WHEN USDAN GIVES YOU THORNS… |
November 15, 2011 |
Week 9: Semester’s ending, Thanksgiving’s coming. Going home involves awkward reacquainting with high school friends, remembering that your family is absolutely crazy but also, most importantly, home-cooked food. The variety of dining options at Wes and Middletown feel increasingly restricting and even for perky freshmen like myself, another meal at the Usdan Marketplace feels stale and stifling. Efforts to avoid it are amplified: Usditching is a common practice that is reversed as points run out and students are forced to return to the predictable Usdan fare. Though converting to an all-points plan helps overcome this problem, this option is tragically denied to half the student body. So here we offer some suggestions to spice up the usual Classics, Vegan, Kosher whatever you pile onto your plate.
Green Salad + Granola with Chocolate Chips, Dried Cranberries and Apricots
Even better: with grilled chicken
Make the usual green salad with whatever toppings (edamame, mushrooms blah blah blah), then add some granola with chocolate chips and use those lonely dried fruit near the bread table! For dressing, try honey mustard or simply olive oil. Grilled chicken will give you a mouthgasm with the fruits and chocolate, like the Mexican specialty Mole Poblano.
Beets with goat cheese/cottage cheese, assorted nuts and black pepper
Because you can totally create fancy appetizers at Usdan! Make this on a nice big plate topping the cheese carefully and saunter around to show off your bourgeois food coordinating skills. Always sprinkle some olive oil for a finishing touch.
Vanilla soft serve with peanut butter
The market place’s best kept secret. Dump as much peanut butter you think you can handle and cover it up with some soft serve. MIX it up like you’re making some dough. Perfect for any night you’re sick of blondies and brownies.
Grilled Cheese Minestrone DIP
Get grilled cheese, cut it into lovely morsels and DIP ‘em into minestrone! For perfect sogginess, dip only half of the grilled cheese so you get the mush and crunch in one bite. Mmmm.
Bland Vegan Dishes + Mongolian Grill Sauce
Even as a total vegan section devotee, I admit that they have their share of hits and misses. Especially when it comes to dishes dealing with tofu. So when it’s like 98% good but just missing that extra oomph, seek help at the Mongolian Grill Sauce section! Any of those pineapple teriyaki sauce or sesame sauce or whatever else that they consider ethnically Asian should kink things up.
Garlic Bread + Peanut Butter
Think it’s gross? Doesn’t make any sense? Only way to find out is to try it!!! Do not underestimate the power of peanut butter.
Toast with Cream Cheese and Jam
Cream cheese with strawberry or blueberry jam is absolute bliss. If you’re feeling scared, fear not! You are in control of the jam intensity levels on your toast and can very well try it with just a dab. But with one bite you’ll want to slather it on. The key here is to toast the bread for a satisfyingly crispy chomp.
Pancakes with Ketchup
You know how you shower pancakes with maple syrup and cake it with whip cream and get sooo excited to eat it only to get bored with the saccharine overload? That’s why you try pancakes (without maple syrup) with ketchup! Sweet and salty, that’s how we roll.
Froyo + Waffle Toppings
Make your own pinkberry for weekend Brunches by using those waffle toppings with your froyo! Add some granola for extra texture and kicks.
by Hibiki Mizuno and Alexis Moh