November 16, 2012, by Gemma
Bare Grills
“Bare Grills”
For many, cooking for themselves is a scary prospect. But it needn’t be! It’s not like you have to rear your own cattle, grow your own vegetables, and make your own pasta.
You don’t need to enter the kitchen looking like this:
Nor do you need to spend hours each evening making an extravagant meal.
I remember my first ever homemade meal in second year: Stir fried egg noodles with chicken. I went a bit overboard with the soy sauce, but it was still edible. After a year of being cooked for in catered halls, the transition to cooking for myself was relatively easy as I knew how to cook before coming to Uni. But it’s the other stuff, like portion sizes that I find difficult sometimes. I’m still learning to be honest…for example, only in my final year have I started making shopping lists, rather than buying by sight. Wooops!
Survival guide to cooking for yourself:
- Make a list!
I know I know, I can’t really talk; but a list helps you stay on track when you go shopping. Then you reduce your chances of wasting food.
- Use leftovers in various fun ways.
Use of leftover chicken tikka masala
For example, say you’ve made spaghetti Bolognese, and you don’t fancy eating it again for the 3rd meal in a row, you could spoon some onto puff pastry before baking in the oven. That’s what I did recently with some leftover chicken tikka masala. Yum!
- Check out the offers.
Sainsbury’s often have 3 for £10 offers on chicken products. Buy 3 packs, and then use freezer bags to separate them into portions ready for defrosting whenever you’re making dinner. If your freezer is small, share the offer with housemates.
And when you cannot be bothered to cook, you could always get take-out or go out for a meal.
Cooking should generally be relaxing and fun, especially if you try new recipes, such as from the BBC.
Highlight of the week
Turtle Bay
Last night, I tried a new Caribbean restaurant that just opened in the Cornerhouse – Turtle Bay. The food was jam-packed with flavour! Check it out if you get the chance. Plus, it’s happy hour before 7. 🙂
See you next Friday!
Great tip on using the BBC site for recipes. Also, try some of the food blogs that talk about frugal living as they have great tips on how to make your money stretch. I like the cooking videos on youtube too.
Hi Mike, thanks for reading.
Do you have any food blogs to recommend?