bananas—Banana Bread

    Staff Recipe: Oh No, I Bought Too Many Bananas—Banana Bread

    A recipe for when you have too many bananas and don’t know what to do with them

    I’ve read enough recipe blogs to know you open a recipe with an autobiography.

    It all began when the plague hit. I panicked and bought too many bananas. This was immediately followed by remembering I don’t even like bananas that much. However, I do love bread, and banana bread works best with bananas just on the brink of going bad. Assuming you were able to gather the energy to wear socks in isolation, here’s a recipe that will knock your socks right off.

    With no further ado, here’s the “Oh No, I Bought Too Many Bananas—Banana Bread” recipe (this yields 2 loaves):

    Ingredients:

    4-6 very ripe bananas, mashed
    2 cups sugar
    2 eggs
    1/2 cup vegetable oil
    3 cups flour
    2 tablespoons baking soda
    2 tablespoons salt

    walnuts or chocolate chips, to personal preference (optional)

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two loaf pans.
    2. In a large bowl, combine bananas, sugar, eggs and oil. It will look lumpy, and that’s OK. There’s bananas in there—there’s only so much you can do.
    3. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Fold into the banana mixture and combine until no dry ingredients remain.
    4. Add salt and any additional, optional mix-ins, and combine thoroughly.

    5. Bake for an hour or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out mostly clean.

    And you’re done!

  • Staff Recipe: True Sourdough Starter

    Staff Recipe: True Sourdough Starter

    There’s no time like the pandemic to get a start on a starter

    Sourdough starters are a great project for the apocalypse, as yeast and other baking materials are becoming hard to come by. Hopefully you’ve still got that bag of flour sitting in the back corner of your cupboard, because with just a couple minutes of work a day, you’ve got yourself a sour new addition to the family. After day seven, your starter will be ready for use in bread, pancakes, muffins or any other baked good that includes flour and water.

    Ingredients and supplies:

    • Flour
    • Lukewarm water (around 85 degrees Fahrenheit)
    • A scale
    • A mason jar with a lid
    • Patience

    Directions:

    Day 1 – Beginning the starter

    • Weigh your jar empty, without the lid, and write the weight down
    • Add 100 grams of flour to your jar
    • Add 150 grams of lukewarm water to your jar. Mix thoroughly until combined, making sure you don’t leave any clumps
    • Attach lid loosely to the jar (not too tight, or you will make a bread bomb)
    • Wait 24 hours

    Day 2: Feeding the starter

    • Remove starter from your jar until there is 70 grams of the starter remaining (that’s 70 grams added to the original weight of your jar)
    • Add 100 grams of flour
    • Add 100 grams of water
    • Mix thoroughly until combined without clumps
    • Attach loosely fitting lid to jar

    Day Three: Onwards

    • Repeat instructions from day two until you forget for a couple days and accidentally kill it.

    Tips

    • Your starter can range in smell from yeasty “footy-ness” to a nail polish remover or a boozy smell which changes from day-to-day.
    • Adding a little more water or a little more flour will affect the scent and taste of your dough drastically.
    • Excess starter removed during feeding is perfectly safe to eat after being fried in a bit of oil. It makes wonderful fry bread with a bit of a funnel cake consistency.
    • Keep your starter in a warm place. Warm temperatures encourage fermentation, and cold temperatures can kill your starter.
  • Staff Recipe: Awesome Avocado Pasta

    Staff Recipe: Awesome Avocado Pasta

    Pasta, the go-to, easy-to-do meal, but with avocado

    Pasta is the go-to meal when nothing else sounds good. I’m sure many of you have eaten pasta during quarantine—it’s just so convenient. However, it’s nice to finally switch it up a bit after having the same ol’ spaghetti for days on end. A sauce I discovered a while back is an avocado-based sauce. At first I was a bit skeptical, but then I thought “I love avocados and I love pasta, it shouldn’t be that bad.” After looking through and trying out a few recipes online, I got the hang of it and decided to just do it on my own. With a few modifications, I have a great recipe for you to try. It’s simple, fast and delicious.

    Awesome Avocado Pasta recipe:

    Ingredients:

    2 ripe avocados

    1 whole yellow onion

    3 cloves garlic

    2 teaspoons of lemon juice

    1/4 cup of olive oil

    1/2 a box of penne rigate or regular spaghetti (more or less depending on how hungry you are)

    Seasonings:

    Salt

    Pepper

    Oregano

    Basil leaves

    Cayenne pepper (for a little spice)

    Directions:

    1. Dice the onion along with three cloves of garlic.

    2. Grab a medium sized pan, coat it with a tiny amount of olive oil and turn on the burner. Once the pan is hot, add in the diced onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is caramelized. Once caramelized, turn the heat off.

    3. Grab a blender. Slice and open the 2 avocados. Scoop the avocados in the blender, then transfer the cooked onions and garlic from the pan to the blender. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and blend until the sauce looks smooth and creamy.

    4. Once the sauce is ready, start the pasta. Grab a pot and bring the water to a boil. Add in your pasta and follow the directions on the box.

    5. After the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain and put back in the pot. Take the avocado sauce from the blender and spoon in to the pot of pasta.

    6. Add in spices to taste and stir (remember to taste as you go).

    7. Once it’s seasoned to your liking, get a bowl and enjoy!