By Brooke Rees | Staff Writer
I’d like to start by saying that I was making bread before quarantine started - glad everyone is finally on the same page as me. As people are forced to stay at home, I’ve seen an increase in the use of the phrase “stress baking” on various social media sites. People all over the world are making copious amounts of bread, desserts, etc. in an effort to produce their own comfort carbs, and honestly, just to pass the time. Making a baguette takes a minimum of two days, but in quarantine time, that’s only like 20 minutes. I personally think baking is a great way to relieve stress. First, you get to play with a bunch of dough and make a mess. Second, you get to eat it when you’re done. Can’t say that about Play-Doh now can you? Well, I guess some of you weirdos (or 2-year-olds) could. If you’ve been following along with my cooking journey, you’ll know that I’ve recently overcome my fears of setting off a dorm fire alarm and started to test out some of Food-Tube’s best dishes. Due to COVID-19 and my campus’s move to online classes, I’m now at home in the comfort of my totally-safe-and-not-at-all-concerning fire alarm-free kitchen. What can I say? One day, the batteries all died and we said we’d replace them “the next day.” That was 12 years ago. Here are 3 Food-Tube inspired dishes guaranteed to lower your stress and raise your cholesterol.
Lemon Bundt Cake
What can I say? This lemon bundt cake is just sexy. Look at her curves and the way the glaze just flows down her sides. I’ve made this cake four times now; it’s super easy. Yes, you’re going to have to zest a lot of lemons, but when coronavirus hands you lemons, you stress bake a lemon bundt cake. The secret ingredient (and by secret ingredient, I mean clearly listed in the recipe ingredient) is buttermilk, giving the cake it’s tangy flavor and moist texture. If you don’t have a standing mixer, it’s going to be quite the workout, but hey, gyms are closed so you might as well get your arm workout in by making this cake. I’ve served this cake to multiple friends at various gatherings, so I have some outside testament to its loveliness. For example, I brought this cake to a soccer-watching brunch gathering. I know nothing about soccer, but that cake was definitely a home run.
Blueberry Pie
This blueberry pie was the best thing I’ve ever tasted....OR WAS IT? Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I’d like to tell you the tragic tale of the Blueberry Bandit. The incident occurred on the 29th of February, on the third-floor kitchen of Hardy Hall. In my 21 years of watching crime shows, I’ve never seen something so disgusting: I made this pie for a friend, only to discover two days later that it had been murdered. Murdered, I say!! As I was out of town when the incident occurred, my friend went to retrieve the pie from the hall fridge, only to be met with a trail of blueberry innards splattered on the floor and leading up to the fridge. Terrified, she approached the fridge with caution, unsure of what she was about to see but prepared for the worst. She slowly opened the fridge and there it was: Someone had taken a large spoon into the middle of my pie and started eating out the center. I guess they were more of a fan of the bundt cake. I will never recover from this blow to my faith in humanity. I’m not sure how the pie tasted. Perhaps I’ll never know. I guess you’ll have to get the Blueberry Bandit to review this recipe.
RIP Blueberry Pie (2020-2020)
Strawberry Shortcake
Honestly, I only made this recipe because I was a huge fan of the early 2000s Strawberry Shortcake animated children’s television show. This recipe lived up to my expectations: The shortcake biscuits were fluffy and savory, and the homemade whipped cream and ripe strawberries paired perfectly. Would recommend making this. Would possibly more recommend watching the show.