The Gamer's Quarter

[Dracko]

Ever since the academic year begun, I've given myself little opportunity to cook. Laziness, lack of funds, whatever. It's a shame because I enjoy it. I enjoy reaping the fruits of my labour directly. And it's patently obvious to me now that eating junk has done nothing to help my already awkward physical state and lethargy.

So now it is November, I have settled into my campus room, and money is coming in. And I suddenly find that I'm daunted by the task at hand. I can't think of any particular dish to make! Or where best to find the appropriate ingredients! I now feel like a freshman all over again!

I need ideas. Any tips on how to buy quality cheap? Any dishes that you'd recommend? I'll try anything once: Vegan, vegetarian, meat, meat, meat. Any cookbooks, even?

Here, we talk about what we're making for dinner tonight.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[simplicio]

oh man, my (vegan) staple through most of college was just rice, seasoned black beans (cumin especially), mixed greens, tomato and cucumber in a tortilla. I ate that daily, often more. And I still love it to this day.

Wrong person for this thread, obviously!

[dessgeega]

that sounds really good. (except for the cucumber. i'm never been very big on cucumber. too crunchy.) most of my food comes from the microwave.
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[Dracko]

[GSL]

Ramen.

No, seriously. You can get a ton of use out of a package of Top Ramen, Maruchan, or some manner of import if you're lucky enough to live in a place where such things are easily attainable. For example, try some of these additives:

-Cabbage. Slice coarse strips, toss it into the ramen mixture just as it's almost done cooking. The cabbage gets a little tender but not soggy.

-Mushrooms. Any sort works really, I'm a huge fan of Sun Luck's dried shiitakes as they're cheap and rehydrate wonderfully if you add them to the soup mixture first thing. But really, your favorite fungus will add some nice texture to the mix.

-Meat. Go to your local grocery store and pick up a package of cubed stew meat or 'stir fry' strips of either beef or pork. You can get small quarter- or half-pound trays for $3 or less, and it's the perfect amount for about two large servings. Bring your water to a boil, add your seasonings, then toss in your meat. If the water's hot enough, the beef will cook through in just a few minutes; give pork a little longer. Add noodles and continue cooking normally.

-Egg. Drop a raw egg in at the very end when everything's boiling; it will be fully cooked in just a minute or so.

-Seasonings. I've found that the best way for tasty ramen, even if you're using a ghetto Top Ramen brand or something, is to always put all your seasonings in first thing when you start boiling the water, not when the noodles are added. Also, try adding a dash of curry powder, a fair amount of powdered ginger to taste (me, I like a lot), about a tablespoon of sesame seeds, a few tablespoons of soy sauce, and a clove or two minced garlic to the whole thing when you start cooking.

Seriously, ramen's pretty versatile, especially if you ignore the ridiculously large amounts of sodium. Also, if you're a fan of spicy foods, you could certainly do a lot worse than the freaking awesome Korean Shin Ramyun.

Okay, yeah, so it's a real 'impoverished college student' sort of thing to do; I consider myself a fairly accomplished chef but dammit, after a full day of classes and work the last thing I want to do upon getting home is spend an hour making something to eat. As such, sandwiches, various burritos, and the ramen concoctions form a large percentage of my diet.

[Swimmy]

Breakfast burritos. Pretty simple, just scramble a couple eggs, add things like peppers, whatever kinda sauce you dig, etc. Slap on a tortilla and go at it.
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"Ayn Rand fans are the old school version of Xenogears fanboys."
-seryogin

[Redeye]

Ramen works great with Spam.
Use your own seasonings instead of the evil salt packet.
I save those packets for use as buillion- mix with saved grease and it goes a long way.

If you have a blender and ice, fruit suddenly becomes way more appealing.
Especially if you also have booze

Lets see, food groups:

V8
Fruit/OJ
Slimfast/Instant Breakfast
Ramen
Spam
Hot Dogs (with the works)
Microwave burritos
Salad
Apple Sauce
Yogurt
Homemade pizza
Nuts/raisins
Peanut butter
rice&beans
homemade fries


Perfect diet.

Last night I made experimental homemade pizza with my mom.
Her kitchen, her rules.
Using cottage cheese was just a bit too much.
I had one slice to be polite.
The second pizza was a chili-bean taco experiment. Top heavy but OK.

I'll probably have ramen, v8, and spam for lunch tomorrow.
How to metabolize all of that salt?
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I felt sheer anarchic joy when I ran over my first pedestrian.

[Mister Toups]

[dhex]

soups and stuff are probably about as cheap as you an get without totally sucking.

yogurt + granola overnight in fridge = breakfast. about eight dollars (4.20gbp) will get you eight to ten days of pasty yogurty granolaness.

i'm making tofu and broccoli rabe with a chili paste tonight. i usually make my own hot oils but my wife can't really rock that shit so i'm kinda stuck with the store jar brands. my tofu is superior for a honky.
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[Redeye]

[friedchicken]

[dhex]

vegan replacements scare the shit out of me with their grossness. i would just stick to salads and their vicissitudes if i had to play for that team, but i am kinda picky.

for about $13 you can make enough chili (con carne, con fuerte, !con venganza!) to feed two people for about 3 days in a row if they're really hungry. add some rice if you like to kick it like that. my chili is unbearably delicious. and you can add just about any kind of vegetable you like - string beans, peas, corn, carrots (to a lesser degree), broccoli, rabe, even snow/snap peas.

i've never had any good vegan chili since it is basically a spicy vegetable stew. which isn't a bad idea on its own, actually.
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[dessgeega]

is veganrella any good? i have yet to find a decent cheese substitute, though there is a vegan grated parmesan that is pretty good on pasta.
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[friedchicken]

[OtakupunkX]

So I regret to inform everyone that I didn't quite make it with the vegan thing (don't think I was eating enough beans or anything so the lack of protein eventually got to me, I really don't eat meat that often anymore though), but I gained a newfound appreciation for those who do make it and I'm eating only organic foods now.

That being said, Peanut Butter is possibly as versatile as ramen. You can do a lot with it and even eat it straight if you have to. My favorite Peanut Butter sandwiches include Peanut Butter and Honey, Peanut Butter and banana, the classic Peanut Butter and Jelly, and sometimes even Peanut Butter and Chocolate.

One year for school I got so lazy that I brought Peanut Butter and Honey on wheat bread every day. It never got old, somehow.

[dessgeega]

i have so many jars of peanut butter sitting around it's ridiculous. maranatha is peanut butter from the heavens, by the way.
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[OtakupunkX]

I usually eat this store-brand organic peanut butter my mom buys. I've found that organic peanut butter has a stronger, peanut-ier taste than normal, Peter Pan-esque peanut butter, but I guess that's to be expected.

[Redeye]

I thought that honey was a big Vegan no-no.

Using bees as machines.
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I felt sheer anarchic joy when I ran over my first pedestrian.

[friedchicken]

[Shapermc]

When I was in my hotel room for six months I did a lot of ramen cooking and came to find it very versitile (much more than I did in college...). Greatsaintlouis recommends some excellent options for how versitile it can be. If you live near an asian grocery (you probably do if you don't think you do) I also recommend grabbing some Udon.

Anyways, what was missed was the awesomeness of boxed Tofu. One box of tofu can be had at most asian groceries for like $.75 - $1. When you're making your soup, or just a simple stir-fry, or even just some rice, take out a box and cut it up and put it in with the item. Tofu takes a little while to get use to a flavor for it (luckily before you get taste for it, it just tastes like a texture, not a flavor) but when you do, you'll crave the stuff. It is simple to add and always goes good with whatever you're cooking it in. They also last forever (the boxes). NEVER get soft tofu though, I can only think of one item I ever needed soft tofu for.

Anyways, if you have an asian grocery pick up some sauces too. Hoisen and Chilie Paste are good starters. You might want to grab some oyster sause if you're cooking with mushrooms (doesn't taste like oysters, and it goes amazingly awesome with mushrooms). I like mirin quite a bit as well. They all go well with a simple soup or stir-fry.

Also, most of these recommendations are pretty cheap things if you go to an asian grocery.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

[Redeye]

Nut Butter Murphy
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I felt sheer anarchic joy when I ran over my first pedestrian.

[Dracko]

My attempt at microwaving potatoes this evening was a failure. One day, when I can actually afford to spend over an hour and a half on cooking, I will quench my roasted potatoes fix.

For any Blixa Bargeld (Demolishing autobahns and preparing risottos since 1980) fans out there, there's this:


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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[friedchicken]

[dhex]

rosemary and garlic go good with potatoes. shit, that goes good with nearly everything.

microwaves are an abomination.
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[Dracko]

They really are, but my accomodation kitchen doesn't have any traditional ovens, just mircowave ones.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[dhex]

wierd fact via wikipedia:

[FortNinety]

Its really funny when one person's idea of disgusting "I'm only eating it cuz I'm DIRT poor" is another perrson's idea of a great dish.

[friedchicken]

[dhex]

i make some banging salads. just sayin'.

my friend makes pretty good vegan snickerdoodles and the like. she swears that vegan truffles are possible, but i must disagree. a priori no less. it's not like a cookie where the fats on the inside can be approximated - the cookies aren't the same as regular cookies, but they're still very good - because truffles rely on the right kinds of blends of chocolate and dairy. i've seen recipies which sub vegan margarine blends, soft soy, and soy milk for the heavy cream, but seeing as i make this stuff once a year for other people, i dont' think i'd want to experiment on them.

but the cheeses, yeah, eh. i've had a bunch due to my friend's vegan test kitchen lifestyle and i think if they were rebranded or re-considered the lack of expectations might help. i've had vegan pepperoni which was interesting and definitely edible but not even remotely pepperoni-like. i don't know what i'd use it for, however.

and hey, falafel! everyone likes falafel (except heathens).

shame about the guiness.

i will pass along the vegan snickerdoodle recipie sometime next month since i know the cookies are good and i'm going to be playing that sort of "hey, try this cookie ha ha gotcha it's fake" thing come december anyway.
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[Swimmy]

I don't bother with most vegan foods (I'm poor), but vegan butter is way better than margarine.
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"Ayn Rand fans are the old school version of Xenogears fanboys."
-seryogin

[Redeye]

[Dracko]

[friedchicken]

[GSL]

[friedchicken]