Thursday, February 21, 2013

Prepare Now for Midterms

Before you know it, your first midterm exam will be here.  Make sure to check out these midterm preparation tips ahead of time so you will be ace your tests.  As a student, the earlier you prepare, the easier it will be to remember everything the day of the test.  Check out these tips and comment with any of your own tips you may have for midterm studies.

1. Get a good night’s sleep before the exam.

2. An absolute must if you can: get prior years’ exams and, with a small group of classmates, prepare point form sample answers to share among yourselves.

3. Review your notes to see all the items the professor indicated were important. In some cases, s/he might even have hinted at exam topics.

4. Take a quick scan of the course outline – make a note of the topics the professor seemed to spend a lot of time on, or otherwise emphasized.

5. Take a look at the assignments if there were any – see if you can find topics, skills or techniques that were emphasized, especially those after the mid-term.

6. Did the professor comment on areas of weakness on the mid-term? These sometimes reappear on the final.

7. Make a set of study notes from your class notes and the text. Writing them down in condensed format aids in recall during the final exam, and in some cases, helps you identify items you need to clarify with a friend or teaching assistant. Work with the group you formed to address point 2. If you like – this can increase the scope of your studying.

8. If there is a key item you need to remember for the exam, study it right before you enter the exam room. Right after the exam starts, write down what you know. A favorite is to list formulas (or dates?) that you need to remember. If you wait until you are freaked out by a difficult exam question, you might not remember them.

9. Make sure you have a meal that includes carb’s AND proteins before the exam. This will give you staying power. Take a granola bar and fluids to your exam desk if permitted.

10. In case you have forgotten the first, and very important point, get a good night’s sleep before the exam.


For more information see RP.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

A New Take on Conversation Hearts

Mini Heart-Shaped Cake
 
 
This recipe for mini heart-shaped cakes, courtesy of Matt Lewis from Baked, makes the perfect treat for your special someone on Valentine's Day.
The Martha Stewart Show, February Winter 2007
  • Yield Makes six 4-inch heart-shaped cakes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons red food coloring
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable shortening, at room temperature
  • 1 2/3 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup melted dark chocolate, for decorating
  • Speckled Cinnamon Frosting

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees with rack in the center of the oven. Butter an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet, line with parchment paper, butter parchment, and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, food coloring, and 1/4 cup boiling water. Set aside to cool.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and shortening on high speed until smooth. Add sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  4. Stir buttermilk and vanilla into cocoa mixture. Into another medium bowl, sift together flour and salt. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture alternating with cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until incorporated.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together vinegar and baking soda until baking soda dissolves; mixture will fizz. Add to batter and mix until just combined.
  6. Pour batter into prepared baking sheet, smoothing the top. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes, rotating pan after 10 minutes.
  7. Cook cake completely on a wire rack. Using a 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 12 hearts.
  8. Place 4 strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy susan. Place 1 layer on the cake plate. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the cake; top with another heart, bottom side up. Cover entire cake with a thin layer of frosting and transfer to refrigerator for 10 minutes. Repeat process with remaining ingredients.
  9. Remove cakes from the refrigerator and cover each cake with a generous layer of frosting, smoothing as you go around to create a flat surface.
  10. Place chocolate in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip; decorate as desired.
For more information see Martha Stewart.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Ten Quick and Easy Meals

Running from school to soccer to a meeting to work can leave you with no time to eat healthy.  Check out these great easy recipes for the student on the go.  These meals are quick, easy, and delicious!

1. Quick and Easy Fried Rice: Fried rice can come together even faster than 10 minutes if you happen to have a good selection of leftovers floating around. It's the end-all recipe to using up leftover rice and is tasty enough to eat for any meal of the day — yes even breakfast.
042011-10min1_rect5402. Apple-Arugula Salad Wraps: Although wraps seem more like a lunch food, for a quick dinner they can contain actual food groups and even do away with dishes if needs be. Perfect, no clean up!
3. Thai Crab Salad with Chili, Ginger, and Coconut: Since this meal merely needs to be chopped and tossed, it's quick to throw together and has big bold flavors that will satisfy without a laundry list of ingredients.
4. Miso Soup: Miso soup is perfect for those worried about over cooking tofu as it simply warms in this rich broth and suddenly, dinner is served! Check out this version with a poached egg — extra tasty!
5.The BEST Pancakes Ever: Pancakes might traditionally be breakfast food, but they're perfect for any meal in fact... we want some right now!
6. Egyptian Tomato Soup: This recipe just barely passes the 10 minute mark, but it can be made entirely from your pantry so there's minimal chopping or prep — making it a winner in our book!
7. Friday Night Slow-Cooked Brisket and Onions: So technically speaking this meal takes 5-8 hours to make, but there's really only 10 minutes of prep work involved. Make it before you head out the door to work and when you return dinner is already done for you!
8. Spicy Grilled Shrimp: These shrimp get a quick brine before hitting the grill, but since they cook up so quick, we're willing to overlook the extra brining time (only 30 minutes). Just make sure to drop them in the brine the second you come home from work or possibly lessen the salt and brine them while you're away (so they don't get too salty) to make things extra easy.
9. Thai-Style Omelet (Kai Jeow): This recipe comes together in less than 10 minutes which might even leave you time to walk the dog or check your email before dinner!
10. Scrambled Eggs with Fresh Corn, Goat Cheese, and Oven-Roasted Tomatoes: This meal is labeled as a 10 minute dish and mixes up with many things that you probably already have on hand.

For more recipe ideas see theKitchn.com
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