Moving out from the comforts and financial stability of home is quite frightening for someone like myself who has been sheltered, fed, and loved for twenty four and eleven twelfth years of her life.
I have found it a challenge to keep up with daily activities of living having just moved into an apartment by myself. The biggest of which has me dumbfounded in the kitchen arena.
First of all, the starting costs of moving into an apartment are not that easy to “swallow,” if I may be punny. After paying the security deposit, cleaning fees, the first month’s rent, and all the little necessities needed for living (e.g. toilet paper, shampoo, trash cans, plates, utensils, sheets, coffee, etc.), I have found myself in the dry goods section of the grocery store wondering if 12 containers of cup-o-noodles is really worth $2.99.
Due to funding issues, I have limited my cupboard’s contents to bread, coffee, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, cup-o-noodles (I decided convenience and easy transportation of a hot meal to school and work was worth at least 25 cents a pop), cereal, and Cheetos (I know, a luxury, but they were on sale). My refrigerator consists of milk, string cheese (it was a toss up between string cheese and sandwich cheese and I figured I could cut up my string cheese if I wanted a cheese sandwich sometime during the week), and oranges.
Now, eating cup-o-noodles or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday for all meals of the day may get a little boring. And while these ingredients may seem to have very little intermingling ability, I have created a delectable array of meal combinations to keep my palate entertained.
I usually start my day off with the normal cereal with milk (I use a 1/4 cup of milk for rationing purposes), and a small cup of home brewed coffee. When lunch and dinner time rolls along is when things start to get a little exciting in the pantry…
Stay tuned for recipes from the Apartment Gourmet