We are officially in the holiday season and that means the ovens are turned up high and mixing bowls have been dusted off to be put to good use. My housemate seems to always have a surplus of bananas in the house and has found banana bread to be the best way to use up that supply. This recipe is gluten free. It has all the spices that will make your house smell like the winter season. Feel free to go light on the cinnamon or nutmeg if they aren’t...

The holidays are upon us. We’ve just devoured our turkey—or Tofurky,—and now it’s time to prepare for the final holidays of the year. The traditions we’ve created with food may not be set in stone, but they have been repeated for generations, with secret recipes passed down to family members each year. What may not be a tradition in most families, though, are the drinks enjoyed alongside the time-honored family meals. The beverages can be enjoyed as presented, or the alcohol can be omitted (or in some cases added) to...

Just around the corner from campus, nestled in between Fleetstreet Runners and one of the few remaining video rental shops, is a small wine bar and restaurant. Pour at Four offers an extensive wine list and multiple small plates and entrée items. Even mid-week, the small restaurant was busy with large dining groups at four or five tables. A few appetizers featured on their menu include pommes frites (french fries)($7); Mediterranean Flatbread Pizza ($8) topped with pesto, red onions, mushrooms, peppadews, artichokes and feta cheese; baked Brie en Croute ($8)...

Looking for some good sushi, but don’t want to pay the high prices for your favorite roll? This is a problem we continually face as college students; our lack of jobs can pose a problem when we want to be adventurous in our dining activities. Pizza and burgers are great, but sometimes you have a hankering for something different to satisfy your taste buds. The solution I pose for you today is homemade sushi. Homemade sushi is much easier than you would believe and can be turned into a dinnertime...

Get out your jackets and boots and start heading down to the pumpkin patch to pick out your pumpkins! This is your last chance to buy a pumpkin or visit a corn maze or haunted maze in the year 2012. Pierce County has several pumpkin patches that offer pumpkin picking, mazes and even pumpkin sling shots. Double R Farms is located in Puyallup and is open seven days a week. The farm sells pumpkins for 29 cents per pound. They are open seven days a week, weekdays 3-6 p.m. and...

Midterms: you survived all the papers and exams, but just barely. It’s only just the beginning of the year, but you must already be burned out on your favorite study spots. The library is great, until it suddenly becomes too quiet—or too loud. Yeah, you two can discuss the need to wear makeup to look alive, but not in the Learning Commons for two hours. Diversions and Oppenheimer are fine places to study, but can be entirely too social as you write up a lab report. This leaves studying to...

It’s the end of the year-- what better way to celebrate than with cake? But when you just want a slice of celebratory cake after having finished your final paper, you probably don’t want to go to the trouble of baking a whole cake, especially if you aren’t celebrating with a huge party. Well, look no further for a single-serving recipe, because this is about to make your cake-eating life exceedingly easier. This recipe is a single-serving cake in a mug and only requires a few ingredients that everyone should...

    Want to try something fresh? How do $2.75 happy hour drinks sound or $7 specialty Martinis or drink? No need to fill your gas tank to get to this little gem, just lace up your kicks and head towards 6th and Alder. What place am I speaking of? Overtime Tacoma Bar and Grill. This sports bar is a diamond in the rough. After sitting down for only a few moments I felt transported into 27 Dresses; Katherine Heigel and James Marsden could have been dancing atop the bar....