Author: Angelina

Sarah is a junior at UP. Like many of us, she recounts her first failed attempts at baking alone and tips to reduce cooking time.

Q: What is a core food memory for you?

S: The first time I attempted to make chocolate chip cookies I didn’t add enough flour. The cookies were just puddles of goo. My mom came home and told me that it was okay to mess up and to try again. She helped me make the next batch and always encourages me to try new recipes. 

What foods do you usually eat at home that you can’t get on campus? How are these important to you and/or the area you’re from?

S: Dutch letters, they are important to the area where I’m from as there is a large Dutch community in Iowa. They are important to me because they remind me of spring. 

Do you have a recipe OR cooking tip that you would mind sharing with us?

S: My tip is to limit the number of times you open the oven when cooking or baking. It’s tempting to open the oven and look at whatever it is but it slows down the cook time and with baked goods it can prevent a good rise. 

Kelly is a graduating senior at UP. Her answers are short and straight to the point. As many great chefs will tell you: keep it simple!

Q: What is a core food memory for you?

K: A core memory is eating steak when I was little because it was the only thing he knew how to cook and now I attribute it to him feeding me it as a little kid.

Emma is a freshman currently living on campus!

Q: What is a core food memory for you? 

E: When I was volunteering at a field I met a lot of immigrants from Mexico. I could speak some Spanish but not the other dialect they were using which was native to their area back in Mexico. I couldn’t communicate with them and felt like I shouldn’t be there. After working in the fields for a few hours, we went to the mobile home complex where they lived and there were dozens of watermelons on the tables. All of us were so excited to eat cold watermelon after the long hot day in the fields. We went absolutely ham on those melons. We played a lot of games like who could eat the most melon and who could eat the fastest. It was so funny to watch. After we ate a bunch of the field workers’ kids came up and wanted to play. They were so cute and so excited about the watermelon. We played with them until it got dark out. I don’t even like watermelon that much but I love the memories associated with it.

What foods do you usually eat at home that you can’t get on campus? How are these important to you and/or the area you’re from?

E: At home we make this absolutely STELLAR Spanish rice. I miss it at school because it helped me get through my eating disorder. It was a big comfort food for me, something reliable for days when it was challenging to eat.

Do you have a recipe or cooking tip that you would mind sharing with us?

We thank everyone who came out to support us and our fellow PRF working groups of College After COVID and LoosenUP!

This event was the culmination of extensive work throughout the ’21-’22 school year, and we were beyond ecstatic (and nervous!) to share it with everyone.

We can only hope that the coming years bring even more wonderful work from students as they forge new projects and paths or continue the work that we have started this year.

We hope that you will continue to support Public Research Fellows in the future and celebrate the work of UP students.

Please also check out the work of the two other PRF groups this year!

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Morgan is a current sophomore living on UP’s campus!

Q: What is a core food memory for you? 

M: Food helped me connect to my mom, we would cook breakfast for our family every weekend.

What foods do you usually eat at home that you can’t get on campus? How are these important to you and/or the area you’re from?Answer (you get the point)

M: My mom cooks a wide variety of foods and some of my favorite recipes are veggie lasagna and ratatouille which are both made with home grown veggies. However my all time favorite meal is scallop linguine COVERED in capers.

Do you have a recipe or cooking tip that you would mind sharing with us?

M: When making eggs never use a wooden spoon! use a silicone spatula instead.