People have lots of excuses as to why they can’t or won’t cook. Some of my best friends couldn’t cook, which was a problem when they moved out of home. After watching them live off take away I decided I was going to teach them. I promise you, if they can learn to cook anyone can!
Cooking doesn’t have to be difficult, expensive or time consuming. It certainly doesn’t have to be a chore; food is something that brings people together. I believe cooking is a skill everyone should have. If you are going to be eating three meals a day for the rest of your life, you might as well be good at it!
Being a uni student myself, I know that money is often pretty tight. So to help, I have included the average cost to make each recipe. I think that it’s a good idea to make more than you need, so that there are leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner. This applies especially if you’re cooking only for yourself. Food that freezes well, such as soup, I tend to make a big batch of and freeze in containers for a future meal. I also think it’s worthwhile to have a few basic items stocked in your pantry. There might be an initial cost, but a well-stocked pantry means you can whip up a delicious meal without having to buy many extra ingredients.
Some good basic pantry items to have on hand:
- Oil
- Salt and pepper
- Stock cubes
- Rice
- Dried pasta
- Noodles
- Dijon mustard
- Vinegar (White vinegar is best for general purpose.)
- Cous cous
- Canned tomatoes
- Coriander seeds ground
- Cumin seeds ground
- Soy sauce
- Frozen peas (Hopefully logic will prevail and you'll keep them int he freezer rather than the pantry.)
Give a couple of these recipes a go. Hopefully after mastering some basic recipes you’ll find other things you want to make. Make your room mate dinner one night; they’ll love you for it I promise. My roommate and I were studying the degree, I cooked, he gave me his lecture notes. Seemed like a pretty good deal to me.