cheap/good breakfast for college students...

[Chuck(G)]

Just cooked Sunday brunch for my ever-lovin' and myself--and guess what we had--French toast with fruit.

I'd add a pinch of salt and a quarter-teaspoon of vanilla extract (use the imitation stuff--it tastes better than "real" vanilla) and a dash of nutmeg. Buy a small bottle of real maple syrup and use it sparingly--the flavor is better than the cheap sugar-water that passes for pancake syrup and so you'll use less.
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My "everyday" breakfast is simple:

In a rice bowl (or any other bowl with steep sides), take a handful of quick oats (bought in bulk), some raisins or any other fruit that you like and just cover with water. Pop it in the microwave on the "popcorn" setting (usually about 1:45 or so). Add butter, sugar, cinnamon yogurt or whatever tickles your fancy. Total time to prepare: under 3 minutes. It'll keep you satisfied until lunchtime and you'll avoid the mid-morning "crash".

Don't like yogurt? Try some of the "whole milk" stuff like Brown Cow--it might change your opinion. Most of the yogurt that's sold is skim-milk with gelatin added fto keep it from liquefying and is pure crap.

[windshieldbug]

I gotta admit; when I was in college, a good breakfast was the warm beer from the night before. A just punishment for waking up before noon...

[Doug@GT]

Joe, I might try that one now that I'm out of the dorms (Tech forbids waffle irons and the like). Right now it's just a bowl of Special K and a cup of Gatorade each morning. Does the trick, but it will get old....

[ThomasDodd]

one-time purchases: waffle iron from a thrift store $5-$10

This brings up a problem I've had. Where can you get a new, old style waffle iron? The ones with small squares for 10-12" rounds waffles?

All I can find are the big belgian style irons, and 75% are square too.

[Dylan King]

How about a little "sh_t on a shingle?"

Fry together Libby's corned beef in a can, Top Ramen, and some good old processed American cheese.





Of course, I now prefer eating at "The Ivy" in Bevery Hills. I didn't drop out of college for nothing.

[Chuck(G)]

How about a little "sh_t on a shingle?"
Of course, I now prefer eating at "The Ivy" in Bevery Hills. I didn't drop out of college for nothing.

So, how's the sh*t on a shingle over at "The Ivy"?

[ThomasDodd]

This brings up a problem I've had. Where can you get a new, old style waffle iron? The ones with small squares for 10-12" rounds waffles?

I could only find 5 pages of waffle irons... (sorry) :(

http://search.ebay.com/waffle-iron_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8

1) I don't care for used cooking tools. I'll buy most things used, but something like this is too hard to clean enough for me to use.

2) most of those are belgian style too. At least the new ones I checkedm were, even the cast iron ones.

I have found a few online that look right. But given the fact that all the local stores have belgian style displays, I'm not sure thet the images are 100% accurate online. If it's the wrong style, then I'm out shipping, return, and restocking fees. If it's local, I can check at the store, or easily return it.

[Dylan King]

Everything is great at The Ivy, if you don't mind paying $14 for a margarita and $50 for a steak. They can make anything you request as well, as seen in the movie Get Shorty.

Another thing I have noticed at the Ivy that is different from other L.A. restaraunts are the valet drivers. They are all young white males, probably trying to land a line on a soap opera or sitcom. Everywhere else valets tend to be latino. Not like I give a flying fruitcake. Just an observation.

Last time I was there I sat at a table next to Jodie Foster. She's still hot, but judging by the ladies she was dining with, she still doesn't dig men.

[windshieldbug]

...especially not taxi drivers...

[tubeast]

Hey there,

let me throw in something for the rest of the day:

Great for ten-hours-a-day studying sessions preparing for heat-and-mass-transfer tests at Universität Karlsruhe.
Works for maths, industrial design, fluid mechanics and integrated product development as well.
I don´t know about music-related applications.

ASIAN STUDY FUEL
Own/have: large, deep frying pan or wok, electric or (preferred) gas stove with at least 2 flames/hot plates, a set of plasic containers for ingredients, two good (=sharp as hell) cooking knives.
Buy occasionally:
Curcuma, Curry powder or other spices as preferred
flour

Buy once a month:
1 bottle of vegetable oil 2 €
2 bottles of soy sauce 7 €
Buy once a week:
2 pounds of carrots 1.5 €
2 pounds of leek 1.99 €
2 pounds of asian rice 2.50 €
10 to 20 eggs 2.50 €
2 pounds of paprika 3 €
Garlic 0.5 €
Ginger 0.75 €

Buy as afforded and preferred:
additional vegetables (bamboo sprouts, mungo-bean sprouts etc.)
Chicken breast
veal, pork, beef
raw and unspiced peanuts Maybe 2 € a day, occasionally

Spend 1 hour after buying to clean and cut up all the vegetables (in shape and size as known from asian food places), put seperately in fridge (plastic containers).
Whenever you need a break during studying:

Set 1 cup of rice and two cups of water on light flame. (no salt added).
When all the water is gone, the rice should be ready, so keep an eye on it while cooking the rest of the meal.

Cut up garlic and ginger in tiny cubes (if you´re too lazy for this type of cooking culture: just mash them using brute force).
Beat 1-2 eggs, add spices as preferred, stirr-fry in wok to small pieces of scrambled eggs, set aside.
If included in your meal, stirr-fry spiced/marinaded meat/chicken/fish and set aside.
Prepare a sauce: soy sauce, spices, some of the garlic, 1-2 teaspoons of flour, some water, mix thorougly.
Add some medium dry sherry or plum wine, if you like.

You´ll have to be real quick now, so make sure you have ALL the ingredients ready.
The veggies are added in an order to make sure they all get the right cooking time, so carrots come first and mungo-sprouts last:
Put a dash of oil in wok, heat at HUGE flame.
Add garlic and ginger,
Start with carrots and bamboo sprouts,
then go on with leek, paprika, and any other ingredient.
At last add eggs and meat as prepared, adding the sauce at the very last.

This kept me fed all day at roughly 15 to 20 € / week.
Advantages:
- this is real, but cheap food with most of the nutrition one might need, low-fat and high in vitamins.
- you know exactly what´s in there rather than using processed foods at the two arches.
- takes little time to prepare (10-15 minutes per meal), but long enough to make sure you can free your mind in the process.
- You do some manual work to relax from hard studying (Yes, this IS better than M-TV)
- when beefed up with more fancy asian ingredients, original asian tea, baked bananas as a dessert, a candle and a little routine, you can turn this into an impressing feast for two.