On Food

Living alone, as a student, has really influenced the way I look at food. Suddenly you're aware of how much meat costs, how much you eat, and how much TIME it takes to do everything.I've been having fun in the kitchen, however, and I thought I'd share some of the meals I've come up with.Possibly the cheapest thing ever would be Italian Pasta Fagioli (literally, pasta beans). It's like a cross between a minestrone and a stew. .Pasta FagioliYou need at least: 1 tin of tomatoes (or tomato sauce), 2 different tins of beans, onion, garlic, pasta (not spaghetti, think penne or orecchiette).More ingredients can be added for those with larger budgets, such as pieces of ham/bacon/sausage, herbs, etc.1. Fry the garlic and onion in some oil2. Drain and add the tinned tomatoes, mushing them into a thick pulp. This is when you can add some herbs.3. Add a glass of water. If you have stock cubes, dissolve a little of one in the water first. Let the mixture simmer.3. Start cooking the pasta in a separate pot.4. Drain, rinse and add the tinned beans to the tomato pot. This is when you can add meat or other stuff like chopped vegetables.5. When the pasta is nearly cooked, drain it and add it to the mixture. 6. Leave it on a low heat for 20 minutes to half an hour.7. Serve yourself a bowl, grate some cheese on top if you want.This will produce quite a lot of food. It doesn't look amazing but it does taste good and it's wholesome. I also created a strange tuna bake crossed with cottage pie. You can do this with a really large variety of ingredients. Tuna Bake PieYou'll need: a tin of tuna, tinned tomatos, some veg, onion, garlic, potatoes1. Start boiling the potatoes and put on the oven to a medium heat.2. Fry the garlic and onion.3. Add the tinned tomatoes and make a smooth sauce.4. Add the tuna.5. Add some veg. I added a chopped carrot and a chopped pepper. Cut them quite small. (If you stop here, you have a tasty pasta sauce!)6. Put the mixture into an oven proof dish.7. Slice the potatoes and cover the mixture with potatoe slices. Or you could mash the potatoes and cover the mixture with mash.8. Grate some cheese on top.9. Stick it in the oven for half an hourish. I'm thinking tonight of trying to make savoury pancakes... I'll tell you how that goes!