Oregon
Daily
Emerald
February
11, 1994
Volume 95
Issue 96
Romantic
restaurants
and
candlelit
dinners
don't
come
cheaply
Stcwy by
Meg Dedolph
Photos by
Michael Shmdler
Oregon CMy Inter SO
On .i college student's
budget, elegant restau
rants, where the food
doesn't < nine wrapped in
paper, < an lie about as
attainable as a weekend in
Tahiti
The obvious answer
i.ook it yourself
If a student can throw
together a box of macaroni
and cheese, or make
I hot date cake from a
mix. than a Valentine's
l)<n dinner of pasta pri
tnavera. bread, green salad
and homemade brownies
isn't that much harder
Th« ingredients lor the
dinner in this article cost
about $Jr), which isn't
much cheaper than a
romantic night out. but
there's something spei ml
about taking the time to
cook something for a
loved one.
PASTA PRIMAVERA
• 1 red hell pepper
• 1 carrot
• 1 yellow summer
squash
You should find these
next to the zucchini If
you ( an t line] on<\ suhsli
tute .i /ui t him, which is
dark green In either i ase.
the squash should lie
about seven or eight inch
es long
■ lb snow peas
These are usualh found
near the tofu and other
stir-frv ingredients Pic k
through the bin and make
sure you get ones that are
all about the same size II
you can’t get them fresh,
they come frozen
• 2 green onions
• ti large plum tomatoes
(Mum tomatoes, also
called Italian or Roma
tomatoes, are more oval
than salad tomatoes Look
for a good red color with
no yellow or green pate li
es and no bruises or blue k
spots
• lb ret tut t me
Kettuccine noodles are
sold by the ounce, so look
for an eight- or nine-ounce
package You can find
these noodles in the dried
pasta aisle or sold fresh in
the refrigerated section.
Turn to COOKING. Page 11B
A Val
entine
dinner ol
pasta prt
mavera,
bread,
green salad
and home
made
brownies Is
as easy as
throwing
together a
box ot maca
roni and
cheese, and
as cheap.
You'll learn a lot about human behavior at Denny's
Mvrii sMh \SI)
nee in a restaurant in
Norway. I overheard a
conversation between
two Old men who were dis
cussing which was better sen or
food They had two lifetimes of
experience to |udge from, yet
they couldn't make up their
minds
But one of them was certain
that nothing, not even his most
voluptuous adventures in the
bed, could surpass a delectable
plate of oysters that his wife had
served him on a midsummer's
night
But then again," he hastened
to add. "I'm only eighty-three,
and there's a lot I haven't experi
enced in the other department
yet '•
Odd. but I've never heard any
similar discussions in the United
States And believe me, I've lis
tened in on a lot of private con
versations since I came here
For anyone who hasn't been to a
Denny's and listened to what the
guests on the other side of the
booth talk about, it's a recom
mended hobby If you've got a
good set of ears and a curiosity
larger than your conscience,
you'll learn a lot about human
beings and their unhappy lots
Of course, a Denny's restau
rant might not provide the kind of
atmosphere that would inspire a
comparison between gastronom
ic and erotic pleasures If the
choice between Denny's original
chicken fried steak and a night
with your loved one would cause
you to hesitate. I'd feel com
pellad to ask when you had your
most recent meal.
The juxtaposition of love and
food might puz/le you. but I can
assure you that those two bodily
pleasures are closely related In
Europe, I've been to restaurants
where they served food so heav
enly that the guests produced
sounds and expressed the kind
ol facial distortions you'd only
expect to see when people have
an orgasm.
A woman (riend ol mine once
told me that a well prepared let
tuccme allredo could actually bring
her to her sexual climax, provided
that she ate the meal naked and
IVnt LOVE. Page 9B