Parents say I'm not allowed to live with them and commute to college...

I think the sad thing is it's almost as if Veeky Forums is "too slow" to have a good sticky. But that doesn't sound right, low population boards usually correlate with higher quality postings.

Veeky Forums-ck.wikia.com/wiki/The_Veeky Forums_Wiki

If everyone did even a little editing on that it would be good. What's there already seems to have been done in small periods. All Veeky Forums needs is a strongman/Napoleon to enforce and encourage it, emailing the staff etc. On population basis this has the potential to be an elite board. There is no crowding to bury truths.

OP since you are living on your own for the first time and have no cooking skills you will be extremely tempted to order out for every meal or just stick to ramen and convenience store crap. DO NOT DO THIS. I've learned from experience, it is not only super unhealthy and unfulfilling to order pizzaplace food and chinese take-out every day, but it is expensive as fuck. You should really learn a few things in this thread:

>What utensiles you will need to prepare and cook food
>How to prepare food
>How to cook food
>what food to cook

Like everyone said, If you have a stove and and oven, get some pots and pans and maybe a cookie sheet. Crockpots and casserole dishes are useful too. Get some decent knives and some kitchen utensiles like a spatula and a big wooden mixing spoon, a can opener, maybe a cheese grater or a spiralizer. Defintely measuring cups/spoons. If you can afford it a blender or a food processer is useful, but not necessary. A rice cooker will save you time and effort.

To prepare food, you will need to learn how to cut in various ways like user said, and what various temperatures on your stove and oven do to various foods. This is mostly a trial and error thing, but desu on my gas stove I use medium heat for pretty much everything unless I'm boiling something in water (in which case it's on full blast).

Cooking is an art form to be honest, and you won't be good at it unless you enjoy it, like any art. Cooking is again a trial and error sort of thing. Denser veggies take longer to cook, with potatoes taking the longest really, and chicken takes the longest to cook out of most meat. When cooking, I try and layer my ingredients in time slots or all at differnt times all together. Every recipe is different so get a decent cookbook, or just look them up online. That's really how I learned to cook, I just looked up what recipes I wanted to cook and learned them, edited them if I wanted, and most importantly it took trial and error.

(cont.)

Are you a coastie or a flyover?

You could just get some 'go 'za, it'll last you a while

What food to buy is probably the most important thing for you at this stage, since you have been living with your parents and seem to be uninformed you will probably have no idea what to do at a grocery store. Don't get frozen dinners, treats and chips, soda and snacks. Here's a decent list that looks my semi weekly grab:

>pack of skinless chicken breasts
>eggs
>black beans (a bag is cheaper, but you will have to learn how to soak beans. It's actually quite simple, but them in a pot of cold water, heat them on high for 5-10 minutes then turn off the heat and let them soak overnight.)
>Chickpeas (same process as above)
>brown rice (bag is cheaper again)
>broccoli/spinach (frozen is ok)
>potatoes (cheap and nutritious, can't eat too many of these if you are a fatass though so I usually don't buy them
>cucumbers/avocados/peppers/zucchini/tomatoes/onions/carrots (these are all extras/flavoring. Very good for you but unnecesary)
>almonds and almond milk
>blueberries or other fruit (lowest on the list because not needed)

I sometimes get fish or beef or tofu, sometimes those frozen veggies burgers too.

Drink water and tea mostly. Best of luck to ya OP!

since people won't stop pandering.

Buy a food staple (lentils, potatoes, noodles, rice, meat, etc) and google recipes for it and make them

Slowly build up a spice collection as you buy them. Save the shakers/jars and when you need more get bulk cheap plastic bagged spice and refill because it's much cheaper

One 'go 'za will last you a whole week desu

>can't eat too many of these if you are a fatass though so I usually don't buy them
Please stop

What is 'go 'za?

>Living off ramen
>Expensive

A shite forced meme

What kinds of spices would you suggest for starting off?

This was actually suggested to me by some friends. Is it worth it, or would I learn the same amount from just searching the internet?

Is this that hot new meme the kids are doing these days?

What are some of your best/favorite soups to make?

Not him, but unground black pepper, oregano and rosemary couldn't hurt.

beef barley, cream mushroom, chicken noodle, french onion, chili ( I call it soup because I use veloute as a partial thickener) or any veggies I saute and throw into a pot. Usually some kind of mirepoix

So when you save up a kg of vegetable trimmings, or bean juice, do you use those alone for stock or is it better to combine them along with fresh aromatics?

there are things that make most stocks better, dried mushrooms, a piece of kelp, fresh parsley, some 1/2 bay leafs

Honestly dont freak out about cooking, youll get there, its supposed to be fun you know.
Find a nice and cheap supermarket as the first step. Worst case you can always just buy some vegetables, sear them, season them how you like and eat them with rice/couscous/noodles whatever for a quick,easy,healthy and cheap meal. Or just buy cucumber,tomatoes,+x+x+x+x+x(ham,feta,nuts,herbs...) chop everything up and season with oil/lemon/salt/pepper. Basic cooking is easy and delicious, stick to basic things and youll automatically get the confidence to handle larger projects

Buy a slow cooker/crockpot

Get veggies and meat, mix and then go to school
come home and you gave easy and cheap dinner and breakfast leftovers

Beans and rice nigga

I lived off of it for

Cheap grain and bean products along with meat are your livelihood.

give recipe since you must have made it 2345624626 times

not him, but
>beans, heat up
>rice, boil or steam until done
>whatever you like

I almost never follow recipes, I just wing it and taste frequently so I know what to adjust. Which works fine when you're cooking for yourself and people you know, but doesn't work so well for baking.

I guess last night I:

Slightly blackened some red bell pepper and jalapeno, also roasted an ear of sweet corn, in my toaster oven, cut up the pepper/jalapeno, and threw into a pot with some canola oil/onion that I had sauteeing. Cut the corn off the husk.

Continued until the onions were translucent and the red pepper was quite soft, then threw in minced garlic and fresh crushed chili peppers/herbs/spices, allowing them to fry until the garlic was browned and the chili peppers were aromatic.

Added in some brown rice and stirred to coat, about a minute.

Added in some black beans that were about half cooked, then the water for the rice, stirred and brought to a boil, then covered and reduced to simmer.

Let it sit simmering until the rice was done. Served with fresh pico de gallo and the roasted sweet corn on top, then a drizzle of lime juice.

thanks user, mine always ends up bland af

Spices, user. Find your local mexican and asian grocers. See if you have a restaurant supply store (like Cash N Carry). The restaraunt supply stores have giant containers of spices for next to nothing, the mexican grocery stores often have whole dried chillis and things for cheap, asian stores have all sorts of spice blends and pastes you won't otherwise see.

Are you going to have roommates? That needs to be known before any real recommendations can be made. For example, >If you have a GRILL
This can be resolved for $20 if you don't have roommates. If you do have roommates, they'll leave it in the rain with the ashes in it, and it'll get fucked up in a matter of weeks.

I'll be living with 5 other people, although we haven't laid down ground rules for food and stuff. I haven't really thought about getting a grill

Certified bachelor -ready h-meals we learned at chef's food Academy :

Classic iceberg wedge salad

Official roasters brand beef with brown sauce

Coffee and tea

Toasted breads with meat spread

Jellied fruit spread

Vegetable tray

Sushi boat

Learn these basic food meals to be on your way up out of food pit of parents emotional trap and into adult life situation

Source: chef's Academy ramsey-style cooking graduate and cookery instructor buy

Thanks man. Quality suggestions

Core spices (i.e. you will use them a lot, worth the money)
>Salt
>Pepper
>Cayenne
>Oregano
>Allspice
>Paprika
>Thyme
>Chili Powder
>Garlic Powder
>Onion Powder
>Curry Powder
>Chicken/Vegetable Stock (not a spice but always useful)

You will look at it and go "holy shit I spent $50 on spices" but if you use them intelligently you'll get a few months use out of this collection. Buy in bulk because standard store bought spices barely lose flavor thanks to the marvels of science.

Nice reading comprehension

>Parents say I'm not allowed to live with them and commute to college

that makes no fucking sense, you can save hundreds a year not paying rent for an apartment or college housing.

Forget learning how to cook. Learn how to make 1, maybe two things to perfection for each meal. Then work from there

Just live on mcdoubles

Alright OP, there are three factors in play when deciding what to eat: Convenience, Quality, and Price. Convenience covers things like prep time, the actual time to cook, the number of dishes to clean afterwards, etc. Quality is stuff that comes to mind when you think 'gourmet'; dishes that look and taste amazing, but may not come in quantity (which falls under Convenience). Price is self-explanatory, and for a college student, you're gonna need to put some effort into looking around your area for the best prices at what times of the week (for instance, bread might be roughly the same price everywhere all the time, but my Sam's Club has meat on discount during Wednesday afternoons).

I assume you're on a student budget with little time to cook, which means Convenience and Price are gonna be the two largest factors for you. Cooking in bulk is usually a good way of feeding yourself in this case, but you will need a balanced diet to efficiently feel full. Eating carbs, protein, and sugars may be cheap, but can also cause malnutrition (in the American rural South, this is historically known as the three M's: Meat, Meal, and Molasses). In other words, you need vegetables and fruit, and no, potatoes do not count as vegetables even if they are healthy. On the other hand, squash, green beans, bean sprouts, carrots, celery, bok choy, lettuce, and cabbage are good cheap and healthy choices to go with. Personally, I love tomatoes, eggplants, apples, and peaches, but that stuff needs a more careful eye, as their prices tend to fluctuate a lot more. In my area, I'd consider tomatoes to be low price when around a dollar per pound, regular price when between $1.75-$2.50, and expensive above that.

And hey, it's not like potatoes are off limits. Agricultural practices in America virtually force prices to remain cheap, and I think it can be agreed that potatoes are fucking delicious. Onions are cheap, too, and are a great way to add flavor to a dish.

Anyway, typically rice, beans, and chicken are your staple friends here. They're cheap, easy to cook, and can be made in mass quantities. I do recommend a rice cooker, as they save you time and effort when making rice. To use them, add in the desired amount of rice and rinse it out to get rid of potential filth and starch (just swirl water and the rice around and you'll see that there's a lot of cloudiness in the first rinse through. I usually go through around three rinses, but that's unnecessary). When you've poured out the dirty water, add in enough water so that the rice is just under an inch below the surface. Then just put the pot into the cooker, pop the lid on, and press the button (or flip the switch) to the 'cook' setting. I find that this method applies to most rice cookers, small or big.

If you prefer other sources of carbs/starches, noodles aren't a bad way to go. Sure, ramen gets a lot of bad rep for being full of sodium, msg, and shit, but it's not a bad option. Cheap and versatile, the trick is to customize ramen rather than simply adding in the packaged powder (which, btw, NEVER add in the whole packet. It's unnecessary, as half will easily provide enough flavor for 1-2 packages of noodles while cutting down that sodium intake). Throw in some chopped tomatoes, bok choy, and crack an egg into the boiling water to make it a real meal. Soy sauce and sesame oil also make good alternatives to the powder. Pasta is good, too; it's all about the sauce recipe.

There are plenty of ways to make use of beans, so you'll have to look them up (although I guess that applies to all ingredients). They're a good source of fiber and protein, and make excellent side dishes regardless of type. Chicken is cheap, but feel free to buy yourself red meats and fish as well. Cuts will vary in price and quality, so it's up to you what to buy. I usually go for pork tenderloin cuz it's on discount and comes in fairly large portions. And when it comes to meats, cut them up into portion sizes and use plastic wrap and a ziploc bag to store the unused parts in a freezer. That way, any time you're going to be cooking with meat, just grab a frozen portion and leave it out for several hours at room temp to thaw. Prevents waste and ensures you have a steady supply of protein. Also, please don't be the tard that thinks chicken is supposed to be cooked like a steak. You don't eat medium rare chicken, cook that shit all the way through. Steak (if you can afford it) otoh, should never be cooked well done, as it removes virtually all flavor.

Eggs are also a poor man's protein, but they do have a lot of cholesterol. I recommend you practice cracking them open without making a mess, as the correct pressure to break an eggshell is something you should get used to. There are plenty of ways to cook eggs, from poaching to scrambling to sunny side up. Again, look up recipes, as eggs are one of the simplest things to make a meal out of (I recommend stir-fry recipes, which are fairly easy to do). Just be careful not to overcook them. One moment, you think it's raw, and the next it becomes sponge-like and a pile of disappointment. Look up Gordon Ramsey's scrambled egg recipe on youtube for reference.

For flavor, you'll need spices, which are arguably the most expensive ingredients you'll be buying. Wanna laugh at how spice trade, the thing history has fought wars over, never made an impact on modern cooking? Try making a few meals with no salt and your tears will probably be the most delicious thing you taste as you force yourself to keep eating shit. Spices are valuable, so appreciate them. Salt and pepper are absolutely necessary for cooking, the former especially. Salt causes chemical changes on the cellular level which enhances flavor when added in the correct proportions. There's a lot of stuff here, but to start, I recommend garlic, ginger, thyme, sugar, and something spicy. Garlic is fragrant and potent, and if you're up to it, go for the fresh stuff and look up the proper preparation techniques. If not, pre-minced/powdered/paste/processed garlic will also do. Ginger is especially essential to meats, as it cancels out the bad flavors and scents otherwise present. Thyme pairs well with both vegetables and meats. Sugar adds sweetness, but also cancels out acidity present in food. It also can fix over-salted dishes to a limited extent. Spiciness is optional, but good kick is appreciated here and there. Here's a website with a bunch of spice pairings:

nouveauraw.com/raw-recipe-templates-and-development/flavor-prfiles-that-pair-well-in-recipes/

Before I get to kitchenware, I'd like to add that sandwiches are also great. Deli meat is usually between $5.00-$6.50 where I'm at, and you can buy bread for even cheaper. Cheese is also a nice addition, and I'm pretty sure Veeky Forums has a thread about favorite cheeses somewhere around here. I don't actually like vegetables in sandwiches you gotta carry around for the day before eating, as the bread will go soggy, but it's up to you. Spread some mayo or mustard around, stack it up, and you've got yourself lunch for the day. About one pound of meat, a pound of cheese, and 32 slices of bread sustained my brother and I for about a week through high school, and we were athletes with unfair metabolisms.

Right, kitchenware. Essentials include 1. a knife 2. knife sharpener 3. cutting board 4. small pot 5. large pot 6. a large pan 7. spatula 8. a few bowls/plates 9. a rag or paper towels. I'll explain,

1. Knives cut up everything. Most fancy kitchen equipment are substitutes for knife functions. Get good with a blade, and you won't need them. Just remember, knives SLICE through things. It's about the motion of cutting that makes it easy (careful not to cut yourself though). If you just chop downwards, not only are you making things more difficult, it's easier to dull the blade.

2. A dull knife is infinitely harder to cut with than a sharp one. Don't make things harder for yourself, maintain the edge with something to sharpen it. Look up the techniques and practice slowly to prevent injury.

3. Prevent damage to your countertop/table, but also is a good place to rest food until needed. Just swipe in everything into a pot or pan when it's time to cook, or slice up the meat that's ready for eating.

4. Small pots are good for sauces and reheating leftover soups/stews for small servings.

5. Large pots are good for bulk foods like soups, stews, curries, or braising meat.

6. I actually prefer woks, as they have larger capacities. Nonetheless, pans/woks will probably be where you sautee and cook a lot of things. They're great for stir-fries, cooking meats, sauteeing vegetables, and plenty of other functions.

7. You gotta have something to move your food around while it cooks. I've had my wooden one for over a decade, and the thing now has sentimental value. Chopsticks are actually a decent alternative here if you've got the dexterity.

8. You need somewhere to place prepped food that's ready to be cooked. Always prepare your food in advance, so when you're actually cooking, everything will be ready to go.

9. You'll find that you often need to wipe stuff clean, whether it be your hands, the pan, or the countertop. A clean rag will do, just make sure it can handle heat well so it doesn't burn or melt as you wipe your pan for the next dish to be cooked. Wash it afterwards to be reused again, or get paper towels instead. It's more wasteful, but does involve less cleaning.

If you can, get your pots and pans nonstick, as it'll be easier to clean and cook on. Maintenance helps with this a lot, so don't skive on it. There's plenty of other equipment for your kitchen as well that can make cooking easier, like pressure cookers, egg beaters, garlic mincers, vegetable peelers, etc. Some things might be worth getting, others not, so use judgement.

Because you're new to cooking, feel free to follow recipes down to the letter. As you gain experience, it'll get easier to estimate how much of an ingredient you'll need, or what flavor pairing you'd like in your meal. There's hell of a lot of things I missed, like the effects of adding dairy to recipes, or the appropriate heat to use when cooking. I simply recommend to not be timid. Don't pussy out when hot oil hits your skin, don't be shy when trying to cut through fat or bone, don't be gentle when peeling an onion; just fucking do it and get it over with. Good luck OP.

Try thousands an thousands.

All of the advice in this thread is good, pretty much. If you can't afford many spices, pick out a few good ones and some salt. Big-grain kosher salt might be more to your liking than plain iodized salt - the latter is easy to overuse, but I've never had food taste too salty with the former.