I made my first friends at university over a packet of chocolate Hobnobs. Squeezed into a bulging box of budget saucepans, tea bags and pint glasses, they were a prompt from mum and dad to ‘go and introduce yourself’.
It turns out that chocolate biscuits are a great conversation starter. By the time we got down to the crumbs I’d learned the names of everyone on my corridor and my Fresher’s Week nerves had disappeared. I was also on a pretty big sugar high, which felt like a good start to uni.
Going off to uni can be scary enough without having to worry about how or what to make for dinner every night, but food should be something to bond over as an undergrad. The kitchen in my self-catering accommodation block was where I loved to cook with friends, knocking up vats of pasta and tuna on the evenings before hockey matches or rowing races, and sharing just-set chocolate fridge cake during essay crises.
Of course, student recipes aren't always wholesome. Rumour has it that one fellow Fresher avoided it completely and survived the whole of the first year on his mum’s frozen meals, which were delivered in batches each term. Another guy had to be shown how to make toast. A friend of mine lived surprisingly well on rice and assorted condiments for a few weeks when cash was tight, while another pair admitted to microwaving a bag of pre-grated mozzarella and eating it with spoon after one particularly heavy night.
But most of us built up a decent repertoire of cheap, filling dishes, like frozen-pea risotto made with strong cheddar instead of parmesan, chuck-anything-in stir-fries (another good suggestion from my parents, who swear that even the oldest, wrinkliest vegetables are still good for you), or spaghetti and home-made pasta sauce (I always used a can of chopped tomatoes, squirted in some tomato puree, chucked in some sizzling onions and peppers, and flung in some dried herbs).
I know, I’m beginning to sound like Jamie Oliver (whose recipe for ‘cheat’s’ meringue nests filled with lemon curd, Greek yogurt and raspberries is, by the way, the quickest, easiest and tastiest pudding I’ve ever come across), but cooking for yourself can be fun, especially if you rope in a mate to be your sous chef.
Scour the internet for recipes that don’t need fancy gadgets or expensive ingredients, and check the user comments for success rates. Going shopping together means you can split any BOGOFs and share the bag-carrying home, and after your feast you’ll have someone to help with the washing-up. Because, sadly, that’s one part of cooking for yourself that you’ll just have to get used to.
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