#modern commentary

A collaborative feature story on comfort foods written for Flux Magazine

How do college students find solace during the most stressful years of their lives? Some turn to meals that remind them of home and simpler times.

College, while it may be some of the best years of someone’s life, can also be the most stressful. Different students find different ways to feel closer to home and find peace. Ivan Moncure, Zoe Brown and Kaitlyn Wood are three University of Oregon students who have different meals that they turn to when feeling overwhelmed or upset. Their stories (and favorite meals) are all different — though not as different as you might think.

IVAN MONCURE KEEPS THINGS BASIC

Excerpt written by CHLOE STRICKLAND

Hailing from Long Beach, California, Ivan Moncure comes from a foodie family that has taught him how to cook many hearty meals. When cooking his comfort food, Moncure likes to keep things simple.

Moncure’s comfort food consists only of Italian sausage, russet potatoes and sweet onion topped with salt and pepper. “[The meal] is a classic staple,” Moncure said. “It’s really cheap, nutritious, warm, savory and spicy.”

The ingredients are chopped up in bite-sized chunks and put in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours. The spices and grease from the sausage crisp the potatoes and onions and spread flavor throughout.

Moncure says this dish is his comfort food because it’s something simple that he doesn’t have to put much thought into. Because of the basic recipe, the dish can be curated to last a long time, leaving Moncure to focus on his responsibilities without worrying about what he’s going to have for dinner.

“When I’m stressed out by life, and I want to get my life organized, I can make this and I won’t have to cook again for a week or two,” Moncure said. “And when I’m stressed, I find I crave saltier, fried foods, and this kind of hits the ‘French fries’ kind of itch, but it’s not so awful for you.”

Moncure’s memories of this dish from back home aren’t so much of the cooking process, but the gathering of the ingredients. He recalls going to the deli shop near his house with his dad to pick up high-quality sausage. They would also get lunch from the deli and spend time talking in the parking lot.

Behold my newest custom pony. Too Much Coffee Man! Yes, I know I could have changed the logo to T M C P[ony] but TMCM is all about irony anyway.

 I actually got the idea looking at this poor bait pony I got for a song. The stance lends itself very well to some extra weight on the head without toppling over. And this is a burly pony compared to most. [TMCM is a bit overweight, it's part of his thing.]

 Also TMCM is mostly a black and white comic, there is only one tiny image where TMCM is seen without his mug. Most of the time it's part of his skull, in that case he just took it off like a hat. So the hair color was anyone's guess. But He's been seen without a shirt before and his body hair is thick and curly like Robin Williams. So I used a random reddish brown and a new technique for me.

 The boil curl. Literally, roll  the synthetic hair up in sponge or small curlers. Boil a pot of water and dip just the hair in for 3 seconds. Then quickly remove the curlers while it's still hot and allow them to dry.

 I made his mug out of poly-clay and cooked it separately before gluing it on his head. He still needs a clear coat, but it's easier to photograph my painted ponies before coating so the shine doesn't ruin the photos.