Now, ladies and gentleman, is the time to start an experiment. Far be it from me to suggest that the nutritional needs and/or wants of ours aren’t met here on campus, but if a little doubt lingers in your mind, perhaps it is time to supplement with a little bit of dorm cooking. This series, Mastering the Art of [Dorm] Cooking, will be a collaboration between you guys, the readers, and me. Think of it as a “Dear Abbie” column, at least, so far as food preparation is concerned. The vision is to figure out cost effective, easy ways to produce quality food that can be created either within the individual dorm rooms or in one of the several kitchens made available to us on campus. We would love to work with you all and learn the tricks of the trade that you have, no doubt, picked up while on campus. Professors, this means you guys too. If you would like to share some of your favorite recipes and work with the Blue Stocking staff do not shy away, but rather, contact us. If anyone, professors or students,  have any recipes you would enjoy sharing, please share your comments at the bottom and we will take a look at it!

Along this line of thought it is difficult to sidestep the overwhelming influence of Pinterest. Singlehandedly, Pinterest has the uncanny ability to inspire us with the subdued yet potent zeal of homemaker Martha Stewart while also pointing out our inner lethargy. Many times I feel that Pinterest users confront themselves with the “Sure, that recipe looks incredible, but does that mean I’m actually going to make it?” thought. As was mentioned earlier, this project will be week after week of trying out recipes so what better way than to kick this project off with a recipe found and made by sophomore, Lee-Ann Plott? It is time to show Pinterest, what’s what and that yes, we actually will act on what is pinned.

This week was dedicated to making Strawberry Bars, a recipe that only involves three ingredients. Following is the recipe courtesy of Ms. Plott and Pinterest.

Ingredients:

1 box of Strawberry cake mix

1/3 cup oil

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake for 14 minutes or until the edges start to pull from the sides of the pan.

Really, people, it is that simple. And for such simplicity this is a recipe that pleases both the whimsies of the most ravenous sweet tooth and the thriftiness of the most sensible wallet. Better than all of these factors is the reality that at the end of this process comes a sense of accomplishment. The end product of strawberry bars, if this week was any indication, will be devoured before a movie with friends flashes the inevitable “The End” screen.

As was mentioned earlier, shoot us an e-mail with your thoughts on this project. Tell us your favorite foods, make suggestions, ask questions, voice concerns and/or opinions on health, ultimately, we thirst for a challenge. Invites us to learn about you and your thoughts on food while we share and create something new whether it be for the better or for the worse. We want to meet our readers and exchange ideas in the name of fun and fellowship. Honestly, who doesn’t enjoy sharing food and meeting new people?  Please share all comments and recipes in the comment section at the bottom. Thank you, Ms. Plott for the decadent Strawberry Bars!