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We've done a few very risky things here on dorm room delights: like cooking quesadillas in a steamer, to creating stuffed bell peppers without an oven, and now- a fully cooked quiche!
Although we were skeptical at first, our experiments ultimately have shown that it is possible to cook eggs in the bowl of a double boiler. The secret is to stir the eggs frequently so they can be exposed to the heat on the edges of the bowl. Our quiche is made by effectively scrambling eggs together with cheese, ham, and spinach. Once the eggs are almost completely cooked, the scramble is pressed into a firm, quiche-like shape. The quiche is cooked together and can be easily served on a plate as the perfect centerpiece of a high tea! Enjoy :)



Ingredients:
1. 1 whole egg
2. 1 piece of ham, sliced up (f)
3. Light handful of sliced spinach (f)
4. Light handful of chopped cheese
5. 1 tablespoon of heavy cream

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Directions:
1. Beat the egg with the cream and then add the rest of the ingredients.
2. Butter the measuring cup and pour in the egg mixture. 
3. Cook over the kettle, stirring every minute, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the cup.
4. After five minutes, pat the egg down and leave for another five minutes. 
5. Turn the quiche onto a plate and enjoy!

 
We at dorm room delights are always looking for creative ways to make our favorite dishes in new, kettle friendly ways. Lasagna is particularly challenging, because regular lasagna is assembled with raw noodles, cheese, and vegetables, then baked in an oven to cook the flavors together. So, how did we make a hot, gooey pasta dish with all of the elements of a lasagna? We rolled and steamed our own lasagna rolls!
To make these rolls, we cooked one lasagna noodle and then covered it with a cheese and spinach mixture. Then, we rolled up the noodle and wrapped it in aluminum foil. We steamed the roll to heat up the cheese and to finish cooking the noodle. When the roll was cooked, we doused it in marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella. This is a fantastic, balanced dish with great vegetable flavor and added garlic for spice. Another great aspect of this recipe for lasagna rolls is that they are made 1 at a time, so you can make a perfectly portioned snack. Or, simply repeat the process to cook 3 or 4 for rolls for a full dinner!
Have fun rolling up your lasagna! 
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh raw spinach (not baby)
3 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 lasagna noodle
1 tablespoon shredded mozerella
1 tsp ground garlic
1/2 cup tomato sauce



Directions:
1. Steam spinach for 3 minutes
2. Cook lasagna noodle for 7 minutes in pot of boiling water
3. Mix spinach with goat cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper
4. Layer on lasagna noodle, and roll
5. While you are rolling lasagna, heat sauce in double boiler 
6. Wrap roll in aluminum foil
7. Steam roll for 3 minutes
8. Cover with hot tomato sauce, and sprinkle with mozerella 
 
Guess what? Spring is coming! It was 60 degrees and sunny today, and the snow is just starting to melt off the quad.
We've decided to celebrate the weather with a spring-themed recipe: Vietnamese Spring Rolls. 
Unlike deep fried chinese spring rolls, vietnamese spring rolls are served cold and made with a clear rice paper wrapper. (The rice wrappers can be purchased in packs of 100 for around 5$, and come pre-cooked. Just soak in water and they are ready to roll.) As their name suggests, spring rolls are light and crisp: a perfect savory snack for a spring afternoon. 
Spring rolls are generally made with some combination of lettuce, carrots, rice noodles, and chicken/shrimp/tofu. We chose to use make vegetarian spring rolls with tofu, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, and wonton crisps from the salad bar. We paired our spring rolls with our Thai peanut sauce (yes, we mixed ethnic regions), and they tasted fantastic! The peanut sauce added an element of richness to the light vegetables, and the mixture of sweet and savory flavors is always delicious. 
Ingredients (Makes 4 spring rolls)
4 rice paper wrappers*
handful carrots(f)
1/4 cup cucumber(f)
4-5 tofu cubes(f)
A few leaves lettuce(f)
1/4 cup wonton crisps(f)
Directions
1. Slice carrots and cucumbers. Cut tofu into small chunks. Rip lettuce into pieces. 
2. Fill large bowl half way with a mixture of boiling and cool water. Final temp should be warm, but not steaming. 
2. Dip rice paper into water so that half of circle is submerged spin to wet completely. Rice paper should be translucent and stretchy.
3. Put damp rice paper on plate and place a piece of lettuce lengthwise down center of wrapper. Add a few pieces each of: tofu, cucumber, carrots, and wonton crisps, also directed lengthwise.
5. Cover with another piece of lettuce
6. Fold rice paper like a burrito: fold up base width-wise over end of lettuce roll, and then bring one side of paper up lengthwise over the center lettuce. Roll the paper so that it covers the filling. Finally, fold remaining side of paper over the exposed end. 
7. Cut in half and serve with peanut sauce
 
We just had our first snow storm of 2012! The lovely blanket of snow looks great from the common room window, but it much less pleasant when it is dumping on your head as you walk to the dining hall. To save ourselves from the snowstorm, we decided to make a recipe that is hearty enough to be a full meal. Stuffed bell peppers.
Although peppers are traditionally stuffed with meat, tomato sauce, and cheese and then baked in an oven, we found a way to make our peppers completely dorm-room friendly. These peppers are blanched in boiling water, and then stuffed with couscous, cheese, pasta sauce, and walnuts. The peppers are a great serving vessel, and provide a great textural contrast to the couscous filling. 
All in all, these peppers will contribute to a perfectly balanced meal with vegetables from the pepepr, carbs from the couscous, and protein from the nuts/cheese. If you eat them with a few cooked veggies or peanut sauce and noodles, you will have no reason to trek out to the dining hall tonight. Stay warm!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup couscous 
1 regular bell pepper
1/4 cup shredded cheese (f), plus extra for topping
A few raw onion strips (f)
Handful walnuts
Directions:
1. Place bell pepper in bowl, submerge with boiling water, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. While bell pepper is cooking, chop onions and walnuts
3. Remove bell pepper from bowl and dump out water. 
4. Place couscous in bowl and add 1/3 cup boiling water. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. 
5. While couscous is cooking, heat up pasta sauce in a double boiler
6. When couscous is done, mix in sauce, cheese, onions , and walnuts
7. Spoon mixture into dry bell pepper, layer in extra pasta sauce and cheese.
8. Top with cheese and freshly ground pepper.
 

Today was very exciting for us. Dorm Room Delights was featured in  this article in The Amherst Student, our student run newspaper here at Amherst! To celebrate, we've done some serious planning and have thought up some great new recipes for you.
We also took a look through our past recipes,  and realized that there are quite a few variations of a simple concept: pasta with vegetables. Believe it or not , there is a very logical reason for this repetition. Noodles and vegetables can be combined in many versatile ways to create filling and healthy meals that don't require meat (which we cannot feasibly cook using our kettle.) 
To demonstrate the potential of these pasta dishes, we made satisfying noodle stir fry with a light lemon sauce. After experimenting with many different types of noodles (macaroni, pasta, and ramen), we decided to use ramen noodels as the best base for this recipe. The noodles perfectly soaked up the lemon sauce, while freshly steamed veggies (which we foraged from our salad bar) provided a great textural contrast. All in all, this dish is a winner, and is a prime example of a wonderful meal that can be made in your dorm. 
Ingredients:
For lemon sauce:
1 chicken bullion cube*
2/3 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
For stir fry:
1 package ramen noodles
1/2 cup raw broccoli (f)
1/4 cup sliced carrots (f)
1/4 cup snow peas (f)

Directions:
1. Boil a large amount of water in kettle. Use some of the water to cook ramen noodles using our ramen method, and save some water for sauce. 
While ramen is cooking:
1. Dissolve bullion in 2/3 cup boiling water
2. When cube is dissolved, pour off half of chicken broth
3. Add lemon juice, sugar, and soy sauce to the broth. Stir over double boiler to heat sauce.
4. Remove sauce from heat, and mix with drained ramen noodles (they should be done cooking by this point)
5. Steam veggies and add to noodles


*We have many bullion cubes because they are a great base for chicken soup. If you don't want to buy a box of bullion, you can use the chicken flavor packet that comes with chicken ramen noodles. 
 
The idea to make couscous on this blog came from a reader, and we owe her a huge 'thank you'. She said that she cooks couscous for her family all the time, and encouraged us to do some research. For those of you who don't know, couscous is a middle eastern dish made of tiny circular pieces of pasta. As it turns out, regular couscous is cooked by pouring boiling water over dry couscous and letting the mixture sit for just 5 minutes in a pot!
Not only is couscous easy to make, but it pairs well with many vegetables, meats, and sauces. In this case, we chose to serve couscous with a few ingredients that we foraged from the salad bar: cherry tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and chickpeas. 
Quite simply, this turned out fabulously. We have no doubt that couscous will become a regular food staple for our dorm-mates. 
Ingredients:
1/3 C plain couscous
10 cherry tomatoes (f)
a sprinkle of raisins(f)
sliced up red onion (f)
handful raw mushrooms (f)
handful chickpeas (cooked) (f)
Directions:
1. Bring kettle to a boil
2. Add water to couscous and let sit in thermos for 5 minutes
3. While the couscous is cooking, chop vegetables (or various additions)
4. Spoon cooked couscous onto plate, add vegetables, admire, then dig in!
 
We've finally done it!
We have found a way to cook pasta with an electric kettle. Not ramen, not mac'n'cheese noodles. We can cook good, old fashioned, penne pasta!
After discovering this new method, we wanted to come up with a wonderful, hearty recipe that features this penne. So, we created a simple cream sauce for this cheesy penne with freshly steamed broccoli. This is perfect if you need to make dinner in your room, or if you are just starving at 4:00 in the afternoon :)
Ingredients:
1 serving cooked penne
1/2 cup steamed broccoli (f)

For the cream sauce:
1 tbsp butter (f)
1/4 cup shredded cheese (parmesan, mozzarella, or cheddar) (f)
1/4 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste
Directions for sauce:
1. In a double boiler, melt butter
2. Add cream and stir over steam for 3 minutes
3. Add cheese and stir until cheese melts and sauce thickens
4. Add pepper and salt to taste
While sauce rests, make pasta using the pasta method and either steam or heat up some broccoli. 

When pasta is done, assemble dish: place drained broccoli on pasta, then cover with cream sauce. 
Eat while pasta is hot. 
 
A simple bean and cheese quesadilla is a fantastic go-to snack when you get a craving for melted cheese deleciousness. 
We've been thinking of ways to make quesadillas in our dorm, and have thought through a variety of techniques: from mixing melted cheese with beans and pouring them over a tortilla, to wrapping a pre-assembled quesadilla in aluminum foil and holding it against the side of the kettle. Sadly, none of these techniques were able to successfully melt the cheese and heat up the entire tortilla. 
However, when we added the steamer method to our repertoire of kettle tricks, we realized that we finally could make perfect dorm room quesadillas! We assembled small quesadillas and wrapped them tightly with aluminum foil, then placed the packets in our steamer and used the hot steam to warm the quesadillas all at once. 
These quesadillas are perfect: bite sized, with a gooey center. They are best eaten when hot, fresh from the steamer! 
Ingredients:
1/4 cup shredded cheese* (f)
1/4 cup cooked beans* (f)
1 tortilla (f)
Directions:
1. Cut tortilla in half
2. Sprinkle with beans and cheese
3. Fold over to make triangle. 
4. Wrap quesadilla with aluminum foil: press foi, down from edges, fold over half of center piece, fold again and press onto center, fold edges up and press onto center.
5. Place in steamer and cover top of steamer with aluminum foil
6. Put steamer over boiling water for 5 minutes
 7. Remove quesadilla from steamer, take out of foil and munch. 
8. Repeat steps 2-7 for second half of tortilla.
 
I have a confession. I don't like hard-boiled eggs; they smell like sulfer and the yolk is dry and unappetizing. So why do we have a recipe for deviled eggs? Because they are worlds away from your standard, mealy salad condiment. A deviled egg is a hard-boiled egg whose yolk has been taken out, mixed with mayo, mustard, and spices, and then put back into the empty egg-white. This ultimately creates a moist, flavorful bite of food that is a perfect snack for any time of day. 
As it turns out, eggs are one of the few food items that  can be cooked directly in a kettle. So, I decided to take this opportunity to show you how to make your own deviled eggs. Hopefully you, too, will see the potential of deviled eggs!
Ingredients:
  1. 2 hard-boiled eggs (cooked using the egg method)
  2. 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise (f)
  3. 1 tablespoon of mustard (yellow or dijon) (f)
  4. Pepper (f)
  5. Salt (f
  6. Paprika (we actually couldn't find paprika at our store, but if you can it adds a great flavor)

Directions:
  1. Cut your eggs in half lengthwise and remove yolks
  2. Combine yolks, mayo, and mustard in bowl. Mix together until they have a smooth, paste-like consistency
  3. To put the yolk mixture back into the whites, we cut a hole in the corner of a ziploc bag (to create a pastry bag) and piped it evenly into each egg white. If you do not want to go through this trouble, you can just scoop the mixture in with a spoon. 
  4. Sprinkle with pepper, salt, and paprika 
 
Here on Dorm Room Delights, we have a passion for using common dorm ingredients in different, delicious ways. This recipe takes ramen noodles (cooked using the ramen method) and peanut butter to create a fantastic Thai-style noodle dish. 
When you add some cooked green beans, left over from your chicken soup,  this can make a full dinner for those nights when it is just too cold to walk to the dining hall. 
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Ingredients:
  • 1/4 C Peanut Butter (f)
  • 2/3 Tablespoons of sugar
  • 2/3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce (f)
  • 1/4 C Hot Water
Instructions:

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  1. Combine the peanut butter, sugar, and soy sauce and mix.
  2. Pour in the water slowly while stirring until it reaches the appropriate consistency.
  3. Mix with plain, cooked Ramen Noodles and enjoy!

(This dish works well with green beans that are cooked using our frozen vegetables method.)