Reddit mentions: The best cooking for one or two books

All the judgment of your mom is super helpful and will absolutely solve your problems! Relax, everybody, we know you are Good Eaters, you don't have to reassert it at the expense of this poor girl's mom. You say you're a student trying to 'pay the rent' at home by cooking for your mom, which is very admirable. As you say, it is probably an opportunity for you to expand her palate. My father is exactly the same way, so I speak from a place of knowledge in this regard! Getting him to switch from pinto to black beans in his breakfast burritos was a MAJOR accomplishment for which I am still pleased with myself, all these years later. Sigh. Baby steps ahead!

If she hates onion but is fine with onion salt, it's probably just the texture that bothers her. I used to be the same way. Fantastic! This is an easy fix! Put that stuff in the blender and puree it. Even better, caramelize the onions and then puree them. Try roasting garlic in the oven, it'll come out all mushy so you can incorporate it into other things very easily. No, that's not how it's normally "done" but at least this way you get to taste some onions in your food!

If she's okay eating onions as long as they're disguised somehow, look into French food! There's not too much garlic (or at least, there are many classic recipes which don't call for it), almost no chilis whatsoever, and compared to something like Thai food, it's less exotic. When you get down to it, French cooking has a foundation in "hunk of meat, beautifully cooked, paired with a sauce and served with wine and probably potatoes." Your mom sounds like she'll be comfortable with the idea of some new version of "meat with sauce" so let's start with that!

There are two women whose legendary status is attributable to their popularity among your mom's demographic: Martha Stewart and Julia Child. I know, I know, people in this subreddit are rending their garments in grief that I would list the two together, but both of these women achieved iconic status by cooking food in an unthreatening way and slooowly convincing a lot of conservative families in the 20th century to expand their palate. So where to begin with these two?

Mastering the Art of French Cooking looks intimidating because it is long and wordy. The good news is, I can just about guarantee that your local library has several copies of this classic, so check it out and browse through to get comfortable with it. This is the most profound, revolutionary cookbook of the 20th century. Millions and millions of grandmothers around the world transitioned from 'steak and potatoes' to 'steak au poivre and sauteed green beans' with Julia's help. I highly, highly recommend checking out her old PBS shows, all of which are pretty easy to find in libraries or online. You can even stream The French Chef on Amazon! Her recipes run the gamut from 'chicken noodle soup' to 'something incredibly complicated and expensive involving lobster which I am never going to make.' Here are some examples of simple, nonthreatening but nevertheless delicious recipes: Fillet of Sole with Lemon Cream sauce, Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Cream Sauce, Roast Chicken.

Let's take a totally separate tack. Instead of focusing on one cuisine, how do you find a variety of simple, unthreatening recipes for your mama to enjoy? This is where Martha Stewart comes in. Her recipes are the best I've found for actual home cooks who may have limited access to ingredients or picky kids (or moms!) at home. Everyday Foods Fast is absolutely wonderful. Simple, straightforward recipes with easy to find ingredients without relying on Rachel Ray style "open up a can of beans" preparation. Example recipes: Sauteed Chicken in Mustard sauce, Grilled Bread and Tomato Salad, Buttermilk Baked Chicken, Creamy Fettucine with Asparagus, and of course everybody on earth should set aside a weekend afternoon to make Martha Stewart's Crack and Cheese holy moly mother of mozzarella if there is a human who doesn't like this check them for a pulse.

I think if you were to try working your way through Julia Child's basics and supplementing that with Martha Stewart on busy weeknights, you'd be able to improve your own cooking skills and expand your mom's palate.

I hope this helps!

Pizza is extremely easy to cook at home dude. I've just been buying random cook books over the last year or so. General use ones, a few Italian speciality ones and BBQ ones, because that's what I love :D

> So they don't add any other toppings? Like pepperoni or anything? Isn't the crust done similar to Nyc style pizza?

Not in a Margherita in Italy, no. They're very traditional when it comes to your pizza in Italy. You can get things like Salami or Pepperoni, but they're not like the ones we get here. I've been to Rome three times and I've only found pizzas that have very thin crusts and are pretty crispy with a bit of chew. I have to say, the taste is amazing. It's not just the ingredients though, it's the oven. They use traditional ,wood fired ovens that can burn up to about 500 degrees centigrade. I'm thinking about building one out in my garden :D With pizza, you cook it as hot as you can. A traditional wood fired pizza oven will cook a pizza in about 90 seconds, at most.

> It just seems like they would have some special sauce or does the basil really help it stand out?

There's a specific type of tomatoes that everyone seems to use called San Marzano tomatoes, but you don't have to be that picky. You can use whatever you like. I rarely use anything other than BBQ sauce because I love the taste of it. When I make pizzas at home, some of my family like regular bolognese sauce from a jar and some even like ketchup mixed with a bit of bolognese sauce.

> I'd love to start cooking from scratch but I'm still learning so much in regards to just Regular cooking that I feel like I'd be biting off more than I could chew.

Don't be intimidated by it. Treat it as fun, not a chore. Break your expectations down into smaller chunks. What's your favourite type of cooking? What's a recipe you want to learn how to do first? Baking bread and pizza are a good start, because you can literally just make the pizza dough recipe I posted and cook it as a loaf instead of stretching it out to be a pizza dough.

If you have a bit of money, I found these books great:

• Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day is a great book for everything from a simple sandwich loaf to a complicated braided sweetbread. I love this book.
  
  
• Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Home Cooking and Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Home Cookery Course. These two are full of great recipes to have on-hand and will teach you loads :D
  
  Canning stuff would be more about pickling and brining. I've never done it, but I did go so far as to buy fresh jalapenos and some jars because I wanted to. Next port of call haha.
  
  Let me know if you've any other questions. Feel free to message me too if you ever need a hand with anything :D

Cooking is a real learn by doing hobby. I'd pick up a basics cookbook that focuses on technique and methods but within a culinary context--one of the things that bothers me about the /r/cooking circlejerk about Kenji/Alton/McGee etc. is the over-reliance on science as an explanation for cooking but i really think that it should be focus on culinary outcomes rather than process. Science as the sole basis for authority is like, one of reddit's biggest blindspots (DAE le STEM etc.) and a science-focused approach will teach you "how" to do something but it'll lose the over the over-arching "why" by getting bogged down in the molecules and shit. Plus the circlejerk about Good Eats and Serious eats is insufferable.

I like america's test kitchen because they use science as a basis for why they do what they do but they don't belabor it. I haven't cooked from it much but i imagine the cooking for two book will give you a good set of recipes without having an excessive amount of leftovers. Keeping things small when you're starting out is actually pretty important, and while I know that it's tempting to double recipes to get the most out of the ingredients you buy and use your time efficiently (after all, throwing out half of your can of tomato paste feels so wasteful when you only need a tablespoon or two) but it's better to keep yourself focused on the recipe as written. Most of the stuff can be re-used if you store it correctly (that tomato paste can be scooped into tablespoons and frozen, e.g.), and oftentimes doubling or tripling a recipe will end up backfiring and you'll be eating shitty leftovers for a week or even worse throwing it all out because you fucked it up and it sucked (speaking from personal experience here). You might end up with half an onion or something or half a bag of carrots left but that's ok. Cook what you like to eat or what recipes look good. A lot of the time people will say focus on techniques but if you keep things varied and stay curious you'll expose yourself to most of the important ones. As just one addendum, try and eat more vegetables than meat, because it's easy to zero in on making umpteenth variations of the same set of meat-based dishes (they provide more immediate reward) but i've actually found much more pleasure in coaxing awesome flavors out of produce (again speaking from experience).

I think taking an authoritative-sciencey approach as your core base of understanding and comfort in the kitchen is fine, but expanding from there towards an understanding of different, regional/international cuisines either classically (examples being Julia Child, Marcella Hazan) or more contemporarily (Rick Bayless, Fuscia Dunlop, Martin Tan, Zuni cafe, Mario Batali, Keller's Ad-Hoc, Maangchi), checking out more chef-driven methods that express a particularly unique perspective or have a distinct voice (April Bloomfield, Yotam Ottolenghi, Lucky Peach, Fergus Henderson); the fun of this is that by taking a perspective based approach, it allows you to draw inspiration from wherever without judgement, even someone like Guy Fieri might be able to contribute interesting ideas with regards to American comfort food. You can also expand by exploring different cooking techniques (smoking, sous vide, baking, fermenting, offal cooking) or even expand your knowledge on beverages like exploring craft beer/wine/cocktails. Also maybe challenging yourself with a more cheffy restaurant-book like the Bar Tartine books, or Sean brock's Heritage or Andy Richter's Pok Pok or the new Del Posto book. Keeping up with developments in the food world, either with magazines (Lucky Peach, Cook's Illustrated, Bon Appetite) or websites (Food52, Serious Eats that isn't just the food lab) is also a good way to inject fresh perspectives into your cooking.

Also under-recommended is to taste more of what other people are cooking. Order a dish at a restaurant that you've never tried because it looks interesting. Actively analyze what you eat when you go out and try and pick up on flavor combinations that are interesting or exciting. Maybe spend money on a fancy tasting menu place to see what professional kitchens are doing.

You don't hate healthy food, you just haven't found ways to eat healthy that you like. Look, I used to feel exactly the same. Then I got myself some cook books and learned how to cook beyond the "college" level (ie very rudimentary cooking skills).

It sounds old fashioned, but buy some cook books. Eating healthy does NOT have to mean (and shouldnt mean) eating boring, bland food. I have been eating quite a healthy balanced diet lately, but it doesn't suck and I enjoy everything I eat because I cooked it and it tastes really good. I am a pretty proficient cook now because I've learned enough from cook books that I can create something tasty on my own if I want to. But for the most part, I'd say I still follow recipes very frequently, mostly because a) I know it will turn out really well unless I royally screw up like forget an ingredient an b) I'm not that creative when it comes to meal planning - I'd prefer to flip through my cook books and pick out new recipes to try for dinner this week.

If you do take my advice and go the route of cook books, I will make a few suggestions below. You will notice that all of them are America's Test Kitchen. There's a reason I suggest mostly their books--they are totally idiot proof. Their recipes are thoroughly tested (it IS americas TEST kitchen after all...) They rarely have recipes that call for unusual or hard to find ingredients, and rarely call for unique appliances (like, most people probably do not have an immersion blender). Their recipes are very simple (I've come across a lot of books from other publishers that have incredibly drawn-out steps, or just countless steps, or a lot of unusual ingredients) and easy to follow, and they also include brief scientific explanations for something about every single recipe (example, why you would want to brown your butter when making chocolate chip cookies) which I have always found interesting, and theyre meant to help you build your knowledge in how to cook --ie its often concepts that can be applied elsewhere.

ATK/Cooks Illustrated The Science of Good Cooking

ATK Cooking School

ATK's The Make-Ahead Cook - great if youre into meal prepping

ATK Cooking for Two - great if you are alone or just cooking for yourself and significant other, and dont like having leftovers

ATK Comfort Food Makeovers - turns traditionally unhealthy foods into healthy meals

ATK Slow Cooker Revolution - if you have a crock pot, you NEED this book. I've made a ton of recipes out of here and every single one has come out great.

They have a ton of books out there, many of them for specific things (pressure cooker, paleo, gluten free, vegetarian, mexican recipes, etc.) but you may be saying, "Hmm, none of those books said "Health cooking/eating healthy/buzzwords about health" - they dont need to say that. Quite a lot of their recipes are generally healthy. I haven't encountered many things (outside the dessert chapters, that is) that I've said "oh, I don't think I ought to eat that, it's just not healthy" --but if youre a bit narrow minded in terms of what constitutes a healthy meal (and I find that is common with people who struggle to eat a healthy diet--this is because they think there's a very small amount of "healthy" foods out there) , then maybe these books arent for you. But if you mostly eat intuitively, and know that you should be getting a decent amount of vegetables and fruits in your daily diet, and a good amount of protein, and not an overwhelming amount of starch and net carbs, then youre golden. Get yourself a cook book and learn to cook. Once you eat food that's been properly seasoned and cooked, youll realize that eating asparagus doesn't have to be a boring, unpalatable experience. Brussels sprouts don't have to be awful. I used to hate brussel sprouts...until I had properly roasted sprouts. Holy shit, they are good!!! Peas can be tasty! Baked chicken breast doesn't have to taste bland and dry as hell if you learn about brining, seasoning, and proper cooking times.

TLDR - eating healthy doesnt have to mean eating bland food. You admit your cooking skills are rudimentary, so it's no surprise you are not enthused when you try to make something healthy. A lot of "healthy" foods (veggies, etc) are bland when you don't properly season them or pick the right cooking method. Get yourself a cook book or two and learn how to cook. You won't have a hard time eating something you previously thought unpalatable--like filling half your dinner plate with brussels sprouts and broccoli--when it's seasoned and properly cooked!

I found three things that were one my wishlist that I thought you'd probably like.

The first one is the book Howl's Moving Castle - I saw that you had a few Totoro things on your wishlist so I assumed you probably like other Studio Ghibli titles. This is the book that the movie was based off of.

The second item I want to suggest to you is Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking I saw quite a few food and kitchen related items and this is a classic, must have for every kitchen where food is made.

Last, but not least Recipe Cards. If you're anything like me your favorite recipes are recipes passed down from family and friends. The recipes we give away at potlucks and dinner parties. What better way to store and share your recipes than adorable recipe cards?

Thanks for the contest. I hope you find something super fantastic to get yourself with your giftcard.

First of all, your mother was wrong for doing that and it's really common in raisedbynarcissists homes, though I'm not sure that she is a narc...because this is only one small example and could be applicable to non-narcs. That being said, it's never too late to learn how to cook. I was in the same boat as you were and was really frustrated by youtube videos because they taught things from a perspective of already knowing cooking basics and I didn't even know that much.

I'd strongly recommend this cookbook because it teaches you the basics to the basics. It actually shows you how to cut veggies properly and what brands to buy based on testing and gives it's reasoning and logic as to why. The recipes are easy to follow with lots of pictures and clear instructions and always come out as restaurant quality (for the record, I got this book in December 2018 and 2019 was the first time I ever cooked in my life) and have been able to make quite a few showstopping recipes (I started out by setting aside one day to try a new recipe, for example, I would decide ahead of time what I was making each Sunday which was when I would cook from this book as I have a full-time job and a child). So it depends on you how much time you have but honestly, one recipe a week has taught me so much about cooking in general.

I can't express how good the food is. My fully British bf loves Indian food (has all his life, of course) and we made a Chicken Tikki Masala from this book..he told me he's had this made gourmet at his favorite restaurants and that there was no way it would turn out as well for us (we were cooking together and he was trying to convince me to deviate from the actual instructions) unless he added stuff. I stood firm and told him that he had to try it their way first and to just try it before trying to change it...it ended up being so good that both of us now have a new favorite Chicken Tikki Masala recipe lol.

I'd also recommend a small scale if you don't already have one because it makes it much easier to cook meats if you actually cut them down to the right size. For example, if it say's 6-8 ounce chicken breasts, I buy chicken breasts and cut off all of the fat until it's close to 6-8 (usually closer to 8.5 but close enough). Because then when the recipe says cook 4 minutes on each side, you can literally follow that exactly and it should come out perfectly every time. Hope that helps but please let me know if you have more questions/anything else that I can help with! I linked the one we use but it's up to you, of course.

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Cooking-Two-Cookbook-Everything/dp/1936493837/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=cooking+for+2&qid=1563201487&s=gateway&sr=8-3



https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Multifunction-Stainless-Batteries-Included/dp/B0113UZJE2/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=small+scale&qid=1563201838&s=gateway&sr=8-7

This is where you start:

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child

Wait! I don't want to get into the fancy French cooking that is incredibly complex! I'm just a beginner!

Relax.

It's not what you think. French cooking is assembling building blocks of very simple components. You can use them simply in recipes. Later, when you master them, you can assemble your knowledge into the complex.

Start with your Mother Sauces.

The roux, or bechamel, is butter, flour and milk. Without knowing more than that, you could probably make a roux right now. Practice and learn and you will knock it off without even thinking about it.

After that, you can add other ingredients to the roux and make things more interesting.

You also need to know the basics for vegetables and meat. Learn to blanch vegetables. It's not hard and doesn't take very long.

Blanch a nice broccoli. Pour that roux you learned over it. Now you have something wonderful to eat.

Learn how to sautee a chicken breast. Add mushrooms and a spice or two to a roux and put that on the chicken. Wonderful.

Once you get the Mother Sauces down and can prepare meats and vegetables in several different ways, you will be eating very well.

Further, you'll be able to cook from ingredients you have at hand. Say you go over to the apartment of a significant other. You will be able to go into the kitchen and use what's on hand to prepare a good meal.

If you go to a market and find they just got in a fresh shipment of something terrifically fresh that's on special, you can buy it and quickly plan a meal around it.

So get to work on your Mother Sauces. You'll learn them quickly and then you'll keep learning more and making better and better food. Soon enough, you will have a reputation as a great chef and everyone will want to have dinner with you.

I've always loved to cook but I have to admit, I learned a lot from watching 30 Minute Meals. I know RR can be annoying, but wow, she really knows how to explain things to a novice.

Another cookbook that I love and I think is great for new cooks is Every Day Food: Great Food Fast. It's by the people at Martha Stewart and it has easy recipes and clear instructions.

When I first started cooking I too found it stressful, but just like anything else in life, practice makes perfect. Now I have my own cooking show on YT and love every minute of it!
.

I have been getting really into cooking, and expanding my repertoire of recipes and specialties. I have always been skilled at cooking but I'm trying to amp up my abilities and start mastering more complex dishes. The Newlywed Cookbook should be in everyone's bookshelf. Truly, I have not made a bad recipe from this book. 10/10 would recommend!

I have also always been on the "alternative diet/food lifestyle" train, but my mother recommended "Nourishing Traditions" to me and reading it has been great! I am learning so much more about nutrition and ancestral cooking. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking to increase their level of natural, personal wellness, and anyone interested in bone broth, home fermentation, and the like. Even if you don't subscribe to everything she says, there is still so much to learn and take away from this book!

Hi! Proportions depends on your body and your goals. Here's a typical grocery list in my house:

PROTEIN

• Chicken breast
  
• ground chicken
  
• ground turkey
  
• Tilapia
  
• Beef (weekly)
  
• Tuna
  
• 0% greek yogurt
  
• Bean pasta (Explore Cuisine has 22g Protein per serving and <$4 a box)
  
• protein powder
  
  CARB
  
  
• quinoa
  
• brown rice
  
• white rice (moderation)
  
• salad
  
• beans
  
• onion/ peppers/ garlic (& other accompanying vegetables)
  
• spaghetti squash (instead of pasta, or in a tuna casserole)
  
• pasta sauce
  
• rice cakes
  
• oatmeal (1-minute & rolled)
  
• sweet potato
  
• FRUIT!
  
• Bananas (yep, deserve a separate line)
  
• FROZEN FRUIT!!
  
• frozen veggies (peas & corn mostly)
  
• bread (in moderate amounts)
  
• almond milk
  
  FATS
  
  
• eggs
  
• avocado
  
• nuts (raw)
  
• peanut butter
  
• almond butter (MAPLE ALMOND BUTTER)
  
• half & half (in your coffee)
  
• cheese (moderate amounts)
  
• olive oil
  
• coconut oil
  
• other oils
  
  RESOURCES
  
  
• skinnytaste recipes
  
• the only cookbook you'll ever need
  
• simply shredded athlete interviews (they all talk about their diet)
  
  MEAL IDEAS
  
  
• bean pasta and pasta sauce
  
• fillet of chicken (or fish) plus a carb
  
• enormous salad (beans, green onions, peppers) with chicken
  
• protein smoothie
  
• • 1/2 frozen banana (key to smoothieness)
    
• • 1 serving frozen fruit (I mix kinds for a total of 1 serving)
    
• • 1 serving rolled oats
    
• • 1 scoop protein powder
    
• • almond milk
    
• spaghetti squash tuna casserole
  
• • (I literally make this up every time I'm happy to write it out if you like)
    
• one skillet sweet potato burrito bowl (add chicken, modify the recipe however you like)
  
  TIPS
  
  
• portion and bake 3lbs of chicken & 3lbs of tilapia at once. let cool and freeze on baking sheet. Transfer when frozen solid to a freezer bag. Defrost a portion overnight.
  
• you can replace anything white with 0% greek yogurt (sour cream, mayo, whipped cream)
  
• pick up a carton of your favorite protein bars and save them for emergencies (when you couldn't shop or prep)
  
• make perusing recipe resources a regular habit to maintain inspiration
  
• you can shred chicken with an electric mixer (it's kind of amazing)
  
• make an enormous salad on Sundays, eat for 4 days
  
• sweet potato microwaves easily, just throw one in your lunch bag with your fillet and you're set
  
• chili is your best friend!
  
• so is mustard! All the kinds
  
• so are pickles (except for bread and butter pickles... the best kind)
  
• so is hot sauce!
  
• anything you make with ground beef you can make with ground chicken or ground turkey (sloppy joes, tacos, chili)
  
• keep a list of all of your favorite recipes/ meal ideas (things to try) where you can easily review it and build your shopping list. I do it all in one place here and organize my grocery list by department to make shopping happen faster.
  
  That's a lot of info, I got a little carried away. Sorry.
  
  Baby steps. Start with whatever. When you find yourself dreading your meals, spice it up. If meal prep stresses you out figure out how to make it easier (that's how I learned about shredding chicken with a mixer). When you falter (you will) figure out what went wrong and how you can improve.
  

1. This grey shirt!
   
2. The guys on this CD cover look like falling drops of rain. Plus there's lots of water.
   
3. Japanese Green Tea Kit Kats!
   
4. My mom was so impressed with the wigs she got me that she wants one of her own.
   
5. You've probably read this classic but it's my favorite book. Even from a non-romantic literary standpoint, it's genius.
   
6. How about an MP3? No shipping lol
   
7. Terry Pratchet is probably the most hilarious writer ever and if you've ever owned a cat, or love cats, this is just amazing.
   
8. These nails. They would actually be annoying to wear but they're so cute!
   
9. Oldboy. Perfect action/revenge/mindscrew movie. It's so captivating and well done. I haven't met anyone who didn't like it.
   
10. Instant fire starter. One way to get rid of the undead is to burn them to ashes and this spiffy thing will light you a fire in a jiffy.
    
11. This sewing machine. I've always wanted to make my own clothes because there aren't enough cute US styles. Most fashions these days are more sexy than sweet. I'd make a boutique for feminine, cute, Lolita, Gyaru, and Gothic styles. But first I'd have to learn how to sew, haha.
    
12. FACK. And it sounds so good too!
    
13. Sewing Machine from before for the same reasons
    
14. ICE CREAM MAKER
    
15. Gold studs are super tiny
    
16. Vanilla Boubon Extract. Yummmm
    
17. Kitty Stealing Coins :3
    
18. Need to know how to make lunches for school, don't I?
    
19. Hime Gyaru Wig. I'm getting more and more into Japanese fashion. My goal is to look a little like this.
    
20. Majestic. Classy. Daring. Beautiful. So many uses.
    
    fear cuts deeper than swords
    
    This was so fun to do! :D

• Taste of Home Best Loved - A great down-to-earth cookbook with homestyle meals that mom and grandma used to make.
  
• The Silver Spoon - Originally in Italian, hundreds of awesome, authentic Italian dishes using a massive array of ingredients.
  
• Gourmet Magazine Cookbook - I got my copy at a brick and mortar bookstore many years ago, and it may be out of print now. But it is full of elevated dishes that are easily obtainable at home.
  
• Dinner for Two - For years it was just my wife and I. This was the perfect little cookbook for us. Additionally, ATK has a similar cookbook. This isn't the one we have, but one like it. It's basically their recipes scaled down for two people.
  
• Bocuse Gastronomique - It's like an awesome cooking class on paper from the master himself.
  
• Bocuse - An awesome collection of recipes from Paul Bocuse.
  
• ATK Cookbook. I probably cook more from here than any other. I used to buy the new version every year with the newest recipes, but now I have the online subscription.
  
• The Flavor Bible that someone else linked.
  
  
  I could keep going but I should stop. So many great ones out there.

It probably is a struggle at your age. I started at 24 and had a stable job, so I had it easy. So you're a bad-ass for starting now. Unfortunate that your parents aren't more supportive. I hope they'll at least allow you some fridge space for soy milk, etc.

Here's some easy staples off the top of my head:

• PB&J sandwich
  
• Cereal with soy milk
  
• Frozen fries, easy to bake in oven
  
• Baked potato, easy to microwave, add vegan butter (e.g. Earth Balance) or vegetable oil and spices
  
• Easy fruit: apples, bananas, oranges, etc.
  
• Easy veggies: baby carrots, broccoli, celery. Maybe dip in hummus.
  
• Easy treats: oreos, clif bars, junior mints
  
• Boca burgers for easy protein.
  
  You'll learn how to cook tofu, tempeh, beans, etc with time and diversify your protein. You don't need as much as people think, and some people don't appreciate that lots of foods have protein, like bread and cereal. Whole grain (high fiber) is good. I've been vegan for 3 years and have never paid attention to protein, and I'm as athletic as I ever was.
  
  Here's some books for easy/student cooking, you can either buy or borrow from a library (if you're in a big city or if your state has inter-library loans). I've used each of these at some point...
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Vegan-Simple-Recipes-Healthy/dp/1845979591
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Students-Go-Vegan-Cookbook-Recipes/dp/0307336530
  
  Here's some sites I found quickly:
  
  
• http://www.peta.org/living/beauty/easy-peasy-tips-new-vegan/
  
• http://www.veganeasy.org/
  
  Don't worry about going 100% vegan all at once. I'm glad to hear you've come back to it again and again. Any reduction of animal products is good, and if you ease into it, you're more likely to stick with it long term. Don't be hard on yourself. Also don't sweat the small stuff (ingredients).

I love cooking when I’m happy. And basically I’m not working right now so I’m happy lol. And it’s showing, I’m gaining a little extra weight 😕.

I go in spurts and trends. I’ll make something all the time and it’s my new obsession, then I’ll move on to something else because I’m suddenly tired of it.

Creamy tomato soup is one of my favorite easy meals in winter. It’s just one of my favorite meals of all time anyway. Mmm.

Right now I got myself a pressure cooker and I’m kind of obsessed with it. I bought this cookbook and I’m working my way through it. So far every recipe has been amazing. She has a similar philosophy I do. I don’t like things to be overly complicated.

We just had pumpkin alfredo as our traditional Halloween meal, haha. I also always make the rolls for family holidays. I’m trying to create some food traditions, I think those are fun and my family was never very into traditions.

I think my project today is to make apple butter! I love seasonal cooking, so that’s part of why what I cook changes so much all year.

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Question (byobbtypo):

> Do LARPers get carried away and just end up beating the shit out of each other?
>
> Example:
> You: I hit you with a magic missile!You're dead!
> Them: Nope you missed!
> You: You're fuckin dead BITCH (throws punch)

Answer (kubit):

> We've actually had a few brawls here and there, but they're usually all talk. You can imagine with all of those endorphins that sometimes people get carried away and hilarity ensues, but this stuff is pretty frowned upon and rare. We do have a full-contact system of combat that requires verbal consent from whichever party you're going to tackle/maul for all of your aggression needs.
>
> Most of the serious fights actually happen with people who are in campsites near ours. One lady let her dogs loose and tried to get them to attack us because we were being rambunctious in the middle of the night. Shouting matches with normal people is pretty much expected.



Question (swankmotron):

> Why aren't you working on a novel?

Answer (kubit):

> Too busy LARPing and writing LARPing lore for successful careers! BAAARGH!



Question (MrSphincter):

> So lets say we're LARPing in the woods like you said. I suddenly get the impulse to massacre people (LAPRPingly of course). Does that count as a death or only during battles?

Answer (kubit):

> I'm assuming this isn't a death threat. Am I giving you too much credit here?
>
> I've stalked people for a few hours and then murdered them (LARPingly. The statute of limitations doesn't expire on murder, so) when they went to sleep and then dragged them in the forest to bleed to death. Anyone can take a death at any time.
>
> My favorite thing to do is follow people around until they let their guard down and then go to town. It's the best kind of hide-and-seek.



Question (byobbtypo):

> So you could just challenge someone and throw down right then and there? That sounds just amazing.
>
> Aaaaand, I'd probably think twice about trying to mess with a campsite full of drunk people wearing armor.....

Answer (kubit):

> Yeah. We've had gentlemanly fisticuffs break out during "formal" events that ended in black eyes, goose eggs, and worst of all, spilled home-brewed rum. We're fine with full-contact fight club brawls as long as both parties have verbally consented in front of a few witnesses. It's usually like, "I'm going to jump on your back and try to make you pass out!" "Okay!"
>
> Yeah. I'd never hurt a dog, though. If that lady came over, I'm not sure what would've happened. I daydream about it sometimes.



Question (MrSphincter):

> I've always wanted to try LARP especially the battle portion of it. Now that you mention that I can suddenly murder anyone on a whim makes the incentives far greater.
>
> Does being athletic help?

Answer (kubit):

> Yeah, it definitely does. I'm pretty out of shape myself despite not being "fat". I have athletic and allergy induced asthma, which is why I prefer to put on leather socks and stalk people as opposed to running around carrying an 80lb shield and a great sword.
>
> One of the most in shape people I know (Panacea, who posted on this thread) uses two swords and basically runs around, jumping and pummeling the shit out of everything, with great results. It helps when you can real-life dodge as opposed to using the limited number on your character sheet.
>
> I, however, cannot dodge for shit.



Question (x3rs1st):

> Wanna LARP at my place? I have boxed wine and pizza rolls.

Answer (kubit):

> No way, bro. Even hobbits can afford bagel bites.



Question (iwantitalliwantitnow):

> Nice! Glad you have so much fun. I remember some classmates and I stumbling into the middle of a LARP group while doing a class project. One of our classmates got stolen, and we had to join up with a the other team in a raid to get her back. It was fun.

Answer (kubit):

> That sounds amazingly awesome to stumble into. Did you guys use foam weapons or anything? I've done this for a birthday party! The little sister of my boyfriend at the time wanted us to do a kidnap-and-rescue module, in which I played an evil dragon queen named Onyxia. Don't judge me!



Question (mortaine):

> Are you bisexual?
>
> There's kind of an urban legend that all female larpers are bi, but I'm not sure if that's just limited to World of Darkness larpers.

Answer (kubit):

> I'm attracted to cookware, actually. Laci Green explains this phenomenon better than I ever could:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv5k9w6Hpi4



Question (MrSphincter):

> I happen to be like a hybrid. I train in boxing and Muay Thai on a daily basis yet during childhood had a lot of nerdy influences. I became that dude who happens to fix computer/tech problems but also punches/kicks people in the face since I fight. So living the fantasies of LotRlike worlds sound fucking amazing.
>
> Also I wanna go Conan ape shit crazy and hear the lamentations of their women. (With full Arnie crazy eyes look)
>
> What are the choices in weapons?

Answer (kubit):

> I totally get that. As a kid, I did competitive swimming and Iaido, but then I started playing DnD with my best friend's brother. I'm pretty lame now in comparison as far as body treatment goes, but I think my delusions of LARPing grandeur come from watching too many Kurosawa films.
>
> The women our this game don't generally lament unless their food is covered in dust, which happens a lot when fights break out during food time.
>
> There are weapon details and restrictions. Daggers, swords, longswords, polearms, hammers, axes, etc all have design specs that need to be met, but otherwise it's go crazy nuts. Also, shields and thrown weapons. There's a LOT of variety.



Question (dannyboylee):

> Have you seen The Wild Hunt?
>
> What do you think of it? Is it accurate at all?

Answer (kubit):

> Holy crap, no. I haven't seen that at all. Is it good?
>
> From the look of the trailer, yes, it's accurate. That's generally how we get new players... by kidnapping them. Although the women in our game generally prefer to play deadly things rather than princesses.



Question (Puppy_in_love):

> I greet you, milady, hoping that we can once cross blades.
> Now i have a question for ye. What kind of weapons do you use? Foam or?

Answer (kubit):

> Latex, usually. I have one of these:
>
> http://www.strongblade.com/prod/sbif-dag-corsair.html
>
> We could totally cross blades. Except that my favorite character class is assassin, so if we're crossing blades, I'm doing my job completely wrong.



Question (iwantitalliwantitnow):

> Not judging. And no foam weapons, but many war cries were had. We had interviewed them earlier, so when half of them took one of our group and ran off, we weren't too worried.

Answer (kubit):

> All I can imagine is a horde of nerds running over a hill and summarily potato-sacking one of your professionally dressed friends and disappearing back over the hill. The best imagery.



Question (MrSphincter):

> Maybe I get go use the fancy ass footwork from the training. I guess it does help that I have to dodge forces with the intention of knocking me out.
>
> The lamentation line is from a Conan the Barbarian movie btw and ooooohhh... hammers and daggers!

Answer (kubit):

> Oh yeah, I'm totally familiar with Conan. I just want you guys to know how GODDAMN TOUGH I AM. ROAAAAAR!
>
> We also make pots, pans, instruments, cups, etc. out of foam to hit each other with. Those are especially hilarious. One guy I knew made a bunch of glow-in-the-dark foam skulls to throw at people in the middle of the night.



Question (dannyboylee):

> Looks like you need to get yourself a copy of this.

Answer (kubit):

> Make that Microwave Cooking for Two. Bow chicka bow wow.



Question (Puppy_in_love):

> I am also an assasin. A duel between us is aceptable.

Answer (kubit):

> Sweet.



Question (Puppy_in_love):

> And if i am to die, let it be by your hand.

Answer (kubit):

> Double sweet.

*****

(continued below)

An excellent book for you at this point would be Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques. From the description:

"Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques features everything the home cook needs to perfect: poach an egg, whisk a perfect hollandaise, knead a crispy baguette, or bake an exquisite meringue with the perfection and efficiency of a professional chef. Featured throughout the book, Pepin's classic recipes offer budding masters the opportunity to put lessons into practice with extraordinary results."

It also covers things like knife technique and other fundamentals, which you mentioned.

As far as French cooking goes, although they've been around awhile, two books that are still definitive on the subject are Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Volume One and Volume Two. All three of these books (Pepin plus these two) are foundational to learning about cooking. There are others, but these will give you a very good start, and will increase your cooking skills and knowledge exponentially.

If those aren't enough, you can also check out The Professional Chef, which is a fantastic book of recipes and techniques put out by the Culinary Institute of America. It's a bit spendy, but worth it if you want to learn. The Amazon links are provided for reference; if money is an issue you can quite easily find all these books used.

Interested in mastering french cooking? Get yourself the bible.

I personally use cookbooks that were passed down from family members and I assume long out of print, but as far as contemporary books go, I like Ina Garten. She cooks like a mix of rustic French and Italian and her recipes are simple and elegant.

Lastly, while I am a huge advocate for cookbooks, the internet is also a great resource for answering all your technical questions (how-to vids have personally saved my life on how to properly carve, fillet, braise, etc).

Hope this helps!

My mother got me the Can't Cook Book a few years ago. Admittedly, I haven't used it much because, well, it felt like an insult gift (as I was already pretty competent in the kitchen) and the recipes are really basic- but if you are starting from square one it seems a good resource. Like I said, it does have some (very easy) recipes but most of the book is chapters about kitchen tools, meal preparation, basic techniques and definitions of kitchen terms. All stuff you'll want to know.

As far as a next step after that (because, of course, practice makes perfect) I can more enthusiastically recommend Cooking Comically which is full of easy recipes, with step by step picture instructions in a comic book format, with a decent number of explanations of how to do new techniques and why you'll want to do things a certain way. Many of those recipes and some others can be found online here to give you an idea whether or not you should purchase that book.

America's Test Kitchen Cooking for Two is a great book. The recipes are great and make two good sized portions. There is also a ton of other useful info within the book, like how to use leftover ingredients, how to best store things, recommendations, etc.

Blue Apron is surprisingly good source for recipes with only two portions. They are smaller portions that most Americans are used to. If I were really hungry, I could probably eat both portions. Some of their recipes call for one or two hard to find ingredients, which can usually be substituted.

Budget Bytes is a good source for recipes that use similar ingredients. For example, if you buy a big jar of Kalamata olives for one recipe, there are many others that will use them as well. With that said, a lot of her recipes start to taste very similar after a while.

America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I have the older edition, but I assume the new one is good as well. It has both basic recipes (such as different ways to cook eggs or the best way to make a baked potato) as well as typical classics (lasagna, roast turkey, steak with pan sauce, pizza, etc.).

Basically if you're looking for one cookbook that covers all common American fare, this is a great option. Also has equipment and ingredient brand recommendations. It's spiral-bound, which is great for a cookbook since you can lay it flat on the table.

America's Test Kitchen Cooking For Two. Many of the same recipes as above sized for two people. Plenty of different ones as well. A lot of focus on easier weeknight meals.

I had a similar experience about 7 years ago. My dad had his entire large intestine removed. He's also developed diabetes. I made the same choice you're making now and it's been great. I'm in better shape at 32 than I was at 22. I commend your choice and thought I'd offer an encouraging success story.

As for practical advice, this book is easy and the recipes are quick and cheap.

Here are a few tips or observations from my personal experience -

• being vegan is easy if you like to cook.
  
  

• the other posters are right that not all vegan food is healthy, but you'll find that excluding animal products often leads naturally to excluding unhealthy food.
  
  
• vitamins - Vegan daily multi, some sort of B complex. That's it for me.
  
  I don't know how old you are or if this applies to you, and this might be a unpopular position, but I gave up animal products and alcohol and found the combo to be amazing. I'm not 100% alcohol abstinent, but pretty close. I was vegan for 3 years or so before I began avoiding alcohol and I've found the results to be quite similar. Thought I'd tack that on because if you took up both, you might see even quicker and more profound health benefits. Good luck!

The only physical cookbook I've picked up so far is the Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre. I've only made a couple of the recipes so far, including this Butter Chicken, which I think is the same one from the book, but they were both great. The Butter Chicken was super easy also and even the kids loved it. Plus at like $8, it's not an expensive book.

Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything the Basics is really good for beginner stuff. Thug Kitchen's new book is also a great starting place for learning how to cook cheap and healthy.

My all time favorite cookbook is Mastering the Art of French Cooking which is a great intro to French techniques. The recipes themselves are not always cheap and healthy, but the skills you learn are super super useful for any type of cooking. It is by far the cookbook I have learned the most from.

Try a simple pasta dish...it's very hard to mess up pasta, and there are a ton of recipes online. Once you have one success under your belt, I think it will be easier to move on to other dishes. Pastas and stir frys are usually pretty simple. Salads and soups are usually pretty simple as well. I usually stick with simple because I can easily get lazy about cooking. The internet is a great resource for easy recipes and there are a ton of books that specialize in easy recipes. I think this book is a good resource for easy cooking:

https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Without-Book-Techniques/dp/0767902793

For what it's worth, if you want to make sauces, I would ditch Good Eats and spend some time watching Jacques Pépin or Julia Child. Lots available on YouTube and kqed.org. Fewer puppets, more cooking :) A great many episodes of their shows will cover making various sauces.

For example, here's an episode of Julia's The French Chef which addresses hollandaise in exceptional detail. It'll tell you almost everything you need to know about it, and honestly it's just fun to watch Julia Child cook. I say "almost" because I like to cheat by making hollandaise with a blender, and I don't think she covers it in that show. (She does cover it in her book, though!)

Anyway, to answer what seems to be your main question:

> Is water always needed to emulsify oil?

By definition, yes, since an emulsion is fat and water mixed together thoroughly enough that they won't separate (at least for a while). You don't need to always use pure water, but there has to be water from some source (wine or stock, for example) to bring the sauce together. The oil separates into tiny droplets and becomes dispersed throughout the water, and that's the basis for your sauce.

> I have heard TV chefs mention "sauces breaking" or "breaking down" - is there a trick to preventing this? Did I possibly have too much / too little of something?

A given amount of water can only hold so much oil in suspension before the emulsion fails and the sauce breaks. The simplest solution is often to reduce the amount of oil. In the case of your pan drippings, for instance, what you'd do is pour off most of the chicken fat into a separate container. Then you'd take your roasting pan, put it over a low burner (if it's stovetop safe), and pour in some water, wine, or chicken stock. This allows you to dissolve all the tasty brown bits in the pan (fond or sucs) into your sauce. Because you've poured out a good bit of the fat, this sauce will be much more stable than the one you made. You can thicken it with a cornstarch slurry and finish with cream or butter if you'd like.

Another solution is to use an emulsifier, which is an ingredient that helps to keep the emulsion stable. Classic emulsifiers include egg yolk and mustard, but these of course will add flavors or textures that you may not want in the dish. Usually, though, just minding your fat-to-water ratio should be enough.

EDIT: See here for Jacques making a sauce with pan drippings. It's a rib roast, but the same idea applies. He makes the sauce at 13:15.

Well, other than rice and pasta, what do you like to eat?

Some subreddits that are good for ideas are r/Cooking, r/cookingforbeginners, r/EatCheapAndHealthy. Another idea would be to get a cookbook and just start doing the recipes in it. If you want some simpler cookbooks to start with, here are a few suggestions: A Man, a Can, a Plan, The $7 a Meal: Quick and Easy cookbook.

I've used/have both of those cookbooks, and find a lot of the recipes to be favorites. Cooking can be as complicated or as simple as you like. The best way to get better though is just to cook. Hope this helps!

$250 certainly is not a huge food budget. Depending on how you feel about cooking, you can certainly work with it.

I recommend you look around at various food and cooking subreddits that take budget into consideration. We're talking EatCheapAndHealthy, not FoodPorn. Look at appealing and approachable recipes for common ingredients. If you cook those sorts of recipes, those common ingredients will be staples in your fridge & cabinets.

A few ideas:

• /r/EatCheapAndHealthy/top/
  
• /r/7dollardinners/top/
  
• /r/budgetfood/top/
  
• /r/collegecooking/top/
  
• https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/336mmw/how_can_i_eat_clean_and_healthy_on_a_limited/
  
  On a related tangent, these are some sources that massively improved my cooking abilities. They might be useful to you, since you mention staying out of the kitchen.
  
  
• How to Cook Without a Book covers basic techniques followed by several recipe variations using the technique. There's a chapter on vegetable puree soups talking about rough volumes and techniques, followed by potato leek soup, broccoli cheese soup, and several others. It lets me stare at the fridge for a minute or two, then start grabbing our random ingredients to throw together. If you're cooking with staples instead of cooking to a recipe, this is a vital skill.
  
• Good Eats by Alton Brown, some of which are on Netflix. They're great 20 minute shows on a wide variety of topics that get into the science behind cooking at a high level. Really helpful for understanding the reasons behind recipe steps.
  
• Serious Eats is my current go-to cooking and recipe site. Any time I want to make a specific thing, I check to see if they covered it first.

Depending on how long it is from when you leave home until when you eat you could just bring something you don't mind eating at room temp.

My old office only had 2 microwaves for over 100 people, probably over 150. The office before that had 2-4 and for a few months none. Needless to say there was always a wait at lunch time. I just started eating my food room temp.

Obviously not everything tastes as good at room temp. I've had good luck with Japanese bento style meals; rice, veg, a bit of meat. Just bento cookbook is a good resource. She has tips for making ahead and freezing parts of the meals as well.

If you have time to cook something quick or heat up some soup a good lunch jar will keep it warm until it's time to eat. It great for pasta and sauce.

For a heartier meal and/or more variety mr bento can't be beat. The stuff at the bottom stays warmest. Again it requires some prep time in the morning though

So I'm gonna go ahead an assume you were gifted this bento book, which is amazing. I have it too, I love it. If you DON'T have it (which I'd be surprised about), then you need it!

As far as ideas and recipes, you definitely need those Rubber Cupcake Liners, which are absolutey fantastic for sperating items in your bento. Additionally they are good for making cupcakes to take with you, OR, you can make these egg muffins for breakfast or lunch in them. This is my breakfast right now, it's genius. Plus I should have used liners for them, the pan was a bitch to clean out.

Also, I highly suggest you check out this website if you haven't yet. Her entire website is just making bento boxes, and things related to bento boxes. What I linked you too specifically is all of her recipes she uses, some of which is just genius.

I love bento boxes because it's something I'm a big advocate for: little portions of lots of things. Instead of just a sandwich, you can have a quarter of a sandwich, some carrots, a tiny chocolate bar, and a bit of pasta salad. It's genius.

I actually already have a more traditional bento box, but I find it's not very condusive to taking to work. The one I have on my Miscellaneous wishlist is one has a built in freezer pack (so I don't have to bring a cooler and ice pack), and lots of rearrangeable individual compartments, which is good since my meals change every day.

I hope that wasn't too rambly! I didn't mean to go on that much =P

I usually tell people to check out How to Cook Without a Book. It has some recipes, but it's more about giving readers a better understanding of techniques, how to put something together from what you already have on hand, and what things you should just keep around at all times because of their usefulness. As opposed to a lot of books I've seen that give a list of things to buy which will then need to be prepped with tools you might not have.

edit: If you got money to spend and really dig the art and science of cooking there is also Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. At just under $550 USD it's the most expensive and most beautiful cookbook I've ever seen.

I'm going to go another route and recommend How to Cook Without a Book because it helped me finally get into cooking. It's geared towards the home cook and teaches you easy recipe 'blueprints', and gives you examples of how you can adjust them to create a variety of dishes. There is nothing too fancy or advanced here, but it gives an insight into how these dishes work and how you can play with them.

For example, one chapter is just about frittatas. First it teaches the basics of how to make one, and then has a bunch of different frittata recipes (bacon & onions, zucchini & mozzarella, spinach & sausage, potatoes & artichoke hearts, etc) with notes on how to adjust the recipe to incorporate the various fillings. Another chapter I still reference often is the one on a roast chicken dinner. Again it outlines the basics first, and then gives you recipes for breaded dijon, rosemary lemon, BBQ, and tandoori chicken all cooked using the same technique.

I know it's not exactly what you're asking for, but it really helped me build enough confidence in my cooking so that I could start improvising more in the kitchen and take on more advanced techniques.

Also, youtube helped a lot.

This is the one I have. But it might be a pain, it's British so you have to make some conversions.

I'm guessing that this is the same book but the American version.

I don't know how you feel about it but what I do is go to my library and take out loads of cookbooks and input the recipes I like into my recipe software. Three cheers for free recipes and if you're like me, not every recipe in a cookbook is a winner so you're not wasting your money.

Well if his only restrictions are no red meat or alcohol, he's got a lot of options! But if he can only eat chicken, fish and vegetables, then he's going to be a lot more restricted.

I'd look into paleo, or Whole30 (paleo, but also no dairy, grains, sugars or alcohol) diets and just ignore recipes with red meat - a friend on chemo has had a lot of reduction in chemo symptoms that she attributes to Whole30, recommended by her oncologist.

I like the blog Nom Nom Paleo and she has a cookbook too. Here's her list of Whole30 recipes to give you an idea of what that's like:
http://nomnompaleo.com/post/42057515329/the-round-up-30-days-of-whole30-recipes

And here's the recipe index, you can see you can avoid the ones with red meat, or alternatively just focus on the ones made with chicken and fish: http://nomnompaleo.com/recipeindex

In general, though, if he has some basic techniques under his belt he'll be able to make lots of meals that meet the restrictions his doctor has recommended - my favourites for that are:

How to cook without a book

How to cook everything

Appetite

All the very best to your dad and hope he gets well soon!

It is really, really, really hard to cook efficiently for one.

Some people do meal prep and eat the same thing day after day.

I gave up and use a service that delivers me a cooler full of dinners (not frozen) every week. Freshly would be the national equivalent, but I found their portion sizes to be too small and they use a lot of packaging. I leave a few nights empty so I can go out to dinner on a date if needed.

Even paying someone else to cook for me, the cost per meal is less than what I was spending at the grocery store after waste was accounted for.

I also don't have a dishwasher so I hate involved recipes. If you have a dishwasher, you might have luck with preportioned cooking kits like Blue Apron and the like.

If you don't want to do any of this and still want to shop at the store, I find salads to be the best way to go for scaling things up/down.

Bonus link to the world's loneliest cookbook because I love the cover: https://www.amazon.com/Microwave-Cooking-One-Marie-Smith/dp/1565546660/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=microwave+cooking+for+one&qid=1566792626&s=gateway&sr=8-1

If you are honestly out to learn how to cook,

I recommend the food lab

This book has been absolutely amazing and explains everything at a very good scientific level. I sense you might be the type to enjoy it if it was explained it that way.

If not, Gordan Ramsey's Home cooking is pretty good.

I'm sorry for your loss. When I first moved out on my own, this book was extremely helpful:

https://www.amazon.com/Going-Solo-Kitchen-Persuasive-Alone/dp/0375703934

Some basic tips, find creative ways to use leftovers. Roast chicken can become soup, potpie, sandwiches, salads, etc. Waste management is the biggest challenge, don't buy more than you can eat. One of the hardest things to keep fresh are vegetables, consider buying frozen and only heating individual servings.

Here's an easy, cheap dish I really like.

Boil water for pasta, cook pasta per directions on box. This can be any small shape pasta, I use farfalle but anything would work. When you add the pasta to the water, start sauteing some garlic in a pan with olive oil. Add your protein, which can be a can of tuna, some sliced deli ham or turkey, some diced bacon, etc. Get it nice and browned and crispy and add a splash of white wine or lemon juice. Add a quick cooking vegetable - spinach, frozen peas, etc, and a spoonful of capers. Drain the pasta, add to the pan and toss, and you have a tasty full meal.

Best of luck to you

For ease-of-access:

-Amazon

-Indiebound

-Books-a-Million

-Barnes and Noble

-Powells

-The website where it all started!


Tyler Capps is a great cook, and his website is my personal favorite for great new recipes. I've made most of his recipes and they have all been huge successes!

I'm friends with the creator of this comic and he is a great guy. Check out his webpage or the book he published for more recipes. Lots of delicious ideas to try out and they're all super easy to make.

The trick with rice is not to put it in the fridge! Ice packs in a lunchbox work great if you have any meats that need to be kept cool). But the fridge is dry and will suck all the moisture out of your rice making it hard and gross.

​

I make about 20 cups of rice in a single go (this method) and wrap it all up in plastic wrap and keep them in the freezer. I've been doing food prep on weekends to make bento 'staples' that I keep in my freezer (or fridge, depending on the food) and then I just make sure to pull them out soon enough to be ready to make the bento in the AM.

​

It takes about 10-15 min to put everything together. 2 min to re-heat the rice. I'll sometimes make mushrooms or other veggies in a pan (about 5-8 min, simultaneously with the rice cooking), and then let everything cool while I get dressed (don't pack bento while food is hot). By time I get back down it's a few minutes to just shove everything into a box, toss in a lunchbox with an icepack, and head out!

​

• JustBento.com is where I got started
  
• Effortless Bento (the book) is amazing! Tells you how to make a lot of dishes and freeze them or fridge them as well as how long they'll last like that.
  
• JustOneCookbook.com also has some awesome recipes!

Congrats! I went vegetarian when I was 18 and taught myself to cook over the next few years (and I'm still learning, 9 years later). I would recommend picking up a beginner vegan cookbook (for example). I second retirethecow's recommendation of my all-time favorite the Veganomicon, which has a range of simple to more complicated (and DELICIOUS) recipes and tips for preparing veggies in a basic, every-day way.

Remember: The key to a truly healthful vegan diet is eating a pile of veggies every day. Get to know the produce department and impress your friends by knowing the difference between a turnip and parsnip.

The first cookbook I ever owned was this one: America's Test Kitchen Cookbook. (I have the 2016, version, though.) It has a great many recipes from different cuisines and will teach you technique while it's guiding you through it. I didn't find it intimidating and pretty much everything I've made from there was delicious.

The only caveat I'd make is that not all the meals are the same size. And sometimes you don't want to cook 6 servings. In which case I'd recommend The ATK Cookbook for Two. I gave it to my father last Christmas. He has a lot of cooking experience and he picked it up and immediately learned new things and enjoyed the results.

If you are making your boyfriend lunch every day, you need to take a look at bento boxes! It's a Japanese lunchbox. Usually it has rice, fresh veggies, eggs, noodles, chicken, sausages, or anything else you can imagine! I've even made sushi, dumplings and soup. I haven't made any in a couple years, but I used to make them for my wife. They are very healthy and filling and don't need heating.

They make special boxes if you want. However, a couple Tupperware containers will work fine. If you really get into it, you might find a thermos lunch jar.

You can try this book from Amazon. It's a good intro from an American perspective.

http://www.justbento.com/

http://www.aibento.net/

http://lunchinabox.net/recipes/

Not a book but I am obsessed with Good Eats on the cooking channel. It breaks very specific food items down into the why and hows of prepairing and cooking it. Easy to follow and if you only catch 2 or 3 of the tips or techniques from the show and use them it helps. Otherwise I have a very old Better Homes cookbook that is my go to. It's probably the 1960's version, but I love it.

I am not a big fan of the mainstream vegan cookbooks. I find they tend to produce "strange" food, at least for my pallate. I prefer vegan cookbooks that focus on whole foods, and use more or less traditional ingredients. Probably just because I grew up eating normal food and find that kind of food comforting. The test for me is whether or not you can shop at a mainstream grocery store and find all the ingredients.

My favorite vegan cookbook, in terms of producing the most recipes that I actually make on a regular basis is the "Student's Go Vegan Cookbook." It's not perfect - half the book is essentially filler - but there are some real gems in there - recipes that are both easy and incredibly good.

I also recently found "Color Me Vegan," and even though I haven't extensively used it yet, I really love the concept. The book has more nutritional basis / information than any vegan cookbook I have ever seen.

ahh now that you say slow-cooker meals i understand why you're disappointed with internet recipes. most of them for slow-cookers are atrocious blog garbage.

if you want good slow-cooker recipes i'd get a cookbook. this one is from a great test kitchen, and although i've not used it i would trust the recipes in there.

also it's not for slow-cookers but these everyday food books are filled with simple, easy recipes as well. a lot of people poop on martha stewart but the everyday food vertical is amazing.

> microwave cooking for one

If anyone can't find it at Goodwill, it's available on Amazon.

Other great microwave cooking books:

250 Best Meals in a Mug: Delicious Homemade Microwave Meals in Minutes

125 Best Microwave Oven Recipes

A Man, a Can, a Microwave: 50 Tasty Meals You Can Nuke in No Time

> Get a good "for beginners" cook book, cook frequently and don't be afraid to experiment. Youtube is also super helpful.

Agreed. This is a great beginner/intermediate cookbook, and you can get a used copy on Amazon for a penny plus shipping.

So because no one else mentioned any resources for recipes yet I will suggest this book. Its "Cooking for Two" but it is extremely helpful for food budgeting and saving, as well as recipes. I think you could easily make one of the recipes and have leftovers to eat the next day or for lunch or something. It has helped me SO much and I've only had it for about 2 weeks or so. I was overbuying and overcooking and wasting so much food. The recipes are simple enough that a novice cook would be able to follow easily and a more experienced wouldn't find to boring.

Another thing I would suggest would be planning meals out. I make a schedule and do my best to stick to it. Obviously life happens but knowing how much food you have and what you need to cook helps immensely with stopping food waste. Which will be important for a food budget.

If visual presentation is a motivation, consider looking into adult bento meals. Many bento recipes are designed to be eaten at room temp, don't require refrigeration for a few hours, and can frequently be made in advance. Easy to carry, nice looking, and gives you an opportunity to try out new recipes.

While a good portion of the books on bento focus more on children's bentos (more focus on cute presentation that nutritious meals...too much processed meat/white rice/etc), there are sources for healthier adult ones.

justbento.com

Effortless Bento: 300 Japanese Box Lunch Recipes

I don't have exactly what you're looking for, but there are some pretty great bento books that let you make and freeze sides that you can mix and match with fresh or other frozen things to make a balanced, quick lunch in the morning. The two I have are Effortless Bento and The Just Bento Cookbook.

​

I know that's not exactly what you mean, but it's the closest resource that I use.

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Cooking-Two-Cookbook/dp/1936493837/

My husband and I have a lot of cookbooks, but this one is probably our go-to. Along with great recipes (America's Test Kitchen recipes are virtually foolproof), it's got a great section about shopping for two and storage solutions.

Maybe check out A Man a Can a Plan. Hah, this is how I learned to cook in college :) Definitely some stuff you can cook in a microwave in there :) Cake day soon?

Other than that, I'd just add:

• Oatmeal is cheap and easy for breakfast. I eat this almost every morning. Add bits of fruit to it to boost flavor in a healthy way.
  
• Speaking of fruit, bananas are the cheapest by far. Hopefully you like those :)
  
• I second the eggs idea. Microwave eggs are a classic...
  
• Remember to get rice/beans/whatever that is meant to be prepared in reasonable time -- get stuff that says "done in X minutes" where X is 5 or 10. You don't want to be sitting there for 20-30 minutes or more waiting for rice/beans/whatever to cook (not even sure that would work very well in the microwave). My first time cooking rice and beans did not go well for this reason (mostly because of the beans).
  
• If you want veggies (hey I remember how college was) pick up some of those frozen bags of spinach/broccoli/green beans. Toss anything on them (onion salt, cheese, whatever) when you microwave 'em. Does the job.
  
  This was my meal every day for a chunk of time in grad school:
  
  
• oatmeal + maybe 1 egg in the morning
  
• peanut butter and apple-slice sandwich for lunch (so good! banana works too)
  
• some meat or protein + frozen veggies for dinner.
  
  I lived on $10-20/week in DC. Awesome. No variety, but it'll do in a pinch.
  
  Edit: I accidentally a word.

If you can't seem to master regular recipes, I'd just stick with the premade baby food. It's not that pricey (of course, it's more expensive than making it yourself) and it's super easy to use. I consider myself a better than average cook/recipe follower, and I had trouble keeping up with making baby food for my 9 month old.

If you're looking to learn how to cook, I'd recommend buying an actual cookbook. Following recipes online is great, but old school cookbooks have a whole section in the front that teach you the basics. I like this one by Better Homes and Gardens, or How to Cook Everything

Bentos are usually not so elaborate. Maybe for a special occaision or a competition (yes, they have lunchbox competitions in Japan) but every day ones tend to be toned down, but still visually appealing.

Also, it's not unusual to make stuff the night before to pack. I take it to the next level by making food for several days on a weekend and just throw them in my bento for work.

Also for anyone who is intrigued by bentos this is a great starting book. More on the practical side of bentos rather than the decorative but it's great at teaching you the basics and her recipes are amazing
http://www.amazon.com/The-Just-Bento-Cookbook-Everyday/dp/1568363931/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341509271&sr=8-1&keywords=just+bento

www.justbento.com

Experimenting is great, but doing a bit of reading along the way wouldn't hurt and might spare you some disasters.

On the cheap, Pam Anderson's How to Cook Without a Book was a good starting place for me when I had similar questions / concerns in college. It focuses on a few basics and then builds upon them with variations. Moreover, this text is a quicker read than many of the other tomes out there. You can get it used for $12 including shipping. Used cookbooks are seriously the sh*t.

If you wanna drop a bit more money (~$26), James Peterson's Cooking has far more visuals and recipes than Anderson's. Beautiful text, mouth-watering recipes.

Lastly, I think it makes sense to focus on a certain style of food for a while so you get it dialed in before moving on. That way, you build momentum and better retain the lessons you learn. With Anderson's book, for instance, you could riff on a homemade pasta sauce for a week or two, or mess with sauteing chicken and vegetables a few different ways. Keep a list of what you make so you get a sense of where you've been in the kitchen, what you've accomplished, and what you might want to try next.

Oh, and keep coming back to cookit to discuss. Hooray community!

Sounds like you need a guy's cookbook.

There are two I'd recommend:

A man, a can, a plan
http://www.amazon.com/Man-Can-Plan-Great-Meals/dp/1579546072

Muscle Chow
http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Health-Muscle-Chow-Workouts/dp/1594865485/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303829929&sr=1-1

Both have fairly easy recipes that are geared towards a guy's taste buds and they keep hassle and cooking to a minimum.

All recipes give you a breakdown of calories, protein, carbs, etc. so you just need to figure out how many calories you need each day and then choose the recipes that add up to that total.

Hope that helps!

Go to Localharvest.org and see if there are any local CSAs you can join for produce. Look into ones that offer half shares, since your not feeding a family of four. Its much cheaper than grocery store in the long run, and the produce is much fresher and grown in your local area.


Minimize processed foods. Learn to cook from scratch. You dont have to do it every day, but once a week. I tend to make one large meal, and freeze leftovers into single serve portions to reheat as needed. Make a few different things each week, and your freezer will soon be full of a variety of meals so your not eating the same one thing all week.


Go meatless several days a week. Tons of websites for vegan recipes out there that are extremely budget friendly. Look for high nutrient low calorie meals. Just because its vegan doesnt mean its healthy. Donuts and cakes can be vegan.



You said your doctor told you to eat healthier. The menu example you gave has some issues in my mind. Cheese, yogurt, dressing are all high calorie, low nutrient items. You starve yourself most of the day only which will lead to temptation, not to mention lower metabolism. Your menu example also didnt include any grains or legumes. Whole grains like brown rice, barley and oats are low cost, healthy additions to your meals.

Grab a small crock pot from the store to make tons of low cost meals that are ready for you when you get home.
Sloppy Joes on whole grain buns for example : http://www.jamieoliver.com/news-and-features/features/vegan-sloppy-joe/#q1KuObrym3v2O4Bg.97

Vegan Slow Cooking for Two book has one of my favorite Skyline style chili recipe. http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Slow-Cooking-Two-Just/dp/1592335632

Fatfreevegan.com and blog.fatfreevegan.com are my favorite go to vegan recipe idea spot.

I cook a few proteins over the weekend and prepare the sides the morning of. Freezing proteins like chicken or beef will make them last a very long time after cooking. Small sides, like snap pees or sliced fruit are very fast and easy in the morning. I have a zogiroshi and begin cooking the rice either the morning of or the night before then cool it and pack it the morning of. Never pack any of your ingredients warmer than room temperature. If you can spare a few bucks, this is my go to bento cook book. It includes hundreds of recipes for both proteins and sides as well as techniques for storage, cleaning, and maintaining freshness.

I looked up some things online and found out about this cookbook that has been praised as a great way to experience authentic Puerto Rican food. Food is a pretty important aspect, if not the most important one of our culture, in my opinion.

You can also look up documentaries and history books.

I feel like most "comprehensive" cookbooks do have guides like these! At least, my mother's old Better Homes & Gardens one does. The front and back inner covers have conversion charts and quick notes, and each section explains the specifics of foods (temperatures, cuts of meat, etc) in more detail. Can't say it looks as cool. A general cookbook like that is shockingly useful for learning how to cook, instead of just recipes. Highly recommend.

I recently got, and have been really enjoying, How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart. It focuses on techniques that are simple enough to memorize yet open to endless variations with whatever you have on hand. Useful for cooks like me who resent having to measure things and follow recipes!

I cook enough for a few meals and then I'll bring it for lunch through the week. This cookbook is helpful for figuring out proportions for meals that will serve one or two people: https://www.amazon.com/Going-Solo-Kitchen-Persuasive-Alone/dp/0375703934
I really appreciate the recipes for baking small servings of cookies and batches of brownies!

And just for fun, I've also enjoyed these two books about eating alone:
https://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-All-Mine-Selfish-Modern/dp/006168712X
https://www.amazon.com/Alone-Kitchen-Eggplant-Confessions-Cooking/dp/1594483132

These are two fantastic books for beginning cooks, so much so that I've been buying them as wedding/hosewarming presents as part of my gifts to newlyweds/new homeowners just starting out.

How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart by Pam Anderson

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

The ATK book apparently has a new edition coming out in October. They also have a similar version if you are less interested in perhaps the best tasting versus the more healthful options.

I get compliments on [this box](Ecloud Shop Environmental Wooden Lunch Box Japanese Style Wooden Sushi Bento Box https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K4LMLW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zxoQDbBCG8N5Z) all the time. It is totally worth it to get the one that tickles your fancy so that you use it more. Also, if you get a smaller one then you won’t eat as much.

I am a fan of Mind Over Munch , more than just bento though.

[Effortless Bento](Effortless Bento: 300 Japanese Box Lunch Recipes https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939130379/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_iCoQDbZBHHKNC) Is a fun book as well.

I really enjoyed it - we did it old-school with a whisk, bowl, pot of simmering water. Took time but wasn't actually that difficult. Really liked that I got it lemony as I like and very smooth.

There's some great recommendations, to be sure, in this thread.

However, one must remember that most modern cooking is still based on French technique, so a couple of books on basic French technique would serve you well.

Jacques Pepin has published many fine books, including La Technique and La Methode, which were combined together into a single volume, Complete Techniques. This book is probably my #1 recommendation for the enthusiastic kitchen n00b.

And, of course, there's always the old standby, Julia Child and her two famous volumes, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1, and Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 2.

I just got this book as a gift and she has some great recipes. I think I flagged 85% of the recipes.

I've made the gumbo twice and it has a really authentic flavor. I added some Chinese eggplant to take the place of sausage, which is normally found in gumbo.

Edit: It is quite easy to double or triple any of these recipes.

I've made a number of Kathy Hester's recipes. She has a ton of them available for free on her web site, Healthy Slow Cooking. Don't let the name fool you, she has all sorts of recipes, not just for slow cookers (the last one I made was this soup). In fact, she just wrote a new book about vegan air frying.

If YouTube isn't your thing, check out her books (I found a number at my library):

• OATrageous Oatmeals
  
• Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just for You
  
• The Easy Vegan Cookbook
  
• The Vegan Slowcooker
  
• The Great Vegan Bean Book
  
• Vegan Cooking in your Air Fryer
  
• The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for your Instant Pot

As others have said, I think your best bet would be lots of pasta (cup ramen was pretty staple during college). You could also use the blender to make lots of creamy soups from cans.

Also, you should thumb through this book or one like it at your local bookstore for some more ideas.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat is so great at teaching you about the whys and hows of cooking instead of just giving you a recipe. It's my favorite one.

How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson is another great one.

​

Yeah!! So it’s “The Newlywed Cookbook .” We just had sharpies available, and people wrote messages to us on their favorite recipes in the book. It was lovely to read through. My mom wrote on the pizza recipe a memory of us making pizza together as a family.

Well, if he can get past the gadgety-ness of it, an electric grill (so he can do it year round!) and rice cooker might be good.

http://www.amazon.com/George-Foreman-GR136B-2-Serving-Classic/dp/B00LU2HXRK/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1449489548&sr=1-2&keywords=george+foreman+grill

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-RC3406-Cooked-Cooker/dp/B000UWD9OW/ref=sr_1_5?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1449489490&sr=1-5&keywords=rice+cooker

That with a vegetable steamer (if they don't already have one) opens up the door to lots of easy and healthy meals.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunsella-Vegetable-Steamer-Stainless-Steel/dp/B00KYDZHSI/ref=sr_1_9?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1449489827&sr=1-9&keywords=steamer

Also, maybe a simple cookbook could help?

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Cooking-Two-Cookbook/dp/1936493837/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1449463366&sr=8-4&keywords=cooking

As for Blue Apron, I wouldn't recommend it. Their meals are delicious, but most of them have a lot of steps and might be overwhelming for someone that doesn't cook much.

America's Test Kitchen has some awesome books too. Got the Cooking For Two one from my Reddit Secret Santa last year and it's been fantastic.

I don't have it but I imagine the Cooking School Cookbook from them would be pretty much exactly what the OP needs.

[either] (https://www.amazon.com/Newlywed-Cookbook-Modern-Recipes-Cooking/dp/0811876837) of [these] (https://www.amazon.com/Two-Kitchen-Williams-Sonoma-Cookbook-Newlyweds/dp/1616283793) might be cute, maybe slightly cheesy but cute. That cutting board sounds adorable!

Not bear related, but some of the reviews for this are truly inspirational.

She's actually over spending on a lot of semi-convenience foods [canned beans, baby carrots, small bag rice, bags of granola (which is insanely cheap, easy, and delicious homemade), Greek yogurt...]

Reads like a more in-your-face, attitude laden A Man, A Can, A Plan; direct and simple enough that people with no experience cooking for themselves could easily follow

I'm surprised Maki's JustHungry and JustBento are not listed here. They're mostly about Japanese cuisine, but some of the dishes are westernized since Maki is cautious of ingredients unavailable outside of Japan. She's also wary of health issues and gives nice tips and calorie counts.

Although recently Maki has been quite sick, the archives are awesome source. Also, her JustBento became a base for a good book.

The Just Bento Cookbook is also really great. I've found it a bit easier to work from (and less overwhelming) as I get started. It's available on Amazon. Cookbook!

Edit: Fixed the link.

since you are a cerialthriller, the new thrill would be to actually do something for yourself. though intimidating, different from your norm, and requiring work the benefits are great. and if this is too much to handle, i'd suggest continuing to eat what you eat, become obese, work on creating breathing problems (smoking works wonders), purchase oxygen tanks, 3-wheeled scooter, beater car and live in style.

that microwave will definitely come in handy when all you CAN do is push buttons.

[microwave cooking for one] (http://www.amazon.com/Microwave-Cooking-One-Marie-Smith/dp/1565546660/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269544306&sr=8-1)

[other microwave cook books] (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_17?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=microwave+cooking+for+one&x=0&y=0&sprefix=microwave+cooking)

My cousin bought me The Newlywed Cookbook and it's a wonderful variety of recipes for two for a variety of occasions.

The dark chocolate tart recipe and baby lamb chops in particular are superb. I made these for Valentine's Day and I think he would've proposed to me all over again if he could.

I have the same problem. Someone suggested to get this cookbook which is good for two people. I’ve only tried one recipe so far. I made chicken Marsala last night and it tasted delicious! It’s not the simplest recipes, but it helps me decide what to make, and learn a few cooking techniques as well.

Buy a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook or some other good cookbook and learn to cook for yourself.

You save a ton of money and food you make yourself is almost invariably better than anything that is affordable on a college student's budget and is premade.

Another good heart warming microwave cook book for one

My wife and I were gifted this cookbook. It is pretty good and it helps you not cook for four and have too many left overs.

The best I could do is $13.11 thanks for the contest!!

Don't sue people panda

my favorite thing to make bentos! ! These are quite fun. Also favorite food rigt now is rice I cooked in beef broth with crushed redpeppers and meat loaf.

Amazon is your best bet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/reviews/B000NZW3JS/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_see_rcnt?ie=UTF8&s=sd

Be sure to read the reviews.

People who bought this shirt also bought this. (read reviews too)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1565546660/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

Microwave cooking for one.

I had to go a few days without gas in April when I moved in to my new apartment as well. Basically, cold super quick showers. If you have one of those electric kettles you could heat up some water and pour it in a bucket/bin and bathe yourself with it. (By pouring/splashing, unless you're small enough to fit in the bucket.) Or you could try baby wipes.

Buy his cookbook. I love it
Cooking Comically: Recipes So Easy You'll Actually Make Them https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399164049/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_-.6evb0TXKJ60

Mixed Indian / American family here. I make an instant pot biryani that both my picky kids like to eat, and it’s an easy recipe. It’s from the Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939754542/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0sjYBbP061MRF

I bought this:

https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Instant-Pot®-Cookbook-Traditional/dp/1939754542

(Sorry on mobile and I can’t do a normal link.)

I really love the recipes. I use the box Six Spices, and started really getting into the easier approach to Indian Cooking.

I use this book as a reference:

In Spanish


In English

follow the quantities for adobo, comes out awesome! Sometimes I add more garlic, because garlic

That way I get to make pernil when I feel like it (like next week)

My copy is at least 10 years old, but the information is still solid today. The Professional Chef.

I would also contend Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking is an excellent source for understanding basic flavors, mother sauces, etc.

I dont remember if it has a jerk recipe but check out "Cocina Criolla" and "Puerto Rican Cookery" by Carmen Aboy.

https://www.amazon.com/Cocina-criolla-Carmen-Valldejuli/dp/0882894293/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509991668&sr=8-1&keywords=cocina+criolla+de+carmen+aboy&dpID=7150010W17L&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

https://www.amazon.com/Puerto-Rican-Cookery-Carmen-Valldejuli/dp/0882894110/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509992191&sr=1-1&keywords=puerto+rican+cookery&dpID=41M%252BNaWt7hL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

It's the quintessential Puerto Rican "comida criolla" Caribbean cuisine from our grandmas and great grandmas.


Perhaps you can find some tasty appetizer/side dish/dessert to go with your jerk chicken. :)

A bit short on recipes (only 2 involving 'Rice'), but I suppose that will be remedied over time.

I had considered building something like this a long time ago, but found the A Man, A Can, A Plan book and that was good enough for me.

I was going to try to link you to Cooking Comically's 2AM Chili recipe but the image link was broken for me. So, it may still be there and just not working for me. However, it is a webcomic of "recipes so easy you'll actually make them'. He printed a cookbook and Amazon carries it. I've bought two copies, one for myself one for a friend, and would definitely recommend all of the recipes in it.

Coincidentally, I was thumbing through A Man, A Can, A Microwave just last night. I have yet to try any of the recipes, but they seem like they might be helpful here.

The Amazon reviews are pretty funny for this book.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/reviews/1565546660/ref=cm_cr_getr_mb_paging_btm_3?ie=UTF8&pageNumber=3

Me too! That recipe is really good, I got it from How to Cook Without a Book which gives cooking theories and basic recipes that can be customized to what you have on hand.

Not a recipe but a book recommendation. I picked up a copy of this book when I was in undergrad after moving into my first apartment. She provides some great cooking advice, and the recipes are small so you don't have to buy as much or eat the same thing for 4+ meals in a row.

https://www.amazon.com/Going-Solo-Kitchen-Jane-Doerfer/dp/0375703934

This book helped a friend of mine get into cooking for himself. Nothing overly complex, and its fun to read while cooking.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399164049/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Still going through... XD

9, 10, 11


Phew, all done.

he has some recipes from different books on his website, but if you want those recipes from the show you can get the book

Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course or

Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking: Everything You Need to Know to Make Fabulous Food there you can find 120 recipes including the 100 from the show. I'm getting the Ultimate cookery book whenever it comes in the mail.

I'm a fan of SkinnyTaste, but I generally have to quadruple or more her spices/salt. I make her IP Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Bowl recipe regularly.

I've also started dabbling in recipes from Two Sleevers (as in she and her husband both have had vertical sleeve gastrectomies). She's also the writer of Indian Instant Pot Cookbook, which is actually authorized by Instant Pot. I haven't gotten the book yet, but it's on the top of my wish list.

Here are a few things I've been making regularly in my Instant Pot:

• Hard-boiled eggs: Easy as pie, and they peel perfectly.
  
• Rice: Bar none, the absolute best rice I've ever made. https://thetakeout.com/recipe-how-to-make-rice-in-instant-pot-1831442802
  
• Thai sticky rice. While we're on the subject, it takes 20 minutes instead of two days of hassle. We eat this stuff with peanut sauce, curry, and mangoes with coconut sauce: https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-sticky-rice/
  
• Indian food - turns out home cooks have been making Indian food in a pressure cooker for decades. Butter chicken, Biryani, Chana dal, etc. Here's a good cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Instant-Pot%C2%AE-Cookbook-Traditional/dp/1939754542
  
• Polenta - piece of cake: cooks in 16 minutes
  
• Chickpeas, beans, lentils - any dried bean. You're cutting a 3 hr process to 45 minutes; lentils take a few minutes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sometimes birthdays suck, but never on RAOA =)

Julia Child's cookbook! I've wanted it ever since the movie came out. I can't eat half of whats in it due to my diet, but it would be one hell of a read =) Plus I can cook for family members and special birthday people =)

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Slow-Cooking-Two-Just/dp/1592335632
That's the Recipe Book I use. Apparently it's the second in the series, really want to get the first, hope that helps.

[this] (http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Comically-Recipes-Youll-Actually/dp/0399164049/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427427247&sr=1-1&keywords=cooking+comically) brilliant book. :D

I have been on my own for a while now and I still have no confidence to cook...it's kind of terrible...but I found this recently.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1568363931/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=X55WA3D3HAJC&coliid=I2NJRNF751AN73

I could use this cause I want to start making these haha. I think there should be some rather easy ones in here that will be fast for me to make.

Pam Anderson's books are great if you get stuck on this, or need a starting boost.

I followed this recipe, as well as following some outlines in Gordon Ramsay's Home cooking book. Everything went very smoothly up until the actual baking, I had to pop them back into the oven a few times to get the perfect medium rare.

He has also published a book to accompany the series. I haven't had a chance to read it myself but has high praise in many reviews.

Amazon Link

This book will help you

There is even an extra easy version

You can buy the Kindle version from Amazon for about $15. If you've got time to wait for a physical book to arrive, don't order this version: http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Set/dp/0307593525/ref=la_B000AQ0XXS_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417219641&sr=1-1

because the book and the print are small and it is impossible to keep the book open.

I suggest this version:http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Anniversary/dp/0375413405/ref=la_B000AQ0XXS_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417219641&sr=1-2

which is much larger and easier to read. In fact, the 'look inside this book' feature at Amazon lets you see most of the cassoulet recipe.
Just click 'look inside' then search for cassoulet.

I can recommend two cook books.

1. mastering the art of French cooking by Julia Childs
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Volume/dp/0394721780
   
   
2. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. A personal favorite.
   
   http://www.amazon.com/The-Smitten-Kitchen-Cookbook-Perelman/dp/030759565X
   
   

So, for the Indian recipes I got my recipes from Urvashi Pitre's Indian Instant Pot Cookbook. She does beef dishes too (I come from Kerala, we do eat beef, so it's often a rarity to find beef-specific Indian dishes in an Indian cookbook without people getting offended, which is why I like this one so much)

Otherwise, if there's a specific recipe I want to learn how to make with an instant pot, usually just googling "<Recipe/Dish name> Instant Pot" usually ends up giving me something workable, which I can tweak to my tastes.

Popping in to recommend the book How to Cook Without a Book. Lots of basic recipes covering all the courses and stand-bys, plus the mechanics of cooking, recipes for variations, and pointers for other variations.

First time trying to format a link. Hope this works...

Try this one first, I got it as a gift from my mother when she realized I will never learn to cook like a "normal" person: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Can-Microwave-Tasty-Meals/dp/157954892X

I recommend this book

Indian Instant Pot® Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939754542/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZaIYCbCBB8CRA

Possibly the best review of the book by Kyle Kruczek.

Surprisingly it's called "the complete cooking for two cookbook". By america's test kitchen. https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Cooking-Two-Cookbook/dp/1936493837 :)

If you’re interested in Indian food and instant pot, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Indian Instant Pot® Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939754542/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wOQMDb08ETPNN

Tangentially related, but check out this cookbook and blog: Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939754542/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_xFFLBbTAZQMMZ

The author has a food blog and does keto, and has a ton of hacks and suggestions for low-carb Indian cuisine!

When I get stuck in a rut, I usually check what's in season and then see if there's an interesting way to cook it. I still lean very heavily on Julia Child for recipe inspiration. I also hit the internet and search for 1-2 recipe ingredients and a cooking method.

A Man, a Can, a Plan : 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Can-Plan-Great-Meals/dp/1579546072

This book is great. It's from men's health. Most meals are 3-4 cans/items. Combine, heat, eat. Has pictures of the cans and everything.

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Can-Plan-Great-Meals/dp/1579546072

Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just For You recently came out, and as you can guess from the title, is great for single-person cooking.

Can you preemptively send out a call for recipes from your guests via email? Then format them how you wish. Anyone who doesn't send one can add on to the white space. You know, make this into a way bigger project than it needs to be?

My favorite cook book is this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936493837/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_yvHmDbE1PS7GE
The pages are semi-glossy but could be written on in normal ballpoint pen. Everything has been good, but the weeknight baked chicken changed my chicken cooking life. The worst part is that they aren't kidding about "cooking for two" you wont have leftovers if it's good (which it will be).

Let's face it, there is no ramen "like a boss". Pick up Mastering the Art of French Cooking and/or The Joy of Cooking.

Leave the ramen for the peons.

Maybe it's because we're all from the South, but every household in my family for generations has the Better Home and Gardens NEW COOKBOOK.


It's the bible of how to cook hundreds of different types of foods. It's been in publication since 1930 and it is tried and true. (Disclaimer: this is soul food, not health food)

Your personal feelings on Gordon Ramsey notwithstanding, this is an excellent book to get you skilled up in the fundamentals -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gordon-Ramsays-Ultimate-Cookery-Course/dp/1444756699

And it's a fiver (at least in the UK/IE)

If you like Indian, her cookbook is totally worth the buy.

Consider getting on the Bento kick to mix things up, if your coworkers are a little dismissive of old stained Tupperware with brown sludge in it, you can actually have some really pleasant looking meals. https://www.amazon.com/Effortless-Bento-Japanese-Lunch-Recipes/dp/1939130379

Here's the book.

You basically make it the night before and let it chill in your fridge until the next morning. It's just fine to eat around lunchtime without keeping chilled (assuming you work in a climate controlled office and not out in a hot field somewhere).

Edit: Here's the box I bought for anyone interested.

We had some fun reviewing this book a few years back when someone posted it on reddit.

Search this subreddit. This question gets asked far too often for you not to be able to find good advice in the other threads.

As for the specific question about Ramsay's books, you probably want Home Cooking as an amateur. I believe this is an updated version of the cookbook for his Ultimate Cookery Course TV series.

Check out Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and you'll find several uses for it, especially in cooking chicken.

Hill's book and Child's book are two of the most influential cookbooks on my approach.

[The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936493837/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_23U1CbE5CPG6W) has easy recipes, less waste since you know exactly how much to buy, plus I've found that it keeps me from gaining weight because I'm not cooking a meal for 4 people and eating most of it myself.

NTA.

Cooking isn't hard. Christmas is coming. Give him this: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-New-Cookbook/dp/0553577956/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1BMWWQ55670HN&keywords=better+homes+and+gardens+cookbook&qid=1572833679&sprefix=Better+homes+and+gard%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-3

Hell, give me your address and I'll send it to him for you.

My wife cooks 99% of the time in our house. I may not eat everything (Butternut Squash soup just isn't for me) but sometimes she apologizes because it's similar or not creative. My response: "I didn't cook, you did so, as far as I'm concerned, it's great!"

BF needs a wake up call.

I used the recipe from Puerto Rican Cookery. I highly recommend the book!

You guys are assholes...she said she wants to do something for herself.

Whenever I get some spare time, I like to read. May I suggest this or this ?

This was a personal favorite of mine at your age.

https://www.amazon.com/Microwave-Cooking-One-Marie-Smith/dp/1565546660/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=microwave+cooking+for+one&qid=1566364111&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Found it on Amazon. You are welcome.

This is by far my favorite cookbook because it is just me in the husband, so I really don't need 6 servings of everything
http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Slow-Cooking-Two-Just/dp/1592335632/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405703657&sr=8-1&keywords=vegan+slow+cooking+for+two+or+just+for+you

This may be useful as well.

some good reference material

edit: nevermind

I have something even better for you.

This is good too: http://www.amazon.com/Microwave-Cooking-One-Marie-Smith/dp/1565546660

With cookbooks there are a lot of crap out there. Either you get something with a billion recipes you are never going to use, one with glossy photos that your food will never resemble, or one with ingredients that you will never be able to find, if you would afford them.

Look at something simple like A Man, A Can, A Plan.

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Can-Plan-Great-Meals/dp/1579546072

Or.

Help! My Apartment has a kitchen

http://www.amazon.com/Help-Apartment-Has-Kitchen-Cookbook/dp/0618711759/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394027390&sr=1-1&keywords=my+apartment+has+a+kitchen

This is one of my favorites:

https://amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Vol/dp/0375413405/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517955765&sr=8-2&keywords=julia+child+mastering+the+art+of+french+cooking

I had this book when I was single: http://www.amazon.com/Going-Solo-Kitchen-Jane-Doerfer/dp/0375703934/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Not only is it full of one-friendly recipes, it's also a really, really well-done cookbook. I'd highly recommend it.

I got Going Solo in the Kitchen years ago. It's a great guide to cooking and meal planning for one or two people. It really helped me cut down on costs.

Let me help. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1565546660?pc_redir=1408765206&robot_redir=1

This should help.

Looks like you need to get yourself a copy of this.

You might also like http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1565546660/

Here's a cookbook I would recommend: America's Test Kitchen The Complete Cooking For Two Cookbook

Not that I want you to be even more depressed, but this might be helpful.

Go pick up a copy of How to Cook Without a Book. It will seriously change how you look at food. Also, watch every episode of Good Eats.

This got me through my early twenties. After a little while, I just learned what flavors go well together and started making my own food.

Give "How to Cook Without a Book" a shot. It really helps break down the pieces that are pretty much in every recipe. I suck at formatting on Reddit, but here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Without-Book-Techniques/dp/0767902793/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0767902793&pd_rd_r=9d03edaa-e125-11e8-9704-5356cc4fab24&pd_rd_w=hUDFT&pd_rd_wg=mCIUR&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=3EYBEJTXDAGRSBJSCR0G&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=3EYBEJTXDAGRSBJSCR0G

Has anyone tried reading the Amazon reviews for this? https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565546660/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_vote_lft?ie=UTF8&voteInstanceId=R2T4T44VO0POT0&voteValue=1&csrfT=gqbklUkXuIzfPmte%2FRWWhopQwYEZdkuRajzs0moAAAABAAAAAFvrbiFyYXcAAAAA%2B4kUEk%2F7iMGR3xPcX6iU#customerReviews

a man a can and a plan isn't a bad place to start either!
http://www.amazon.com/Man-Can-Plan-Great-Meals/dp/1579546072

Say no more fam. I only hope it means as much to you as it has meant to me.

It's "instant pickles!" You basically throw salt and lemon juice onto cucumber and cabbage, rub it in, and wait 10 minutes.

Since it's the very first bento, you can actually see it with the sample Amazon gives you: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Bento-Cookbook-Everyday-Lunches/dp/1568363931

James Peterson's Cooking. It has lots of good recipes and not just the how, but the why. Also, How to Cook Without a Book and Ratio to learn how to improvise.

Thanks, but I'll stick with microwave cooking for one

I really like the America's Test Kitchen guys, but instead of their generic cookbook, I'd suggest the one they make for two. All of the recipes are portioned out for just two people. If you find you end up using this book, then pick up one of the larger volumes and modify as you need.

I know this is counterintuitive to your desire to pack light, but I do think you should go to a thrift store and try to buy a pan. It opens so many doors when you can fry meat, eggs, vegetables...

ETA: get this book

That top review is epic
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/review/1565546660/R1YTRFFOEP53JA/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_rvw_1?ie=UTF8&cursor=1