Starting out at uni or just learning to cook.....

[Rod Paradise]

As my girlfriend's starting back at Uni this week (not even thinly veiled 'I've a girlfriend less than half my age post'), i asked a guy i know for advice on stocking up her cupboard so she could start cooking more than just student chili or buying takeaways.....

Kenny's written a couple of cookbooks and his advice seemed good so I thought I'd share it (and get him some advertising since he was so helpful).

His basic stocking advice:

the main thing when stocking the cupboard is to be sure that the stuff you're buying keeps for quite a long time - essentials that i'd always try to make sure I have in the cupboard are:

tinned tomatoes
basmati rice
dried egg noodles
dark and light soy sauce, and oyster sauce
vegetable oil
olive oil
toasted sesame oil
tomato puree
worcester sauce
tomato ketchup
mayonnaise
vegetable and chicken stock cubes
salt, black pepper, white pepper, sugar

flours: chapati flour, or plain flour and wholemeal flour for chapatis etc
bread flour and dried yeast for pizza bases
self raising flour, caster sugar and vanilla extract for cookies, desserts etc

spices: coriander, cumin, garam masala, chilli powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, turmeric, mild madras curry powder, chinese 5-spice, garlic powder, onion granules

dried herbs: oregano, dried italian herbs, parsley, dried fenugreek leaves

i also like to stock up on things like tinned chickpeas, kidney beans etc, especially when they're cheap because they can live in the cupboard for months

i'll probably have forgotten a few things but that's a decent starting point and should put you in a position to cook most things from the takeaway secret and more takeaway secrets as well as most other things, leaving you just having to buy stuff like chicken, yogurt, beef, lamb, vegetables etc as a main ingredient for the dishes

if you've never cooked much or don't have a filled storecupboard it'll seem daunting at first getting all that stuff - all that stuff could probably be bought for £20-30 in total though and it'll keep you going in meals for months

hope this helps

His first cookbook (can a mod edit in the amazon link that helps blonde please -  struggling to find how to do it).


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Takeaway-Secret-Cook-Favourite-Fast-food/dp/0716022354/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347966103&sr=1-1

Off shopping this afternoon.....

[MC]

Super noodles,
Micro Pizzas,
Pasta and Sauce,
Beans,
Bread...

Sorted.

[Laxie]

We bought that book, but haven't tried anything from it yet.  Will give it a go after our weight loss challenge is complete.

[Tal]

George Foreman grill
Microwave

Done.

[corkeye]

U get sick of takeaways every night after a while!

U could hardly cook til I went to uni but could cook like a boss after I left

[millidonk]

Micro Pizzas,
Sorted.

fyp

[paulhouk03]

spag bol
curry
steak
noodles

[Rod Paradise]

U get sick of takeaways every night after a while!

U could hardly cook til I went to uni but could cook like a boss after I left

Exactly, she's had 2 years of student life already, idea was to help her do something different.

[Sark79]

Yea, I agree about trying to cook something new and different.  I went through a phase of eating takeaway most nights for about 6 months. After a while I began to hate takeaway and also my energy was down. Healthy quick food is fun to cook and makes you feel great about yourself.  I like homemade soups as they are very difficult to get wrong. You can experiment and throw everything in there. I tend to stick to three main ingredients rather than going overboard. Even a simple veg soup can have too many ingredients. Topped off with some garlic croutons and brown bread and you have a lovely cheap meal for the coming winter.