As first-years, we are between the crossroads of an unlimited meal plan and the urge to illegally cook food in our dorms. One can only consume fried UCC food and barely escape food poisoning from Pierce so many times. Okay, Pierce has a really bad reputation, but I honestly don’t think it’s as bad as people think. Its main pro is its variety. But this isn’t a Pierce food review. I’m here to tell you about the weird food combinations/hacks I’ve discovered in my freshman year so far. I ask you to keep an open mind, and maybe consider trying some of these legit struggle meals.
My recent obsession has been with Shin Bone Broth Ramen, but not just straight up. I get crazy, and put peanut butter in it. This might sound rancid, but peanut butter noodles and sauces are very prevalent in Asian cooking. The nutty taste of the peanut butter blends perfectly with the umami of the bone broth and delicate spice of the seasoning packet. Then this leads to another life changing dorm room food discovery, using the leftover seasoning packet on popcorn. The freshly popped, buttery, warm popcorn, with the savory and spicy seasoning packet is just peak dorm snacks.
Another one of my hacks is spicing up dining hall food with your own spices. I am really into trader joe’s spice mixes, notably the cheesy seasoning, pizza seasoning, mushroom seasoning, and nutritional yeast. I put the cheesy seasoning and nutritional yeast on fries that need a little umph, green goddess on a bland salad, and mushroom seasoning on rice or potatoes that need some love. I’ve been trying to think of ways to avoid carrying the entire bottles with me, but have the variety for anything Pierce has on rotation that day. I just thought of this now and will probably start doing this soon, but one of those long pill bottles would be perfect for seven different seasonings. This is why I’m a business major.
Another one of my hacks is just going to CrEATe in general. It’s the best food on campus and I don’t care what anyone says. I get the same thing almost everyday. I’ll list my order in case you want to taste this masterpiece. I get ciabatta bread, mozzarella cheese, turkey, red onions, lettuce/mixed greens, tomatoes, and a side of sour cream and onion chips. Oh and of course toasted. I order a tea and ask for earl gray then go over to the tea station and put way too much sugar and ask for as much milk as I can get without the cup overflowing. It is just heavenly and the atmosphere of the cafe is so comforting. I will go out of my way to go to CrEATe even though I live in Davis and the UCC is next door. Solely because the ciabatta is so soft and nice, and the mozzarella is the fresh kind (not the slices), and it’s not fried.
I’ve been thinking about how I spend most of my money. Most of it goes to $8 overpriced boba drinks. So I bought some Okinawa milk tea drink packets and used the hot water and milk from pierce to make a milk tea. I don’t like the pearls all that much anyways and I save $8 each time.
Creativity is honestly the only way to survive eating the same rotation of things for eight months. Going from having delicious home cooked Asian food most of the time, to salted sand granules (the hard rice here) was a little jarring. But with my business major brain, I can cope for the rest of the semester until I have my own kitchen to cook.
