Student life and cooking/food problems

[aVocado]

So you guys might remember me making threads such as this asking about studying genetics in ireland/aus (and you guys were a huge help, thanks!) etc. I got accepted into Ireland, and I'm possibly moving sometime next month (before 22nd september) and I'll go to a university there and stuff.

And here's the thing, I don't want to rely on junk and fast food all the time. I need to learn how to cook quick things, and fast. I can make sunny-side up eggs, omelettes, and scrambled eggs, so yeah.

I've been trying to collect as many recipes as I can for simple things such as blending shit together to make a smoothie for breakfast/dinner/as snacks, and making simple snacks/breakfast/light dinner such as toast with banana/apple slices and pb&j etc, but I need to legit cook.. like, cook meat in oven, make pasta and pasta/alfredo sauce, steak, and make chicken and things.

What's your experience with these sorts of things, any tips and advice? Also, any tips on how to save money on food/groceries? since I believe they may be a little costy. I'll also be living alone so no sharing with other roommates or anything.

 

[Sweep]

Buy store-brand food when shopping for groceries. The savings really add up over time, and you really don't want large grocery bills when living alone since you have so much other shit to cover. Also, without know your current financial situation, grains are your best friend in terms of cost-efficiency. Pasta is really cheap and easy to make and will provide you with quality dinners. Do not waste money on fast food; I learned my lesson the hard way last year with how much of my assets went to McDonald's and KFC.

If you purchase meat that does not carry instructions on how to cook it, Google will help provide answers. In general, once chicken is thawed it'll take 20-25 minutes to cook in the over at 375 degrees Fahrenheit; you can cut into the chicken while its cooking to see if it's ready to be consumed. You can find a plethora of recipes online so there's no real need to purchase a recipe book IMO. Finally, try to set an eating schedule of sorts, as you're less likely to go hungry if you can regulate your eating habits. Such a schedule need not be strictly adhered to, but it'll help conserve food.

Just my thoughts having lived in an apartment for a couple of years (albeit with two roommates).

 

[Lumari]

As for shopping groceries: always buy the store's home brand, don't go for the more well-known brands. It may not seem a lot if you save only like 50 eurocents a day (it's most likely gonna be even more, but I've only lived by myself for a short time a couple of years ago, and I don't do enough groceryshopping atm to know for sure. Fortunately we have the same currency as Ireland :p), but over two months, you'll save enough money on dinner alone to buy a new pokemon game, and videogames are pretty damn expensive here ;) Probably really generic and you probably already figured it out yourself, but it's pretty much the golden rule of grocery shopping, so I had to point it out. (Edit: Sweep ninjad me on this one, just goes to show it's good advice I guess)
It's also gonna be really hard to think up something to cook every single day. You can circumvent this by making some sort of backup list: before you leave, list one dish for every day of the week (e.g. monday some specific rice dish, tuesday some specific pasta dish, wednesday some specific meat dish, etc.). Then, if you don't know what to make for dinner, simply make whatever is on that list for that day. (and if it's thursday and you already made thursday's dish on tuesday, just make tuesday's dish :D)
Also, you said you were collecting recipes - try to focus on the simple ones at first, legit food really doesn't need to be complex, and if you're inexperienced at cooking you really don't have to immediately jump into the deep end. Random example, macaroni with bacon and scrambled eggs (yeah somebody actually came up with that) and a random sort of vegetable on the side is really easy and really fast to cook (pastas in general are btw) and is a perfectly valid dinner (idk if you eat bacon, but it's fine without it as well lol). Just make sure you have a small repertoire of recipes handy when you leave. An entire recipe book is unnecessary, you'll get a long way if you just scribble 10-15 easy ones in a notebook.
And lastly: practice :) The best way to learn it is simply to do it. I can't really read from your post how much experience you have right now, but if you've never cooked before, try making dinner at least a few times before you leave. You're most likely gonna make quite some beginner's mistakes at first, and it's much better to have someone around to help you out in that case. More importantly, recipes don't list every little detail you have to do, and if you're inexperienced most of the unlisted stuff is not so self-explanatory as it seems to a more experienced cook. (The first time I cooked something with kidney beans, I forgot to drain them because the recipe didn't say I had to -.- although that's probably a really embarassing example lol. I'm never making that mistake again though.) If you've gained some experience, you'll be alright - when all is said and done, potatoes are potatoes, pasta is pasta, and chicken is chicken, and similar dishes are cooked in similar ways.

I've never lived by myself for an extended period of time (I've occasionally cooked dinner at home though), but naturally that day is gonna come eventually and my parents are preparing me for it; I basically reiterated some advice they've given me. (The dinner backup list is my idea though :p I came up with that when they asked me 'how are you eventually gonna be able to figure out something to cook every day'.)

 

[Myzozoa]

If you just want to learn a bunch of cheap recipes this is a really good free book: https://8b862ca0073972f0472b704e2c0...xd6wdCBD_2tdUdtM0d4WTJmclU/good-and-cheap.pdf

It is also a general guide on what to buy (it was designed for people living on food stamps). It doesn't include many meat recipes, but it includes many basic recipes that people on budgets use everyday.

If you want to be real about cooking you should acquire a decent knife and a good cutting board.

I usually make curry or pasta for dinner and during the day I just eat leftovers. I have a food processor (a fancy blender basically) so I can make all kinds of crazy pasta sauce out of pureed roasted vegetables, and curry pastes are super easy too.

Here is a cool way to save money: don't shop at supermarkets except for essentials and bulk things, like milk, cheese, eggs, pasta, rice, potatoes, vegetable oil, etc. If you go to a farmers market or a flea market in your area you can get better quality vegetables for a lower price than the super market. Learning to bake, or make things out of flour in general, is a really good way of saving money.

Edit: in general it is a bad idea to mince/dice garlic before roasting since some flavor will be lost after a while, instead roast them whole along with the vegetables and mash them when they cool.

 

[Fourth Inversion]

For equipment, you'd definitely want to have the following: Good quality knife, chopping board, frypan, larger deep-sided oven-proof pot, vegetable peeler, wooden spoons, oven gloves, strong washing up gloves, some sort of reusable containers for freezing foods.

Here's one 'recipe' that I often make
Roast Vegetables: Preheat oven to 180 Celcius. Take large flat pan that can accommodate the quantity of vegetables you wish to cook, add oil (not too much, but enough so that the food doesn't stick), and heat. Once oil is hot, add some of the following, along with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes on the stovetop, stirring regularly with wooden spoon: Potatoes - no need to peel, can be in reasonable sized chunks. Sweet Potatoes, peel, slice in fairly thick discs (will discolour/blacken slightly on contact with air - this is not a problem with the ingredient, and doesn't affect the taste either), Zucchini - don't peel, keep in fairly large chunks, Capsicum - don't peel, keep in fairly large chunks, Onions - peel, slice fairly finely, Pumpkin - peel (generally it's best to buy a cut segment of pumpkin, as most pumpkins are enormous, also, it might be easier to slice some of the thick skin off with a knife) keep in fairly large chunks, Eggplants - no need to peel, slice into reasonable chunks (be careful, as they tend to stick fairly easily), Fennel - chop into fairly small chunks, Parsnips - peel, cut into fairly small chunks, Garlic - peel, crush a few cloves with the side of a heavy knife (makes it easier to cut), chop finely. The sizes indicate relative cooking times, although you don't need to be too precise about it. Transfer pan to hot oven, briefly stir every 10 minutes or so, and make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom. It'll probably take around 40 minutes - if you can stick a fork through the largest segment of potato without feeling any strong resistance, then it's probably done.

Additional ingredients that you can add include chilli (slice in half lengthways, deseed, dice very finely), cumin, smoked paprika, rosemary, or other favourite spices/spice mixtures. Scrape the bottom of the pan with the spoon, to ensure that they don't stick.

Can be eaten with pasta or most meats. Keeps for several days, but doesn't freeze well.

 

[Cresselia~~]

Can you buy a rice cooker in a Chinatown?
Or ask Asian students for a second hand one?

Because you can cook lots of stuff in a rice cooker.
I like how it automatically turns off when it's done.

Things that get cooked at the same time with rice are: mushrooms, minced meat, thinly sliced chicken.
You can also cook clear soup and vegetables in rice cooker, but veges tend to yellow during the process. Pure cosmetic issue though and nothing else.

================

I'm not sure if your uni has an oven at all?? Never been to a university outside Asia.
I'm the sort of person who shoves most stuff in the oven anyway.

===============

Anyway, if you can't get any of those...
I personally think that cucumbers are great. They can be added to most stuff.

Oh, actually. Dip sliced cucumber into salt water and they'll become soft and yummy.

=================

And if you still don't like that...
Have fun with broccoli. It's good stuff.
Dump meatballs, broccoli and tomato in the pot and boil.
Or meatballs, broccoli, and mushrooms with soy sauce.
Or whatever. Usually it will be nice.

===================

Still no?
Campbell canned soup.
Cook in microwave oven, serve with rice or pasta.

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BREAKFAST

I personally don't eat anything solid for breakfast. Makes me feel ill.
I make these smoothies:
Apple with milk or soy milk-- Put apple, milk or soy milk , water, sugar into the blender. Done.
Banana with milk or soy milk -- Put banana, milk or soy milk, water, sugar sugar into blender. This one feels like milkshake. Seriously.
Same thing with strawberries or watermelons or melons.

If you don't have a blender...
You can do this to bananas/ strawberries/ kiwi -- put them all into a plastic bag and squish the bag, and rub the bag. After it becomes like a paste, you put it into your mug and add water and milk (or soy milk)

If you don't like sugar you can use honey.

 

[MrIndigo]

Absolute godsend for frugal cooking - a slow-cooker. They're not super expensive and you can find them in homeware stores and cheap department stores everywhere nowadays.

Seriously, this solves all your problems. Buy the cheapest cuts of beef, a bunch of vegetables (tomato, potato, celery, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, whatever you want) and some stock, plus some cheap wine or beer if you want to be fancy. You could even have rice or barley/oats in there.

Make a big batch of stew one day, separate into portions and freeze it - you save both time and money by eating the rest of the week. Add some spices or curry paste and you can make it a curry instead.

Another good one - buy a pork roast, stick it in there, cover it in barbeque sauce and sarsaparilla, cola, any sugary carbonated beverage you like really. Turn the thing on and leave it for 7 hours on low heat. Come back, remove pork, slash it up with a pair of forks and you'll have delicious pulled pork that will literally last a week.

Google slow-cooker recipes and you'll find there are quite a few options. The best advantage is that, like the pulled pork, they will cook over a long time rather than fast, but can be left unsupervised all day. Get up at 9, put your stuff in the slow-cooker and go to class. Come home at the end of the day and it's like someone's already cooked your dinner for you.

EDIT: One secret weapon I will add. Want to entertain a friend, especially one with whom you have romantic interest? Learn to cook risotto. It is cheap, and relatively quick and easy - although you do need to stand over it the entire time. You can also customise it well - it goes with smoked chicken, tuna, mushrooms, thin ham or bacon, salmon, whatever you like. But the key is that it seems fancy so it's a great way to impress people when you can't afford to go out much.

It might take a little practice (the keys are really: get arborio rice, not the typical kind; and add a little bit of rice at a time, a little bit of stock/wine at a time) - google some recipes, pick one that looks good and just have a go for yourself until you get it to work.

EDIT 2: Jeezus I missed you're going to Ireland. Lamb, guiness, potatoes are everywhere there. You can basically live off Irish Stew.

 

[Yagura]

I'm actually a good cooker, I can cook cool stuff from beef slices with sauce into paella and pizza, but the problem is that I spend money on stuff that are "more important" as I believe that wasting money on fancy food is just nonsense, I always go with healthy light food as I don't work out and I prefer to stay slim.

I don't really find a lot of problems with food except the fact that I can't waste my limited money on expensive food, and I also always cook my food unlike most students that like to buy fast food because I want to know what is entering my body.

For some suggestions I'd say that healthy food is way better than junk food, yes you don't waste time on cooking but it'd be better if you cook your food yourself and the ingredients are usually cheaper than food that is ready, you can always find some nice and cheap recipes in some websites (there are also those books that have recipes but you can find the same recipes on the internet for free!).

 

[Photo]

Arikado congrats on getting genetics! I totally didn't realise there were other people here in Ireland (and presumably same uni :o)

Good luck and make sure to bring ID everywhere!!

 

[Chou Toshio]

Wakame is an ingredient I would like to offer up to the poor college student.

This humble Japanese seaweed is packed with nutrients-- along the same lines as leafy vegetables, with vitamins and key minerals.

Unlike land-veggies though, wakame comes cheap in a dried crumpled form. Just add water and poof-- instant fresh green. The advantages are obvious.
-doesn't spoil (eat it when you want to eat it and not when you planned to eat it)
-doesn't need refrigeration
-portable/shippable
-requires very little space to store (compared to final mass of consumable green)
-Basically no prep work needed to eat it. (Mix with water for 5 seconds...)

As for how to eat it... Basically it works in any soup/stew, even your poor-man's instant cup noodle, or in canned western soups like minestrone or chicken noodle. Just throw in a handful and make that whatever it is you're eating that much more nutritious.

Most westerners have probably only encountered it in miso soup, which is also probably a good bet for the wayward college student since making it just involves mixing miso paste with hot water. Add in Wakame and Tofu and u might not have a whole meal, but some key nutrients and a nice soup to go with whatever it is you're eating.

Speaking of miso, make a broth by boiling pork (any cut) and mix miso and veggies into it to get the base of a Classic Japanese stew called tonjiru. Of course the classic recipe calls for leeks, shoyu (soy sauce), and sake, but you can go minimalist on this. Wakame isn't usually used but of course it'll work.

Also miso ramen is a great dish-- but you can get a good approximation just by combining pork/chicken broth, miso, spaghetti (or ramen noodles if you can get them), and canned corn/wakame as toppings.

Wakame also oddly works in salad, though you got to pat it down with a paper towel after rehydrating to make sure you don't get a soggy salad. The easiest salad you could make would be mixing wakame with canned tuna and Italian salad dressing. Canned corn and lettuce work well in this too.

Wakame also matches cold noodle dishes.

Of course I don't think all westerners could comfortably consist on seaweed day in and out, but for its convenience, price tag, and health benefits (amongst very few healthy budget foods)-- it's something I'd recommend at least having around and mixing in. Especially for that moment you've just added hot water to yet another cup of instant noodle, notice you haven't been getting your greens, and are too tired or poor to head down to the Grocery.

 

[cookie]

If you are happy preparing in advance, stews are the way to go. They take a long time but require little effort - prepare your ingredients, stick them in a pot and let them cook. Take this dish:
1. Chop 1 onion and 1 pepper
2. Fry on low heat (DO NOT BURN) with olive oil and salt until softened (salt at this stage is essential to sweat out some of the liquid)
3. Throw into a pot with chopped meat, a sliced chilli pepper, thyme, salt/pepper to taste. Add some white wine if you have it, then cover with water. Add some potato if you have it, and flour if you want the sauce to be thick.
4. Stick it in the oven at about 160C and forget about for a couple hours.

Thyme/chilli pepper/wine are optional in descending order of necessity, mostly for flavour. 20 minutes prep time. And with stews you can cook a huge batch that will last you a few days.

 

[cookie]

Also, cooking quickly comes with experience. The more you cook, the less time you need to think about what ingredients to gather and how to prepare them (as well as prepare them), if you're in a rush. Cooking is a skill worth investing time into for the time you'll save in the long run, the value gained from being able to cook nice things for other people, and giving you a way to eat tasty and healthy things without spending a lot of money for fast food.

For saving money on food, I don't know what it's like in Ireland but in the UK there are plenty of reductions to be had in supermarkets on meat approaching its sell-by date (the most expensive of base ingredients). Go in the evenings to local stores and you can get 1/3, 1/2 off or even better off meat. Buy as much as you can put in your freezer.

 

[Rowan]

It's easy to cook any Tomato-based sauce tbh, and you can add different herbs/spices depending on what you want to make - follow the same steps and you can make loads of different dishes:

Just start with an onion, and a couple of cloves of garlic frying in some oil, and add other vegetables that you want.
Peppers, celery and carrots take a bit longer to fry, so add them at the same time as the onion, whilst mushrooms you can add a bit later on because they take a bit quicker. Chopped Potato can be added near the start, I often make a potato and chickpea curry like this - make sure it's chopped small though, otherwise it'll take an age to fry. Chilli is nice to add for a spicy dish like Chilli con carne or curry

If you want meat in your dish, add it after that, diced chicken breast is probably the cheapest meat and I often buy it when it's on 2 for 1 offer. If you want to make a chilli con carne or Bolognese you can add the mince now. I sometimes add bacon as well, which is really nice

Add herbs/spices and stuff. Any mixture of Oregano/Basil/Thyme/Rosemary/Bay leaves can all be added, to make a bolognese or just an italian tomato sauce. If you want a mexican chilli, add paprika and chilli powder. If you want indian, add curry powder, or make your own curry powder out of spices such as cumin, tumeric and ground coriander.

Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, pretty much straight away after adding spices/herbs and let it simmer for a bit. For Chilli Con Carne, add Kidney beans. I often add Chickpeas to a curry as well. Add a Stock Cube for bolognese and Chilli con carne if you like.

Whilst all this is going on, just cook pasta/rice and serve with it. You can cook a meal like this from about 15-30 minutes.

Basically,
For Italian tomato sauce, use vegetables, maybe chicken/bacon if you want and mixed herbs, serve with pasta
For Bolognese add celery/carrot mince, herbs and a stock cube, serve with spaghetti/other pasta.
For Chilli Con Carne use celery/carrot, mince, chilli and/or chilli powder, paprika, stock cube, kidney beans, serve with rice.
For Curry use Potato and/or Chicken, add mixed spices, chilli and/or chilli powder, maybe chickpeas, serve with rice.

Meals like this are basically what I lived off during 1st year of uni.

 

[WhiteDMist]

Are you living in an apartment or a dormitory? I am presuming apartment because that is what it sounds like. I am also assuming an oven, refrigerator + freezer, cutting board, large sharp knife, frying pan, spatula, large spoon, baking tray, and small pot as the minimum you have in your kitchen. You should also have in stock: a flavorless oil that has a high smoke point like canola or vegetable oil (not too expensive either), salt, pepper, sugar, milk, and eggs since you know them best. I also suggest having at least 2-3 other spices that you like in most of your foods, though I highly encourage garlic powder to be one of them.

For a minimalist budget it is probably best to focus finding easy starches to make as they tend to be the bulk of more heavier meals. I highly recommend sweet potatoes as they are full of nutrients and they do not require TOO much attention depending on what method you use to cook them. The easiest way is to simply cut them up into bite sized pieces and roast them in the oven. They are naturally pretty sweet so they do not require any seasoning either, maybe just a touch of oil to keep them from sticking to the tray. Most root vegetables go on sale a couple of times per month, so let that affect your buying habits if possible. I wouldn't stock p on too many potatoes as after a couple of weeks they tend to grow "Eyes" and become tinged with green inside (too much is toxic for humans). Rice and other grains are relatively cheap most of the time, especially if you buy in bulk. They keep for a long time and they aren't too difficult to make if you follow the instructions on the packaging. Beans are nice too, though buying them dried is more cost efficient. Unfortunately, you need to soak them in water overnight most of the time. Lentils and split peas are good alternatives that do not require such soaking and they are pretty versatile as well.

Of course, starches usually crave flavor which is where your vegetables and meats come in. Vegetables are always on sale, so generally I would recommend to buy them at those times. Carrots are generally sold by the bunch, but if you can find loose carrots that are sold by pound (they generally look less appealing, but they taste fine) they are best on a budget. Carrots and onions are the base of many European aromatic flavors (along with celery) and they provide a lot of bulk to most dishes. Chiles provide spice if you like that. Spinach is a great leafy green for salads or for wilting down with some garlic. Garlic is great if you like it, although if you do not then just a pinch of garlic powder will suffice most of the time so you do not require it (I do, but meh).

Buying meat can be tough since buying in bulk is far cheaper. Doing that requires you to freeze the meat and use as needed, but thawing it requires you to remember to do so in the morning (simply take what you need, place it on a dish wrapped in plastic or foil, and thaw in fridge). Tough cuts of meat like shoulder (pork and beef), brisket (beef), ham (pork), hock (pork), top round (beef), etc all require you to cook them for a long period of time at low heat. The benefits of this is that you can prepare it after classes, relax, and then have it ready to eat in a couple of hours with enough to save for the rest of the week. These cuts of meat are also inexpensive comparatively to other cuts, and can be bought in larger pieces so you can either divide it or cook it all at once and save it. Alternative proteins include eggs ;), soy products (I prefer silken tofu), and legumes. Ofc, tofu is a bit difficult to work with if you aren't used to it. Personally I like to cook my tofu with garlic, soy sauce/oyster sauce, and scallions, but if you don't have that or do not like Asian flavors, silken tofu blends very well with fruits for smoothies or can be eaten like a pudding with some flavored syrups (pour out some of the excess liquid before you add flavorings, but leave enough to mix it around and break up the tofu).

Also, snacks are pretty useful to avoid hunger pangs throughout the day. Nuts, dried fruits, homemade salsa, veggie sticks, etc. are all good choices to keep you on your feet between meals.