Classes start in one week! Some students have been back on Butler’s campus for a while now for Greek recruitment. I, however, have been savoring the last days of winter break with my family. This requires a lot of sleeping. And reading, knitting, Skyping, tea-drinking, and dinner-eating.

Risotto, anyone? I tried to make this dish with a friend back during Fall Break. Apparently, brown rice is not a good substitute for Arborio rice. My mom, however, has the recipe down to a science and demonstrated her skills when my godfamily came to visit. Let me tell you. We feasted. And then we played in our firepit on the patio in our backyard.

And we ate it all.

With luck and a bit of bookish help, I will no longer make errors like my Fall Break, ill-conceived rice swap. My parents gave me a great book at Christmas called Recipe Substitutions. As one might expect, it contains ingredients and lists of possible substitutions. I immediately noted that brown rice is not listed under arborio rice. That would explain my al dente risotto.

Anyway, if you are the friend, family member, or frequent victim of a new college cook, a book like this is one good gift you might try. I rarely have all the correct ingredients. I rarely have immediate access to a grocery store to rectify the error, not having a car. I also rarely have the good sense to decide whether an ingredient may be swapped for another or not.