Cooking Classes at UCI &Some Other Fun Facts

Good Afternoon!  I’m Greg Eng, and you’re listening to food for thought on 88.9 fm KUCI in Irvine.  My guess is that you’re listening to this on the radio of your car headed home from work or school trapped in rush hour.  Well don’t worry lets see if I can’t entertain you.

Yesterday I attended one of the cooking classes given by the Anteater Recreation Center AKA the ARC.  It was an Indian food class taught by Thanitra Pichedvanichok instead of the usual teacher Jessica Van Roo.  I had recorded some stuff for the show but there were some technical difficulties, and long story short I don’t have it but fear not as it will be more entertaining if I do it this way.

Basically at the class we learned how to make curried chicken, naan, samosas, and rice pudding.  We also became more familiar with the French term mis en plois which in case you didn’t know is basically just setting out all of your ingredients and utensils out.

The curried chicken…delicious with some basmati rice, the Naan…also good especially with the curry, the Samosas were hot and spicy just the way I like my food, the rice pudding…worst I’ve ever had.  I’ve brought copies of the recipes here with me today, and were going to try and “make” them.  In case you’re wondering no there isn’t a kitchen in here but this is where the thought part in food for thought comes in I will say the steps, and make the sounds, and it’ll be up to you to imagine it, just be warned that hilarity may ensue.  (read the curried chicken recipe)

Next up today I went out to find which of the two frozen yogurt stores near UCI is better.  I remember when I was a freshman that golden spoon was once the only frozen yogurt store in the university center.  Back then the big frozen treat in the mall was gelato, a gelato store once existed where yogurt land stands today, and amazingly enough lee’s sandwiches used to sell gelato too, it always used to look so good and every time I saw it I always said that would try it eventually…Of course I never did, and they stopped serving gelato.  Now yogurt land is here, and I’ve always felt like it’s created a rivalry, and wondered which one would probably be the best deal.   I went to yogurt land and golden spoon and tried a bunch of their flavors.

The flavors at yogurt land change every few weeks or so.  The current flavors include plain tart, cheesecake, Dutch chocolate, pineapple guava, honeycomb tart, cookies and cream, devil’s food, arctic vanilla, and mango.

I tried as many as I could.  The devils food, dutch chocolate, and cookies and cream were all chocolate flavors so it was hard for me to really tell the difference.  The honey comb flavor was in my opinion pretty darn awful tasting, and so were the other tart flavors, but I’m not really a fan of tart flavors to begin with.  My favorites were the arctic vanilla and the mango.  The arctic vanilla was mostly because its my favorite flavor and the mango was good because it was kind of like having an Indian mango lassi though that’s kind of obvious since mango lassi is a yogurt based smoothie flavored with mangoes and this was a mango flavored yogurt.

I tried the golden spoon also.  I went on Monday when they have this deal where its only 1 dollar for a mini sixes cup of yogurt.  I tried the cake batter, and then the chocolate, and the vanilla.  All of them were good and it was a reasonable amount given, the only thing was that the toppings were extra so I didn’t get it.

My final verdict on this was that both of these stores are great in their own ways, and in fact when one of the stores lacks something like golden spoon with it’s smaller variety of toppings yogurt land had it, and while yogurt land was a little bit more costly since my cup of yogurt cost over $2 ( could have been more since they charge by the ounce) and the golden spoon only $1.

The 5 Best Granolas

I’m sure there are a lot of health food lovers out there that just love granols, especially in yogurt as a parfait.  I remember that a year ago my sister used to love granola and yogurt, apparently she ate it for almost every meal, for I think at least a year. I would always hear my mom mention it when she talked to me on the phone, and whenever the both of us were home for a long like winter, or summer vacation she ate it during her meals too, she was really into it its like one of those questions the friends ask each other “If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?”

Best Low-Fat and Low-Sugar

Galaxy Granola Raspberry
Wholesome oats, plump dried raspberries, and crispy rice make this a gateway granola for cereal lovers. And with  just 1.4 grams of fat and 5 grams of sugar per serving, it’s a good choice for dieters, too.

To buy: $5.50 for 12 ounces.

Best Oats and Honey

Cascadian Farm Organic
A classic flavor combo with jumbo, extra-crunchy clusters. It’s sweet enough for the kids without putting them into sugar shock.

To buy: $6 for 17 ounces.

Best Fruit and Nut

Kashi Mountain Medley
Like trail mix, but with even healthier mix-ins. You’ll find raisins, cranberries, almonds, and pecans here, along with a fiber-rich blend of seven whole grains.

To buy: $5 for 14 ounces.

Best Vanilla and Almond

Nature’s Path Organic
Chock-full of heart-smart flaxseed, these addictive nuggets have a crackly bite and a warm, satisfying flavor.

To buy: $4 for 11.5 ounces.

Bananas: The ultimate hunger buster

Ever grab a snack but then feel hungry again 20 minutes later? Next time, reach for a banana. It’s loaded with Resistant Starch (RS), a healthy carb that fills you up and helps to boost your metabolism. Slightly underripe medium-sized bananas have 12.5 grams of RS—more than most other foods. Ripe bananas give you 4.7 grams of RS, still enough to keep hunger pangs away. Check out these tasty ways to work in this wonder food.



Banana "Ice Cream"
Peel, slice, and freeze 1 small banana. Place frozen banana pieces in a blender with 3 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk; blend until thick. Top with 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts.

Banana Salsa
Make a quick salsa with 2 diced peeled bananas, 2 tablespoons minced red onion, 1 tablespoon minced cilantro, 1 teaspoon minced serrano or jalepeno pepper, juice of 1 lime, and brown sugar and salt to taste. Use it to top fish or pork tacos, jerk chicken, or jerk pork.


Broiled Bananas
Slice 1 peeled banana in half lengthwise. Put banana pieces, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the banana pieces with 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and broil on high until the sugar bubbles and the bananas brown (about 2–3 minutes). After broiling, sprinkle with cinnamon—or drizzle with 1 teaspoon rum for an extra-special treat.


Coffee and Banana Smoothie
Place 1 sliced peeled banana, 1 cup 1% low-fat milk, 1/2 cup cold black coffee, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1/2 cup ice in a blender. Blend until smooth—and enjoy.


Tropical Fruit Salad
Make a fruit salad with 1 sliced peeled banana, 1 sliced peeled kiwi, and 1/2 diced peeled ripe mango. Squirt juice of 1/4 lime over the salad, and serve.