Bonded with an old man buying sunscreen today at work over being Irish and pale. Didn’t have the heart to tell him I’m not Irish, just pale.

— Alison Schwebach (@alisonschwebach) May 17, 2016

Even before I was of the age to partake in the green beer and other green-themed festivities, St. Patrick’s Day was always just a fun, random holiday that helped break up the dreariness of March and meant spring was coming soon. So in honor of St. Pat and the Irish, I decided this month to make Irish soda bread.

If you’ve never had it, I highly recommend trying some. My mom used to have our grandparents over for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner a couple years in a row (again, our family is not Irish AT ALL so I don’t really know why), and although I would not touch the corned beef and cabbage, I always ate SO MUCH Irish soda bread. I didn’t have time to get the recipe my mom used before I had to do this thing, so I found a recipe from Ina Garten. Because I trust her.

Time started: 8:00 pm

What I’m drinking: I decided to go all out on the St. Patrick’s theme so I picked up some Guinness and had one before starting as well as another midway through. I also drank my favorite Black Velvet whiskey, of course, because what is more Irish than Canadian whiskey, am I right??

Estimated difficulty: 3/5

This didn’t seem too difficult, but Ina said I needed to use a mixer to properly incorporate the butter into the flour and I do not have a mixer.

Challenges (besides being intoxicated): The no mixer did turn out to be a bit of a challenge, but wasn’t as awful as I was expecting. I ended up having to mash the cold butter into the flour with a potato masher because I also do not have a pastry cutter. Its fine, it pretty much worked. However what was NOT FINE was me dropping the orange into the buttermilk mixture because I was using my hands to talk too aggressively while I talked to my sister.

Time finished: 10:00 PM (it honestly didn’t take that long to mix together, the baking time was just super long.)

Results:

My drunk opinion:  “This is some good Irish soda bread. I am happy.”

Mollie’s opinion: “You actually didn’t do bad.” (Rude.) “It’s good, good job. I am thoroughly impressed.” (Still rude???)

My sober morning opinion: I can’t tell if it is slightly undercooked or just a really moist recipe. Either way, it is delicious.

Final deliciousness rating: 9/10

I would probably make this again, however it didn’t really keep very well after a couple days so eat it quickly if you decide to make it! Here is the recipe if you wanted to try it for your own St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

Stop by next month to see what else I manage to throw an orange at or something.

Previous Episodes:

Episode 1: Orange Chili Brownies

Episode 2: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones

Episode 3: (Almost) Vegan Dark Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Episode 4: Peppermint  & White Chocolate Brownies

Episode 5: Vegan Coconut Lime Cake

Episode 6: Berry Tart

The post Whisks + Whiskey Episode 7 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Since it is February and Valentine’s Day is a thing that happens in February, I figured I should probably make a recipe that harkens to the other mostly useless holiday in the month. Now, if you thought that meant I was going to make some sort red velvet-type of baked item, I’m going to stop you right there.

To be honest, red velvet is pretty freakin weird—why do we have to add an entire bottle of artificial red food dye just to enjoy a mildly cocoa flavored caked with cream cheese frosting?? Traditional red velvet is actually pretty cool with the chemical reactions happening to produce the red tint, but people have become so used to the artificial hue that the traditional just doesn’t have the same sex appeal.

Instead of fake food dye that stains your mouth and teeth red (which isn’t a very sexy look for V-Day, unless you and your Valentine are into vampire roleplay), I wanted to make something that was naturally rose-tinged. For some reason, the thought of making a rustic berry tart has been calling to me for a while and I figured with plenty of strawberries and raspberries it would be the perfect antithesis to the basic red velvet.

I found a berry tart recipe (okay technically it’s a “galette” not a tart, but I like calling it a tart so whatever) from a blog called Finding Zest that used frozen berries, which was fantastic because fresh berries in February would’ve been hella expensive. To enhance the ~*Valentine’s Day vibes*~ I invited the boyfriend over for moral support, because what says romance more than having to babysit your whiskey inebriated girlfriend to make sure she doesn’t drunkenly burn herself??

Time started: 8:00 pm

What I’m drinking: This time I went full whiskey. I had a couple swigs before starting, and then mixed the rest of what was left in the bottle with some cherry coke. (There were only like 2-3 shots left in the bottle, okay. Don’t panic.)

Estimated difficulty: 2/5

This seemed pretty simple, and since I cheated with store-bought pie crust there really wasn’t a lot of labor involved. (I was going more for aesthetics than anything, forgive me.)

Challenges (besides being intoxicated): To be honest, there really weren’t too many extra challenges this time around. I do remember running into the chairs and table more times than usual. I also knocked a cup to the floor, but thankfully it was empty.

Time finished: 9:30 pm

Results

My drunk opinion: “It’s super tasty, I’m in to it. It’s also “berry tart” but in a good way.” (I do remember thinking I was very clever coming up with that pun while drunk.)

Jake’s opinion: “It’s good. Definitely one of the best pie crusts I’ve had.” (Store bought for the win.)

Shanea’s opinion: It’s really good! 10/10 would definitely eat again. I really enjoyed the blue goo.

My sober morning opinion: This is a really great balance of sweet and tart. The berries turned into kind of a jam, and it goes perfectly with the crust. I might actually be obsessed, not going to lie.

Final deliciousness rating: 10/10

Heck yeah I’d make this again. Here’s the recipe if you’d like to make it yourself, and I’d highly recommend that you do. (And it’s extra easy with store-bought pie crust!)

As a sort of “blooper,” I tried making a glaze for the tart out of some leftover canned coconut milk I had in my freezer and powdered sugar, and although it tasted pretty good, when I tried drizzling the glaze concoction on the tart it ended up looking like a bodily fluid you probably shouldn’t put on any sort of baked good, Valentine’s day or not. I didn’t take a picture for evidence, so I’ll just let you use your imagination to work out the details on that.

Next month is March, which means that’s the month spring is actually supposed to arrive in and I have no idea what I’m going to make!! You should still definitely tune in then though!!

Previous Episodes:

Episode 1: Orange Chili Brownies

Episode 2: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones

Episode 3: (Almost) Vegan Dark Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Episode 4: Peppermint  & White Chocolate Brownies

Episode 5: Vegan Coconut Lime Cake

The post Whisks + Whiskey: Episode 6 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

now, it’s one of the many things you look forward to when going home. I know, just as any college student does, that having your first apartment, suite, or house in college has its benefits – one of those being your very own kitchen! Be honest, you have been saving those Buzzfeed food videos and following different Facebook accounts. But at the end of a college school day, you don’t have enough time to make that gourmet dish and need to substitute with a quicker option. Check out below to see some fast and easy recipes for any college student that you can do by yourself!

Breakfast

Hawaiian French Toast

What You Need: Eggs, Milk, Butter (or Nonstick Cooking Spray), Hawaiian Bread, and Vanilla extract

Tip: Garnish your French toast with fresh fruit or powdered sugar!

Full recipe here

Scrambled Eggs with Cheddar Cheese

What You Need: Cheddar Cheese, Eggs, Nonstick Cooking Spray

Tip: Dicing up ham or bacon and throwing it in is a great way to get some protein in and adds extra flavor.

Full recipe here

Acai Fruit Bowls 

What You Need: Acai Smoothie Packs, Granola, Honey, Fruit of your choice

Tip: Coconut and almonds make for a great topping, too!

Full recipe here

Lunch

Chicken Quesadillas

What You Need: Tortillas, your choice of Cheese, Chicken

Tip: Use guacamole or sour cream for dipping sauce.

Full recipe here

Beef Nachos

What You Need: Tortilla Chips, Lean Ground Beef, Shredded Cheese, Chopped Tomatoes, Chopped Green Onions, Chopped Jalapeños

Tip: Spice up your nachos by using different shaped chips (scoops, original, or flat).

Full recipe here

Pepperoni Pizza

What You Need: Frozen Crust, Marinara Sauce, Shredded Cheese, Pepperoni (For best results, use the best wood pellet pizza oven)

Tip: Feeling adventurous? Check out this website on how to make your own pizza dough!

Full recipe here

Dinner

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls

What You Need: Diced Chicken, Teriyaki Sauce, Rice, Broccoli

Full recipe here

Baked Mac & Cheese

What You Need: Pasta, Shredded Cheese, Milk, Butter, Flour, Onion Powder, Breadcrumbs

Tip: Chop up some bacon to add to your dish!

Full recipe here

Spaghetti

What You Need: Pasta, Marinara Sauce

Tip: You can add sausage or change up the shape of the noodle – there are tons to choose from!

Full recipe: do you really need a recipe on how to make spaghetti? But just in case, Prego offers one that includes meatballs as well!

Desserts

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

What You Need: Strawberries, Chocolate

Tip: Although this recipe calls for corn syrup and butter, they are not 100% mandatory to include

Full recipe here

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Crescents

What You Need: Crescent rolls, Cinnamon, Sugar, Chocolate Chips

Recipe: Before rolling crescents, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar and place a few chocolate chips on top. Proceed by rolling crescents into shape and then dash some more cinnamon and sugar on top before throwing them in the oven!

Oreo Milkshakes

What You Need: Vanilla Ice Cream, Milk, Oreos

Tip: Mash up Oreos in a plastic bag instead of placing them whole directly in the blender. You can also buy malt mix to make yours a Oreo malt!

Full recipe here

Now that you”ve mastered the basics, watch some of these vids and try and step up your food game. May the odds be ever in your favor!

The post DIY Great Things Take Time: Recipe Hacks Every College Student Needs appeared first on KRUI Radio.