How Singles Cook on a Budget - Vegetable Ring Fried Eggs, Bacon in a Pancake Blanket and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich

Man, it’s great to be single and free to mingle!

Many have been impressed by my culinary mastery as displayed in the making of Baked Cheese Irish Potato Crisps here in Milk River, Clarendon as explained in my blog article entitled “How to make Baked Cheese Irish Potato Crisps – Healthy Chocolate Diversion from Working as a Ghostwriter from Swallowfield to Milk River”. Very few in Swallowfield, near to the National Stadium even know that I can cook, actually.

Well, fans and folks, here’s the truth: many of my recipes are from my College and High School days. Back in those days, I had little or no money, a fact true for when I was attending UTECH (University of Technology) from 1997 to 2000 and the UWI (University of the West Indies) from 2005 to 2009.

So UWI Students, no need to panic as noted in the article “Panic at UWI!”, published Sunday, August 24, 2014 BY ANIKA RICHARDS Sunday Observer staff reporter, The Jamaica Observer, as once you can make it through first semester, everything else, including tuition, will fall into place.

It seems that my fans desire more food ideas from me, as that segue seems to be getting more and more traffic. It appears the more exotic the recipe, the more interest my article generates. Unwittingly, most of my recipes are really College and University Recipes that are quick and easy to make.

In both cases I boarded off campus and I had to travel to classes, many of which unfairly started at 8am in the morning. For that reason, I had to make sure to awaken as early as 4am to cook breakfast, as to catch a bus at 7am to reach 8am ANYWHERE in Kingston back then was and STILL is impossible. So I had to take the Bus, which was JUTC but with JA$10 fare, as early as 5:30am or 6am in order to makes sure I reached early enough to catch these Classes.

Thus I’ve been tinkering with some other ingredients and came up with a few quickies now that I’m planning to return to Swallowfield to go to the MICO University College. In keeping with their names, they’ll be quick and easy and require no more instructions than merely looking at the images and copying what’s done.

Cooking Tips for Cash-strapped College Students – Downtown is your best Friend

So most of my cooking surrounds my flair for foods that are quick to prepare and with cheap and easy-to-get ingredients which I try to keep as local as possible by shopping Downtown as pointed out in my blog article entitled “Jamaica's Basic Item Food Bill mostly from 1st World Countries - Buy Jamaican Build Jamaica made from Imported Raw Materials in containers that says Made in Jamaica”.

My most expensive ingredient being a good bottle of wine that’ll set you back JA$2000 albeit nowadays you can also get a 1 Liter Red Stripe Beer that’s just as good for cooking as pointed out in my blog article entitled “Red Stripe Beer Festival in the Middle of May 2014 – Weirdness Level off the Chart means Palcohol has Red Stripe sweating but Long Hair Hide it”.

After all, you have to have Beer or Wine in College, as every time you survive a test, you have to celebrate! For sugar, just buy a bag of Bag Juice at your local Bag Juice Factory outlet; costs the same at JA$120 but you get enough Bag Juice in one bag to mix almost 10 Sunday Dinner worth of Kool Aid.

Finally, if your bummed out on the fact that some of your favourites such as Peanut Butter and Guava Jelly and your favourite biscuits aren’t available off Campus (‘cause that’s how I like it!), then never fear, Hi-Lo and Empire Supermarket in Cross-Roads is here!

Finally, for cooking utensils, makes sure you have a small pot (for soups), a Ceramic non-stick frying Pan (to cook virtually everything else) and knives and forks for eating and cooking. No need to bring the Kitchen sink, as where you’re staying should already have one!

So here goes, folks! I’ll be giving you a taste of my College and University cuisine, UTECH and UWI Style!

Vegetable Ring Fried Eggs – Health Snacker option that covers both Meats and Vegetables

Ok, got some eggs and some Sweet Pepper that you purchased downtown? Also some spices, also purchased downtown in bulk in those little plastic bags? Worried that you aren’t getting a balanced diet filled with Protein and Vegetables?

Then you can make one of my UTECH snacker inventions, the Vegetable Ring Fried Eggs!

The first is Fried Eggs with a Twist, as you can have it fried inside of an Onion Ring or even a Sweet Pepper as shown below. This is a healthy breakfast option, as it combines vegetables and Eggs in a delicious and quick meal.

The Best thing about this recipe is how quick and easy it is to prepare. You just make sure that the eggs are entirely self contained inside of the vegetable rings as you fry them in Canola oil, Coconut Oil or any other oil of choice in your Ceramic non-stick Pot, a must-have for any College and University Student!

Sprinkle on a little Cinnamon or salt and enjoy with your Glow-in-The-Dark Iced Coffee Chocolate Milk as described in my blog article entitled “How to Make Glow-in-The-Dark Iced Coffee Chocolate Milk – How Coffee can be made healthy for Children”.

Bacon in a Pancake Blanket – Great things happen when Pancake and Bacon Collide

The next one is of course pancakes. ‘Cause who can start the day without pancakes right, especially with a side of Bacon on a Saturday or lazy Sunday? But suppose you’re in a rush and you can’t eat that Bacon that you purchased at Hi-Lo along with that side of pancakes?

Introducing the Bacon in a Pancake Blanket!

It’s basically flitters but using a J.F. Mills Pancake Mix or other pancake mix. Just add water and Eggs and make the pancakes in your Ceramic non-stick Pot. Then fry the Bacon separately in Canola or Coconut Oil, preferably in a separate Frying Pot you borrowed from your room-mate. 

Soon as the Bacon is ready, toss it into the Pancake just before it cures into its hardened form, which is usually when the bubbles on the top burst. This takes a little skill, but after a few tries you’ll get it and you’ll have made Bacon in a Pancake Blanket. An even better dish is to fry the Bacon, then cut up the Bacon into bite sized pieces and mix it into the J.F. Mills Pancake Mix before it becomes Pancakes.

Trust me, you’re lazy Saturday or Sunday will not be the same again!

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich – A Sandwich in Time save JA$200 on Ice Cream

Got an Ice cream craving on the Weekend? Can’t afford to buy an ice Cream Sandwich but you have some Chocolate Chip Cookies lying around? Why not make your own Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich!!

This recipe is a simple as it is delicious. Just buy a JA$200 tub of Ice Cream and cut it as shown in the picture above. Then peel off the plastic strip and voila!, instant Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich. The taste and flavor will of course depend on the type and flavor of your Chocolate Chips and Ice Cream.

So that’s it folks. More of my wacky food recipes that are quick to make, easy to prepare and fun to eat!