By Peyton Edwards | Visual Editor | pedwards@mail.smcvt.edu
The Saint Mikes Food for Thought series is back. This time we are bringing in international recipes from Sweden, China and Germany. The Food for Thought series aims to give students easy and healthy recipes to enhance their nutrition at college. Two of these recipes require the use of a kitchen, but these foods are a must try.
Filippa’s Fantastic Chocolate Balls
Filippa Hemmestorp ’23 was born and raised in Sweden until she came to the United States in 2019 to attend St. Michael’s. Growing up, Hemmestorp said her family would eat dinner together every night. “Food is what brought us together to have that meal everyday,” Hemmestorp said. “I think it’s so important and it gives food more enjoyment than a task you have to do to survive,” she explained. I asked Hemmestorp what her favorite meal was in Sweden and she reminisced about family dinners with a few special recipes. “My grandpa’s meatballs are such a classic and I only have it made by him for Christmas so then it becomes really special,” she said.
This recipe that Hemmestorp made and shared with the Defender is a favorite dessert of hers from Sweden. but she had to substitute for vanilla sugar which is common in Sweden but she could not find it anywhere in the Vermont. This recipe is very delicious if you have a sweet tooth and easy to make without a kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 stick of butter (room temperature, not melted)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons coffee/espresso
- 1 ½ cups oats
- Shredded coconut (for rolling)
Instructions
- Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix (with an electric mixer if possible, but if that is not available, a spoon or whisk is fine)
- Make sure mixture is even and there are no clumps of butter
- Roll into about 10-12 balls
- Put into fridge to cool for about 5-10 min
- Remove from fridge and enjoy!
Amos and Emilie’s Super Schnitzel
Other than traveling to the US a few times as a child, Amos Schramm, ’25 came to the United States in 2017. In Germany, Schramm said there was a lot of the bread and sausages contained in the meals that he would eat which he misses having here. “The sausages that you can get here are nothing comparable to those in Germany,” Schramm said. Like Hemmestorp, Schramm said that vanilla sugar is a thing that he has in Germany that is nowhere to be found in grocery stores here.
Schramm said making time for family meals was an important part of his childhood. “Whenever we would have a meal, we would sit down with as many people that were in the household at that point,” he explained. Schnitzel is a very classic dish that Schramm would usually have for lunch or dinner. It is typically just deep fried chicken with lemon wedges. Schramm’s recipe was made for the Defender by Emilie Webster ’23, who put an American touch on this German recipe. This recipe will take some extra work so be sure to allocate at least one hour to create this recipe. It will definitely be worth it.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs (lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons of water)
- 3 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- Salt and Pepper
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Lemon wedges (for serving)
- 2 cups of spinach
- ½ cup minced onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup creamer (dairy or non dairy)
- 1 box penne pasta
- Chopped scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan
- Put the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls. Season the breadcrumbs with paprika, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a few pinches of pepper.
- Place a piece of chicken between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin or a blunt object to pound the chicken until it is tender and thin. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
- Coat the chicken first in flour, then in the egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Place chicken in a pan and flip after about 2 or 3 minutes. Cook until there is no pink left in the middle.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, add in pasta and cook for about 8 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Put sinach, garlic, onions, creamer, lemon juice, yeast, and olive oil in a blender and blend until creamy.
- Mix sauce with pasta
- Serve chicken on top of pasta, garnish with lemon wedges or scallions.
Minqi’s Magnificent Eggs and Tomatoes
Minqi Kong, ’23 grew up in the southern part of China and came to the United States to attend St. Michael’s in 2019. Kong said it is very expensive to get Chinese food here. “I will go maybe once or twice a week to get a hometown filling,” she said. As a little girl, Kong said her mom would do a lot of the cooking for the family. “My mom always cooked for me, and my mom always wanted me to help her, but I was too lazy to help her, but I do miss her cooking.” Kong also noticed from coming to live in America, that the food was a lot less spicy and typically much sweeter than she is used to in China.
This recipe that Kong made is a traditional Chinese breakfast. It is very easy to make and typically eaten with chopsticks. Kong said some people like to put their own touches on it like some salt or hot sauce, but really you can flavor it however you would like.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 fresh large tomato
- 1 teaspoon of sugar (maple sugar or brown sugar for a substitute)
Instructions
- Cook eggs in a skillet pan and add in the sugar.
- Cut up tomato in wedges
- Once eggs are done, put tomatoes in pan until they crisp on the sides
- Mix tomatoes with egg.
As we go through our daily lives, finding the time to connect with food in a more conscious way will provide the tools needed to live a more thoughtful life. Nutrition is fuel for the mind, body and spirit. More recipes like these will be posted in the St. Mikes Food for Thought series in hopes that the St. Mikes community can find solace in their busy lives by creating these meals.
Submit suggestions for recipes to pedwards@mail.smcvt.edu