Peirce Creations: PB&J Bowl
Food was a huge concern for me coming into Kenyon. I grew up with the privilege of having a chef for a mother (shoutout to my Mom!), so moving out to Ohio meant kissing goodbye the delicious leftovers from her classes.
Peirce (Kenyon’s only dining hall) was a happy revelation. It’s situated in a way where one can easily mix and match different dishes to create wholly unique plates. In my five semesters here, I like to think that I’ve come into my own as a Peirce creator. I’ve made some stuff that I think even my mom would be proud of. I’ll recount many of them in time, but let’s begin with the most important meal of the day.
Breakfast is crucial every day, but especially on weekdays. It is immensely more difficult to focus on Rousseau or Hobbes at 9:00 a.m. on an empty stomach, so I rely on the quick, rib-sticking nourishment of my peanut butter and jelly bowls. Here’s how it’s done:
Step 1: Start with Amish oatmeal.
Step 2: Add peanut butter (I prefer chunky) and local jam from the Yoder Family Farm.
Step 3: Add Cheerios and local puffed wheat cereal from the Nisley Family Farm.
Optional Step 4: Cut up a banana (none in today, but that’s to be expected in December).
In the end, you get something that looks like this:
Does it look like dog food? Yeah, probably. But in two minutes you’ve made a tasty breakfast that will satisfy you for hours.
Some people refer to their food concoctions in Peirce as “hacks.” I am not a fan of this term. “Hack” implies that we are somehow breaking Peirce to use it our way, when the reality is that Peirce gives us everything we need to make our creations. We are simply combining that which they have provided.