Dill-icious!

FIRST DAY AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON!
I'm a transfer student mid-year, which means... nightmare of a schedule! Good news - I like most of my classes and professors. Also, people are extremely friendly and helpful on this campus. Tonight I fixed up:
- Sauteed Shrimp with lemon dill sauce on brown rice (cooked with onions and margarine)
- Sauteed green beans and brocolli with dill and lemon zest

Car Boot and Spicy peanut stir-fry with lo mein noodles

Today was interesting. Woke up with plenty of time to get to the 10 o'clock Catholic mass and still managed to get lost and arrive at 10:20. I had a great first experience at St. Patrick's Catholic Church until, I returned to my car with an orange boot on its tire! Supposedly, I was illegally parked and the CPM managed to boot my tire in the 30 mins I was gone. $35 later I headed to the Whole Foods Market in Mt. Pleasant to lift my spirits. I was very pleased with the selection and managed to buy an odd assortment of baking ingredients and vegetables. I returned to my apartment and decided it best to resign from driving for the day. I made a quick egg and turkey bacon burrito for lunch and went to work in my room.

Today was a good day. I felt at peace here in Charleston. Talking to friends and family distracted me throughout the day and reminded me of how thankful I am to have their support. Around 7, I scrounged up just enough ingredients to make an easy peanut sauce chicken and veggie stir-fry with lo mein noodles for dinner.

I used some of the chicken leftover in the balsamic marinade and grilled those as I cooked the noodles. Then, I lightly steamed some broccoli, string beans, and carrots with onion in another saucepan. Finally I combined the chopped chicken and steamed veggies with the lo mein noodles and stirred in my homemade spicy peanut sauce (peanut butter, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, minced garlic, and chili powder to taste). I always top off a meal with fresh cracked black pepper. Not too bad :)

Homemade Christmas Gifts

This year I decided to bake something special for each of my friends for Christmas. The pictures are not the best quality, but the recipes seemed to be a success!

For Sarah - Australian Lamingtons (childhood favorite when we were living in Perth)


Charlotte - Caramel Popcorn Balls *tricky making the caramel candy* (she does not go a day without eating a bag of popcorn)


Dad - Beer battered Savory Crepes (half whole wheat/half white flour plus triple sec)


Lance - Mascarpone Cheesecake topped with Whipped Creme Fraiche (classic cheesecake with an Italian twist)


Mandy - South African "Crunchies"


Becky - Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups


Whitley - Oreo Truffle Balls on chopsticks :)

First apartment dinner in Charleston, SC

Tonight was my first night preparing a meal for one and cooking in my new apartment kitchen. Cooking is actually more difficult when you are preparing just a single serving. The portions and quantity of ingredients have to be much smaller than recipes call for. Nonetheless, it is still fun to prepare a meal, even if it is just for me. In fact, its easier to decide on what to cook when you only have one mouth to please :)

Tonight, I adapted a simple recipe from

The Good Mood Food Blog.

Donal Skehan's blog was the first food blog I learned to follow. He is a young chef and recently published cookbook author who posts recipes that are fresh and very much aligned with my taste! Since my ingredients were limited (I just moved in this week and have only been to the grocery once) I chose his Balsamic Chicken with Avocado and Radish Salad (sans radishes). I added tomatoes, cucumbers, and spinach instead. The marinade and dressing used many of the same ingredients and were quick to prepare. I will admit I had some difficulty cooking the chicken all the way through - definitely an amateur on the grill, but I'm learning! Also, I might add that I am still a newb with my new Nikon camera and this blog. So bear with me. Missing my family and friends tonight, but excited for my life here in Charleston. Enjoy the pictures. XOXO Natalie