Food – Student Pro Tips

Overcaffeinated safety weasel

TL/DR; just the tip: Drink coffee, but drink it carefully.

I love coffee. Coffee is often served hotter than I would like. I don’t want anything hotter than 150 ℉ (65 ℃). The hotter the beverage, the higher the possibility for scalds. My wife and I were on a road trip, and this conversation happened pretty much verbatim. She was kind enough to get me a cup of coffee while I filled the gas tank. The coffee arrived at a superheated temperature. I was afraid a harsh vibration would cause the whole cup to vaporize. Continue reading “Overcaffeinated safety weasel”

Pressure Cooker for Students

My pressure cooker has been one of my best purchase decisions

Before I purchased my pressure cooker, I would get home hungry and go to the restaurant across the street. Since I would take my girlfriend, that added up to $60-80 per week. I felt like I was bleeding money through my stomach. I bought the pressure cooker for $100 at the local hardware store. It paid for itself within a month. The particular pressure cooker which I purchased also can act as a rice cooker and a crock pot (slow cooker). So I gave away my old Crockpot. The net result was no increase in number of appliances in my small kitchen.

Continue reading “Pressure Cooker for Students”

Another step in the ongoing development of Bachelor Chow

High-calorie Bachelor Chow

Based on some feedback a few months ago from Reddit, lab mates, and commenters on the site, I decided to enrich the calorie density and lavor of my bachelor Chow recipe (available for download in the Top 10 Recipes booklet). This is a short report of my results. Obviously, not everyone is interested in adding calories or additioanal cost to their food shake. For those who are, however, the simplest manner with which to add such calories is vegetable oil. Oils/fats are very energy dense. Relative to carbohydrate and protein, oils contain almost twice as many calories per gram. They are also extremely cheap. Hence…

Continue reading “Another step in the ongoing development of Bachelor Chow”

Simple Student Recipe – Taco Soup

Taco soup, one of the recipes in Top Ten Student Recipes at Gumroad.

This is an easy soup that tastes great. Sauté ground beef with taco seasoning in a pot. If the beef is frozen, a little water in the bottom will ensure it thaws before the bottom burns. Once the beef is well on the way to done, add a diced (chopped into small bits) onion. The timing is not critical. Once the beef is completely done, add one large can of diced tomatoes, one medium can of corn (not creamed corn), and one medium can of red kidney beans. When it’s warm, it’s ready. If you want to get fancy, serve with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheddar.

Continue reading “Simple Student Recipe – Taco Soup”

Simple Chicken for Students

The simplest, easiest chicken to make in a hurry..

You need some frozen, cooked chicken. It is sometimes called “Fajita meat,” or “Sliced and Seasoned Boneless Chicken.” This is super-easy chicken to start with. If you have a little time on a Sunday and you want to save a lot of money, bake up your own chicken. Broiler chickens are often $1 per pound. It is almost impossible to beat that. You can take all the meat off and freeze it for later. I will post a link to my favorite methods for cooking chicken next week, so stay tuned or sign up for my mailing list at the right.
Continue reading “Simple Chicken for Students”

Knife recommendation – the perfect knife

My knife recommendation is an 8 inch Chef’s knife

The frugal student’s kitchen is all about buying inexpensive, in-season products and preparing them at home. To accomplish this, my knife recommendation is a full-tang, 8 inch, non-serrated Chef’s knife. Let me tell you a little about why each of these is critical. Then you will avoid buying something that will be useless in a year.
Continue reading “Knife recommendation – the perfect knife”

The First Bachelor Chow Review

I got my first review of Bachelor Chow today.

One of my lab-mates blended up a batch and said that it was filling but bland. I am actually satisfied with that review. I made Bachelor Chow to satisfy three requirements – cheap, simple, nutritious. Flavor really didn’t come into that equation. It ended up being acceptable anyway.

Continue reading “The First Bachelor Chow Review”