Off to Uni: One in 3 Students Can't Boil an Egg

And 18% don't even feel confident in how to make toast. *

Can't cook, won't cook?

 

My sister will be the first to admit she fits in both categories very easily. I used to get woken up to make her toast (my parents were thankful for this as it meant the house remained intact.) A lasagne? No way! A pasta dish? Unlikely. A roast dinner? Not even worth answering...

There are a lot of student cookbooks on the market. Some are pretty good, some are naff, and some aren't even worth picking up. But the majority of them include meals and dishes that 90% of students will not bother to do. (Okay, so I made this statistic up, but you get the point!) Students want what I call 'cupboard cookery'; no specialist ingredients, just a meal they can whip together with ingredients they are likely to have already. There is no point buying a specialist spice when they can buy the curry sauce in a jar cheaper... or better yet have it delivered with a naan bread, some onion bhajis, and a pilau rice.. 

As an 'off to uni' gift for my sister, it was only ever going to be sharing the knowledge of what I do best and she does worse; cooking. (Sorry Jem we both know it's true!) I picked up a funky notebook and decided to create my own recipe book. 

Uni essentials: Alcohol, Tea, and basic recipes from someone who knows you! 

(Luckily she doesn't like tea, and the Strawberry Liqueur is mine, so she can have the recipe collection!)

 

The notebook already has three dividers in. I have subcategorised in the following ways:

 

1. Quick food fixes: Jacket Potatoes (in the oven and the microwave, step by step); Bacon and Mushroom omelette (perfect for the morning after the night before); Loaded Nachos (to go with the beer pong!); Poached Egg on Toast; and, a Sweet Chilli Prawn Wrap
   
2. Actual Meals and their sides (on the rare occasion a student eats one of these): Home-made breaded chicken pieces; a Superfood Salad; Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables; Yorkshire Puddings; Egg Fried Rice; the list continues...
   
3. The Sweet Stuff: (what students eat most! and great ways to bond with your flatmates): American pancakes; Blueberry Muffins; Banana Bread; and Double Chocolate Chunk Brownies. 

The great think about a notebook is lots of free pages remain; it would be hugely optimistic to assume she will continue to enter her favourite meals and recipes as she learns them but where there is hope it may happen... 

*Read more statistics from the Sainsburys survey here