I work for a community college as a student recruiter. Lately my days have been spent driving down winding rural roads out to the far ends of our district giving presentations to students and parents while trying to hawk my goods: education. If I were a salesperson, this product would be the easiest sell, but…
Roasted Veggie Pizza
Home! After a whirlwind of a finale in Mexico, I find myself now scrubbed to an impressive clean and pampered by the comforts of home in Wisconsin. A bittersweet departure from work at the hostel in Guanajuato pointed my feet down towards Oaxaca for Day of the Dead and a month and a half working…
Mexican Pesto and Chia Bruschetta
There are few dishes that I’ve really missed while living in Mexico. The food here is diverse, fresh, and always surprising (quite contrary to the blasphemous Mexican food typically found in the States). But sometimes a girl needs her old favorites. For one, I’d give my left arm for a fat pita stuffed with crispy…
Super Smoothie Starter
Ever get the shakes? You know, the I-haven’t-eaten-anything-in-five-hours-yet-I’ve-downed-five-cups-of-coffee shakes? The hastened speech, the lack of concentration, the irrational anger and irritability? Yeah, the hunger shakes. They hit hard this last month while working at the hostel. After prepping, cooking, and serving 30 hung over and happy hostel guests, I look up at the clock…
Cilantro Almond Chilaquiles
Chilaquiles (“chee-lah-keel-aiys”) are a classic Mexican hangover dish. My buddy Juan Carlos first raved about them years back and described them as “tortilla chips in really good sauce”. They didn’t really sound all that special at the time, but hey, good tortilla chips and sauce is never disappointing, right? Well, I’m now well versed in chilaquiles, and…
Ginger Carrot Soup
Despite my best efforts, people, I can’t seem to come up with something clever and novel regarding carrots, fall, or autumn-themed anything. It doesn’t feel quite like fall here in Guanajuato, Mexico, but the chilly windy nights here call for warm soup nonetheless. And instead of sharing some forced soliloquy about carrots and fall, I…
Vegan Brewer’s Stew
Vegan Brewer’s Stew I’m currently perched on the ceramic-tiled terrace of my new and temporary home at a hostel in the beautiful city of Guanajuato, Mexico. After two weeks of bittersweet goodbyes (and not to mention countless coffees, beers, and goodbye cakes) with my students, colleagues, and friends in Guadalajara, I packed up and took…
Plantain Chips with Mango Salsa and Roasted Garlic Guacamole
In Spanish they’re called the “plátano macho.” In English: plantain. The literal translation from Spanish to English is pretty spot on: macho banana. A big, manly banana with bravado. The King Kong of the starchy, golden fruits. They’re also macho intimidating. As big, starchy, and cumbersome as they are, I’ve really never done anything with…
Chipotle Black Bean Salsa & Baked Tortilla Chips for Michael
Back in high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, my little brother Michael and I would race home to the kitchen impatient and ravenous for sustenance. For me, I needed to calm the storm of angst and hormones feverishly brewing inside. For Michael, to refuel the enormous man-boy body he possessed by age 14. We got…
The Wild Bohr 