By Ethan Haque

The festive month of December is a time of year where the taste of the season is implemented into the food giving it a warm and familiar flavor that is reminiscent of the holidays.

The holiday season is considered to be one of the happiest times of the year. The food that we make is no exception to this rule with strong and developed flavors that will rock your taste buds.

Some of the most seasonal ingredients include but are not limited to peppermint, cinnamon, cranberries, pumpkin, and nutmeg.

The fall and winter season are able to use these flavors in some traditional dishes such as pumpkin pie, eggnog, and beef wellington made from scratch. There is fun in cooking your own delicious morsels. They are able to bring a smile to anyone who has the delight of consuming one as long as you do not stray too far from the recipes provided. They should turn decent upon your first time baking theme.

The first recipe is going to be pumpkin pie. The ingredients that will be needed to produce this delight are as follows one (15oz) can of pumpkin, one(14oz) can of Eagle Brand Sweetened condensed milk, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon,1⁄2 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1⁄2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt, and 1(9in) unbaked pie crust.

Take all the ingredients and whisk them together all at once and then whisk until stiff peaks form or a fluffy consistency is achieved. Pour the batter into the pie crust and bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Then reduce to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to cook for about 35 to 45 minutes. Serve with any toppings that you find to be of interest. you’ve made a delicious pumpkin pie that was not to difficult to put together.

Now to wash down that delish pie, some festive eggnog. Eggnog does contain raw eggs but is slightly heated to kill off any salmonella within the drink. This recipe will make about eight to ten glasses of eggnog. You will need 6 large eggs, 2 egg yolks, 1⁄2 cup of sugar (add more if wanted), 1⁄4 teaspoon of salt, 4 cups of whole milk, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1⁄2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, and 1⁄4 cup of heavy cream. Finally, garnish with a little extra nutmeg to enhance the overall flavor.

Combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-or 4-quart pan, whisking until well-combined. Continuously add in the milk while stirring. Continue to whisk until the milk is fully incorporated. Turn on the stove to the lowest possible setting. Place the pan with the mixture onto the burner and continuously whisk the mixture. It should thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon over 45 to 60 minutes for this to occur.

Strain the mixture to remove any unwanted impurities. Add the vanilla extract and the nutmeg into the mixture and stir in thoroughly. Place in a glass pitcher or decanter to chill in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours before serving.

When ready to serve the drink pour the heavy cream into a large bowl and whisk vigorously until achieving soft peaks. Then fold the custard mixture with the whipped cream.

Now, you’re ready to serve in a chilled glass that is garnished with extra nutmeg after pouring the drink into the cold glass.

If you don’t like sweets so much and are craving a delicious feast then beef wellington will be the perfect dish to cook. Its essential a piece of meat that is wrapped in multiple layers ending with puff pastry to top it off.

This recipe will feed about four people and is extremely decadent. You will need an 800g piece of beef filet of even thickness(from the center cut; think the shape of a log), 2tbsp of olive oil, English mustard, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, 700g of chestnut mushrooms, a handful of cooked chestnuts( about 10 to 12), 1 garlic clove peeled and chopped, 2 thyme sprigs(leaves only), 8 slices of Parma ham, 500g of ready-made puff pastry, and 2 egg yolks lightly beaten with 1 tbsp of water.

To start season your meat thoroughly with salt and pepper to your liking. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat, add the fillet and quickly sear the outside all over for about 5 minutes until evenly browned, turning as necessary. Transfer to a plate and while still hot, brush all over with mustard. Set aside to rest.

Now we move onto making our duxelles, put the mushrooms, chestnuts, and garlic in a food processor with a little salt and pepper and blend to a fine paste, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times. Heat a dry large frying pan. Scrape the mushroom paste into the pan and add the thyme leaves. Cook over a high heat, stirring occasionally, to drive off the moisture and intensify the flavor. The duxelles must be sufficiently dry otherwise it will make the pastry soggy; the mixture should adhere easily. Spread out on a tray to cool for a few minutes.

Place a large piece of cling film on a clean surface. Lay the Parma ham slices on top, overlapping them slightly, to form a rough rectangle large enough to envelop the beef fillet, making sure there are no gaps. Season the ham with a few twists of pepper but no salt because it has naturally high salt content, with a palette knife, spread the duxelles on top, leaving a 2.5cm margin along the edges. Lay the beef fillet along the middle of the mushroom duxelle. Keeping a tight hold of the cling film from the outside edges, neatly roll the Parma ham and duxelles over the beef into a tight barrel shape. Twist the ends of the cling film to secure. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a large rectangle, brush with some of the egg wash. Unwrap the beef from the cling film and place it in the middle. Leaving a large enough rectangle to wrap around the beef, trim off the excess pastry. Roll the pastry around the beef to envelop it and then press the edges to seal. Pinch the pastry at the ends to seal and trim off the excess. Wrap the log tightly in cling film and chill for 10 minutes, or overnight if you are preparing ahead preferably.

Preheat the oven to 375. Remove the cling film and brush the large parcel all over with egg wash. Lightly score the pastry in a decorative pattern so when it cooks you get a cool effect to happen if you wish. Place on a baking tray, sprinkle with salt and bake for about 35 minutes; if the pastry appears to be browning too quickly, lower the setting slightly. Leave to rest in a warm place for about 15 minutes before cutting into thick slices to serve, with the friends and family.

Now you are ready to serve a meal to whomever you wish. You have a desert, holiday-themed drink, and a delicious entree that can be served with an array of sides to your heart’s content. Enjoy this themed course and happy holidays.

Advice you should totally (not) follow in order to find a relationship this season.

   We all love it when we’ve got somebody… don’t lie to yourself. Humans need outside validation in order to feel good about themselves, especially considering the fact that love is a necessity for humans.

Think about what the human brain can do: how it thinks about itself and how complex and diverse humans are in attitude, learning, and personalities. You can’t honestly think that this just came about through “science.”

Because science is a myth, it’s been proven.

     Anyways back to cuffing season… I introduce you to my 5-step plan to finding yourself someone— anyone, honestly, I know you’re desperate— this fall (or any time or year, frankly).

Step #1… Know what you like.

It is very important to know what you like when trying to find someone. You have to know yourself, love yourself and quite frankly respect yourself in order to know, love and respect someone else. That’s just the FACTS!

Seriously, though, it’s very important at a young age to know what your own interests and goals for the relationship are before you just dive into it (this is how you end up with people crying at 2am because they cuffed a a… jerk to put it in nicer terms.

On top of that, you need to know what you actually like, if you know what I’m saying ;).

Step #2… Locating the Cuffee (it’s French, look it up)

This is very important (actually all of the steps are important, since there’s only five). The best way to locate a cuffing buddy or partner is through your friends or just sliding into those DMs.

Though, the smoothest way to slide into someone’s DMs is through their Snapchat (I bet you didn’t know swiping up is just sliding in, but up! :)).

You can also do things the old fashioned way and choose a random person in a crowd and obsessively stalk them until you find out their name, address, date of birth, class schedule, grades and if they like mac n’ cheese or not (would recommend for beginners!).

Step #3… Talking to the Cuffee

Unfortunately, I cannot reveal all my love guru secrets in this article (but you can buy my Confessions Of A Teenage Love Guru book set on Amazon for only $49.99), but the best advice I can give is be the BEST version of yourself when talking to this person.

Don’t be someone you’re not. For example, you can’t be an oatmeal raisin cookie and then trick them into thinking you’re chocolate chip (IT’S NOT FUNNY >:0!).

Step #4… Actually asking the Cuffee on a date

I cannot stress this enough, my dudes! This is so important. You need to actually hang out with your Cuffee in person because, trust me, people’s online/texting personality is way different from their face-to-face personality. When texting, you can lose context and tone, so when you see them you need to lick their face.

You can also need get a feel for their normal tone of voice and that other probably important stuff too, I guess. So pony up and ask your Cuffee out, even if it’s through text! But, it’s even better when you do it in person, now you’re horsing up!

Step #5… Securing the Cuff

ACTUALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE ENTIRE ARTICLE (NOT REALLY, BUT STILL). Now, let’s say you’ve been dating your Cuffee for a whole eight days and you’ve decided to take your relationship to the next level, and I’m not just talking about being seen together in public ;).

You have decided it is now time for marriage. Marriage is a sacred institution (legal document) that will bind you (trap you) for the rest of your life.

Since you haven’t talked to your Cuffee about any of the things you may actually fight about in your marriage like financial needs, realistic work goals in life, and how you actually hate that they call you boo-boo bear, it’s time to get married.

So pop that question, hide the ring in a little teddy bear and stick it under the Christmas tree, then plan for a May wedding and have your mom invite that girl that used to tell her that you had a school project after school and then wait in your bedroom for you until you got home.

Or if you aren’t interested in marriage because of the alarmingly high divorce rates in our country, you can always kill your Cuffee and keep them in a refrigerated box under your bed :).

If breaking up with them is easier since murder isn’t quite for everybody, then go for it.

If we’re being completely honest here… breaking up with someone is difficult and murder may seem like the easy way out, but the best thing to do when breaking up with someone is to be honest, not brutally honest like a punch to the stomach, but honest about why you’re breaking up with them, like a light slap in the face because it’s going to hurt.

By Nicole Burns

Won’t you open up your eyes? Prudent advice from a high school sophomore.

I feel like when someone doesn’t respond to my text, they hate me. How do I stop?

    Have you ever watched your phone ring or light up with a text, but you were in the middle of something so you didn’t respond right away? It works both ways. Sometimes, it’s just not that deep. I know being a chronic overthinker is pretty much a hobby these days, but you have to acknowledge that sometimes people are busy and they’ll get around to your text when they have time.

How do I manage school and emotional stress?

    I was about to ask you the same exact thing.

How do I actually manage school and emotional stress?

    Truthfully, there is not one correct answer. But some methods for this stress include: staying organized, spending time with friends who are healthy for you, not procrastinating, going to bed at a reasonable time every night, not spending too much time on social media, not wishing that you could be as ‘perfect’ as you perceive certain people to be, making time for fun, and trying to put daily things into your life that refresh yourself (ex: watching netflix if that’s what you need, eating ice cream, meditating, etc.)

    Although none of us actually do all of these things (well atleast not daily), putting good habits such as these into your life can make you a much happier and less stressed human being.

I already have senioritis, what should I do?

    If you have senioritis, you just wanna finish up and graduate right? You can’t graduate if you give up and stop doing your work. Down some Advil (Safely, don’t kill your liver), drink water, and suffer through the year like the rest of us.

I have a crush on this guy at school, but I’m always too afraid to say hi to him. What should I do?

    Be confident! I know it’s intimidating, but working up courage is really important.

    Just a quick “hi” during a passing period can show him that you care enough to take the time to acknowledge him, and it’s human reflex for him to say hi back. Once you do it, it’ll boost your confidence even more.

    And who knows, maybe your crush is just too afraid to say “hi” too. You never know until you try.

(NOTE: Know that it is cuffing season. People are in need of relationships right now.)

My friend makes me feel bad for something that I do and I told her I don’t like it, but she still does it… How do you know when to cut off a friend?

    A real friend would never shame you for being yourself. As much as you may like this friend, it’s obvious she can’t handle accepting you for the things you love or do.

    She may not understand that what she views as a joke is actually hurtful. Confronting her about whatever is bothering you could make her see how you’re feeling and could make her ultimately stop so that your friendship could hopefully resume.

    And if this friend still continues to hurt you after you confronted her about how you’re feeling when she makes fun of you for something that you do, it is time to isolate yourself.

By Breanna Huynh

An insight look at the life of Isabella Seccia, member of the class of 2022 at MVHS.

    “Cool cats and squished rats,” quotes Isabella, a freshman at Mission Viejo High School. Known as Bella to all her friends and family, her quirky, cheerful personality will brighten anyone’s day.

    She is the oldest child in a family of four, having a younger brother named Alessandro. Being an animal lover, especially of dogs, she sadly doesn’t have any pets due to the terrible events leading up to the death of her two dogs, Sweetie and Daisy. Sweetie had digestion issues and Daisy had an infection.

    Besides being an animal lover, Bella’s life is dedicated to dancing. Starting at the age of two, Bella began dancing ballet, moving on to character dancing but prefers ballet over other styles of dance. She used to go to the American Ballet Theatre, Gillespie and Southland Ballet Academy but ended up quitting dance due to her busy schedule.  

    For that reason, Bella’s love of dancing and cheering led her into becoming a member of the pep squad, more specifically song. She’s currently on the MVHS JV Song team and participates in the ROP dance class. Her biggest accomplishment is dancing with the Mariinsky ballet dance company and the ABT Gillespie.

    It was her first performance dancing with a company as well as being the youngest one to be selected and getting to perform with some of the best dancers in Europe. Although dance and cheer is a major part of her life, Bella is dedicated to her studies, striving to become a pathologist.

    Like most of the students at Mission, Bella hopes to finish high school and attend college. Her first choices would have to be University of Irvine, Oregon State or the University of Hawaii.

    Portland, Oregon is, in fact, one of Bella’s most destined places to travel, having been to most of Europe throughout her life.

    Her favorite place in the world is either Amsterdam or Barcelona. Last summer, she went on a trip around Europe and visits there frequently, usually once a year.

    When asked to describe herself, she answered that she is an ambivert. At a first glance, she seems quiet and shy. However, once you get to know her, she becomes more extroverted and loves to talk. One interesting thing about Isabella is that she’s a believer in zodiac signs. Born on the thirteenth of August, her astrology sign is a Leo and her moon sign is Cancer.  

    Her favorite food is poke, mainly crab and seaweed. The same goes for beaches. She likes to go to the beach and walk around but doesn’t like to actually go in it because she doesn’t know how to swim.

    Her favorite genre of music is a mix of indie pop/folk, which includes artists like Billie Eilish. Halloween and Christmas are her two favorite holidays because she loves to decorate.

    Other random facts about Bella is that she’s afraid of the dark, loves German shepherds, and wanted to become a chipmunk after being obsessed with Alvin and the Chipmunks.

    Having many favorites, Bella’s biggest pet peeve is when people bend their fingers. In fact, she hates fingers in general. It disgusts her and she flinches whenever someone does it.

    Through and through, Isabella Seccia is a fun and cheerful person once you get to know her. She may seem shy and quiet on the outside, but her bubbly and humorous side will leave a smile on anyone’s face.