It finally dawned on us why our dining hall doesn’t serve pastries like they do in the patisseries of Paris. If it did, we would likely fail our classes just to stay back another year to indulge in the desserts. There must be a correlation between deliciousness of cafeteria food and graduation rate.

But don’t get us wrong - the Ratty does make mean Rice Krispies treats, and their bananas aren’t too shabby either. If you want to impress the special someone you happen to be sharing the dining table with, then this dessert is the perfect way to …

In the world of takeout, Thai food reigns supreme. I live above a Chinese restaurant and across the street from both a sushi place and a Chicago-style deep dish pizza institution, but when I feel the overwhelming need to not cook my own dinner, I inevitably dial my favorite Thai food restaurant’s delivery hotline.

I also always order curry, because I’m boring/I know what I love and don’t feel the need to expand my horizons/curry is just good ok?/I’m boring. The combo of sharp spices and creamy coconut milk is crave-worthy, and on more culinarily-inspired days, I find myself hunting …

The humble English muffin is a forgotten species. In our perpetual daze as distracted college kids, we too often forget to stop and smell the crumpets as we cruise on autopilot, loading up our trays at the dining hall with a stale bagel or dry undersalted scrambled eggs. We can turn instead to the warm natural sweetness of honey and peaches, complemented with a generous smear of tangy sophisticated cream cheese, all atop a crispy-on-the-outside-fluffy-on-the-inside warm crumpet of buttery goodness. With a little help from the microwave and toaster, we can all wind down, open our sleepy eyes, and appreciate life in the slow lane with some good ol’ TLC and afternoon tea with honeyed peaches and buttered toasted crumpets.

Ever had that wonderful face bloat after a night of drinking and/or consuming an entire tray of cookies. No? Just me? Well in my defense, a girl only turns 21 once.

Anyways, sometimes after any of those things or just a night of not much sleep, your face is looking a little less than prime and possibly a bit puffy. Especially during the winter, when the dry air leaves your skin a little lackluster. But thankfully for you, with each year that I live in Santa Cruz, I become a bit more hippier and a lot more crunchy …

In my third year of school, I had an epiphany. A beer epiphany. Until that year, I equated beer with the watered-down, foamy stuff served at fraternity parties. Then I was introduced to the flavorful and rich brews that I’m now well acquainted with, and to be honest it was pretty life-changing (as any good epiphany should be). Today, I can proudly assert that it doesn’t get much better than a cold fizzy beer with a juicy burger or greasy take-out. While I’m no hop aficionado and haven’t made the leap to homemade brewing, I’m always looking and excited …

In December, when I was still studying abroad in France, my best friend Emilie (who is French) came to visit me at the end of my program. We went to Marmande, France, where her grandparents live. The last thing I thought we would be filling our days with was a double date. Initially, I was excited when Emilie told me about the idea. But then I realized that I was going on a date with two young French men who spoke very little English, and since I have the French speaking skills of a five year old, I had …

Living in Rome, you know, has its pluses. Amatriciana for lunch, carbonara for dinner, pizza bianca in between, gelato for dessert. The meats, the cheeses? Better than you could imagine. Those early-morning markets? Make my eyes grow wide, each and every time.

But one of the greatest benefits of living in Rome is the ability to hop on a train to Tuscany. You know, when you feel like it. Just because you can.

So, I did this. I packed a bag and got right on that train as soon as I got out of my last midterm exam. Because …

When I was about one week into my freshman year of college, I remember thinking that I had finally discovered the way to a Jessica Biel body. If I had a diet soda for breakfast, a salad bar lunch, a few scoops of peanut butter for protein during the day, and then only drank on the weekends, I would be seeing washboard abs in NO time.
Six months and 40 pounds later, I was was staring at my muffin top and wondering what had gone wrong.
I had fallen into that trap to which so many students succumb: I had …

Rosh Hashanah is my favorite holiday. The Jewish New Year, it’s the perfect mix of New Year’s and Thanksgiving with a big family get-together and, of course, lots of food. After all, it is a Jewish holiday. No one will go hungry.

For us Jews, food is an important medium through which to celebrate and express our culture. On Rosh Hashanah, the traditional challah bread is baked in a round shape to signify the cycle of each year and life itself, while apples and honey are eaten in order to issue in a sweet new year.

It seems that the best go-to first date option (not to mention the best way to study and entertain your friends) takes place at the coffee shop. After all, it is entirely too soon to invite your prospective date over to your place (especially if you still live with your parents), and let’s hope you don’t invite yourself over to their humble abode. While knowing what you want is always important, no one wants a bossy love interest.

Inviting that special someone to go grab some coffee is one of the most popular courting ideas for good reason. There …