Eating In

EATING IN: The Aspiring Chef Learns to Cook

You have a place to cook, a real kitchen or a spot in the dorm, some utensils and the motivation to eat in instead of out. Not only will you save tons of money, you'll also have fun developing cooking skills. Being in charge of your own food preparation is a challenging experience but completely worthwhile.

In this little book you'll find descriptions of methods and straightforward recipes for breakfasts, veggies and fruit, salads, sauces and soups, entrées, sandwiches and snacks, and sweet things. Some recipes come with tips to make shopping, storing and prepping easier. Some have instructions on how to achieve a complete meal. A few recipes are built upon prepared foods easily found in food markets. But do read their labels to check out fats and sodium levels! All recipes carry both imperial and metric measurements. Please read the page on imperial to metric equivalents and conversions.

Some recipes are suitable for bare-bones cooking facilities. They are labeled as SKILLET/El. WOK/FRYPAN, meaning that the dish can be prepared using either a stove or an electric wok or frypan. Other pages list essential tools for both bare bones and real kitchens.

The main advice this book offers the beginning cook is to be not afraid. Accidents happen. Toast burns, meat dries out, potato water overflows and so on. But when you are learning to feed yourself, what's the panic? Just remember to keep milk, ice cream, fruit and cereal boxes on hand. Together they make a meal and you won't starve.