The biggest thing for me moving away was the chore of having to cook for myself, three times a day. Firstly, I barely knew how to cook a decent dinner, let alone seven different ones, and a decent lunch. It was pretty overwhelming and it was the first thing I knew I would miss the second I left home (apart from the cats). Learning to cook at uni has been a long road, however cooking some of my favourite food really does cure some of that homesickness.
Don’t get me wrong, learning to cook in a student flat isn’t the best thing. You don’t have the collection of utensils, spices and random ingredients like your mum does and trying to share a kitchen with seven other people learning to cook is an experience. However, most home comfort foods are pretty easy, and most likely a comfort food for other people to, so sharing the cooking load is a great flat bonding exercise.
Sharing the cooking load is a great flat bonding exercise
Here's some of my comfort foods that I've mastered to cure that homesickness, and drag me out of any bad week:
Spag Bol:
I know I said this was going to be about food I've mastered cooking, however I have never made a Spaghetti Bolognese like my mum does. There’s just always something missing, but mine is still pretty good. It's so quick to make, and pasta is every uni student's best friend. It's also freezeable, so you can just make a big batch of it, and then freeze a few portions for an easy dinner.
Roast potatoes:
This isn’t exactly a meal however I need to mention roast potatoes because I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love them. In my flat when we were doing any cooking together, I would always volunteer to cook the potatoes, because I love them to be super crunchy, golden and fluffy.
Pasta bake:
Maybe I need to take this as an indication that I eat too much pasta, but there's nothing more comforting than pasta, and garlic bread, or dough balls. A good cheesy pasta bake will bring anyone joy and it's so easy, while tasting and looking so good.
Toad in the Hole:
This one is quite essential to everyone, because learning how to make good mash potato is an essential university skill. This was a perfect uni bonding experience for me in second year, as one of my flatmates insisted on making her own Yorkshire puddings. Honestly the best for anyone who wants to do a bit more cooking that just pasta, but still needs all of those comforting carbs.
Curry:
This one is tricky for me, because an Indian takeaway is always in circulation in my head. However, my bank account cannot deal with that, so trying to replicate that at home is something I've tried many times. As I'm now in my third year, I do try to cook as much as possible, however a curry is something I don’t have all the ingredients for. I found that the Meal Kits that are sold in most supermarkets, with the spices and sauce inside them, are very easy to make, and they taste good too.
Brownie Mug Cakes:
Stretching the definition of ‘meals’ here, however I couldn’t not mention the brownie mugs that had me hooked in first year. They take a solid 10 minutes to make, and use ingredients you definitely already have – they’re such a staple in any night in plans.
