Intermission: University Housing

Disclaimer: this post is not about food, so feel free to ignore it.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to apologize for the recent lack of posts. Truth be told, I had planned on cooking a lot this spring break, but due to renovation in my kitchen by the university housing administrators (something to do with replacing the pipes), I've been unable to.

For all its upsides, the biggest downside to NYC is the price level. Housing here is notoriously expensive. As a result, university housing is in extremely high demand---they are, after all, relatively cheap and in an excellent location. That said, the exact accommodations vary quite a bit, depending on building. The newer ones are nice, the older ones are, well, run-down.

While I am grateful that I was assigned housing (international students and doctorate students get preference, and I'm both so it probably helped), I cannot shake the frustration that services I've taken for granted while staying elsewhere are completely ignored here. Am I out of line to demand that, after a building hires contractors to do whatever work, they should be required to clean up after themselves? I can understand the need to replace the pipes in my kitchen. What I cannot understand is why, even after the work is supposedly "done", almost every square inch of my kitchen is covered in dirt (from the workers stepping on furniture, the stove, etc.) and plaster dust.

Complaints are often ignored. After all, if you don't like it, you can find another place, right?

Sometimes I really hate being a hobo student. I miss the house I stayed in last summer in Mountain View, CA.

Sorry for the rant.

Pasta With Garlic, Anchovies and Tomatoes

Wow. It has been a really long time since I last posted. I guess first, I was really busy---too busy to cook anything special on my own. I've been making a lot of sandwiches, and dining out a fair bit. I quite enjoy New York-style pizza, but I'm sure it's slowly cutting down my life expectancy. (On that note, I hope to one day add dining out to this blog, but I'm not keen on whipping out my camera at restaurants).

Anyway, I'm currently on spring break, and although I have tons of work to do, I found some time to cook for myself and make a post. This is another dish I found on the New York Times, and is one of my favorites for its simplicity. Here is a link to the original recipe: http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/...

Finally, on to the food...

This is a really simple pasta with an anchovy-based sauce. It will require the following ingredients:

• Dried pasta (I usually use bowties).
• Parsley (say, half a bunch).
• Anchovies (a whole small jar).
• Olive oil (a fair bit, 6 teaspoons? It's healthy oil :).
• Garlic (a lot---a whole head, if not more).
• Grape tomatoes (a carton).

Now I realize these measurements are just shy of completely useless. However, the good news is, you can basically change all the quantities according to taste. Since anchovies are the highlight of this sauce, I wouldn't recommend skimping on that. And for tomatoes, you can use cherry tomatoes or regular tomatoes, although using regular tomatoes results in more liquid.


First, peel, clean and dry the garlic. They are to be toasted in olive oil in a pan. The key word is toast, so use a low heat, and slowly cook the garlic. There should be little bubbles, but no real spatter. This is another reason I like this recipe---it's relatively clean. Cook the garlic until they're slightly brown. You'll discover that toasting the garlic accordingly gets rid of all the spiciness, so it's possible to eat these garlic cloves whole!


Next, put the anchovies into the pan and allow them to dissolve by stirring them alongside the garlic. When they have turned into paste, halve the grape tomatoes, and throw them into the pan. Allow the mix to cook until the tomatoes have turned soft, and there is some liquid. Finally, chop the parsley and add it to the pan.


The resulting sauce can be served on top of the pasta. I usually drain the bowties and mix it in the pan before serving.