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Risley Residential College's First Annual Dada Ball kicked off last night with a whimper, but ended with a bang. Or at least, a combination of Blondie, Beatles, and a pole dancing contest.
Yes, in true Risley tradition, innocent fun and sexiness were mixed with all the subtlety of a Monty Python skit. Ahhhh, Dada. Nothing like cheering for a pole dancing guy with a stuffed lobster on his head. It was a night of fun and craziness- we were cha-cha-ing one minute, twisting to the oldies the next, and hop-stepping like Molly Ringwald in the Breakfast Club the next. And that was just AFTER the 10 piece Afro-Latin band we'd hired stopped playing for the night.
It's a pity not many outside people knew about it, but we didn't have much time for advertising. But I think the residents had so much fun that next year there will be much pre-planning and a special dada committee elected at Kommittee. If none of this makes sense to you, don't fret; it's just that Risely is the closest thing to living in a perpetual rainbow since the sixties. (And I don't do drugs!) I love love love it. I wish I had more time to just hang out here instead of being wrapped up in the library so much.
I love it so much, that I volunteered for brunch this morning-- Let me explain: Brunch is another great Risley tradition where, every week, $40 food money is offered by the housing staff to whoever wants to volunteer to make brunch on Saturday morning. People generally show up in the Cowcliffes lounge around noon, with their own various bowls and cups and eating utensils, and eat whatever's being put out.
There are no real expectations, only pleasant surprises, because no one's really obligated. Some weeks no one volunteers, but no one really complains because, hey, they didn't volunteer either, so whatcha gonna do? But if you show up and there IS food, well, bonus!
The only problem with our lovely lacksidaisical system (and I'm not saying it should be changed, either, because the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-ness is part of Brunch's charm) is that, usually, because we're a bunch of college kids procuring food for each other, quite often we end up with like, $40 of milk and cereal, or thin/soupy pancakes and hard potatoes with no garlic or ketchup. And then the Vegans complain because someone forgot to buy soy milk or they can't eat the pancakes 'cause there's eggs in 'em, and invariably there's not enough food to go around because the volunteer doesn't do bargain shopping much and so the $40 doesn't stretch as far, and so some people always end up disappointed and/or still hungry.
And so, I decided to make Brunch this time, with *gasp* REAL food!
So, I did. I went to Wegmans, shopped like my mother taught me to, came home with bags and bags of fresh fruits, veggies, and other stuff, got up at 6:45 am this morning, and began prepping.
And lo, at noon the hungry children came, and were sated with a smorgasbord of yummyness.
For the vegans, I made my Autumn Vegetable Soup in my big 2 gallon stockpot, with the Pistou on the side, because it had parmesan in it, (but everyone else put it in their soup like they were supposed to).
For the vegetarians, there was a huge fruit salad with pineapple, grapes, oranges, mangos, blueberries, strawberries and bananas, and fresh-made whipped cream to top it.
For us meat-eaters, I made a hearty lasagna with seasoned ground beef-n-onions, spinach, olives, ricotta, mozzerella, and tomato-basil sauce.
And it was good! And there was much noisy munching and slurping, and satisfied smiles on all the faces. And behold, vegan, vegetarian, and meat-eater alike came back to get seconds, and thirds, and fourths. And the people proclaimed, "Roo, you're amazing! We love you! Is that REAL whipped cream? Oh my god!"
And Roo did blush and shuffle her feet, and sit happily exhausted on the couch to munch her own brunchly delights, satisfied that for once, people did not go away from Brunch disappointed or still hungry.
I only sliced my fingers twice, but because my chef's knife is so nice and sharp, the cuts themselves didn't hurt as much....as the onion juice, pineapple juice, and orange juice in my cuts did later. *grimace* But hey, no pain, no gain, right? I made sure not to let my injuries fortify my cooking with...uh, extra iron, so it all came out okay.
Ahhh, it was a lot of work, but it was way worth it. I almost can't wait to do it again.
But I don't want it to become an expectation.... better to leave them pleasantly surprised from time to time.
-_^
Next time: roasted tofu skewers with peanut sauce, vegetarian spring rolls (or maybe shrimp, I'll have to price it), Soba with stir-fried veggies, and sauteed teriyaki beef or chicken strips to add to the soba bowls for the meat-eaters like me.
Arg. Can I just say, Vegans- You are a pain in the arse to cook for, but I say that in the most loving way possible. Vegetarian, I can do, easy. No meat? Well, ok, not my personal choice, but not really a problem. There are still lots of options. But take away butter, eggs, cheese and honey, and there's a lot less I can do for you. Do you realize how many things eggs alone are useful for? Garrgh.
(Aside to my fellow omnivores: lest anyone think I am 'needlessly pandering to silly vegan sentiments', let me assure you, it is my own hotelie pride and goal to feed everyone well that compels me to rise to the challenge. I look at it as: what kind of chef am I really, if I can't comply with strange requests and still make it delicious?)
Anyway, all this talk of food is making me hungry again. And I have a bunch of papers to grade. So, I'm off to acquire dinner, then do some homework. Maybe I'll just go out, and let someone else cook for me.
Yes, in true Risley tradition, innocent fun and sexiness were mixed with all the subtlety of a Monty Python skit. Ahhhh, Dada. Nothing like cheering for a pole dancing guy with a stuffed lobster on his head. It was a night of fun and craziness- we were cha-cha-ing one minute, twisting to the oldies the next, and hop-stepping like Molly Ringwald in the Breakfast Club the next. And that was just AFTER the 10 piece Afro-Latin band we'd hired stopped playing for the night.
It's a pity not many outside people knew about it, but we didn't have much time for advertising. But I think the residents had so much fun that next year there will be much pre-planning and a special dada committee elected at Kommittee. If none of this makes sense to you, don't fret; it's just that Risely is the closest thing to living in a perpetual rainbow since the sixties. (And I don't do drugs!) I love love love it. I wish I had more time to just hang out here instead of being wrapped up in the library so much.
I love it so much, that I volunteered for brunch this morning-- Let me explain: Brunch is another great Risley tradition where, every week, $40 food money is offered by the housing staff to whoever wants to volunteer to make brunch on Saturday morning. People generally show up in the Cowcliffes lounge around noon, with their own various bowls and cups and eating utensils, and eat whatever's being put out.
There are no real expectations, only pleasant surprises, because no one's really obligated. Some weeks no one volunteers, but no one really complains because, hey, they didn't volunteer either, so whatcha gonna do? But if you show up and there IS food, well, bonus!
The only problem with our lovely lacksidaisical system (and I'm not saying it should be changed, either, because the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-ness is part of Brunch's charm) is that, usually, because we're a bunch of college kids procuring food for each other, quite often we end up with like, $40 of milk and cereal, or thin/soupy pancakes and hard potatoes with no garlic or ketchup. And then the Vegans complain because someone forgot to buy soy milk or they can't eat the pancakes 'cause there's eggs in 'em, and invariably there's not enough food to go around because the volunteer doesn't do bargain shopping much and so the $40 doesn't stretch as far, and so some people always end up disappointed and/or still hungry.
And so, I decided to make Brunch this time, with *gasp* REAL food!
So, I did. I went to Wegmans, shopped like my mother taught me to, came home with bags and bags of fresh fruits, veggies, and other stuff, got up at 6:45 am this morning, and began prepping.
And lo, at noon the hungry children came, and were sated with a smorgasbord of yummyness.
For the vegans, I made my Autumn Vegetable Soup in my big 2 gallon stockpot, with the Pistou on the side, because it had parmesan in it, (but everyone else put it in their soup like they were supposed to).
For the vegetarians, there was a huge fruit salad with pineapple, grapes, oranges, mangos, blueberries, strawberries and bananas, and fresh-made whipped cream to top it.
For us meat-eaters, I made a hearty lasagna with seasoned ground beef-n-onions, spinach, olives, ricotta, mozzerella, and tomato-basil sauce.
And it was good! And there was much noisy munching and slurping, and satisfied smiles on all the faces. And behold, vegan, vegetarian, and meat-eater alike came back to get seconds, and thirds, and fourths. And the people proclaimed, "Roo, you're amazing! We love you! Is that REAL whipped cream? Oh my god!"
And Roo did blush and shuffle her feet, and sit happily exhausted on the couch to munch her own brunchly delights, satisfied that for once, people did not go away from Brunch disappointed or still hungry.
I only sliced my fingers twice, but because my chef's knife is so nice and sharp, the cuts themselves didn't hurt as much....as the onion juice, pineapple juice, and orange juice in my cuts did later. *grimace* But hey, no pain, no gain, right? I made sure not to let my injuries fortify my cooking with...uh, extra iron, so it all came out okay.
Ahhh, it was a lot of work, but it was way worth it. I almost can't wait to do it again.
But I don't want it to become an expectation.... better to leave them pleasantly surprised from time to time.
-_^
Next time: roasted tofu skewers with peanut sauce, vegetarian spring rolls (or maybe shrimp, I'll have to price it), Soba with stir-fried veggies, and sauteed teriyaki beef or chicken strips to add to the soba bowls for the meat-eaters like me.
Arg. Can I just say, Vegans- You are a pain in the arse to cook for, but I say that in the most loving way possible. Vegetarian, I can do, easy. No meat? Well, ok, not my personal choice, but not really a problem. There are still lots of options. But take away butter, eggs, cheese and honey, and there's a lot less I can do for you. Do you realize how many things eggs alone are useful for? Garrgh.
(Aside to my fellow omnivores: lest anyone think I am 'needlessly pandering to silly vegan sentiments', let me assure you, it is my own hotelie pride and goal to feed everyone well that compels me to rise to the challenge. I look at it as: what kind of chef am I really, if I can't comply with strange requests and still make it delicious?)
Anyway, all this talk of food is making me hungry again. And I have a bunch of papers to grade. So, I'm off to acquire dinner, then do some homework. Maybe I'll just go out, and let someone else cook for me.
