Toppings

I don't like sour dairy products. I don't like frozen yogurt. But I do like toppings. 

Sometimes, I walk into GoBerry and treat myself to a cup of strawberries and blackberries (fruit salad!) and other times, a cup of strawberries mixed in with granola would do. It's really delicious and I can't think of any other place where I can get fresh, ready-to-go cup of fruit with other random miscellaneous toppings that I'm in the mood for! If you think about it, the name itself, "GoBerry" really describes this preference of mine a lot! The "Go" part of Goberry hints to the quickness of preparing only toppings, and the "Berry" represents...fruits! Or in a more general term, TOPPINGS! However, some find it strange that I'd walk into GoBerry and buy myself just a cup of toppings because GoBerry specializes in their fro-yo. Whatever floats your boat, right?

I acknowledge how confusing the pricing of a cup of just toppings can be (sorry!). While some charge me the price of added toppings (for example, 1 topping = $1), others charge me the price of what a loaded fro-yo cup would be (as if I ordered fro-yo). It's frustrating, yes, but hey, I leave the place content with a good ol' cup of toppings.

Local Dining Services

   As I was walking to lunch last Friday there was a truck unloading boxes of food next to Cutter-Z. This probably wouldn't have caught my attention but as I was passing I noticed the Smithfield label. None of the Smithfield boxes were unloaded but it got be wondering about the kind of food Smith is buying.
   I looked at greenreportcard.org which collects data from universities all over the country and grades their sustainability. For the 2011 report card, Smith College received an A on Food & Recycling. I was looking over the data and it all seemed pretty great, we buy a fair amount of food locally and we compost almost all kitchen scrap (the compost is given to a local farmer). But I felt like I wasn't really getting a good grasp on what the data was actually saying so I decided to compare it to Amherst College (the data for Mount Holyoke wasn't available).
  Smith (student pop. 2,637) is larger than Amherst (1,791) but the spend more money on most foods than we do:
                                            Smith                                                                 Amherst

 Fruits and Vegetables:      $542,398                                                              $429,792

 Dairy:                               $447,548                                                              $161,829

Eggs:                                 $61,063                                                                 $46,236

  Meat and Poultry:            $255,642                                                            $537,752

Seafood:                             $57,857                                                               $123,701

 Coffee:                              $13,383                                                                 $19,214

Amherst claims they buy locally (at least some portion) of everything, except cereal and beverages.  Smith claims they buy (at least some portion) of everything but poultry, eggs, seafood, baked goods, cereals and sauces/salad dressings. For two colleges (of similar caliber) that are only 7 miles apart, why is Amherst buying so much of their food locally? 

My Coffee Ritual

                                                              My Coffee Ritual 

Good Morning. I am writing to you all after finishing my coffee ritual; it is perhaps my most cherished daily practice. As an early riser, I cherish the practice of quietly descending the stairs as the others in my house remain sleeping. Beginning my day with a tranquil and peaceful awakening makes a huge difference on how I approach daily activities. I wake between 4:30-5:30 or at least I intend to. The quiet of the house guides me to the stove where I fill the kettle and put the water on to boil. From there I turn to the coffee (I try to grind the night before to maintain quiet), place the coffee filter in my cherished Chemex (shown in photo above), and then pour the grinds into the filter. When the kettle begins to whistle, and all else is readily prepared, I begin the pouring process. This is one of my favorite parts: the steam rises as the water greets the grinds and fills the filter with the richest color of brown. The coffee slowly drips through the Chemex, gently hitting the bottom and collecting into a delicious puddle of warmth. I run my coffee cup beneath hot water in the sink, for I would not like to taint my freshly brewed coffee with a cold cup. After the coffee is done, I pour it into my cup. As it fountains out of the Chemex my body prepares for the glory of the first sip. I stare at the coffee for a moment, so grateful for its presence in my life. The first sip is always a moment of ecstasy and appreciation. 


I go to bed every single night thinking about coffee and the beauty I get to experience every morning when I wake. It my simplest, yet most indulgent treasure. I love coffee. 

Peanut Butter

I don't like peanut butter, but I can't understand why. I've disliked it since I was little and I would actually tell people I was allergic to it because it grossed me out so much. I want to like it so badly because it sounds delicious and I feel like I've missed out on a huge experience (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanut butter and bananas, peanut butter on Oreos, and, most of all, spoonfuls of peanut butter for a snack). Every few years I get a craving to eat it, so I do, and I hate it. It's so disappointing! What is strange is that I like peanuts. They're not my favorite nut (or are they technically legumes?), but they're not revolting like peanut butter.

Until recently, it never bothered me that I don't like peanut butter. Lately I've been feeling that it's strange that I have no peanut butter alternative, especially because it's such a staple in the average American diet. In an attempt to find a peanut butter replacement I came across sunflower seed butter and almond butter. I'd heard great things about both products so I decided to try them. I wish I had documented the experience and taken pictures to post, but I wasn't thinking that far ahead.

As for the butters, they weren't bad, but they weren't great. I could tolerate them, but I didn't enjoy them much. The sunflower seed butter was too salty for me. It tasted like the seeds had been heavily salted before they were mashed. I would have preferred a much sweeter taste. I thought I would like the almond butter for sure because I love almonds, and I was surprised that it didn't appeal to me. It just didn't taste right. There wasn't enough flavor and I found it boring. I was very confused by my experience and it left me wondering what it is about nuts/legumes/seeds in butter form that doesn't sit well with me.

The Pregnancy Craving!

When you hear of a large pizza covered in cheese, pepperoni, pineapples, pickles and sardnies, your first thought maybe, "Ew! That must be a pregnant woman's creation." But why? Why do women at this stage in their life crave french fries dipped in ice cream or pickles covered in peanut butter? According to WebMD's article, Pregnancy Cravings: When You Gotta Have It!, it is unknown as to why us women desire these weird combinations. "No one really knows why pregnancy cravings occur, though there are theories that it represents some nutrient that the mother may be lacking-- and the crave is the body's way of asking for what it needs," states Andrei Rebarber, MD, in the article Pregnancy Cravings: When You Gotta Have It!

Non-pregnant people like myself always wonder how or what possessed these women to even think up such an idea. How they can even eat such creations is another thought of its own! Have you ever thought, "Hmm, I wonder what that taste like? Maybe I should try it." Here are a couple 'Pregnant Women Recipes' for you, just in case you did have some kind of thought. Enjoy!

• Fries dipped in Caramel Frappes
• Cereal with Coca Cola (Yes! Instead of milk.)

Celebrity Cravings:

• Pickle Pancakes- Snooki
• Butter on Pop Tarts- Jessica Simpson 
• Relish and Mayo Sandwich- Kourtney Kardashian
• Pickles and Ketchup- Natalie Portman

Sources:
"Outrageous Cravings." Web log post. BabyCenter. N.p., 22 June 2011. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.
Colette BouchezWebMD. "Pregnancy Cravings: When You Gotta Have It!"WebMD. WebMD, 08 Oct. 2008. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.
Thomson, Julie R. "Celebrity Pregnancy Cravings: They Want It, We've Got It." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.
Yang, Sara. "Celebrity Pregnancy Cravings." TheBump.com. The Bump, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

Seven Sister's Latina Conference

     This Saturday from 9 am until 8 pm, I was in the Seven Sister's Latina Conference, which was the first conference that Smith College has had where Latinas and allies come from the seven sister colleges to discuss many of the issues and similarities most of us have.  Not only was it a great experience to have inspirational speakers come talk to us but along with all of these amazing things we had free food included.   Breakfast and lunch had delicious foods since they severed muffins, fruits, various flavors of pizza like buffalo chicken, pepperoni and hamburger, and even bacon, chicken with ranch.  I was most excited about the food that was going to be served for dinner though.
    
Flautas

 Agua de Horchata

Platanos rice, black beans, & tortilla

  I knew since it was a Latina conference we were going to have some type of Hispanic food.  After having been patient for quite a while, the time had come.  As we got in line, I looked at the different options of food that were being served.  I first got some of a strawberry, mango, with coconut fruit salad.  Then I added some flautas with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.  I also had to have some rice, black beans, chicken, platanos, and tortilla.  The refreshment I served myself was some agua de horchata with a few ice cubes.  My friends and I took the time to enjoy our meals and savor the deliciousness of the food.  So, we cherished this moment together because it made us feel like we were back home.

The food here at Smith is great. Yeah, I said it. Apparently I'm in limited company in this opinion, but I totally stand by it. I remember sitting in Chase-Duckett with a bunch of new students and leaders during orientation week and thinking "Wow, this is good." Soon after, though, the negative comments began. It seems that everyone is complaining about dining hall food here. But it's great! As a transfer student from a big public university, I feel that I may have a little bit more perspective than most. When you go from eating in dining halls among thousands to small houses with maybe 70 people, it's bound to get better. Food for the masses is just plain bad. At University of Michigan, my best friend, a vegan, has approximately two options every night: burrito with beans, rice, and salsa, or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Not the greatest range of choice. At Smith, we have Northrup-Gillett, which has some of the best cooks on campus and makes really interesting and tasty vegan and vegetarian dishes like falafel and Thai tortellini for three meals a day. How can you complain about that? Yes, pasta is served maybe a little too frequently, and it would be nice to have bigger water glasses, but seriously. You don't know what you have until you've had much worse. I get so excited for the food here that I check the menu weeks in advance. Just this week, I'm excited for banana muffins, brinner (breakfast for dinner), lemon squares, curried lentils, mashed potatoes, taco bar, and pizza. And those are just the highlights.