the basix

i'm taking a break to kill time. i've noticed a lot of my friends don't know how to cook, and since a bunch of ppl are A) getting sick of dorm food or B) moving out into their own apts soon, i guess i may as well put down recipes of whatever i make, provided i remember how i made them. i uh.. don't own any measuring utensils except a cup. oh, and a shot glass.. therefore, it'll all be approximations. can you imagine eating instant ramen and frozen burritos for a week? usually what i make is sustenance fare. cheap and simple.. and to taste.

the most important staple.. RICE. get a rice cooker, calrose rice is usually 1 cup rice to 1.25 cups water.

what i'm eating right now: baked potato
wrap washed potato in plastic wrap, microwave for ~4-5 mins. sauce made by melting in microwave with one pat of butter (courtesy of the DC), some basil, cayanne pepper, garlic.

dinner: sauteed shitake mushrooms
heated pan to medium setting. put 6-8 mushrooms in with some minced garlic for about 1 min. drying out, added a mixture of 1 tsp rice wine, some chopped green onion, 3tsp water, 1 tbls oyster sauce, 1 tsp soy sauce. you can add a pinch of cornstarch to the liquids BEFORE adding it to the pan to make the sauce thicker. cook a few more mins until water is gone.. 3 maybe?

how to make a canned soup taste more like real soup:
add twice as much water, or 1 can if it's "ready to serve". cut up carrots, celery, potatoes, whatever veggies and toss into pot. boil. consume.

adding crap to plain pasta to make it taste good:
cook pasta like usual. at the same time in another small pot, add 1-2 tbls olive oil, half an onion diced, a few cloves of garlic chopped up, half a pound of ground beef, .25-.5 tsp cayeanne pepper, a zuchini if you want your veggies, and cook it up on med-high until the beef is barely cooked. at that point, turn the heat down a little bit and pour in half a jar of pasta sauce. when it's hot and simmering, it's done and scoop over pasta. too ghetto for ground beef? chop up a few slices of ham or pepperoni.

bean and smoked ham soup:
i made this a while ago, so i'm not sure i remember right, but it's damn tasty and will feed your for a few days. wash 1 lb anytype beans, boil with ~2 quarts water for half an hour. add 1-2 smoked ham hocks, clove garlic, 1 onion chopped, add 2 stalks celery chopped, 1 carrot chopped, half to whole 8oz can of tomato paste. some pepper if you like SPICY! simmer (gentle gentle boil) hour and a half. really easy to make 'cause unlike lab, you don't have to sit around and watch it boil.