Cooking

Between completing our Required Online Learning Experiences and scrolling through TikTok, there’s not much else to fill up our days besides utter boredom. Many have turned to watching cooking videos from Bon Appétit (BA), and some have even bravely attempted to replicate a few dishes. While I am  definitely not as equipped as Andy from BA, I tried out a few new recipes to share with you: an appetizer inspired by my mother, a main course from BA kitchen and, a dessert from TikTok. Regardless of whether you have mad skills in the kitchen or you can’t seem to stop burning your mac n’ cheese, now is the perfect time to try out a new recipe.

Appetizer

With the closure of many Chinese restaurants, my cravings for a crunchy, smooth egg roll have dramatically increased, so I decided to make them on my own. Since I am a vegetarian, I made veggie egg rolls, but chopped pork or ground beef could also be added. To start, I combined shredded carrots and cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and boiled glass noodles into a pan with some salt and pepper and lightly sautéed them. After they were well mixed together, I rolled a good chunk of the filling into rice paper, and made about 15 of them. Then, they went straight into the fryer, and really, I just eyeballed to see when they looked golden brown and crispy.

Main course

Recently, my love and affection for kale has greatly increased. I have been searching for a healthy-ish pasta dish for a while now, and so I decided to combine some of my favorites: kale, pesto and whole wheat pasta.

I was scrolling through the Bon Appétit website when I came across this recipe, and it only took about 15 minutes to prepare. Plus, all the ingredients you need can be found within your kitchen, for the most part: kale, pistachios (or any kind of nut, really), your favorite pasta, oil, garlic, butter, parmesan, salt and pepper. Find the recipe under the name, “Kale Pesto with Whole Wheat Pasta,” for a life changing experience.

Dessert

The number of desserts and food videos from TikTok I have saved is outrageous, but I have found one that is pretty healthy, pretty filling and, overall, pretty good. The dessert consists of two ingredients: a banana and some peanut butter. Split the banana in half, hotdog style, and smear the peanut butter on the flat side like you’re making a peanut butter sandwich. You’ll get the perfect ratio of nuttiness, sweet and banana to keep you filled up until breakfast the next morning. Not a fan of peanut butter? Slice up an apple and the banana, sprinkle some cinnamon on top, and then you’re good to go.