College of Agriculture Blog

Thursday, January 26, 2012

A Cheap Way to Eat!


When I came to college in 2009, I lived in the freshman dorms.  I quickly became acquainted with on-campus dining, and with my new best friend, “the Freshman Fifteen.” 

The next year, living in a condo with a kitchen and determined to lose the extra weight, I embarked on a journey, to learn to cook.

I am of the opinion that food should be enjoyed.  That would be easier if I was rich, but I am not.  Nevertheless, there is no excuse for eating macaroni and ramen noodles for every meal.  In fact, taking the time to make a meal is a lot cheaper than buying a meal packaged for convenience.

Now that I’m a newlywed, I’m learning even more about eating inexpensively.  I always thought paying $2.50 for a loaf of bread was cheap, until I started making my own bread for $.20 a loaf.  This has required a lot of experimentation, and I’m still not very good at it.  But if you’re ever wondering if you can forget to add salt, over knead the dough and forget to punch it down and still have edible bread, the answer is yes.  Weird bread, but edible.

You can also freeze pizza crust dough (accidentally), defrost it partially in a hot bath of water, and have edible pizza.  Pizza without a lot of meat on it is healthier and less expensive.  I don’t miss the meat, but my husband does.

If you buy a case of tomato sauce at Lee’s for $.54 a can, use it for everything.  Tomato paste, tomato juice, tomato soup- they’re all made of tomatoes for crying out loud!  Adapting recipes is tricky, but with some practice it becomes less intimidating.

I am by no means a chef, or even a “good” cook.  Two out of five of the meals I made this week were burned.  But burned parts can be scraped off.  Even if it takes a few tries, learning to cook your own food is an investment. You’ll not only save money, but you’ll learn skills you can use throughout your life, plus, I think it’s a lot of fun.  Hopefully you’ve learned from the tips I’ve gleaned in the past year or so.  Happy cooking! 

- Rachel Fry, Ag Ambassador 

Thursday, January 19, 2012

A FRESH Start to a New Semester!

Welcome back to a fresh, new semester!  Though some time spent out of school with family and friends was nice, it feels really good to start spring semester with renewed energy (no pun intended).  I've been really enjoying the variety of classes I have this semester and am really looking forward to all the new things I will learn in them.  The class that I'm probably looking forward to the most is Sociology of the Environment and Natural Resources; so far, it is amazing to learn how much the idea of "nature" is created by human culture and how strongly it influences how culture is formed.  I'll confess though, it's a close tie between that class, water aerobics and landscape construction (in which we are designing an outdoor classroom for landscape architecture students - we will also be building the classroom this fall!).  

Aside from school, life is wonderful!  Logan is beautiful in the winter, and now that we've finally gotten some snow, my friends and I have been trying to take full advantage of it.  We spent Sunday afternoon snowshoeing in Logan Canyon and soaking up the blue sky, snow and beautiful mountains surrounding us.  Our group rented snowshoes from the campus Outdoor Recreation Program (ORP) with the free $20 credit each student gets every semester (a free afternoon of snowshoeing - what could be better than that?).  There are no doubts that we will be going again soon!

Overall, it's been a great few weeks here in Logan.  While I don't want time to pass by too quickly, I'm looking forward to what this semester holds and the great experiences I'm going to have!  Until next time, GO AGGIES!!

- Whitney May, Ag Ambassador

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Free Money?


Did you hear?  They are handing out money!  All you have to do is put your name into the hat and give them about 1 hour worth of work!  That hour could be worth over $1000!

Obviously, this doesn’t sound very realistic; at least not where I come from.  These days money is getting tighter and it is harder to find jobs to make that money.  However, there really are people giving out money.  These people are here at Utah State University!  What I’m talking about is the scholarship selection committee at Utah State and even more specifically in the College of Agriculture.  I do not know of an easier way to earn money than filling out scholarship applications so I will talk a little more about the importance of them.

To begin, scholarship applications are due by February 1, 2012!  That is coming up very soon.  The first tip I have is get working on the scholarship applications right now!  Second, even though I said this is one of the easiest ways to earn money, it should not be taken lightly.  More people every year need and want scholarships.  If you slack and just throw together your application then you might be left wanting.  Take this seriously, answer the questions honestly and fill out as many scholarship applications as you qualify for. 

The scholarship application process in the College of Agriculture is unique because you answer questions about yourself and are then referred to possible scholarships available to you.  This is very helpful and makes it so you don’t have to fill out 100 different applications and write the same information on each.  Take advantage of this! 

Lastly, the College of Agriculture has the most scholarship money per student enrolled so you are much more likely to get a scholarship if you are in an agricultural major.  Most scholarships are awarded on need.  For those of you who don’t have the “need” don’t get down on yourself.  There are many scholarships based on merit as well.  So get on it!  Do not waste time!  The free money doesn’t last long and once it is gone, it’s gone.  If you have any trouble with filling out applications contact someone in the office of the College of Agriculture at (435) 797-2200 or go to www.ag.usu.edu.  Good luck!

Jimmy Lotspeich, Ag Ambassador