‘Tis the season for the holidays … and finals for the Bearcats! Meals are an important part of staying healthy during these hectic weeks, but it can be difficult to figure out where to get which items and what to prepare. Amid busy schedules and breaks, what are students cooking up? For those staying at home over the holidays, those just starting off living on their own, or those who want some easy recipe ideas, here is some inspiration for you!
Francesa Finch (’26) is a big fan of WinCo because “they are open 24 hours and it's so cheap!” Some essential items on Finch’s grocery list are eggs, cream cheese, bagels, vegetarian or vegan sausage and frozen blueberries. Alternatively, Shouvik Ahmed (’26) goes to El Torito Meat Market for meat and brings some must-have spices such as coriander, cumin, garlic and garam masala from back home in Bangladesh.
A Salem local, Juliana Ha (’25), likes to go to Wing Wa Oriental Market and Fred Myers for her groceries. Ha likes to have Hawaiian Sweet Rolls and other kinds of ready-made bread when she wants to save time. In Eugene, Oregon, where English professor Janet Cho lives, she goes to Whole Foods for vegetables, Costco for bulk packages to help get through the week, and Sunrise Market for Asian ingredients. Even when she has nothing to buy, Cho explained she goes to Trader Joe’s because she “feels at home there and it gives [her] this peace of mind.”
However, Ruby Holland (’25) claims that no other store can beat Grocery Outlet because of its cheaper prices and interesting seasonal foods. Holland’s weekly routine is to take “2 cups of dry rice, cook that up, then scoop the rice into 1-cup portions and wrap them up and freeze them.” Whenever she needs them in the week, all she needs to do is take one of the frozen portions of rice, microwave it for two minutes, and “it's good as fresh!” She likes to make onigiri or rice balls with the cooked rice.
Other go-to meals include Lydia Hoffner’s (’27) tacos, which she likes to prepare because she can make them exactly how she likes them. When Cat Thomas (’26) cooks for herself, she “usually goes for something that has minimal ingredients and that is a comfort food. For [her], that would be mac and cheese.”
When saving time, professor Cho likes to make different kinds of soups from a variety of vegetables, such as pumpkin, carrot and asparagus. She explained, “As a Korean, my go-to dishes are Korean, but when I invite someone over, I like to add a bit of flair to my own cooking. I like to use ingredients and spices that are not native to Korean cuisine.” This Thanksgiving break, she is making Tom Yum soup — a type of Thai hot and sour soup — for her guests.
Whether from online recipes or family traditions, Bearcats are finding creative and diverse dishes to cook during the holiday season. When baking, Holland’s go-to is Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe website. Although the steps are more complicated, she likes to make the yule log cake from the website.
Other Bearcats lean into cultural traditions, with Thomas enjoying her family’s tradition of making Swedish coffee cake, which is a type of bread eaten with a cup of coffee. It is special for Thomas because “it's a traditional Swedish recipe that my family still passes down. The smell reminds me of the holidays.”
Marylander Mitch Septoff (’26) likes to eat his grandma’s matzo ball soup, a traditional Jewish dish, and traveling out of European tradition and into Southeast Asia, Ahmed enjoys his family’s pitha during the holidays, which is a type of food common in Bangladesh and India usually made from steamed, fried or griddled batter or dough.
From the best grocery store to go-to recipes, the students of Willamette have a lot of passion when it comes to food. Cooking and eating connect friends and family together and are an important part of individual identity. This winter, try cooking something new!
Cat Thomas
Simple macaroni and cheese:
Mitch Septoff
Grandma’s matzo ball soup:
One pack of matzo, store-bought
Two eggs
Two tablespoons of neutral oil
Several medium-sized potatoes, carrots, and a bag of frozen peas
Potatoes
4 cups of chicken
Salt, pepper
secret ingredient? (he couldn’t remember the last ingredient)
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