2012 May 07 : Challahbear

# Challahbear

Breadcrumbs and other ramblings

## Archive for May 7th, 2012

# Back to School

Author: ilana

May 7

After months away, I recently had the opportunity to go back to my alma mater, the University of Maryland not once, not twice, but three times in a one week period. It was more driving around the beltway than I’ve done in a while, but it was well worth the gas money. (Besides, I filled my tank with cheap gas in College Park!)

A week and a half ago, I attended the 20th anniversary celebration for the QUEST (Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams) Program. QUEST is a multidisciplinary program focused on forming cross-functional teams of business, engineering, and computer science students (now open to a few additional majors) with an emphasis on quality management techniques. We liked to call it pre-consulting, and most of my former classmates from the program now work for consulting companies. QUEST was undoubtedly the most fulfilling academic aspect of my college experience. The only students who didn’t do well in QUEST classes were those who were more concerned with their grade than their project. I turned to my QUEST classmates to join my group project teams in my other classes as well – the students were smart and reliable.

That’s why when I get an invite for a QUEST event, I usually try to attend. The anniversary celebration was no exception. It brought 20 years of students, professors, and staff together, and featured a lot of memories, motivation, and excitement for the future. It also featured a tasty tree-course dinner. (How I miss the luxuries of being a business student…) About fifteen classmates from my cohort of seventy attended, and it was a treat to catch up with them and hear about how they’re all doing. It was equally pleasurable to meet the newest class of QUEST students, recently selected and anxious to begin the program in the spring. I’ve also been paired with one of the new students as part of a new buddy program, and exchanging emails with her has also brought back fond memories and helped me stay involved.

A few days after the celebration, Kirios and I went to campus together for Maryland Day, which I already wrote about. We took advantage of the beautiful campus and frolicked on the mall. We rubbed Testudo’s nose for good luck, visited the campus store and coffee shop in the student union.

The following week I returned to campus again for yet another celebration, this time honoring Patricia Cleveland, who is stepping down as the Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the Smith School of Business at the end of the semester and transitioning into a teaching role. I remembered seeing Dean Cleveland in passing during my tour of the business school on admitted students’ day. Within my first week at Smith, she knew my name. And I thought that was pretty cool. So I took her advice and became involved in the Smith Undergraduate Student Organization (SUSA) which she oversaw. I became friends with other business majors and we assumed leadership roles, working together with Dean Cleveland. Most of us were able to make it to the event, and we spent the evening munching on hors d’oeuvres, sipping champagne, and recalling our favorite Dean Cleveland, SUSA, and Smith stories. I smiled the whole night, and when I turned the ringer back on my phone before getting in my car to drive I home, I realized it was 11:30! I don’t usually stay out (or up) that late on work nights, but I couldn’t think of a better reason to do it.

It may be a while before I make it back to campus again. But this proud Terp knows they won’t be able to keep her away for too long!

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Filed under: Events, Parties

# Domatokeftedes & Kosher Carbonara

Author: ilana

May 7

Kirios and I embarked on another culinary adventure this past Wednesday. On this week’s edition of my big fat Greek Kosher Kitchen, we made Greek tomato patties called domatokeftedes, and an Italian recipe – pasta in carbonara sauce, with some modifications to make it kosher.

While domatokeftedes are a Greek dish, they are not from Kirios’ mother’s island, and he had never had them before. But nevertheless, he heard about them, and wanted to try, so we peeled and strained a pound of plum tomatoes, and we added scallions, mint, basil, oregano, parmesan, and breadcrumbs, and some other seasoning to form the patties. Kirios fried them up, and then we enjoyed. They were light and full of flavor. We plan to make them again in a few months when there are home-grown tomatoes from his family’s garden.

In addition to the domatokeftedes, we also made pasta with kosher carbonara sauce. The other week, I was reading a Jewish blog with a recipe for kosher carbonara, which usually includes pancetta. The recipe I read used smoke-flavored tofu instead of pancetta, which didn’t sound super appealing to me. But I did remind me that shortly after I returned from studying abroad in Rome my family friend who has previously lived (and cooked) in Italy made her own kosher version of the dish using fried (parve) bacos. I emailed her for her recipe, which she graciously shared. In no extra time than it takes to make pasta, we were able to enjoy some with this creamy fake bacon/egg/parmesan sauce. It was so easy to make, I’m sure I’ll come back to it over and over!

Since Wednesday, I’ve been busy with lots of fun things, but unfortunately, I’ve been so busy that we haven’t had any more cooking adventures! Oh well, I’m sure there will be plenty more soon enough 🙂

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Filed under: Food