tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38361655670328036152023-11-15T13:43:55.553-05:00Riding The (micro) WavesKim *<:)http://www.blogger.com/profile/01521468832901377118noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3836165567032803615.post-30843843454296028022008-03-21T18:32:00.000-04:002008-03-21T18:33:16.865-04:00First Things First, Checking PolicyOK. So, the first step toward creating a fully functioning dorm kitchen is finding out what your school allows you to have. Most dorms permit microwaves and minifridges. Some campuses allow you to use your own, others supply them in each dorm room/suite, and others still make you rent them from the campus store. So, <em>check out your dorm’s policy</em> on appliances (the information I found was listed in the move-in guide), and if you can buy your own, make sure they meet the requirements listed by your school. No mater what your school’s policy, these things are dead useful, and they are essentials if permitted.<br /><br />If you’re really lucky, your dorm will allow some other appliances. These include hot-pots, popcorn poppers, coffee pots, blenders, slow cookers, and even, the George Foreman Grill. Hot-pots, which are mainly used to cook rice, and popcorn poppers aren’t really necessary, since both rice and popcorn are easily made in the microwave. The others can be useful, though. A coffee pot is, for you caffeine addicts, useful for making coffee. Less obviously, it can be used to heat any liquid, like canned soup. It is, after all, essentially a hot-plate with a water dispenser. A blender is useful for making last minute breakfasts before dashing out the door to class. Just pop some frozen fruit and yogurt into it, give it a whirl, and voila, instant smoothie. This is what you will probably make in the blender most of the time, but it is useful in some recipes. Slow cookers can make a nice, effort free casserole, but as their name implies, there is a lot of waiting involved. And finally, there’s the George Foreman grill. This will probably be the most useful small appliance in your small kitchen. It is great for grilling chicken, cooking hamburgers, and toasting buns. Definitely worth the investment if it is allowed.<br /><br />You might also want to look into your school’s policy on knives. A lot of dorms don’t allow them, especially if they’re longer than four inches. That being said, you might want to buy a few extra pairs of scissors (at least one for raw meat and one for everything else). Also, if it is allowed, a mini chopper comes in very handy. A plastic knife will only work for soft things, like apples and pears. (It works for cheese, too, but a cheese grater or a cheese wire is easier, though certainly not necessary).<br /><br />Well, those are the basics, so get researching.<br /><br />…until next time!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322220866872114515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3836165567032803615.post-89840251287944948222008-01-25T15:03:00.001-05:002008-03-21T18:47:41.492-04:0099 Things About Me And Why I Started This Blog:<p><span style="font-family:verdana;">I feel like I should give you, anyone who decides to read my blog, some insight into who I am. I've seen a few blogs out there where the blogger posts 100 random facts about themselves. I'm not gonna get too personal, but here is my tribute to them:</span></p><ol><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">My name is Kim.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I am a senior in high school.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I finally got the last of my college applications finished on New Years Day.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">The day it was due (the others were the same way).</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I did a little happy dance when I hit the submit button.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I feel a lot lighter now that everything’s done.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I‘m nervous about the results, though.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">But, I’ve already been accepted to a school I love, so it doesn’t really matter.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Nevertheless, I’m not a fan of rejection.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I only started researching for college the summer after junior year.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">As you can probably tell, I’m a procrastinator.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I don’t like change.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">That’s why I put off the college search for so long. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I even procrastinated over the summer.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Instead of researching schools, I searched for recipes.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">It was fun and sort of stress relieving.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">During the research that I did do, I was appalled by the high prices of the meal plans. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I don’t come from a wealthy family .</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Spending thousands on food, when I can easily feed myself for a fraction of the cost is disconcerting. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I researched dorm cooking...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">...Especially microwave recipes</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">(and looked into dorm policies on microwaves, hot pots, and mini fridges, all of the essentials).</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://www.allrecipes.com/">http://www.allrecipes.com/</a> is a godsend.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">My sister works at the local library.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I did too, over the summer.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I shelved the books in the children's section.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">...And read a few, too (but never when on the clock).</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Anyway, she helped me find books about microwaving.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Some of them were actually really helpful.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">My mother has an immense collection of cook books.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Her collection helped me in the research process, too.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">She uses the microwave all the time for rice and vegetables.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I was still skeptical about cooking entire meals in the microwave.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">My sister wasn’t.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Microwave Wednesday was her idea.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">(We cook an entire dinner in the microwave every Wednesday night, so that I can practice.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">My family is really great</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">They got on board with the Microwave Wednesday thing right away,</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Even though my dad didn’t have confidence in microwaving meats either.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I was completely wrong about the microwave.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">The results were <em>good!</em></span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Except for pork, that does <em>not</em> microwave well.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">...At least, I haven't been able to master it yet.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I come from a family with Polish, German, and Puerto Rican roots.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">These are all cultures where food is important.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">So, my family likes to eat.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I hate Onions,...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">...Fish,...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">...Mushrooms,...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">...Asparagus,...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">...And a bunch of other things.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">You won’t see any fish recipes on my blog, but the other things are good for flavoring.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I do like Onion powder though, go figure.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Oh yeah, I spent eight years of my life in Texas.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">So, I really like Mexican food,...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">...And Tex-mex,...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">...And good Barbecue.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">You can’t really get those things in New Jersey</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">But you can get good Italian…</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">…and hoagies.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">This is my first independently-run blog.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I do have one that I run with my sister, but we only post fun things.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">If we didn’t bust a gut laughing when we saw it, we don’t post it.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I believe that a blog should be fun.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Life is already too serious.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Back to blogging, I don’t really get PHP.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">The HTML part I can understand, but the PHP part is confusing.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I have grandiose ideas about how this blog will end up looking...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">...But we’ll see.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Hopefully I can conquer the gods of the code and figure it out.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I have had some success adjusting wrapper size so far.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">My sister was a big help here, as well.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">She is a code genius.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">She helped my father run his web-based business for a long time.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I love science...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">...Especially Physics.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I hope to someday be able to understand and explain how microwaves work.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I learned a little in my Physics class last year.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Apparently water vibrates on the same frequency as microwaves.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">Who knew? I’m still not sure I do.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I think It’s funny that they’re called microwaves,</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">They have some of the longest wavelengths in the spectrum.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">It’s more stupid than funny, but it still makes me giggle.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I really like math, too.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">That’s why, right now, the dream is architecture.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">We’ll see what happens.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">When I was really little, I dreamed of becoming a pastry chef.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I watched the food channel and cooking shows on PBS all the time.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I really like <a href="http://www.bobbyflay.com/">Bobby Flay</a>, <a href="http://www.altonbrown.com/">Alton Brown</a>, and <a href="http://www.lidiasitaly.com/index2.htm">Lidia Bastianich</a>.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">…but my favorite show is <a href="http://www.americastestkitchen.com/">America’s Test Kitchen</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">No wonder, they combine science and cooking!</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I wanted my own cooking show when I was younger.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">It’s kinda funny, since I can’t stand speaking in public</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">My mouth gets all dry and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">(But, you probably didn’t need to know that.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I wanted to go to cooking school.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I am really annoyed by people like Emeril and Rachel Ray.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">I hate their catch-phrases.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;">You will never see me type something like <em>BAM!</em>, <em>Yum-o</em>, or <em>EVOO</em> ever again, I hope.</span></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:verdana;">…So now you know<br /></span></p>Kim *<:)http://www.blogger.com/profile/01521468832901377118noreply@blogger.com1