Living Essex : cooking

A few basics - Some simple recipes

All the accommodation provided by the University is self-catered, so it’s time to pull out the pans and give Jamie Oliver a run for his money! Shared kitchens, equipped with fridge(s), freezer(s), microwave(s), oven(s), lots of big fat cupboards and a lively social atmosphere, provides a great environment in which to begin your culinary training. If you can team up with your house and flatmates – even better. This saves you money and you can even take it in turns to cook. Remember the more money you save on cooking – the more money you can spend on enjoying yourself!

It’s really not as scary as it sounds. Creating your own edible delights can actually be a lot of fun! Be adventurous!! Randomly bunging an unlikely combination of ingredients into a saucepan can often result in something pretty yummy...well sometimes!

It’s easy: all you have to do is follow the instructions on the packet! But your basic essentials should include; pasta, rice, potatoes, tinned tomatoes, bread, butter and some milk - whatever you buy from then on is always a bonus.

Jacket potato = 1½ hrs in the oven (Gas Mark 5) or 8 mins in the microwave (4 mins on each side)

Pasta = 8-10 mins in boiling water (turn down to simmer)

Rice = 15-20 mins in boiling water (turn down to simmer)

Oven chips = 20 mins in the oven (Gas Mark 7)

Baked beans = 17 seconds (to open tin and grab a spoon)

NB: To let water ‘simmer’ means to leave it gently bubbling.

Rice and pasta are really versatile, so once you’ve got the hang of cooking these, you can start to expand your culinary skills. For example, tinned tomatoes make a cheap but yummy sauce if you add a little bit of onion, a few mushrooms and a dash of salt and pepper. You’ll soon get used to life in the kitchen - and you can guarantee there’ll be at least one Jamie-Oliver-type in your flat, so you won’t go hungry! Just make sure you experiment.

Chilli Con Carne is great because it is cheap, filling and pretty good for you too (it actually has some vegetables in it!)

1 onion

1 pepper (red or green)

1lb minced beef

1 large tablespoon of tomato puree

1.5 teaspoons of chilli flakes

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tin of baked beans

1 tin of red kidney beans in chilli sauce (just use ordinary kidney beans if you can't get them)

Find a nice big saucepan, because everything's going to cook in it. Fry the onion and pepper with the chilli flakes for a few minutes. Add the mince and wait for it to brown, then add the tomato puree, and the two tins of beans. Leave it to simmer for one hour and it's ready! You can spice it up a little by adding fresh chillies if you want. You can also add more peppers or beans and replace the mince if you're a veggie.