BY DANA REYNOLDS – STAFF WRITER
With tough schedules, practices, and limited time: meal planning and prep is a pain Cowan fortunately provides convenient and good food—food that, if used correctly, can be used to fulfill student-crafted recipes, providing variety to sometimes repetitive diets.
As a senior, Kirsten Larson has mastered the art of creating a cookie sundae. She explained the importance putting the cookie in the microwave for ten seconds in order to make sure that the chocolate melts before topping it with soft-serve vanilla ice cream.
“I get excited when I reach the cookie at the bottom of my bowl. Yum!” she said.
Sophomore Sarah Hayhurst is also a fan of making sundaes with Cowan’s soft serve ice cream.
“I get a to-go cup and put ice cream in it,” she said. “I then add M&M’s and whatever other toppings they have in the station that day. My favorite extra toppings are Butterfingers and Oreos.”
Sophomore Bradley Baker makes his own ice cream sandwiches.
“I use two peanut butter cookies and put soft serve ice cream in between,” he said. “Sometimes, I will mix it up and use regular ice cream.”
As a Centre alum, Assistant Swim Coach Colleen Maggard had a special recipe of her own she used during her swimming days.
“I used to take a bagel, put cream cheese on it, and then top it with lucky charms,” she said. “It was kind of like eating a doughnut. The cereal was similar to sprinkles.”
Although deserts seem to inspire a lot of innovation among Centre students while in Cowan, many students have championed creating salads with ingredients from all around the dining hall. First-year Mitchell Collins creates a new salad every day.
“I grab things from different food lines and put them into my salad,” he said. “I get chicken from the line and sometimes I use some of the toppings from Fire & Ice. My salads are a little bit of everything.”
Sophomore Cameron Beach also makes a salad of her own, using ingredients from the Fire and Ice line.
“I make a Mexican-style salad,” she said. “I get grilled chicken fromFire and Ice and then add spinach, black beans, corn, and salsa.”
Senior Morgan Robinson has also created a concoction of her own.
“I make my own breakfast sandwiches from combining things from various lines,” she said. “I use scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and cheddar cheese if it is available.”
Junior Kat Hartlage has created combo meals using the different food lines as well.
“I add tomato to my grilled cheese,” Hartlage said. “I also put beans and bacon bits into my cheese quesadillas, but it depends on the day. For dessert, I like to put peanut butter in Coco Puffs.”
Unlike many students who complain about the lack of variety at Cowan, Hartlage does not get upset about Cowan food.
“It could be better, but I am not usually mad about Cowan food,” she said. “I have learned to adjust my body.”
We all have different preferences and have come up with ideas to mix up our choices in Cowan. With its improvements in providing more options, Cowan has enabled students to create recipes of their own.