Today, I decided to celebrate the end of Virginia Tech’s 2013 New Student Orientation by spending a large part of my night at the gym. Of the two gyms on campus, McComas is by far my favorite. Although War Memorial Gym has the grungy appeal of not being air conditioned, McComas is better for a well-rounded work out that is convenient.
Today, while at the gym, I ran into a new friend named Laura. I was flattered because she remembered me from Homecoming 2012 – kind of like the many girls I met downtown last weekend. It had been a while since I heard the whole “you know, I voted for you for Homecoming!” From a stranger. Nonetheless, it was still very flattering.
After beginning a conversation with Laura, I realized that we had more in common than I originally thought…
Dangit I’m blogging about this from my phone and I have to run. Will update later…
Last weekend, I decided to make another forray into the world of berry-picking. Earlier this summer, a new friend named So posted on a Facebook group about whether or not people would want to go to 3-Birds Berry Farm and go picking with her. I had never been berry-picking, ever before, so of course I volunteered to drive and allow everyone else to have this experience too! So and I had never met in person but we had some mutual friends so I figured – hey – how bad can it be to go berry-picking with some new friends?
Other friends came along, and we car-pooled to the berry farm, only about 5 minutes from campus and still in Blacksburg, and met up with some other friends. It was a great day! We got there early enough that all of the berries weren’t picked through and it wasn’t too hot either.
New friends + Saturday morning blueberry picking = awesome.
This past weekend it was unusually cool so I decided to go check out the berries again. On the first go around, I made some cinnamon blueberry muffins – this recipe I am still trying to perfect, and when I do I will post it for sure! But this time around, I wanted to do something just a little bit easier so I decided to make Cinnamon Banana Blueberry Bread. I had some extra bananas on hand from last weekend’s grocery store trip, and I know that when you bake with bananas you should be sure they are super ripe; and these were. I think that is so that they are easier to mash. I really hope it turns out! Here’s the recipe that I adapted from several other bread recipes, with photos!
Ingredients
Materials:
Bread pan
Sifter
Spoonula
Fork
Oven (duh :))
Wet Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
2 cups of flour (The SELF-RISING kind. I MEAN IT.)
2 teaspoons of Saigon cinnamon spice
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
The finish:
2 cups of fresh blueberries
*Side note: if you’re not a big baker, I want to share something with you. Over time, I’ve always watched the Food network and noticed that people will mix the two types (dry or wet) of ingredients together, then combine them. I learned when I made those Cinnamon-Blueberry muffins that you can get clumps of flavor in your batter if you do otherwise…so make sure to keep them separate until they area all incorporated and ready! It’s also very nice to sift all of the dry ingredients together to ensure no clumps in the batter.
Steps
Go ahead and crank dat oven up to 350 and let it preheat while you butter and flour up your pan so that your bread can make a clean escape. Peel the nanners, toss them into the bowl, then use a fork to make a banana puree in your bowl.
Add the sugar and egg to the banana mush (not very photogenic, this part) and stir it up – a spoonula will do the job just fine. Then add your vanilla and stir it up, little darlin’.
http://youtu.be/n6U-TGahwvs
Then, in a separate bowl, place your sifter. Place the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, into the sifter and sift away! Add the sifted try ingredients into the wet, and continue to stir. It should be nicely incorporated into a thicker batter. Now, take your blueberries and go ahead and place them on top of the batter.
Take great care was to not crush the blueberries (unless, of course, you want blue/purple bread…which is fine!) by folding them into the batter.
Place the batter into the pan, and bake at 350 for about an hour. Keep an eye on it though…(hopefully you used self-rising flour)…and make sure it doesn’t burn, because different ovens are different and I completely made up that time. :)
Notes
FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT WASTING INGREDIENTS, be sure to use self-rising flour. Otherwise, I think this recipe is a keeper BUT as of 9:30 p.m. on Thursday night July 18th, I have plans at 10:15 p.m. and I need to run; but I’ll update the blog later tonight or tomorrow with the result. And if it doesn’t turn out, I plan on making it again very soon so that it DOES turn out!
**Update: It did NOT turn out. Just to show that every cooking adventure isn’t perfect, here’s a pic.
Way, way too dense. And even though I baked it an extra 20 mins all that dense flour was NOT going to cook. :(
But unfortunately, now it is going to go into the trash and I will eat a Reese’s Smores Bar instead. :) What a horrible alternative right? I’ll get some more bananas and pick more berries this weekend to have another go at it. Let me know if you guys try the recipe and, if so, what you thought of it! :)
*As always, scroll down to the bottom for the full recipe w/o non-sense. :)*
So this story begins a few weeks ago. It was the Fourth of July and I was celebrating with a family that I’ve grown to know very well here in Blacksburg.
They invited me and a friend over for a cookout, to watch fireworks, and light off some sparklers. Of course I was in!
After dinner, we decided to light up some s’mores over the grill; because no cookout is complete with out some kind of dessert, right? So when we went back out to the grill, I start toasting up my marshmallows, I’m preparing my graham cracker, and I go in for the Hershey’s Chocolate Bar…
Not so fast there, mister. Have you ever considered trying a s’mores…with a REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUP!?!? MIND. BLOWN.
What an amazing idea, right?
But, no…really.
After I enjoyed that decadent treat, I decided to check out a way that I could reproduce it. Realizing that I didn’t have that great of a fire to toast my marshmallows, my mind immediately went to marshmallow fluff. I originally was thinking pie. You know, graham cracker crust bottom, peanut butter, chocolate, whipped cream or something. No. Too simple.
As I searched the internet I found numerous recipes, but as always I decided to take what I found online and adapt it to what I think is right. In case you didn’t already know, my baking style is a cross between Paula Deen’s butter, uh, “technique,” and also just being a lazy college student. Quite the combination, eh?
So here’s the ingredients you’ll need:
I took this picture before I discovered the “bright” feature on the camera.
1 large can of Kraft Marshmallow Fluff, Jet-packed kind
By the time I was done my mouth was like this…
And here we go!
OH! Also make sure you use an 8 x 8 cookie sheet. AND PARCHMENT PAPER! The Reese’s will perfectly. And the fluff will STICK. Also, these were on sale for 2.39 on a close out at Kroger – so I got two!I decided to use the ol’ food processor to make the graham cracker crumbs. Much more efficient than making them by hand! Give these a couple of zaps in the processor, or just use a rolling pin/wine bottle to break them in a plastic bag as part of your prep work.
Go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 degrees – always make sure the oven is preheated before you toss anything in there to bake. And btw, the measurements of ingredients are real exact and important while you’rebaking, obvi.
In this large bowl, I combined the room-temp kinda melty butter with the normal sugar and the brown sugar. I used a combination between a hand-mixer and the white “spoonula,” as I call it.
After your sugars and butter are incorporated, use the hand mixer (or stand mixer) to beat in the egg and the zap of vanilla extract. Once that’s all in, sift in the flour slowly along with the baking powder and salt. Once incorporated, thoroughly incorporate the graham cracker crumbs with the spoonula by pressing them into the batter while stirring. This will ensure the graham crackers and their sugars get throughout the batter.
Next step: Divide the batter into three equal parts. Take two of those parts and spread them at the bottom the baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. I ended up having to use my fingers; the dough was too sticky to get away from utensils, so I just got in there andpatted it out with my fingertips. Also, try and work quickly or else the batter will be that much sticker. Yikes.
Bottom layer complete? Start adding on those Reese’s peanut butter cups!
Also on sale at Kroger? Reese’s. 4 packages of 8 for $3.00. Don’t mind if I do.
Keep going until the whole pan base is covered…
Then hit it up with a layer of fluff…
Now, the magic happens. I may have used too much fluff since I dumped like…the entire bottle. Onto the top. But whatever.
Throw that bad boy in the oven! 25 minutes.
The fluff starts oozing and it just looks…amazing.All done! Now to just wait for it to cool…
I let mine cool overnight before I cut into it. Obviously, the first thing I did the next morning before I even got ready for work was use a sharp knife to get to cutting.
Profile shot. My Jesus.Ep. ic.
Notes
Overall, I must caution you that this is a pretty sweet dessert. Not anything super crazy but you definitely notice all the sugar that’s going on; and it tastes just like a s’mores, just a little bit sweeter! And obviously less effort, once you’ve made the whole batch! If you like s’mores and you like peanut butter…you’re going to love it. I’m actually about to take this dessert over to this week’s Wine & Dine Wednesday’s, a weekly potluck at a friend’s house. I shared some with my co-workers and they liked them; so I hope they do too!
Also, don’t get the marshmallow fluff anywhere but in that darn baking sheet – it’s so hard to clean off of ANYTHING! It’s impossible. That was the most annoying part of the recipe. Otherwise, it was pretty easy and quick!
1 large can of Kraft Marshmallow Fluff, Jet-packed kind
Pre-heat oven to 350 and use parchment paper inside of an 8×8 baking sheet, along with come cooking spray on the sides and bottom. Mix the sifted dry ingredients (except the graham cracker crumbs), then incorporate the wet ingredients and continue mixing. Add graham cracker crumbs. Divide into thirds. Use two-thirds on the bottom, place the layer of Reese’s (4×4), cover with fluff, and cover the fluff with the remainder of the batter. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until the top is firm to the touch. Let cool overnight. Wha-la!
And this is why I love young people, as in children, or kids: honesty. I’m going to leave this here with minimum commentary. Think about it.
Here’s the original commercial.
http://youtu.be/kYofm5d5Xdw
And here’s the episode of “Kids React.”
Pay special attention to the disclaimer at the beginning of the “Kids React” video. My biggest takeaway?
“Unfortunately it’s still not over..from, like, the past. People shouldn’t judge each other on the color of their skin or their religion or anything that’s different. You should only judge someone based on their character and their personality.”
— At the end of the day, you have your peers, your professors, your Orientation Leader (OL), close friends, siblings, advisors, parents, and others to rely on for advice, but I just wanted to share the advice that I, personally, share to the masses. Enjoy! This post was originally written in the summer of 2013 and has been revised over the years. —
For the next year (well, I’m already 2 months into it) I have the great fortune of being able to work with freshman students who are in the University Studies program at Virginia Tech. As a graduate student studying student affairs and higher education, and as a person who is all around passionate about education, I’m excited for my first real opportunity to work directly and exclusively with freshmen, “first-year,” students. FYI, University Studies is another word for the “exploratory” or more commonly known as the “undecided” major. The students that we work with will always end up in another college becuase no student can graduate from University Studies.
To any rising freshman student that is reading this blog, and if you’re otherwise reading my blog for the first time, here’s a few things that are important to know about me:
I’m a Hokie.
I have a personal goal of meeting one new person everyday.
I live to serve others, in the spirit of the university’s motto “Ut Prosim.”
I’ve been a student at Virginia Tech since August 2008 (I graduated in 2012, and then began pursuing my Master’s right after). My master’s will help me work at a college or university someday in an administrative capacity, helping students. (*I graduated in May 2014!)
I was the President of (the best group on campus ;)) Hokie Ambassadors, and still give campus tours whenever I can. This means that I have an abnormally large amount of Virginia Tech knowledge in my mind.
Now that I’ve set forth some credentials, I’d like to get to the point of this blog post – to give you a few pieces of advice.
The best thing you can possibly do is get out of your comfort zone and STOP trying to impress others. Cliche? Yes. True? Absolutely. Doing something as little as LEAVING YOUR DOOR OPEN when you are moving in during move-in weekend invites people to say hello. Connecting with people instead of trying to seem better than them will take you far.
Go to events on-campus, outside of the classroom. 30% of what I learned happened in the classroom when I was in school; everything else happened everywhere else. Go to Squires. Go to Gobblerfest. Get involved with a living-learning community. Research has shown, for years, that students who are involved in extra-curricular activities are better students (for example, they have to be better at time management) and I believe they also make more quality relationships that way. Consider getting involved in at least ONE activity…p.s. did you know what the we had a Bronie club? I’m not even gonna link to it. Look it up.
Try to meet at least one other student each day. College is all about branching out and figuring out who you REALLY are. Eating by yourself in the dining hall (there’s nothing wrong with this by the way, but sometimes you might want some company!)? Share the table with a stranger. Shoot a random smile to a new friend while crossing the Drillfield; you never know how it may make your day. It could make theirs too. :)
Realize that you have the power and the ability to become whatever you want to be. For some, college is sort of like starting over. Take this opportunity to really investigate, discover, and truly – invent the future for yourself. Take what’s important to you – what you value – embrace that, and use that to snowball into the adult that your’e becoming.
Over anything, be passionate and be dedicated. Fail a test? Persevere; go to to your professor’s office hours. need help with a paper? Go to the writing center. Feeling home sick? Skype with someone back home, make them send you a care package, and look forward to Thanksgiving. Transitioning to college is no piece of cake; but there are many ways that you can do it successfully. There’s no singular solution.
I write this post from many different perspectives tonight. First, while I’ve only learned a bit abotu college students in my first year of graduate school, I’ve learned even more about what it means to serve others. I write this post as a service to you; many of the tips I’ve given on tour, I give to the students I advise, and I’ll continue to give to the students I advise. I kind of wanted them to be in 1 place.
Also, last week I realized that while I was teaching freshmen how to use Drop/Add Course Registration for the first time…I will be doing it for the very last time come the spring. A process that I have taken part in, like clock work, for the last dozen semesters of my life will no longer happen after I pick my spring semester classes in November. What a mind-bender that was.
The other perspective I write this post from is as a student that didn’t get to do everything he wanted during his time as a student, graduate or undergraduate. My two biggest regrets? Not being an Orientation Leader and not Studying Abroad. Now, through my graduate program I was able to uncover and unpack some of those experiences in different ways. But I think back to my senior year and completing Graduate School applications and feeling compelled to remain at VT…and people would always ask me why. And I always felt like I had more work to be done. More Hokies to meet, more people to serve, and more connections to make. I’m truly feeling like I’m coming full circle…
If you are reading this post, I invite you to reach out to me. Let me know who you are. Let’s get to know each other. Be one new person that I not only get to meet, but that I get to know. I’d love to share a meal with you and see what we have in common, what we have different, and how we can help each other. We can do this as a group, 1:1, whatever. Lord knows my schedule is obnoxiously busy but I value friendship and I value service. What better way to embody Ut Prosim, eh?
Finally, and most importantly, I want to learn about you. I have always been determined to leave a mark on this great university, and I’d love to help you do that too. I give out my e-mail address to anyone who will ask – it is, simply, justin.graves@vt.edu. If you ever encounter a question – want to know where to get involved, how to get from one building to another, or how to find out what’s for dinner in the dining halls, I’ve always been a resource to others. Now, my time as a resource to you is as slim as it’s ever been but that doesn’t make me any less intent on helping you have as great of a time at Virginia Tech as I did.
You’ve just gotta make me one promise – you absolutely MUST answer one question – “What makes you awesome?”
This summer, a lot of my close friends have been asking me about this idea of Never Eat Alone.
The story of my discovery of Never Eat Alone began almost a year ago when a friend named Brian spontaneously e-mailed me. Back in 2008, Brian and I got to know each other as Virginia Tech freshmen but we had lost touch over time, remaining connected through Facebook but our real life paths hardly crossed even though we had many mutual friends and our hometowns are neighbors.
In his e-mail on November 25, 2012, Brian shared that he wanted to try and find time toreconnect, maybe over lunch or coffee. It caught me just a little off-guard, but I said, hey, why not. I had been watching Brian, too, especially the transformative work he was doing with Fighting Gravity. While we shared that meal, Brian asked me – “have you ever heard of Never Eat Alone?” I had not. So the story begins…
I’m not much of a reader, but the book intrigued me:Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. Ferrazzi’s book has the subtitle of “And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time.” I truly value great relationships, and while I don’t share meals with my friends with the ultimate goal of success, I share meals with them with the ultimate goal of connecting. After all, everyone has to eat, right? And why not take some time to engage in meaningful conversation over said meal? Ferrazzi’s book encompasses that very well; it is a great read, and something that I’ve carried with me since checking it out.
Truthfully, if your’e not looking for ideas, this book is not for you – because he provides many great ideas and points that you can easily implement into your personal and professional habits – beginning with how you think about your meals.
One of Ferrazzi’s biggest points is that it’s all about the “ask” – the idea of the invitation (also utilized by Peter Block, author of another one of my favorite books, Community). Ferrazzi talks about asking mentors for mentorship, and then paying it forward, i.e. becoming a mentor yourself someday. When it comes to these favors, you shouldn’t keep score he said and, instead, you should pay it forward. I know this resonated with me because it’s one of the founding tenets of AC4P as well.
See. Act. Pass. Share.
Example. On Saturday, I took a dip over to the Farmer’s Market, just ahead of lunch with a friend named Sarah (again, not eating alone…really, it’s a trend for me). While I was at the market I ran into Michael and a new friend, Alece. I had just gone to purchase basil but saw some great peaches that were on sale, too. Obviously peaches are a great summer fruit so I picked up a few, maybe for lunch this week. I had some great conversation, got some great fresh fruit and herbs, and figured that would be that.
When I texted Michael later in the day, to see what he was up to, I suggested that we get together sometime in the near future to catch up. Michael did me one better – he suggested a potluck style dinner for the following night. I was free so, of course, I agreed! We decided to get some of our friends together to meet up at Michael’s and bond over some food. It was a fantastic time, and thank goodness everything turned out deliciously! Our menu consisted of mostly homemade items by yours truly: Basil-Peach Chicken, Lemon-Basil Potato Salad, Asparagus-Tomato Salad, and Near East Cous Cous. The recipes for each of these items can be found on this blog post!
Myself, Michael, Sophia, Shereen, Alece, Brandon, and Shane getting ready to enjoy a great meal!
Seeing as I live alone, it can be a drag, sometimes, to cook a huge meal by yourself. But at the same time, I LOVE cooking. When I’m alone, I prefer to bake since the result tends to last longer and is more shareable. But each of these dinner recipes I had been wanting to try out for a while. It was an amazing feeling to be able to share my time and energy with people who appreciate it and care. Having a meal with your friends is great but cooking (something that tastes good) for your friends is even better. :) I’ve made many-a-social-media-post about this idea of Never Eat Alone, and I hope this demystifies it for you!
And this definitely takes the cake for one of those videos that you can just watch over and over again, and just feel HAPPY about it! Love this. Check it out – little Micah is absolutely adorable and clearly will become a demolition man someday!
Virginia 21 is an organization that is all about making college affordable. It’s an organization that provides information for college students; those who may not be super informed, but hold the most importance when it comes to being informed about an issue that effects them so greatly: higher education. VA 21 does their best to engage young people in the legislative and poltiical process in our Commonwealth, paritcularly when it coems to policies that affect higher education. I’ve been involved with it from the day I knew what it was – during my junior year in 2010 – because of how important I believe it is for students to become democratically engaged. I’m ecstatic that such a great organization is able to pull of such a great event.
If you’re in the Commonwealth of Virginia, you probably know that there are two great gentleman who are up for the top spot Virginia. Today’s event is a live-stream-able Google Hangout between the two and is happening NOW! You can tweet the has tag #va21hangout and the questions may be asked to the next governor of the Commonwealth.
