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What’s cooking?
With some help, you might be able to prepare real food, despite your fear of the kitchen
BY BRIAN E. O’NEILL

Back in our college-dorm days, my roommates and I ate a balanced diet from the four major food groups: ramen noodles, beer, aerosol cheese, and Pop-Tarts. When I moved to my first apartment in Allston, things didn’t get much better. Maybe we’d upgrade to some frozen pizza every now and then, but with a limited budget, limited cookware, and limited kitchen skills, our eating situation was a culinary quagmire.

If only I’d known then what I know now — that tasty, healthy, filling meals often require no more than four ingredients, one pot, 15 minutes, and five bucks. Luckily for this year’s newest batch of students and recent grads, help is at hand.

Head on over to Brookline Booksmith for a copy of The Starving Students’ Cookbook: The Classic Guide for the Clueless Gourmet! (Warner Books, 2002; $11.95), by Dede Hall. This just might be the oldest cookbook of its kind. It was first published in 1983, and has been updated with new "drinks, snacks, and entire meals that can be ready in under 15 minutes," as well as recipes that require only one pot.

Speaking of cooking with one pot, One-Pot Wonders (The Rush Hour Cook) (Champion Press, 2002; $5.95), by Brook Noel, is available at Borders. Under its guiding commandment that "no list of ingredients shall be longer than the instructions," this slim volume of recipes promises "meals that can be prepared quickly and easily without trashing your kitchen."

Once you’re ready for (gasp!) multi-pot cooking, check out Betty Crocker 4-Ingredient Dinners (John Wiley & Sons, 2003; $22.95), available at Barnes & Noble. With its convenient information on the prep and cooking times for each recipe, you too can learn to prepare chicken tortellini with portabella-mushroom sauce and lentil-and-brown-rice casserole for you and five friends in only 10 minutes.

But you think real men don’t eat casserole? Make testosterone an ingredient in every meal with A Man, a Can, a Plan (Rodale Press, 2002; $15.95), by David Joachim. A compilation of simple recipes from a recurring column of the same name in Men’s Health magazine, it’s available at Brentano’s, and features an entire section on cooking with beer, including the ominous-sounding "Beer-n-Sausage Bake."

But even with only a hot plate and a thrift-store microwave, hope isn’t lost. Pick up The (Reluctant, Nervous, Lazy, Broke, Busy, Confused) College Student’s Cookbook (Blue Mountain Arts, 2001; $12.95) by Joshua N. Lambert, at Barnes & Noble. It boasts chapter titles like "Account Balance: $00.15: Eating on a Tight Budget," "Recipes for 3 a.m.," and "‘Sure, I Eat Like This Every Night’: Cooking for Dates and Guests."

While we’re on the subject of cooking for a date, you just might find one at a gastronomic singles bar. (Sure, they call it an adult-education cooking class, but if the legends hold true, you’re likely to end up scoring more than just a new recipe for bruschetta.) The Boston Center for Adult Education offers Cooking 101 ($148) with Michael Malkoff on three Wednesday evenings, beginning September 24.

Where to find it:

• Barnes & Noble, various locations; www.bn.com.

• Borders Books, various locations; www.borders.com.

• Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline, (617) 566-6660; www.brooklinebooksmith.com.

• Brentano’s, Copley Place, Boston, (617) 859-9511.

• Boston Center for Adult Education, 5 Comm Ave, Boston, (617) 267-4430; www.bcae.org.


Issue Date: September 12 - 18, 2003
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