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yinshubackupRisley 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.
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"Roo, you're amazing! We love you!"
Date: 2004-02-28 07:28 pm (UTC)Re: "Roo, you're amazing! We love you!"
Date: 2004-02-29 07:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-28 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-29 07:33 am (UTC)next time i come over we'll have to cook some yummy stuff...
no subject
Date: 2004-02-29 11:06 am (UTC)Wow!
Date: 2004-02-28 10:25 pm (UTC)I know what you mean about vegetarian/vegan cooking. April's non-lactose vegetarian (for health reasons, not social), and cooking for each is hard. I managed, usually, but you've constantly got to be aware of what's got butter and what's got broth or stock in it. Gravy is a problem, I don't often make it.
Here's an idea for the time after next. Consider doing a deep interior Mexico theme? Not the greasy Tex-Mex, but true, fresh fruits and vegetables and squash blossoms and Oachinango (I'm sure I misspelled it)? I've been tinkering with some things... limited success so far, but haven't done too much.
A thought. I'd love to hear of your results.
~David
Re: Wow!
Date: 2004-02-29 08:00 am (UTC)I can totally understand needing a non-lactose diet for medical reasons; many people are more allergic than they realize to the casein and other things in dairy too. I have no problem cooking for people with medical or religious reasons for not eating "X" foods, but the thing that annoys me about veganism is that it's not usually about that- it's a personally chosen set of walls that seems unbalanced to me. I realize everyone must walk their own path, but seriously, even animals eat other animals, and the bees will make more honey, and the unfertilized egg will not become a chick anyway, and the cows will make more milk anyway whether we use it or not. Not "exploiting" animals is a noble cause, but it's not really the natural order of things because an ecosystem works by everything's survival depending on everything else. We feed cows, they feed us, and I don't even mean by killing them. It's a cycle. *shrugs* Anyway.
Deep Interior Mexican is interesting, but difficult to do up here because of the freshness of the ingredients. Finding the right fresh peppers, and chayote, and other things is kind of a challenge, and expensive when you can find 'em. I don't know if the $40 budget would stretch as far. And hey! I like Tex-mex. It's the soul food of my childhood. I also like traditional Texan fare, which is a kind of mish mash of trail-hearty cowboy stuff, German settlers's imported recipes, Mexican and Spanish and French influences, even some cajun stuff leaked in there over the years... I have a couple of good Texan cookbooks I'm going through right now that're pretty interesting.
What's most readily available up here though, after our more familiar American staples, is Asian ingredients, for better or for worse. It's really prolific. I love all things Asian and even I'm starting to weary of it. But people seem to really love it. *shrugs*
Mom-and-pop Chinese restaurants are to living up here like the mom-and-pop Mexican restaurant is to living in Texas.
Texan Food
Date: 2004-02-29 01:00 pm (UTC)Now, how about something as simple as breakfast burritos? Fresh pico de gallo, huevos, papas, and some carne asada con salsa de jalapeño. The individual would prepare their individual tortillas with whatever ingredient suits their fancy, and there it is! Some fresh limeade to go with it, like a margarita without the tequila. (I have some ideas and basic proportions, if you care to hear about them, gem_handler@dhjewelrydesigns.com)
And about militant Vegans... It amazes me that the same people who often so vocally decry the social and political pressure exerted by one faction, usually termed the 'Religious Right' or 'Right Wing Extremist,' are so personally hateful toward anyone who DARES to cultivate and harvest food from another animal. Is it 'To each his own' or is it 'My way or the Highway'? Can't have it both ways. The way I look at it, I have decided upon a way to live my life, be it what I eat, who I associate with, my personal actions or whatever. Under the democratic process, I try to convince other people to see things from my point of view, especially on matters that affect all of us, but if I am outnumbered, I have agreed to abide by the rules or take the consequences of breaking them. This is good stuff, I ought to write it down somewhere.
Where was I, vegans? Eat the way you want to eat, let me eat my way. It amuses me that most vegans are also not organics also. The pesticides and chemical fertilizers do more damage to animals and the ecosystem, and ourselves, than any consumption of a cow ever will. See any toads around lately? They're an indicator species.
So, give a shout next time you're around, we can continue this conversation in person, if you want. Until then, Safe Cooking and Happy Eating.
~D
Mentre viviamo, Viviamos!
Re: Texan Food
Date: 2004-02-29 08:52 pm (UTC)Definitely sorry to hear about the heartburn thing... Chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce are my fave. Just ask my fiance; everytime we go to a new mexican restaurant it's the first thing I try. I'm all for healthy food, but right now, I could really go for some of that "flat" comfort food, the cheese and the beans and rice and corn tortillas and salsa verde and sizzling fajitas guacamole and man-oh-man do i wish we had a decent (or even just "a") Tex-mex or Mexican restaurant up here, and not some yankee's wanna-be version of the stuff mixed with 'nouvelle cuisine' trends, or Taco Smell.
I agree about the organics thing. My parents raised us to really appreciate the value of whole, natural foods. We used to belong to an organic co-op in our homeschool group, back in the day.
As for the continuing things in person, no offense dude, but I've only met you once, so I hardly know you. I'm not quite sure why you've taken such a shine to me, and I will say I'm flattered.... but when I do come to Texas for brief periods, my blood family has first dibs on my time, and if I'm lucky I get to see a few close friends. So please don't take it the wrong way if I don't 'give a shout'. I'm really not trying to be a bitch, just trying to be honest and up-front with you. I come home very rarely and when I do, I'm usually pretty booked. I might be home in time to hit faire (I hope *crosses fingers* ) before it ends, but it really depends on my finals schedule and where my summer job ends up being, geographically, and the timing of moving from here to 'there' (wherever that is).
Re: Texan Food
Date: 2004-03-01 03:55 pm (UTC)On the other side, I was thinking more of if we're in the same place at the same time (party, Faire) we could swap recipes and techniques, not to monopolize a day of your life when it's so obviously hectic when you're down here. I'm also fascinated because you're taking classes to learn to do something I love to do (cook) but have had absolutely no training in. So, if you don't mind, I'll pick your brain as much as you'll let me ;)
Good luck with classes, and stay warm. It's a balmy 70 up here today. Quite annoying, really, as I dressed for much colder weather.
~D
Mentre viviamo, Viviamos!