I just want to start out with giving you all some background on my cooking skills. I once texted in my family group chat to ask how to make a tuna melt sandwich and they have never let me live it down. My dad likes to tell the story to others by saying I texted and asked how to make tuna. I’m here to set the record straight and argue that I’m not THAT stupid.
Throughout my time living at home, I had the privilege of having a mother who loves cooking and is also fantastic at it. Sometimes I would offer help cutting vegetables but most of the time I would be at sports or doing homework. Then I got to college where I have to pay for a meal plan. And if I have to pay for a meal plan, I’m going to use the meal plan. I also didn’t have access to a kitchen last year which also attributed to my lack of cooking skills. Needless to say, my transition into cooking for myself while studying abroad was not the easiest. But I was determined because I love good food.
I also wanted to take this opportunity of cooking for myself and use it to improve myself as an academic. How? Well, a wise professor once told me that working in a lab is just like cooking in a kitchen–both should be clean work places, timing is largely important, as is following directions, and planning beforehand is critical! I’m excited to return to school as a new and improved research assistant!
In my kollegium, I have access to a communal stove. However, I prefer just to cook in my apartment, so for most of my meals I only use a microwave or the stovetop. To get inspiration for my meals, I’ve talked to other people about what they cook. Most often, my favorite meal inspiration is going to the grocery store, picking out a cheap ingredient, and making a meal out of that. For example, eggplant was really cheap, so I came home, looked up “eggplant meal on stovetop” and voila! I am as an amazing chef as Remy (my roommate made me watch Ratatouille for the first time this week hahaha). Google is my best friend when it comes to cooking for both recipe ideas and necessary cooking skills like how to pan fry salmon.
Here are some meals that I have made that are easy to cook and at least somewhat economical–especially because I still have DIS food stipend money:
Pasta is a staple. And more importantly, all you have to do is boil water. I’ve learned that buying food to spice up the pasta and decorate it differently is well worth the investment.
This is the eggplant meal I previously spoke about. Roasted some eggplant in a pan (olive oil first on a heated pan, then added the eggplant until it was softish–my cooking is not an exact science) and added some garlic, spinach, and tomatoes to go with rice.
I typically have eggs and toast for breakfast. I’ve been experimenting with spicing up my eggs. I’ve put spinach in it, wrapped it in a tortilla as seen here, and sometimes added cheese. To really spice up breakfast, I like peanut butter on toast with banana on top. Peanut butter is actually much easier to find in Copenhagen than I have been led to believe. I have also embraced the European lifestyle and have a cup of hot tea at breakfast now.
Easy meal right here. Store bought tuna salad mixed with spinach and put it on a pan with cheese to make a tuna melt!
First time cooking salmon… it was raw! Oops. Pro tip (or amateur tip I guess): Make sure the salmon flakes before you start eating it.
I had leftover salmon from the previous meal so I looked up a salad recipe for it and bought those ingredients! This salad was delicious with a lemon dressing and and avocado. Then I got to use the rest of the avocados on toast for the week.
I wanted to try out falafel and my roommate had extra corn tortillas so I made falafel tacos with hummus, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and some lemon on top. I like to fry the tortilla for a bit–I think it makes it a lot tastier.
I’ve really come to appreciate the 3 minute walk to the grocery store every day. I go to the store almost every day (which is extremely Danish of me) and plan a meal based off of what I’m craving that day and on the leftover food I have in the fridge from the day before.
I also have a bag of potatoes that have been sitting on my shelf for a while that I’m planning on cooking sometime soon. I’m also hoping to try some tofu meals and experiment with lentils sometime soon. Sometimes it is hard to find some things in Danish grocery stores but I’ve found that patience can be my best friend when looking for things–most things are there, just in a different spot than I’m used to!
As long as you don’t get sick from your food you’re succeeding at cooking
Tess weber
The most important lesson in cooking that I have learned is that food remains edible under 95% of the circumstances I have cooked it. Therefore, I can eat and I won’t go hungry even if I don’t follow the recipe exactly or I accidentally make a really odd meal. Unsure if I will ever return to my dining hall after learning to somewhat cook this semester. I will have to make some exceptions though for team dinners with Nick #i<3saga !
Travels With Tess 