Olivia makes stuff.

MAKE YOUR OWN INSANELY EASY CHOCOLATE BARS!

My mom taught me how to do this recently and it’s the best thing ever. It doesn’t require very many ingredients and the only cooking skill you need is the ability to operate a microwave.

Ingredients:

• A bag of chocolate chips
• Whatever mix-ins you want in your chocolate bars. I used dried blueberries, sliced almonds, and salt, but other than dried fruit and nuts you could also use marshmallows, other kinds of candy, your favorite cereal, crushed up potato chips, cinnamon, graham crackers, coconut, or anything else you think would taste good!
• Either some waxed paper or tinfoil or a pan greased with butter (or anything else that will keep the chocolate from sticking without ruining the taste). If you’re feeling fancy you could try pouring them into a mold, but again you’ll have to grease it first.
• A microwave

Directions:

1. Prepare your pan/wax paper/foil/whatever you’re using.
2. Heat up the chocolate chips in small amounts in your microwave. I like to do it in a mug cause it’s easier to manage than a big bowl. It’s very easy to heat chocolate too much and ruin it, so microwave the chocolate chips in 20 second intervals and stir in between each heating. It’ll melt faster than you think!
3. Pour the melted chocolate into your designated receptacle. 
4. Sprinkle on your mix-ins! You can also try putting them in your container/on your paper first and pouring the chocolate over them, like I did.
5. Heat up more chocolate chips if needed and repeat the process until you’ve made as much as you’d like.
6. Put you chocolate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to cool and harden.
7. Take it out of the fridge. If you greased your pan properly, it should pop right out (if you used wax paper, you should be able to peel it off). You can cut your chocolate into bars or wedges by scoring a line along the top of the chocolate using a knife where you want to cut it, and then carefully breaking it with your hands—it should break right along the line you made.
8. Eat them! These would also make super cute and easy gifts wrapped in some colorful paper or foil. 

SUN-BREWED ICED TEA

Dudes it is hot as BALLS here in Athens and the only solution is to pound glasses of iced tea all day long. I get a tiny bit of satisfaction knowing that I am using the sun’s power against it (ha!) to make my cold delicious beverage. All you have to do is fill a big container with water—glass is better than plastic cause plastic can leach weird chemicals into your tea—add a few tea bags, and leave it out in the sun for a few hours. If you like it sweet, you can make simple syrup by boiling 2 parts sugar to 1 part water until the sugar is completely dissolved. If you add herbs like mint to the syrup while you’re boiling it you can make different flavors! Simple syrup is better than just pouring in sugar because it dissolves more evenly in the tea. Keep a giant jug of tea in the fridge and you MIGHT survive summer in Georgia.

Fruit pizza with cream cheese, Nutella, strawberries, blueberries, pears, and cinnamon sugar.

VEGETARIAN SAUSAGE PATTIES FRIED IN BROWNED BUTTER

Fried sage and browned butter is a combination that’s never failed me, and it’s just as tasty in these sausage patties as it’s always been—especially with the addition of a little rosemary. They’re easy to make, require few ingredients, and take no time at all.

Ingredients:

• 1 package vegetarian sausage grounds, found at most grocery stores
• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• 4-5 fresh washed sage leaves
• 1 pinch fresh rosemary leaves
• Optional: your favorite biscuit recipe or a can of pre-made biscuit dough

Directions:

1. Start by browning the butter. Put the butter in a skillet over low heat, swirling occasionally as it melts. First the butter will foam, then settle in. It should then turn a golden color and develop a nutty smell, and the solids will darken and fall to the bottom.  
2. As the butter is starting to darken, add the sage and rosemary leaves and mix them in. 
3. Once the butter is done browning and the leaves have gotten crispy, take the skillet off the heat and remove the leaves.
4. Open the packet of veggie sausage grounds and crumble in the fried herbs. Shape the grounds into individual patties, kneading the herbs into them.
5. Put the buttery skillet on medium-high heat, and fry the sausage patties in the butter for several minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet once they begin to turn brown.
6. Eat them on their own or on the biscuits of your choice—extra delicious with a little honey.

VEGETARIAN CHORIZO TARTS WITH ROASTED RED PEPPER

Trader Joe’s makes this stuff called Soyrizo which is a vegetarian substitute for chorizo sausage and which is actually really good! I had to make some food for a potluck so I used the Soyrizo to make little tarts in flaky delicious phyllo shells.

Ingredients:

• 1 package Soyrizo
• 1 can strained pinto beans
• 1 onion
• Olive oil
• Chili powder
• Ground red pepper
• Shredded pepper jack cheese
• 2 packages phyllo shells (15 shells/package)
• 1 red pepper

Directions:

1. If you plan to roast your own red pepper (you can also use the jarred kind and save time), move your oven rack to the highest position and preheat the oven to about 350~400.
2. Dice the onion, and sautee it in a skillet with some olive oil until the onion is soft and starts to turn clear or a little brown. 
3. Add the beans and crumble the Soyrizo into the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat. Add chili powder and ground red pepper to taste.
4. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in a few handfuls of pepper jack cheese until it’s melty.
5. Spoon the mixture into thawed phyllo shells.
6. To roast the red pepper, place it on the highest rack in the oven so that the pepper comes into contact with the oven’s heat coils. Rotate the pepper occasionally until all the sides start to become blackened.
7. Remove the pepper from the oven and place it in a bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
8. The steam from the hot pepper will loosen the skin, allowing you to peel it off. Slice your roasted pepper and add to tarts as a garnish.

landscape architecture tree symbol cupcakes for my roommate’s birthday!

PUMPKIN GNOCCHI

My horticulture class required everyone to make a potluck item using an assigned fruit or vegetable. I got pumpkin. It was delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups canned pumpkin (not pie filling, just pumpkin)
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 3.5 cups flour + extra for kneading
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• butter/olive oil for pan frying

Sauce:

• 2 sticks salted butter
• .5 cup fresh sage leaves
• grated parmesan cheese

To Prepare:

1. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin and the melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, egg yolks, salt, and nutmeg.
2. Combine the contents of the two bowls and knead them into dough. Add more flour a little at a time until the dough is no longer sticky. Achieving the right consistency is important for the gnocchi to cook right—if there’s not enough flour, they’ll fall apart when you boil them, but if there’s too much they’ll be too heavy.
3. Divide the dough into sections, and roll them into strips that’re about as thick as your finger. Cut them into pieces about an inch long.
4. Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water generously. Boil the gnocchi pieces in small batches until the pieces float—only a couple of minutes. Remove from the water and set aside.
5. Once the gnocchi are boiled, add a little butter and olive oil to a large skillet. Fry the gnocchi over medium heat until they begin to turn brown, then turn them over and brown the other side.

Sauce:

1. Put the two sticks of butter in a skillet over low heat, swirling occasionally as they melt. First the butter will foam, then settle in. It should then turn a golden color and develop a nutty smell, and the solids will darken and fall to the bottom—they can either be removed, or left in for more flavor.  
2. As the butter is starting to darken, add the sage leaves and mix them in. Again, you can either remove them once you’re done, or leave them in.
3. Pour the browned butter over the gnocchi, and finish with as much parmesan as you want.

blandslam:

CARAMEL APPLE EMPANADAS

Like individual-size apple pies! They make tasty desserts but eating them for breakfast with some vanilla ice cream is the way to go.

Ingredients:

• 1 box pre-made frozen pie crusts (usually contains 2 crusts)
• 5-6 large apples
• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (half-and-half also works)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons flour

1. Preheat the oven to 415 degrees. Set the pie crusts out to thaw.

2. To make the caramel sauce: Place 1 cup of the sugar in a small, heavy saucepan and pour 1/4 cup water over the top. Set over medium-high heat and swirl the saucepan around until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is clear. Don’t let it boil until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Increase the heat to high, cover the saucepan tightly, and boil the syrup for 2 minutes. Uncover the saucepan and continue to boil until the syrup starts to darken around the edges. Gently swirl the pan by the handle until the syrup turns a deep amber and starts to smoke.

4. Remove the syrup from the heat and add the butter, cut into small pieces. Gently beat until the butter is incorporated.

5. Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Set aside (leftover sauce can be refrigerated for up to a month).

6. Peel the apples and cut them up into small chunks. In a large bowl, add the remaining tablespoon of sugar and the flour to the apples and mix thoroughly.

7. Unroll each pie crust and divide into 4 equal sections. Place a spoonful of caramel sauce on each section. Add a portion of the apple chunks, and drizzle more caramel sauce on top. Fold each section of pie crust over and pinch the edges together.

8. Make cuts in the top of each empanada. Bake at 415 degrees for 12 minutes, and then lower the heat to 350 and bake 30 more minutes or until the edges of the crusts are golden brown and the apples are cooked through.