People that aren't your family are very different from your family. Thats the first thing to be learned -- I think. Especially if you havent lived with people before. People are odd. Especially young people. Especially students. They have strange habits and tics and you will probably find them disgusting, just as disgusting, in fact, as they find you.
One of my housemates happily left the house one morning without emptying the bucket of vomit beside her bed she'd managed to fill the previous evening. When the technician came round to sort out the boiler and ventured into her room...well, the shit hit the fan. Or sick, rather. And yet that same girl would shudder at the idea that someone could eat sardines straight out of the tin, or go without changing the sheets for more than a week.
Try not to let people get on your nerves. Easier said than done. Get out of the house for a bit. Even an hour or two away from that person helps massively. Yoga too. Do Yoga. Everyone should do Yoga if they want to stop being pissed off with someone.
Anyway, there have been a few nice recipes that I have picked up from my housemates. I will post pictures when a) I find my iPhone (left it in a club), b) i find a memory card for my handheld camera or c) i find the charger for my SLR. None of which I can manage to locate at the moment. Technology sucks.
Every student has a housemate who eats the same things day in, day out. That's the story with one of mine. She's a good cook but hasn't the money or time to be thinking up varied, exotic dinners for herself. For breakfast she'll have scrambled eggs; for lunch she'll have pasta or eggs, or maybe some rice, and for supper she'll have pasta with eggs, or perhaps some egg-fried rice. She doesn't get bored - why? Because she always has some tasty essentials on hand - generally in the form of onions, soy sauce and cream cheese. The holy trinity of supermarket staples in her book. I'm jealous of her minute food bills and of course the food on her plate, so I begged her to teach me her simplistic, frugal and ultimately satisfying culinary ways.
Spinach and Sweetcorn pasta
She taught me this last night. Its. so. tasty. Don't be put off by the questionable-sounding ingredients list. Just trust me, or rather, trust her. I did, and now I don't want to eat anything else ever again. This would be a great thing to feed your children when you're left in the lurch, as technically, provided you have a well stocked freezer/cupboard, the only fresh ingredient you need is cream cheese. The soy sauce imparts a deep savoury flavour but don't worry, its not all chinesey or fusiony (I cant stand fusion food) -- its just comforting and moreish. I think brown rice pasta works nicely with this - it makes it even less 'fusion' and a lighter dish than your standard penne.
Serves 1 (obviously)
75g brown rice penne or other short pasta
Half a white onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbs cream cheese
2-3 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs olive oil
2 handfuls fresh or 4 balls frozen spinach (defrosted in the microwave), finely chopped
3-4 tbs sweetcorn, tinned or frozen
Black pepper
Dried birdseye chilli (optional)
1. Put your pasta on to boil in plenty of salted water, according to packet instructions
2. Finely chop the garlic and onion.
3. Gently fry the onion in plenty of olive oil until soft and starting to caramelise. Add the garlic and fry for another minute.
4. Add the soy sauce and a few tablespoons of pasta water and bring to a bubble until the sauce has reduced.
5. Add the cream cheese and melt in to make a creamy sauce.
6. Add the vegetables and cook for a further minute, along with a little more water. You want a creamy but plentiful sauce.
7. Toss the pasta through the sauce and add plenty of black pepper, a little more olive oil and maybe some crumbled dried chilli if you're so inclined. INHALE
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