Category: Arts and Culture

by Lucie Ruggiero

The holiday baking season has begun! Winter is my absolute favorite time of year. When December rolls around, it’s hard for a baking lover like myself to keep out of the kitchen long. Holiday recipes hold a warm place in my heart, so I decided to share three of my favorites with you. 

St. Lucia Buns

Saint Lucia Day is a Swedish holiday that takes place more towards the beginning of the holiday season on December 13, which gives you a reason to start baking early.

My family and I have celebrated Saint Lucia Day since I was five. What with wearing candles on your head and baking yummy treats, plus the bonus of my name in the title, it’s almost like getting a second birthday!

Making Saint Lucia buns is one of my favorite holiday traditions. Saint Lucia Buns or saffron buns have a bit of an unusual flavor. The saffron gives it a unique kind of sweetness that’s hard to describe. Sweet, yeasty, and golden, with a smooth, egg-washed shell and a soft, bready center, they taste and smell like happiness.

Baking Tip: You do not need to make the buns as big as you think, they grow, a lot! Aim for the amount the recipe says you should have, and they’re probably the right size.

The recipe: St. Lucia Buns – NYT Cooking 

Best Ever Gluten-Free Spritz Cookies

Buttery, bite-sized spritz cookies are hard to stop eating. Add in their fun shapes and ability to suit any holiday, and they are pretty much the perfect holiday cookie. These are one of my mom’s favorite kind of cookies, which is why finding a great gluten-free recipe was important. This recipe lives up to its name. Making your own gluten-free flour blend is not necessary for this recipe, just use your favorite brand. I have found the gluten-free flour from Trader Joe’s to work well. For this recipe, you will need a spritz cookie press.

Baking Tip: It takes a few tries to get in the spritz squirting zone. If refrigerated too long, the cookie dough won’t move through the press. If not cold enough, the cookies won’t hold their shape. Find a balance that works. If the dough gets too soft, stick it back in the fridge for a bit. Any failed attempts can be put right back through the press.

The recipe: Best Ever Spritz Cookies (Gluten-Free Recipe) – Land O Lakes 

Molasses Cookies Moldow 

This is probably my favorite holiday recipe. Maybe it’s because I discovered the recipe on my own, or maybe it’s because I adore molasses cookies. Whatever the reason, these cookies are amazing. Chewy, sugar-dusted pillows of molasses spice perfection. 

Baking Tip: When they come out of the oven, they will be very soft. You will probably think they are not cooked all the way. Never fear! They firm up considerably as they cool. I have made the mistake of baking them too long many times, so if a soft cookie is what you crave, it is best to wait.

The recipe: This recipe is not available online. It is in the Joy of Cooking and can be found on page 770 (in the 75th Anniversary Edition of the Joy of Cooking).

For molasses cookie lovers who have sourdough starter coming out of their ears, I recently baked this recipe with my sister. It’s a milder tasting molasses cookie than the Moldow recipe. Cakey, pillowy, and oh so soft, this may be my new favorite way to use up my sourdough discard. 

The recipe: Soft Sourdough Molasses Cookies – Homemade Food Junkie 

Baking together is such a joyful tradition. I hope you and your family enjoy these recipes as much as I do. Happy holidays!

By Olivia Brazier

It’s easy to be dismissive of “TikTok songs.” With the strange dances that go along with them and their seemingly undeserved popularity, it’s rather enjoyable to say “Ugh, this song,” when they play on the radio. But should we really be so exasperated by them? Or are they a legitimate part of this generation’s youth culture?

I too can be annoyed by TikTok songs, but this summer I just couldn’t get one of them out of my head. It was ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa. The song is calming but upbeat, perfect for relaxing in hot weather. I memorized the lyrics and put it on all my Spotify playlists. Imagine my surprise when my uncle played The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and I heard a familiar refrain.

I love you, baby

And if its quite alright

I need you, baby

To warm these lonely nights…

In 1967, Frankie Valli needed a new song. He and his band, the Four Seasons, had written hits before, but they wanted something that could give Valli a distinct identity and get him noticed. His collaborators, Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe wrote the song Can’t Take My Eyes off of You, hoping that it was the hit they needed. They were not disappointed. The song made it to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Along with two Grammy nominations, the song was covered by dozens of artists, many of whom also made it onto the Billboard charts. In 1969, pop and jazz singer Nancy Wilson’s version reached No. 52. It’s been medlied with U2 by the EDM group Pet Shop Boys; turned into disco by Maureen McGovern; rocked to by Muse. And of course, there’s the Lauryn Hill version that I was so surprised to hear. It has been covered in almost every genre by countless artists. So when looked at in context, the fact that a version was recorded in the chill, hip-hop influenced style that is currently popular is really not that remarkable.

What is remarkable is how ily has found fame. The dreamy song was discovered by teens on TikTok and gained popularity in the background of their videos. After a quick name change to make it more searchable, the song took off. It made it into Spotify’s top 50 songs worldwide, then crossed over onto Billboard’s charts, where it eventually reached No. 23.

This illustrates perfectly why TikTok songs should be taken more seriously. Although they’re easy to laugh at when paired with the strange and silly videos on TikTok, it would be foolish to ignore their effect. TikTok has the power to rocket songs into stardom, turning them from gimmicks into real hits. 

The fact that this song, which has been covered by so many artists over the last 60 years, was most recently covered on TikTok, shows that TikTok is not just for funny videos anymore. It has become part of youth culture. And, just as the niche songs of previous generations of teens were taken seriously because of their influence on mainstream pop, so must these new songs be taken seriously. Though they do not always take themselves seriously, though the teens which popularize them do so on a strange and foreign form of social media, though only around 20 seconds of the song will be recognizable due to the length of a TikTok, we must take them seriously. Because in 20 years, they will be among the most famous songs of this decade.

By Olivia Brazier

When it gets cold in October, I start anticipating all of my favorite autumn traditions. I love carving pumpkins, baking, and making Halloween costumes. My family’s most recently added tradition is to watch the Cartoon Network miniseries Over the Garden Wall. When the series came out in 2014, it was widely acclaimed, even winning two Grammy awards. Although it only aired on Cartoon Network once, it has amassed a cult following of dedicated fans. Since becoming available on major streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and HBO Max, the series has been more widely watched than ever before. With the show’s beautiful animation, whimsical setting, and campfire scares, it’s the perfect show to watch under a blanket with a mug of hot cider.

Over the Garden Wall is one of a kind. While its teen protagonist and absurd humor are similar to Gravity Falls, its tone and style are unique. The series follows brothers Wirt and Greg, who are lost in a mysterious fall forest called the Unknown. It’s the setup for so many classic fairytales, and it gives the story a dreamlike quality, as if we’ve heard it before. Over the Garden Wall is also scary in a unique way. While most episodes are ridiculous and fun, the occasional scary scenes are reminiscent of childhood fears and campfire stories. The Unknown is pretty in its autumn colors, but as the series progresses and winter sets in it feels more menacing. 

The art of Over the Garden Wall is unique, too– or at least it’s unique to current entertainment. Emily VanDerWerff of the Vulture describes the style as “if Ichabod and Mr. Toad were made by Ghibli instead of Disney.” The creators drew inspiration from victorian postcards, folk art, and children’s book illustrations, as well as some of America’s first films. Episode 3 reminds me of a Charly Chaplin movie, and the Highway Man’s dance in Episode 4 is meant to mimic the look of old rotoscoped films. It’s vintage jazz and folk soundtrack, recorded by the Blasting Company, makes the setting perfect for a November binge watch (which will take under two hours since the episodes are so short).

The story of the series plays out like one of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tales, which makes sense since his stories inspired many of the episodes. The brothers travel through the Unknown, encountering many strange and magical people, like their talking bluebird friend Beatrice and the mysterious Woodsman. As they continue their journey they attract the attention of the Beast, a deep-voiced antlered creature who always stands in shadow. Each episode has a different cast of side characters and a different setting. Occasionally the episode will open in a new place with characters we’ve never met, leaving us to figure out how our characters got there.

The emotional conflicts of the story will resonate with teens and pre-teens, who will see themselves reflected in Wirt. His journey to becoming a better older brother to Greg is the emotional core of the series, becoming more important as the story progresses and the stakes get higher. Wirt also struggles with feeling confident and finding people who understand his niche interests. He often improvises poetry to describe his feelings, then gets embarrassed and apologizes. Over the course of his journey, he learns to have confidence and embrace his artistic nature.

Spoiler alert! Past this point, I discuss major spoilers for the show. I suggest you skip to the last paragraph if you want to go in without knowing what happens.

One of the most enjoyable parts of watching the show is obsessing over its minute details after you finish. Well-read fans have analyzed every episode of this show, finding the artistic influences for every frame and comparing it to classic works of literature. As we find out in a late series twist, Wirt and Greg are modern kids who fell into a frozen river on Halloween night, which explains their odd attire. The whole time they’ve been in the Unknown they have also been drowning, symbolized by the Unknown freezing. Based on this twist and the other episodes of the show, dedicated fans have theorized that the show is a retelling of Dante’s Inferno, with each episode corresponding to one of the circles of hell. As a project, homeschoolers could read Dante’s Inferno and then watch Over the Garden Wall and compare the two. More artistically inclined kids could study the influences for the character’s costumes, and kids who love fairy tales could compare the story to that of their favorite fairy tale.

For fall entertainment, nothing beats Over the Garden Wall. It’s immersive and mysterious, spooky in a familiar way. For kids, it will be a silly adventure that reminds them of their favorite fairy tales. For teens, it will take them back to their childhoods, while helping them gain confidence. And for adults, it will be a fantastic story that they will want to watch every fall, for themselves and their kids. I can’t wait till next fall when I get to rewatch this amazing miniseries and notice something new.