What is happening to me? I can’t stop listening to Lady Gaga.

She’s obnoxious, strange and increasingly over-the-top, but I can’t fight it any longer. She’s worked her way into my head, pushing aside the space reserved for respectable music like the new Fiery Furnaces or Norah Jones.

Lady Gaga’s second studio album, “The Fame Monster,” was recently released on Interscope Records. The sequel to “The Fame” consists of eight songs and is currently available for $7.99 on iTunes. A deluxe version of both albums will be released in December, completing what Gaga calls a “ying and yang,” embodied by her blonde and brunette roles on the respective album covers.

The problem started with the “Bad Romance” video. Oh how I hate myself for loving you – but I’m sucked into the spectacle.

First, we see our heroine, decked out in razor-blade glasses, lounging with the stylish Haus of Gaga posse. Warhol would be so proud. Next, she stares longingly into a mirror, topped in an exaggerated black crown. Every few seconds, she adapts; she writhes in a white vinyl body suit, is drugged in a bathtub, gives skeletal come-hither fingers inside a metal cage and reveals herself bare-assed in front of a burning bedroom.

The platinum lamb struts through 14 costume changes with confidence. The girl’s got personality and for lack of a better word, cojones.

The result is devilishly bizarre. If anything, she’s got a mastery of fetish aesthetic.

“The Fame Monster” is an overall darker project, though its sinister themes are carefully hidden beneath the shiny disco exterior. On first listen, it feels like someone pumping blood into my limbs – they’re twitching and moving on their own and I can’t help nodding my head to the beat. I don’t even like this kind of music, but I can’t stop.

The first single, “Bad Romance,” with its rolling R’s and sexy demands, has a certain wickedness that I love. And others agree; the single debuted at number nine on the Billboard Top 100 chart.

“Alejandro” channels talents like Shakira and Ace of Base in a Spanish dance-groove – a strong track, though the fake accent irks me. You can sense the influence of quite a few other artists throughout; the screw-you attitude of Pink, Blondie’s soul and the outright silliness of Depeche Mode.

Still, she’s her own artist – not the “new Madonna” or new anyone else.

Ballads like “Speechless” showcase her vocal talent, but remain weak in the overall production, as does the awkward “Dance in the Dark,” which calls out to departed women like Marilyn Monroe, Sylvia Plath, Princess Diana and curiously, Jon Benét Ramsey. Pressing on, “Monster” continues the creepy vibe with lyrics like, “He ate my heart/that boy is a monster,” but remains upbeat with a great background of synthetic beeps and bloops.

“Teeth” brings out the jungle-cat in a low, grinding track. But there’s depth in between brutal bad-girl and fluttering romantic. “Take a bite of my bad girl meat/Show me your teeth” leads into, “Tell me something that’ll save me/I need a man who makes me all right” in just a few lines.

That’s why we’ve grown to love her; one moment she’s hard and fast, spitting a cruel growl and in the next, flashing startlingly vulnerable eyes.

I have already listened to “Telephone,” the pumping, relentlessly bouncy duet with Beyonce, five times in the past few hours. When’s the last time you heard a harp used effectively in an R&B song? Nice to hear Miss Queen B on the chorus, but the effect of her enunciated rapping doesn’t add much.

Let’s be honest, the real star is and always will be Gaga’s special brand of crazy.

‘Cause she’s a freak-b****, baby.’

Luckily, I already know my way around a pasta maker.

In truth, there’s nothing more empowering than creating your own pasta.

Something about the way the flour and eggs come together, the way the dough begins to form into something palpable: a solid little ball. Then comes the rolling. It always amazes me just how much pasta comes from such a small globe of dough. After you mold it, roll it out and cut into strips, a seemingly small amount of dough can feed an army.

It’s something I highly recommend learning. No more boxes of Barilla for you! You don’t even need a fancy pasta rolling machine – a trusty rolling pin will do.

Once you sit down and take a bite of your creation, I guarantee you’ll have a “I-made-my-own-pasta” glow for days.

The basic recipe for pasta:

1 1/4 cup flour, sifted.

3 eggs

Handful of fresh herbs, like parsley and oregano

Place your flour on a clean counter or in a big bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs until smooth. Make a well in the center of the flour, pour in the eggs, then slowly mix together with your fingers. If you like, add chopped herbs and mix in.

Knead the pieces together. You must knead it quite a bit, until it is smooth and silky, to develop the gluten. Good kneading makes all the difference in the texture!

Once you’re satisfied, divide the dough into two to four smaller balls – this makes it easier to manage.  Wrap several times in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

For the next steps, you’ll need a very large, clean workspace. Sprinkle your workspace with flour and prepare to roll!

Rolling by hand: Using the palm of your hand, flatten each ball into oval disks. With a rolling pin, work from the middle and push outward, until the dough is flat and even. Pat with flour, flip over and repeat until dough is 1/4” thick.

Rolling by machine: Start on the widest setting of your rollers. Slowly feed through a flattened disk of dough, taking heed to avoid rips. Pat the dough with flour and then repeat with a thinner setting. To get an even thickness and straight edges, fold the dough in half and then run through at a wider setting. It just takes a bit of patience. Remember to pat with flour each time to avoid sticky dough.

Once you’ve achieved a desired thickness, you need to cut and shape.

You can easily make all different kinds of pasta from here. Use your imagination and fiddle around. Filled ravioli or tortellini require a bit more effort, but offer double the reward. Linguini is made from long, thin strips of dough. Farfalle is long strips, cut into squares and pinched in the middle.

Once everything is cut and shaped, let it air dry for approximately 10 minutes to firm up. To cook, toss in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Once the pasta starts to float, spoon it out. Don’t overcook; this is far more delicate than dried pasta. Serve immediately with your favorite sauce and enjoy!

This is a short story of a very unfortunate lunch.

A day trip to London with a group of international students started off beautifully, visiting landmarks like Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace. After hours of snapping photos and gasping at one beautiful monument after another, I was ravenous and ready to tuck in.

When dining with a group, it’s always difficult to please everyone. If one craves a good Indian curry, another wants pizza. At the insistence of the most outspoken guest, we ate at chain restaurant called Wagamama, which serves pan-Asian food and udon noodles.

To be frank, it was a horrible choice.

The atmosphere was something like being in a school cafeteria, with long benches and tables and very little decoration. As expected, the food was unremarkable and horrifically overpriced. Servers wove in and out with disinterest. Please tell me, where are the nearest exits?

The bill came with another unexpected shock; they charged us £3.5 each for water, which converts to about $16 in total. Absurd.

It was a silly mistake, and an expensive one, but not the end of the world. We cut our losses and continued exploring. I bought ice cream at a street cart and vowed to write a budget when I returned to my flat. Even with the worst experience, it’s best not to dwell in the negative.

There are some easy ways to avoid disasters when dining out, whether abroad or in Glassboro. As a former waitress and Restaurant Week junkie, here are some of my tips:

1. The difference between a satisfactory experience and an extraordinary one lies in planning ahead. Ask friends for their recommendations. If you can, call to ask the maître d’ for information. Don’t be afraid of sounding nosy or asking too many questions. Find out if they have specials during the week, discounted early-bird menus or a happy hour – you can save a few bucks.

2. Do some research. If you’ve found a place you fancy, look for critic’s restaurant reviews and relevant posts on food blogs. That way you’ll get a more well-rounded opinion from the professional and the everyman.

3. Also check out Yelp or Urban Spoon, which feature user-generated reviews of restaurants and nightlife in major cities across the nation. However, it’s best to listen to posts with more responses – say, 15 ratings as opposed to three – to get a better overall picture.

4. Restaurant.com sells gift certificates for far less than the face value, which can then be redeemed at various eateries. For example, I could buy a $50 card for McFadden’s in Philadelphia for just $20. Just be sure to read the fine print, because some deals come with conditions.

5. Always ask for prices if they aren’t listed or seem confusing. It seems simple enough, but our $16 water mistake happened because we didn’t ask. Similarly, I once paid $40 for a glass of wine in New York, mistaking the page number (6) for the price. Oops.

6. Restaurant Week packages are a fantastic value for students. You can typically get a fabulous three-course meal for about $20-30. I take advantage of this very often for date night and use it as a chance to visit exclusive restaurants we wouldn’t normally be able to afford.

7. Honestly, at most places, it’s best to just skip the booze. Restaurants kick up the prices on alcohol in order to make a profit and pay for their liquor licenses and that can make for a very pricey bill. If you really must indulge, ask if there are any specials or stick to one drink with your meal. I usually just go for water (don’t forget to say “tap is fine”) and save my money for a bottle of wine at home or cappuccinos after dinner.

8. Ask the staff! Any waiter worth their salt will steer diners to the better dishes, not just the more expensive ones. Waiters are not mind readers though, so rather than asking “what will I like?,” ask questions such as: What’s the best value for my money? Am I ordering enough/too much food? How exactly is this prepared? Do you recommend a specific dish? What is this restaurant’s specialty? What is most popular?

9. Ask for a menu immediately upon entering the restaurant. If you don’t like the offerings or feel uncomfortable with pricing, leave! You don’t have to feel obligated to eat somewhere. When eating with a group, your opinion needs to be heard, or else you might end up being the only miserable vegetarian at the steakhouse. Or carnivore at the vegan commune. You get the idea.

10. In the end, remember that it’s just dinner. If it doesn’t work out, go get some ice cream and look for better fortune next time.

Good luck and happy dining!

Noon on Sunday and I dutifully followed my new friends through heavy wooden doors into a magnificent room of plush armchairs, a long horseshoe-shaped bar and massive chandelier. Not quite the place I was expecting, and certainly not Landmark Americana.

I’d stepped into my first classic British tavern, unknowingly about to impart on a longstanding tradition of eating and socializing.

“This place is the best in town because they do Sunday Roasts for £8,” said Joe, the most scraggly and ravenous of the bunch.

Traditionally, Sunday roasts are based around a large piece of roasted meat, usually beef, chicken, lamb or pork. Joining the party are a selection of boiled or roasted vegetables, like mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli, peas or parsnips.

Further still, to accompany the meat, the chef makes a gravy from the meat’s drippings. Yorkshire puddings – heavenly puffed pastry similar to popovers – are also traditional.

This is not a meal to be taken lightly. And as my friends said, it’s as English as “a cuppa’ tea.”

If I’ve learned anything over the past two weeks, it’s that the United Kingdom genuinely loves its food. They’re proud of the rituals and practices that go into lovingly preparing and preserving these extraordinary meals.

The history of the Sunday roast, some say, goes all the way back to the Industrial Revolution. Others tell stories of village squires rewarding serfs at the end of the week with a joint of roast oxen. It is also occasionally known as Sunday Joint for this reason.

Sunday roast became a cultural ritual for British households – a sacrosanct time for families to come together around a table. No one would dare to miss the occasion and asking to invite a friend or new beau was considered a very big deal. It often coincided with going to church; a roast was put in before services and would be finished cooking by the time everyone got home.

Gordon Ramsay, the notoriously volatile celebrity chef, recently called for a resurgence of this national supper. In his cookbook, “Sunday Lunches: And Other Recipes from the F Word,” he asked families to come together around the table.

“Its what the dining room table was invented for,” Ramsay wrote. “Eating together as a family is really important to me and I am determined to get families back around the table together.”

As my friends tucked in to their hearty plates of pub grub, I wondered whether this quaint tradition can still exist in a modern world. It just seems so old-fashioned.

I can only equate the Sunday roast to the elaborate dinners often hosted by my Italian-American relatives. They are pleasant memories, where cast-iron pots simmer fragrantly on the stove for hours, filling the house with warmth and the smells of thyme and basil. Doesn’t that seem like a good way to spend a weekend?

It also begs an important question: why don’t we do this anymore? What’s stopping us from coming together, whether with family or friends, to enjoy a good meal and good company?

I think it’s time to take Sunday back. Something as simple as a good meal can make all the difference. Take time this week and treat yourself. Wake up before noon, buy a basil plant and cook for someone you love.

Just trust me.

This is my new home.

I’ve always had an odd concept of home, having been shuttled from house to house in my formative years. The idea of picking up and moving several thousand miles across an ocean to a school and a country where I barely know anyone might seem a bit daft. Reckless even.

But that’s me. Always one for an adventure. Unafraid of the unexplored. So I live here now, at least for the upcoming months. And if I could, I’d never return.

“England? Why would you want to go there? I heard the food is horrible.”

Such was the general reaction from American friends and co-workers. Forgive me, but I’d like to politely object. Actually, I can be impolite if I want – that’s rubbish and you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.

I dare you to tell Gordon Ramsey his food is terrible. Try reading the cookbooks of Delia Smith, Prue Leith or Jamie Oliver without getting hungry.

While many years ago British cuisine was insular and bland, these days it’s much more than just bangers and mash or fish and chips. A new order has arrived, bringing with it fresh, organic and internationally-inspired fare.

The first meal I cooked in England comes from a family recipe provided by my aunt Julie, a charming woman and British native.

Julie lives in a white plaster and brick cottage in the hilly village of High Wycombe with her husband, two children and two cats. There are tomato (to-mah-to) plants in the front window, a vegetable garden in the rear and a red Mini Cooper in the drive. It’s a wonderful life, and one that I hope to become acclimated to shortly.

Even better, the entire family is vegetarian!

Among the changes in cuisine include an upswing in vegetarianism, as well as a demand for higher quality and sustainable, local produce.

“Truthfully, the food used to be dreadful,” Julie said. “Once people started to travel to places like the Mediterranean, chefs started to bring back the new foods and ideas. Things have changed quite dramatically for us.”

Julie’s recipe for vegetable soup is perfect for chilly weather and easily whipped up in less than 20 minutes. Courgettes, better known as zucchini in the States, are full of vitamins and readily available in this season.

It is very flavorful without the need for cream or chicken stock; lightly browned butter gives it a warm flavor, while fresh baby vegetables are refreshingly light.

Courgette Soup

Serves 3-4 people. Equipment needed: heavy sauce pot and an immersion blender. If unavailable a regular blender will do.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 medium potatoes, chopped in ½” cubes

4 baby courgettes (zucchini) or 2 regular-sized, chopped in ½” cubes

2 cups vegetable broth

handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

Over a medium flame, melt the butter until just starting to brown and bubble. Add in the finely chopped onion and potato. Toss in the butter until thoroughly coated, then simmer for about eight minutes. When the onion is nicely golden, add in the courgettes and stir. Slowly pour in vegetable broth and add parsley. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

With an immersion blender, purée the soup until no large chunks remain. It will look nice and creamy. If using a regular blender, purée one cup at a time. Be careful; hot liquid tends to splash out easily!

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with fresh bread and grated white cheddar or parmesan.

Perhaps the fastest summer of my life, the past three months passed by without much fanfare.  Somewhere between May and this morning, I blinked and now my friends are all talking about their new classes and transitioning into dorm life once more.

I’m certainly not ready for this.  But are any of us?

When we were children, the summer seemed to stretch on forever. Every year from June to August, we were free. We were wild and endless and full of plans. We could be anything. The break between school years was a time to reinvent.

As we grow older, the warmer season is not quite so carefree. Between internships, part-time jobs and summer classes, perhaps we’ve forgotten how to enjoy this time.

But not me. In just a few days, I’ll be jetting off to England, where I will spend my senior year studying and eating my way through Europe.

A sense of overwhelming realization hit me as I was gardening this week, taking in the final robust harvest of August vegetables: I’m soon going to be very, very far away. And essentially, my last summer of academia is over.

I’m moving some 3,500 miles away from Rowan University. From Jersey farm markets. From Mack and Manco’s pizza.

To prepare, I’m spending every minute soaking up the remaining drops of sun.

This is one of my favorite warm-weather dishes, which requires very little cooking and uses quite a bit of fresh, seasonal produce. It’s a little bit of summer all year round.

This versatile Italian dish originates from the central regions of Italy, like Tuscany and Umbria. Sometimes panzanella is referred to as a leftover salad because you can add basically any vegetables or herbs you like. Add olives for a salty bite or a can of tuna for a spin on a Nicoise salad.

Using day-old sourdough bread rolls, fresh basil and some local produce, we were able to whip up a remarkably flavorful dish that was filling but not heavy. My version uses more vegetables than bread. It is at once both crisp and moist, balancing the crunch of a homemade crouton and a sweet mouthful of roasted peppers and caramelized tomatoes.

SOURDOUGH PANZANELLA WITH SUMMER VEGETABLES

Serves 4

Ingredients:

* Sourdough bread, cut into 1″ cubes (about 3 cups)
* 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
* 1 yellow squash, sliced on a diagonally
* 2 bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1″ cubes (use red,orange, or yellow for nice color!)
* 6-8 cherry tomatoes cut in half
* 1/2 red onion, cut in 1″ cubes
* 4-5 fresh basil leaves, cut in strips

Vinaigrette:

* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
* 1 tsp Dijon mustard
* Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet, spread out the chopped garlic, onion, squash, peppers and tomatoes and coat with one tablespoon olive oil. Roast for 15-18 minutes, stirring once, until just starting to soften and release juices.

In a large frying pan, heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil. Toss in the bread cubes and season lightly with salt and freshly-ground pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the cubes are crusty and slightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

To make vinaigrette dressing, firmly whisk together all ingredients until blended. Season to your tastes with salt and pepper.

In your serving bowl, toss together the bread cubes and vegetables. Pour dressing over the bread and vegetable mixture and then set aside for 30 minutes to let it absorb the flavors. Before serving, stir in strips of fresh basil.