30 Second Sangria

After a long, miserable day at work, I don't feel like doing anything. I don't feel like making dinner. I don't feel like doing dishes. Sometimes, I don't even feel like eating. All I want to do is zone out in front of the television, involve myself in someone else's life, and forget about my own reality for a moment or two.
If you've had a particularly bad day, and you're like me, you might just need a drink. A sangria, perhaps? After the first drink, the cares of the day start washing away. After the second, making dinner might not seem like such a bad idea after all. And after the third drink? Oh, you'll be feeling mighty fine by then.
Although this isn't a traditional sangria, for a quick fix it can suit your needs just fine. This certainly doesn't taste like a simplified sangria; it tastes really good. This is not the ocassion to bring out the fancy wines. For this sangria, you'll want a cheap wine, something in the range of $7-8 dollars. If you spend anymore than that, it will be a waste. As a poor college student who can't afford fancy wines, this sangria is just perfect.

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Dried Cranberry Cocoa Cinnamon Rolls

I think about food too much. Visions of sweet and savory foods never drift far from my mind. Sometimes I wonder if it is all I am capable of thinking of, as I plan my meals on the walk to school or mentally make a list for the market at the gym. I have some serious food on the brain.
Sometimes I challenge myself to a little game. These games can be dangerous. Once I've got an idea in my head, it doesn't leave. The idea is to imagine a fruit or vegetable and think of as many recipes off the top of my head that feature them. Let's take pumpkins. Pumpkins become pumpkin pie. Pumpkin Custard. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin bread pudding. Pumpkin oatmeal. Pumpkin alfredo... And suddenly I have a list of recipes a mile long that I absolutely must make right now.

This is precisely the process in which these dried cranberry cocoa cinnamon rolls were conceived.

The rolls are full, dense, and delicious. They don't even need icing because the brown sugar mixture keeps the interior so moist (though I won't fault you if you decide to drown your roll in sugary goodness). Best of all, they keep well in the freezer. If you decide Sunday night your Monday morning might need a bit of a pick-me-up, you can toss a roll in the fridge to rise overnight, pop it in the oven first thing in the morning, and by the time you have to run out the door you'll have a hot, fresh roll to devour, fighting off those Monday blues.

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Savory Sundays: Sweet Potato Fries

I never liked sweet potatoes growing up. My family ate them solely at Thanksgiving, baked and covered in cinnamon and marshmallows, courtesy of my aunt. In my mind, a potato is a potato, sweet or not. I don't know about you, but I don't normally cover my baked potatoes in marshmallows. Sweet potatoes are funny shaped, have pointy ends, and try too hard to be real potatoes. But mostly I don't like them because they are orange.
I don't eat orange vegetables for fun. I eat them to punish myself after a bad (horrible, awful, delicious, mostly sugar-filled) day of eating. When I get the munchies late at night, I break out the carrot sticks instead of the salty potato chips (or the chocolate). I eat orange foods with a scrunched up, unhappy face. I bite them with bitterness and disdain. I curse in the name of beta-carotene.

But all of this was before I discovered sweet potato fries.

I love french fries. You love french fries. I haven't met a single person who doesn't enjoy eating them (and I bet you haven't either). I think my dilemma with sweet potatoes was that I was eating them sweet when I should have been eating them savory. Ohh, sweet potatoes were meant to be eaten this way, salty and spiced. It makes them everything nice.
These sweet potato fries are about 10 times healthier than the normal french fry. Sweet potatoes are naturally stuffed with antioxidants and are nutrient-rich, including vitamin A, vitamin C, and beta-carotene. By baking the fries (instead of frying), you can retain a lot of those nutrients and eliminate a lot of the fat. These sweet potato fries are lightly salted and have a little kick from the cayenne pepper. You might just find yourself making these a regular companion to your hamburgers.

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