How I Cook Food?

[Jesusabdullah]

So...I'm having to truly fend for myself (when it comes to food) for the first time, and I have no clue. What do I do?! I only really need to survive for two weeks before I'm back to eating cafeteria food, but that's a significant amount of time! I don't want to subsist on pilot bread and peanut butter alone. T__T

[LibertyCabbage]

Just make some noodles They're easy to cook, cheap, and nutritious. Then you can get a jar of sauce and heat it up in a pan and you've got a decent meal. You could also get Ramen packets (usually 3 or 4 for a dollar) and you won't even need to bother with sauce since they come with seasoning.

Fresh and frozen vegetables are very easy to cook. Generally you just put them in a bowl and put them in the microwave with some water.

And, of course, the easiest meal would be to order pizza or Chinese, although it'll probably cost a lot more than making something yourself.

edit: Oh, and I've found that eggs can make a pretty good dinner, even if they're generally thought of as a breakfast food. There's no real reason you can't eat eggs, fruit, and toast at any time of the day.

And, I think this is the first time I've ever given anyone cooking advice =/

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

Get some olive oil, a pan and some vegetable. Wash them first and heat the pan with oil, then stir fry the vegetables and add some seasoning. Eat with bread or rice. You may want to add some manner of protein too.

Eggs are really easy to make too.

[Jesusabdullah]

This has been pretty helpful. Cool.

I should probably elaborate on some things. I'm crashing at a friend's place for a couple of weeks before school starts. I have access to the kitchen, and they (he has housemates) are pretty relaxed as far as sharing their food goes, but I suck at finding things to eat, and I feel bad about eating all their food anyway. I'm also concerned about buying a lot of ingredients that I won't really have a use for in two weeks, and that they won't have a use for either. From what I can tell, they subsist on ground beef and condiments alone*. I can't even figure it out! So, yeah, I don't want to leave them with, like, an onion (which they'll probably never eat).

Totally gonna do pasta though. I'm used to having a fuckton of it left over after eating, but I've quickly realized that my family plans it that way.

Now I just gotta get to the store!

*Edit: They don't have any fruit here! Freaks me the fuck out.

[MixedMyth]

If you don't want to buy a lot of ingredients, I do suggest buying some supplimental stuff...a can of nuts, for example, and apples....'cause subsisting entirely off of pasta is a bad idea. Plus, you can get hungry if you don't have a rounded meal even if you've had a lot of pasta. Body needs different things. So things that go quickly but keep well and are well rounded...um....nuts and fruit as I've said, for refrigerated stuff I've found yogurt works well. If you want to keep with the trend of "heat water up and add shit to it" there's pasta...there's also rice...and oatmeal. Just a note on rice, though, keep a lid on as you boil it. I made that mistake once and boiled the water all away until the rice burned. Other than that, for most "toss it into boiling water" stuff the directions really are on the back of the box.

[Ahaugen]

you can buy a can of flaked chicken and mix it with mayo and pickles to make a basic chicken salad for sandwiches

[Phact0rri]

there's also these places that make food for you, ^_~

[CJBurgandy]

I don't want to subsist on pilot bread and peanut butter alone. T__T

The True Alaskan Meal. (though I often add jam to it)

Note, I know that "fresh Veggies" are not actually sold in the winter up here, so I suggest getting frozen. You can still make a great stir fry using mixed frozen veggies.
I also suggest, if you can afford it, getting some Reindeer and cooking it up like a hot dog. Put it on a bun with some Dijon and it's lip smacking good.
if you need cheap, get top ramen noodles. You can do so much with them. After you boil the noodles, you can transfer them to a skillet with a little butter and Soy Sauce, add some of those frozen veggies and the flavor packet from the ramen and you gots your self some college stir fry. If you're not in the mood for a complete diet, replace the veggies with cashews and when your noodles look about done, add some melty cheese to the top, like Mozzarella. (you can even use Mozzarella string cheese )

[Dr Neo Lao]

If you want meat but can't afford it or want something simple that isn't expensive then look for stuff like TVP. There are a variety of companies that make it. Sanitarium are the best ones around here, but I don't know if they are available where you are.

Have a hunt around in the cold section of the local market, usually between the meat section and the dairy section. You can get sausages, bacon, mince and a bunch of other stuff made of TVP. It's filling, it's flexible and it's cheap.

In it's raw for it comes as dried, hard little pebbles that are inedible. What you want to do is stick them into a bowl, fill with boiling water and let them sit for a while until they go soft. After that you can use them with just about anything. A really simple way to use them would be to add some tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste and then add to pasta. Done.

If you end up eating mostly bread, then that's fine - you can survive on that for a while, but go for wholemeal or multigrain bread rather than white - it's more filling and better for you (and normally has less sugar in it as well).

A lot of places sell ready-to-eat meals, but I find that the portions tend to be small and they are expensive (but still cheaper than eating out).

Chinatown is usally a good place to find decent meals for a good price, but it may be best to find someone to take with you who speaks the lingo. There's a reason for the price. Oh, and never get "discount sushi".

The last little tidbit would be to go to your local library and see if they have any cookbooks for "cooking on a budget" or something like that. These are little gems and are worth their weight in gold when you're trying to figure this sort of stuff out for the first time. And the internets is also a great place, you just need to ask the right questions. Ask for "recipes on a budget" and you'll get sites like this one, but some of the stuff you won't be able to do due to a lack of ingredients.

The basics that you'd need are:

• A saucepan (good for cooking, frying, deep frying and boiling)
• A sharp knife (for cutting pretty much anything, from sausages to cabbage)
• A wooden spoon (for stirring, tasting, mixing and flipping)
• A can opener (lots of good stuff comes in cans)

With those, you can make pretty much anything. Other stuff (such as a chopping board or a colander) help, but those are the basics and it seems that you have those available.

And tomato sauce. Almost anything can be made to taste better with tomato sauce. Except pineapple juice.

(Whoops - didn't think the post would end up so long, sorry about rambling... )

[KWill]

Ramen noodles are fast and easy, and, depending on if you have an oven, so is pizza. Real cooking on the other hand requires a bit of time. Usually, its just a matter of following the recipe (which plenty of packaging will usually have printed on it somewhere). The only thing that's ever a real obstacle to cooking is the intuitive stuff like "how high do I put the heat?" or "how long do I have to leave it on?" With a bit of practice, you should be fine.

[Rkolter]

You can buy hot dogs and hot dog buns. Those are quick.

Or you could get triscuits, cheese, and salsa - melt the cheese over the triscuits and add salsa.

Pan fried bologna is still quite tasty - a bit of olive oil, a thick slice of bologna, and you're in business.

Buy lettuce and salad dressing?

Shish-ke-bobs are entertaining - just buy a steak, cut it into cubes, buy some pearl onions, and some green peppers, some shish-ke-bob sticks, and some bbq sauce. Cook at 325 for 10-12 minutes, turning half way.

Eggs in a hole are easy - make toast, cut a hole in toast, put on frying pan, crack egg in hole, flip when egg whites thicken.

[Birdie]

Every bachelor should own this book

A Man, A Can, and A Plan!

[Killbert-Robby]

Get loaf of sliced white bread
Get milk
Get eggs

Mix milk and eggs like you would for an omolete. Dip slices of bread in this mix til it soaks in nice and deep

Fry brown

Sprinkle sugar on top.

This fills up all the basic needs for a student meal - Fast - Cheap - Easy - Filling - Yummy - High in calories and fats

[KWill]

Get loaf of sliced white bread
Get milk
Get eggs

Mix milk and eggs like you would for an omolete. Dip slices of bread in this mix til it soaks in nice and deep

Fry brown

Sprinkle sugar on top.

This fills up all the basic needs for a student meal - Fast - Cheap - Easy - Filling - Yummy - High in calories and fats

You shouldn't use milk for an omelette, though...

[Killbert-Robby]

Get loaf of sliced white bread
Get milk
Get eggs

Mix milk and eggs like you would for an omolete. Dip slices of bread in this mix til it soaks in nice and deep

Fry brown

Sprinkle sugar on top.

This fills up all the basic needs for a student meal - Fast - Cheap - Easy - Filling - Yummy - High in calories and fats

You shouldn't use milk for an omelette, though...

I use a little - stretches the eggs. But yes, I should have said scrambled.

[Yeahduff]

Canned chili is typically cheap and full of protein. I typically have a side of rice with it.

When cooking spaghetti, make sure you put the sauce on before the water starts boiling......

[McDuffies]

They don't eat onions?
Onions are, like, my essential food ingredient. Preparing 90% of meals I cook start with chopping onions.

[MixedMyth]

Get loaf of sliced white bread
Get milk
Get eggs

Mix milk and eggs like you would for an omolete. Dip slices of bread in this mix til it soaks in nice and deep

Fry brown

Sprinkle sugar on top.

This fills up all the basic needs for a student meal - Fast - Cheap - Easy - Filling - Yummy - High in calories and fats

Mmmm French toast is so delicious. We tend to put a little butter and maple syrup on top, though.

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

They don't eat onions?
Onions are, like, my essential food ingredient. Preparing 90% of meals I cook start with chopping onions.

There was a period in which I essentially ate nothing but onions.

[Brockway]

You can buy hot dogs and hot dog buns. Those are quick.

Or you could get triscuits, cheese, and salsa - melt the cheese over the triscuits and add salsa.

Pan fried bologna is still quite tasty - a bit of olive oil, a thick slice of bologna, and you're in business.

Buy lettuce and salad dressing?

Shish-ke-bobs are entertaining - just buy a steak, cut it into cubes, buy some pearl onions, and some green peppers, some shish-ke-bob sticks, and some bbq sauce. Cook at 325 for 10-12 minutes, turning half way.

Eggs in a hole are easy - make toast, cut a hole in toast, put on frying pan, crack egg in hole, flip when egg whites thicken.

I always heard that last one called a bird's nest. Or at least thats what it was called in my boy scout field guide thingy.

Macaroni is incredibly cheap, and can be cooked in the microwave without having to buy that easy mac crap. Stuff even used to have microwave directions on the box till they realised they could charge more if they took them off. Watch out though, a whole box has 1000 calories.

Sandwiches are very good. A nice salami, turkey, bolonga sandwich with mayo on wheat is great.

Rice is also microwaveable. It goes great as a side, or mixed with something like tuna for protein. I prefer the one in oil, and add soy sauce and mustard for flavor.

Canned veggies can be dumped into ramen if you want vitamins I guess. Condensed soup is also good and cheap.

Citrus fruits are good if you want to avoid scurvy.

A rudimentary trap for birds can be made with a thin piece of rope and a stick. You sharpen both ends of the stick, put something for bait on one end, and stab the other end into a tree or post. You tie the rope around the tree, and leave a loop sort of hanging on the stick. The bird lands on the stick, the stick falls, the bird gets caught in the slip loop and it trapped. For small birds, no de-feathering is necessary. Simply let the fire burn the feathers off, the skin is thin and should be easy to remove.

Gill nets can be fashioned out of parachute chord. These are highly illegal, but can be used in emergency situations like yours. You need to remove the outer sheathing, exposing the twisted lines underneath. You untwist these and braid them into a net, which you place in an area of water likely to have fish. Under a dock, overhang, or near redds are good spots. Watch out for snakes. Cooking while speared on a stick is the easiest method. Let cook until flaky.

A squirrell trap can be made with wire and a log. The wire is fashioned into a series of loops that snag squirrels as they run along, ensnaring them. Squirrel meat is said to be slightly oily. Boiling is the preferred method to preserve nutrients as broth.

Dandelion greens are very nutritious, and can me made into a salad.

Accorns and cattail roots can be ground into flour, allowing you to make flat breads.

Did I mention one of my favorite books is My Side of the Mountain, along with the Hatchet series?