Megan and Jill Carle: My Heroes

All my favorite cookbooks are by Megan and Jill. They are College Vegetarian Cooking (2009), College Cooking (2007), Teens Cook Dessert (2006), Teens Cook (2004). Teens Cook was one of the first cookbooks I ever owned. Some of my favorite recipes are from that cookbook and include Potato Chip-Crusted White Fish with Potato Wedges and Seven Layer Bars. Megan and Jill have really good recipes which are also really easy to make which means that I don’t get confused in the middle of the recipe. The recipes are for dishes that I actually like to make and eat. Also I have most of the ingredients in the back of my cupboards and in my refrigerator. Jill and Megan are closer to me in age so it makes it more fun to cook their dishes. They like the same things that I like.
My mom started paying me $10 to cook dinner once a week. Without these cookbooks I would have no idea what to cook for dinner and I would lose out on a lot of money. Two of my favorite dinners are Macaroni and Cheese, broccoli, salad, and probably ice cream. Or Sloppy Joes in buns, potato chips and green beans or asparagus depending on the season. I make desserts about once a week. My favorite is Vampire Cupcakes because you can put different fillings inside of them, like whipped cream or strawberry sauce.

Pasta with Broccoli and Caramelized Onions

2 onions
2 tablespoons oil
1 bunch broccoli
1 pound uncooked small salad macaroni or other small pasta
¼ cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or more to taste
salt and pepper

1. Peel the onions and slice them into thin rounds. Place the oil and onions in a large skillet and cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until the onions are golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. While the onions are cooking, cut the florets from the broccoli and discard the stems.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until al dente. Al dente basically means not mushy. After the pasta has been cooking for 6 minutes, add the broccoli florets to the pasta water for the remainder of the cooking time. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
4. Add the drained pasta and broccoli, almonds and balsamic vinegar to the pan of onions and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. You can add more vinegar if you want.

Serves 4
Adapted from Megan Carle and Jill Carle’s College Vegetarian Cooking

Cooking with my Friends

When my friends and I hang out, we get hungry a lot. Most of my friends are really good cooks so when we get together we really like to cook. We can always try new things and create good memories.
On last Monday, Julia and I were really hungry and we didn’t want to eat the food that her mom had offered us so we decided that we would make a plain vanilla cake. It wasn’t until after we made the batter that we realized that she didn’t have any cake pans because her neighbor had borrowed them. Oops. We turned the batter into muffins and baked them. The muffins were more like cupcakes so we beat cream cheese, sugar, and whipping cream together to make frosting. They were so so good.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

I like to make this recipe because it’s really easy to make and can feed lots of people depending on the amount of strawberries you have. When my mom is asked to bring dessert, she likes to bring these strawberries because they are so tasty and easy to make.



















4 ounces Scharffen Berger’s semi-sweet chocolate
1 box strawberries

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from the stove to let cool slightly.
2. Wash each strawberry and dry them very well. The chocolate won’t stick if the strawberries are wet.

3. Dip each strawberry into the chocolate, holding the strawberry by the stem. Completely cover the strawberry.





4. Place the strawberries on a plate covered with aluminum foil so they don’t stick.
5. Put in the refrigerator for at least a half hour.

Serves 4.
I got this recipe from my mom.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I don’t like most pancakes very much because I don’t like syrup. So whenever my dad made pancakes for the family, he would add chocolate chips for me so that I would eat them. I hope you enjoy these pancakes as much as I do.




















1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup chocolate chips
2 teaspoons butter for cooking the pancakes
fresh fruit, syrup, or whipped cream

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk, milk, and butter.
3. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Do not over mix.
4. Let sit for a few minutes while you heat the frying pan or griddle. Grease the pan with the 2 teaspoons butter. Carefully add the chocolate chips to the batter and stir gently to combine evenly.

5. Pour about ½ cup or more onto the hot pan and cook over medium heat until bubbles form in the surface and the edge is light brown. You can peek underneath to see if the pancake is browning nicely. Flip the pancake with a spatula and cook until done.
6. You can serve this with fresh fruit, syrup, or whipped cream. I like to eat them plain.




Serves two hungry people. Makes 4-6 pancakes
I got this recipe from my dad.

Fruit Smoothies

I started making this recipe in about first grade. When I went to my aunt’s house, she would make me a banana drink which is pretty much the same thing as a smoothie. It became kind of like a tradition: whenever I went to my aunt’s house, I knew that a smoothie would be included.
After a while I realized that I could make smoothies at my own house without her. And I could also alter her original recipe which included yogurt, orange juice, milk, bananas, and any frozen fruit she had in her freezer to create smoothies of my own. The two recipes I’ve included here are two of my favorite drinks. I drink them a lot during the summer when my friends and I are hot and thirsty. I also drink them after school and for breakfast sometimes because they are so healthy.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

1 whole banana, peeled
4 large strawberries, stems trimmed
1½ cups milk
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup orange juice

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender. Whirl until smooth and combined.
2. Taste to see if you want to add anything else.
3. Drink and enjoy.

Makes about 4 glasses
My own recipe

Frozen Mango and Raspberry Smoothie

2 cups frozen mango chunks (from Trader Joe’s)
1 cup frozen raspberries
2½ cups milk
2 tablespoons sugar

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender. Whirl until smooth and combined. Sometimes the frozen fruit gets caught in the blender blades. When that happens, stop the blender and stir everything with a spoon. Continue blending. You may need to do this a few times before the mixture is combined.
2. Spoon into glasses or dishes. You’ll probably need to eat this with a spoon.
3. If you have any leftover, transfer from the blender into a container and place in the freezer. If you put it in the refrigerator, the liquid will melt and still be delicious.

Makes 6 glasses
My own recipe

I-Search

I made this blog for a school project called the I-Search. I-Search gives us the chance to research something that interests us instead of just following the regular school curriculum. This project is for my History and English classes and counts for a large part of my grade.
Because I love cooking so much, I decided to do my I-Search on cooking. My teachers told me that cooking something would not be enough to last me for a few months so I added the idea of a blog.