/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.3895750]

hey guys, i'm moving into my own place next week and i'll be cooking for myself (i.e. no mum to cook for me)
the thing is, i'm gonna be pretty poor and can only spare about £30 - £40 per week for food at maximum.
what are some good tips for someone like me who wants to get into cooking and learn stuff but on a budget

[Anonymous No.3895780]

Provide a photo of your local price flyer, please? Or a grocery in your general area. I'd be unable to suggest foods etc without knowing what the prices are like in your part of the world. I know you're /somewhere/ in the UK (or Gibraltar, actually, since they also use GBP), but the prices on the Isle of Man will differ greatly from prices in Scotland and prices in Wales and prices in London.

[Anonymous No.3895786]

Pasta, rice, beans, oats and potatoes are cheap, filling and relatively healthy. You should always have some in the house.

also, vegetables, lots of them.

[Anonymous No.3895853]

>>3895786
which vegetables?
i know how to cook pasta and rice and what not
the only other dish i know is carbonara

what other >good dishes are worth knowing that are cheap and worth knowing how to make

[Anonymous No.3895896]

>>3895750
So we'll call it $40 USD. This is simple for one person. I spent $20-$30 a week. It's all about how you combine things to keep it interesting, really. Usually if I make a chicken breast I will skip the rice, if I make rice I will add a couple eggs for protein. I prefer buying frozen veggies also.

Learn how to make various sauces, and then put them on some meat or eggs over rice.

I've never made this recipe as I don't like that much cheese and I'm not much for using the oven but pay attention to the sauce in it. If you add some stock (I use this tasty powdered stuff I found) you can add it to damn near anything.

[Anonymous No.3895917]

>>3895853
BTW guise, must be worth knowing.

[Anonymous No.3895980]

Don't think in terms of dishes, think in terms of opportunities.

For instance, autumn is approaching, which means free mushrooms everywhere. If you know what you're doing you can get some for free which cost 4-8 Euro a piece in the shops.

Sorrel grows everywhere, so do dandelion leaves. You can make fantastic soup with nettles (best in spring though). You can make gnocchi with chestnut.

Meat needs to hang for a while before it's sold. Shops price their meat off when it gets near expiration date, while really there's nothing wrong with it. You can save huge amounts of money here (avoid ground beef that's priced off though). Get meat from the cheapest supermarket. They all sell the same meat from the same animals & abattoir anyway.

Same goes for fruits and vegetables, the vast majority comes from just 1 gigantic greenhouse complex in Alicante, Spain.

Example:
-Heat olive oil in a pan (moderately high), don't use extra vergine oil. Never ever heat extra V, it loses its quality, full stop.
-Slice up red bell pepper and throw it in (0.5 cm slices or 0.2 inches).
-Get a garlic clove, don't peel it (else it'll burn and make everything taste bitter) and throw it in. Salt & pepper.
-Let it simmer for 5 mins, add a table spoon of red balsamic vinegar. Cheap vinegar, see if you can get the Ponti brand - it hasn't aged but has only one additive compared to the real deal (caramel, which is just heated sugar). You can't compare it to real, old balsamic, but it's very acceptable nonetheless.
-Let simmer for 5 minutes more. The bell pepper is ready when it went all limp.

Have fun