Moving out to uni, can't cook
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Original post by purple_panther
I can't cook and I don't plan to cook at uni. I can't even use an oven and this is no exaggeration. I will probably live off ready meals. There is no point cooking for 1 unless you want to be eating the same meal for a week and it's actually cheaper to buy ready meals than make things from scratch.
This is the dumbest thing I ever heard. The key to life is to learn new skills.. Why the hell are you going to university if you shy away from even the simplest of learning curves?!
Original post by mhassan
I can boil/fry an egg and make sandwiches. I can also easily warm up a packet of oatmeal and fry frozen chicken. That's about it, Will that be enough?. Breakfast will just be cereal.
In one of Mary Berry's cookbook she has a guide to all basic cooking, like boiling/frying eggs. As well as cooking pasta and rice etc. It's very accessible and very concise. May be worth a look!
Original post by mhassan
I can boil/fry an egg and make sandwiches. I can also easily warm up a packet of oatmeal and fry frozen chicken. That's about it, Will that be enough?. Breakfast will just be cereal.
I thought most students just ate whatever they got in their college/halls/student cafeteria unless they're in a self-catering place? Most uni cooking facilities seem quite limited.
Stuff like pasta, stir fry, rice and cous cous is really easy to make as long as you know how to boil water and chop vegetables. If you get a ready made packet of stir fry (beansprouts etc) all you have to do is get some oil and heat it in a frying pan. Most food packaging tells you how long something needs to be cooked for/how to prepare it. There's always tinned soup and there are lots of higher quality microwave meals which are healthier than they used to be, though perhaps a bit expensive for a student. I wouldn't worry.
Uni I great time to learn to cook, am not great myself but I can fry stuff, done things like pork escalopes which is just fillet of pork in breadcrumbs and mash potato. This is quite easy to do, takes a bit of prep time but it's nice to make a meal from scratch. Just get yourself a student cookbook.
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Original post by mhassan
I can boil/fry an egg and make sandwiches. I can also easily warm up a packet of oatmeal and fry frozen chicken. That's about it, Will that be enough?. Breakfast will just be cereal.
I'm worse then you! I managed I burn toast and I don't even know how it just never went back up! Also I don't know when things are done or anything! I can't make fry chicken ether because I don't know when it's done and the oil goes everywhere and it burns!
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Original post by mhassan
I can boil/fry an egg and make sandwiches. I can also easily warm up a packet of oatmeal and fry frozen chicken. That's about it, Will that be enough?. Breakfast will just be cereal.
Don't forget the TSR recipe book. Full of super-easy recipes that are cheaper than ready meals and very quick to make.
The most popular recipe in that whole section is this: eggy bread
But there's more adventurous stuff as well, if you're feeling brave.
When I was learning to cook, the most useful thing I was shown was how to make a cheese toastie in a frying pan.
Just get the frying pan on a medium heat while you butter two slices of bread. Load one of the unbuttered sides with cheese and anything else you want in there (I put onions, chopped chillies and salami as well), then put the other slice on top. You want the buttered sides on the outside. Now put the sarnie in the pan and fry it until its golden brown on both sides. Takes about five minutes.
I couldn't cook a single thing when I started uni, no joke... I even managed to get pasta wrong 
But now I love cooking so much I make all sorts and actually really enjoy doing it (it tastes good and doesn't poison anyone too which is a bonus lol!). First thing is to learn the basics and learn how to make them edible first, then you can start practising to do more enjoyable food.
You could buy a cook book, or phone someone you know who makes nice food and ask them how to make something lol. I remember in my first week of uni I decided to cook something nice for me and all my housemates but I didn't know how to cook so I phoned my auntie up and she guided me through it over the phone haha! Also you could watch cookery programmes or youtube videos on how to cook certain things as well.
But now I love cooking so much I make all sorts and actually really enjoy doing it (it tastes good and doesn't poison anyone too which is a bonus lol!). First thing is to learn the basics and learn how to make them edible first, then you can start practising to do more enjoyable food. You could buy a cook book, or phone someone you know who makes nice food and ask them how to make something lol. I remember in my first week of uni I decided to cook something nice for me and all my housemates but I didn't know how to cook so I phoned my auntie up and she guided me through it over the phone haha! Also you could watch cookery programmes or youtube videos on how to cook certain things as well.
(edited 9 years ago)
Just google a few recipes to try them out. Nothing to complicated. Take it slow, one step at a time and check as you go along.
Original post by mhassan
I can boil/fry an egg and make sandwiches. I can also easily warm up a packet of oatmeal and fry frozen chicken. That's about it, Will that be enough?. Breakfast will just be cereal.
Follow the instructions precisely.
I'm also not a master chef, however roasting some chicken in oven or frying things in pan is pretty easy. Just watch it when you cook it, give it a taste to see if it's edible add spices if it lacks flavour, prepare before you start cooking stuff and stick to basics.
You can't really go wrong with just grilling meat if you don't let it burn.
Original post by Redbird.
I thought most students just ate whatever they got in their college/halls/student cafeteria unless they're in a self-catering place? Most uni cooking facilities seem quite limited.
Stuff like pasta, stir fry, rice and cous cous is really easy to make as long as you know how to boil water and chop vegetables. If you get a ready made packet of stir fry (beansprouts etc) all you have to do is get some oil and heat it in a frying pan. Most food packaging tells you how long something needs to be cooked for/how to prepare it. There's always tinned soup and there are lots of higher quality microwave meals which are healthier than they used to be, though perhaps a bit expensive for a student. I wouldn't worry.
Stuff like pasta, stir fry, rice and cous cous is really easy to make as long as you know how to boil water and chop vegetables. If you get a ready made packet of stir fry (beansprouts etc) all you have to do is get some oil and heat it in a frying pan. Most food packaging tells you how long something needs to be cooked for/how to prepare it. There's always tinned soup and there are lots of higher quality microwave meals which are healthier than they used to be, though perhaps a bit expensive for a student. I wouldn't worry.
Most students are in self-catered accommodation.
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Original post by purple_panther
I can't cook and I don't plan to cook at uni. I can't even use an oven and this is no exaggeration. I will probably live off ready meals. There is no point cooking for 1 unless you want to be eating the same meal for a week and it's actually cheaper to buy ready meals than make things from scratch.
I'm not entirely convinced it is... Remember you can buy a bag of frozen peas or whatever and they'll last you ages, so you might spend more on weekly shopping but you'll get more out of what you buy.
Original post by LavenderBlueSky88
This is the dumbest thing I ever heard. The key to life is to learn new skills.. Why the hell are you going to university if you shy away from even the simplest of learning curves?!
I second this!
Most things are surprisingly easy to cook. If you can fry chicken you can fry any meat. Learn how to boil pasta, rice, noodles, and potatoes. Learn how to steam or saute veg.
Buy a few herbs and spices and curry powder and stuff like soy sauce and pesto. melted cheese improves almost everything.
Combinations of the above can make like 200 different dishes.
If you want to get a little more advanced, learn how to make a few sauces from scratch and how to cook pastry dishes but its really not necessary to make simple, tasty, healthy dinners.
Don't waste your time with recipe books, they're always unnecessarily complicated.
Buy a few herbs and spices and curry powder and stuff like soy sauce and pesto. melted cheese improves almost everything.
Combinations of the above can make like 200 different dishes.
If you want to get a little more advanced, learn how to make a few sauces from scratch and how to cook pastry dishes but its really not necessary to make simple, tasty, healthy dinners.
Don't waste your time with recipe books, they're always unnecessarily complicated.
Learn to use food that you have leftover in the fridge from the day before.
I was really keen on omelettes and pasta bakes last year because they were able to clear my leftover foods from the fridge.
Omelettes can use up eggs, half an onion (if you used the other half previously for another thing), etc
Pasta bakes are good for using any leftover vegetables, pasta and cheese.
Be smart with your food and you can also save at the same time
Fortunately I cooked quite alot at home before I started uni so I was 'au fait' with doing more than just the basics.
I was really keen on omelettes and pasta bakes last year because they were able to clear my leftover foods from the fridge.
Omelettes can use up eggs, half an onion (if you used the other half previously for another thing), etc
Pasta bakes are good for using any leftover vegetables, pasta and cheese.
Be smart with your food and you can also save at the same time
Fortunately I cooked quite alot at home before I started uni so I was 'au fait' with doing more than just the basics.
Knowing me, I'll probably be living off salads. I refuse to eat takeaways or ready meals. I probably won't have the time or effort to cook a meal so salads and fruit it is for me!
Original post by Nav_Mallhi
Knowing me, I'll probably be living off salads. I refuse to eat takeaways or ready meals. I probably won't have the time or effort to cook a meal so salads and fruit it is for me!
Of course you'll have the time!
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Original post by lascelles
And the effort? I can be pretty lazy, too.
I don't help myself when it comes to food. I'm a fussy vegetarian so egg, meat and fish are out of the question. So yeah, salads and fruit are my only quick option. Original post by Nav_Mallhi
And the effort? I can be pretty lazy, too. I don't help myself when it comes to food. I'm a fussy vegetarian so egg, meat and fish are out of the question. So yeah, salads and fruit are my only quick option.
I don't help myself when it comes to food. I'm a fussy vegetarian so egg, meat and fish are out of the question. So yeah, salads and fruit are my only quick option. I get too bored with salads. But if it's what you prefer, then fair enough. I never really cooked before uni, but I have become much more interested in cooking different meals that are healthy (including some veggie meals) because I was bored of a very limited amount of foods.
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Original post by lascelles
I get too bored with salads. But if it's what you prefer, then fair enough. I never really cooked before uni, but I have become much more interested in cooking different meals that are healthy (including some veggie meals) because I was bored of a very limited amount of foods.
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I love salads!
What veggie foods did you cook? It would be great if you could suggest some.
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