Just point him to the ‘Gallery of Regrettable Food’ for inspiration. Everyone likes things in aspic.
And this may seem obvious but does he know how to prepare frozen foods? Like can he take a frozen pizza, unbox it, remove the plastic wrap and put it in the oven at the appropriate temperature and for the right time? I also like some of the Indian and other Asian entrees in the freezer section at Trader Joe’s. Many are vegetarian or even vegan or gluten-free. It’s good to have a selection of decent frozen meals for those nights when you don’t have the energy to cook.
Definitely take him for a look in the frozen food section for “recipe ready” type vegetables. You can find chopped onion, sliced fajita veggies, chopped soup veggies, chopped stew veggies, stir-fry veggies, prepared mirepoix. Not always ideal, but if it gets food on the table, not terrible, either.
Also, look at Budgetbytes.com for easy to follow recipes with step by step photographs. There is a section for college students.
You can also find cut/peeled/chopped/shredded washed vegetables in the fresh produce section of many supermarkets. I often use those: zucchini “noodles,” bagged greens, chopped onion/celery/bell peppers/carrots.
Canned and frozen beans are great for maintaining a balanced diet. Dried beans are a pain in the ass for people who aren’t used to cooking.
Agreed with Iggy. Teach some basic skills, you need them for just about any recipe, and once you know the basics, you can tackle a lot of recipes.
Since he does not like pasta, that rules out a student standby, most pasta dishes are easy to make, and usually quick as well.
Since he likes beans and chickpeas, then maybe chili beans or chili con carne? How about other stew and casserole variants using beans? Big advantage; a couple of hours work, and then you have a potful of something to last several days.
The Anglo-Indian solution to flavorsome veggies and legumes is … curry. Actually very easy, once you have acquired the basic skill of frying onions and garlic. Ready-made sauces abound, leastwise, this side of the pond, and I saw them even in Alaska. Again, you have a pot of something to feed a crowd or else last up to a week. But learn to cook rice as well. Ordinary long grain is easier, basmati is finicky about timing but worth the effort.
Cooking Asian noodles is actually very easy, no need to bother with those plastic pots.
Students on a budget can save a bit by buying the cheaper - and tougher - cuts of meat that require longer cooking, so, stews and casseroles. Long slow cooking also means that the master chef can go off and do something else while the pot simmers.
“Perhaps I should add that he prefers to limit his intake of meat. He’s not vegetarian - he loves his burgers too much, so decided not to have a bright line rule. But he tries to eat mostly meat-free. So any vegetarian suggestions are particularly welcome.”
The three cuisines that make veggies tasty are Chinese, Indian and Italian. Chinese is generally not easy, you also need a wok and know how to use it, hopefully he likes at least some Italian dishes, and a mild curry does wonders for most ingredients.
Agreed about the meat. I’m omnivorous, but don’t generally eat a lot of meat.
If he is really keen on beans and legumes, then a pressure cooker would be useful. And it works very well on tough meat as well. Been there, done it, saved a lot of money.
Black Beans with Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice and Pickled Onions
This recipe (click on the title above) is dirt cheap and dirt easy to make and tastes great. Also super healthy and vegan (if that matters…I do not do vegan but I will eat yummy vegan food and this is that).
Its downsides are it takes a looong time to make. It is not hard, you just have to let this stuff sit/cook for a long time for the beans to be edible. Even the freaking rice takes a long time. But it is mostly hands off cooking. Your part is a few minutes then let it go.
Also, from here, you could do lots of things to jazz it up if you want to.
My favorite goto that everyone should know, especially a student, is the following recipe below. It is not particularly healthy but this is the one he wants when he has his SO over. Not kidding, you are likely to get lucky with this. Super easy, super cheap (unless you buy expensive Parmesan), super fast (most of the time is boiling pasta) and just ridiculously good eats (which is what will get him lucky with a SO).
Mom’s Version:
Son’s Version:
Basically the same recipe presented very differently (NSFW).
Not kidding…this is an amazingly good recipe.
OK, this suggestion is not really in line with the OP’s question. But is CairoSon going to be living near campus, or spending late afternoons/early evenings on campus? If yes, he could probably buy a 1-meal- or 2-meal-per-day dining card from the campus/dorm cafeteria services. Institutional food isn’t stellar, but it’s more healthy than pizza and burgers.
If CairoSon is anything like me, he may shy away from cooking due to the time requirements and the drudgery of cleanup. I’ve lived most of my adult life barely cooking at all. It can be done in a fairly healthy manner if you choose carefully.
Breakfast: cold cereal. (Well, I can eat that every day.) Chose whole multi-grain, high fiber, low-sugar cereal. I layer multiple varieties for better-rounded nutrition and to keep things interesting. I use 70/30 soy milk/non-fat dairy to lower my sugar intake. Sprinkle some sliced, toasted almonds in there for texture, taste, protein, healthy fats, and nutrients. Other options for a little variety: instant oatmeal can be made just by boiling water. Ditto with hard boiled eggs. Very minimal cleanup for any of these options.
Lunch: not too tough to improvise. Get a sandwich on campus. Carry fruit, nuts, sports bars in your backpack. There’s probably soup & salad places near campus.
Dinner: cafeteria. Maybe takeout once or twice on the weekends. (Taqueria burritos can be a healthy option - whole beans, whole grain tortilla, lots of veggies and salsa, skip the sour cream, easy on cheese, add guac for healthy fat).
Snacks: single serve hummus pods are surprisingly inexpensive at Costco. Serve with whole-grain crackers. Yum! No cleanup.
PBJ sandwiches - whole multi-grain bread, natural peanut butter, no sugar added fruit spread. Served on a paper plate, there’s no cleanup except one knife. I can eat this almost everyday. I sometimes use this as a dinner supplement if I eat a frozen entree.
I’ll grant you that variety is a bit lacking in this plan. But if he will work typical grad student hours, the time savings will be greatly appreciated.
I should mention that the GLOP I referred to above works just as well with rice as it does with egg noodles, if he includes egg noodles in with pasta. (To me, pasta is all the varieties of Italian pastas and doesn’t include the German/Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles.).
Consider also
The I Hate To Cook Book by Peg Bracken
if it’s still in print or you can find a copy. Book full of quick-ish and easy-ish recipes for people who would really rather spend their time doing something else.
I just want to reëmphasize: the more steps you give him, the less likely it is he’s going to do any of it. Don’t see it as teaching him how to “cook” cook. Approach everything with an eye on how what you’re telling him to do compares with the ease of carry out or delivery. Close that gap as much as you can.
How’s it going?
The clock hasn’t started ticking on the two weeks yet. He arrives in a couple more days to stay with me for real.
Ah, cool. Have you established a strategy/curriculum?
I think you should concentrate on learning basic skills, like what does it mean to “saute vegetables”. You can show him how to do that, including how to judge when they are done and then he can apply that basic skill when preparing various recipes. Basically since time is limited teach him the basics so when he’s on his own, you can offer more advice over the phone, or he can apply these skills when trying to follow a written recipe.
A few comments, and a few specifics.
First, there are two devices I highly recommend in the kitchen: a good food processor, and an instant-pot. Especially if fine motor skills aren’t his jam, these two will make a lot of things really easy. Rice and beans are especially trivial in an instant-pot.
Second: black beans. Forget the overnight soaking, if you’re using dried beans that haven’t been sitting on a shelf for months, it’s unnecessary. An instant pot makes them ridiculously easy (I mean, you can saute onions in advance with cumin and other spices if you want, but you don’t have to). A bag of them makes a huge amount of beans, and you can eat burritos and nachos all week. Without an instant pot, but with a stock pot, you can put a pound of beans in 8 cups of water and add a tablespoon of salt, simmer on medium-low for two hours, and have yourself a pot of deliciousness. If he’s wanting low-meat-intake, black beans are the bomb.
Third, roast chicken, as others have said. This is an amazing recipe, and you can even simplify it from there. The ingredients that you really need are salt and a chicken, nothing else. Tying the chicken up is good if you can manage it, but I’ve read people saying it’s not really necessary. It’s sooooo good.
Fourth, if you get a food processor, homemade hummus is pretty easy and requires no fine motor skills. I make this recipe about once a month, and it’s delicious.
Finally, as a vegetable dish, consider this super-easy green bean dish, green beans with sesame oil, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. It’s really forgiving, and you can add/subtract ingredients as you see fit, and they’re like candy, sweet and savory and salty and so tasty.
I’ll start by talking to him about how HE would like to approach it and proceed from there. Having said that, I’m guessing it’s likely we’ll likely do it something like this -
He does know some basic techniques and cooking science already - the issue isn’t so much that he has never spent any time in a kitchen; its more that I’ve had him help me with recipes that are far more complex than he wants to do for himself. So I suspect we’ll focus more on identifying 8-10 meals he can make easily, document what groceries and kitchen equipment are needed for each, and he can prep them himself with me looking on. We’ll definitely make shopping lists and go to the grocery together.
Also, I plan to spend some time with him figuring out what he needs to equip his kitchen and ordering stuff on line so it’s there about the same time he arrives.
So that’s my plan - other than to re-read this thread from start to finish before I start to make sure I don’t forget any good suggestions that I want to include!
BTW, is an instapot a good choice for an inexperienced cook without someone present to offer guidance on how to use it? I have been tempted to buy one, and maybe I will at some point, but having taught myself to cook to suit myself without one it’s not something I feel a great need for. So, I’m not going to be able to assist him with that (unless I go out tomorrow and buy one - which I suppose I could do, but probably won’t).
However, I’ve read too much good stuff about instapots not to think they are almost certainly great tools. So what do people think - should he get one?
I was really skeptical at first, having lived for years without one. But we now use ours several times a week. Rice is crazy easy in it, but if all you want is rice, you can get a dedicated cooker. Beans are also really easy, and it turns out that yogurt from the instapot is not only a fraction of the price of storebought yogurt (like a dollar a quart for Greek yogurt), but much, much tastier, and not too much work. And it’s good for stock, and for various soups.
It’s our best kitchen investment in years.
Yogurt, you say?..that is definitely a point in its favor. I try to eat yogurt every day, but it’s very expensive here. (Of course, so is the milk, so it’s not going to be a perfect solution to the price of yogurt. But it might help.)