Hello there, and welcome to UniFoodie, my personal recipe repository for when I experiment in the kitchen.
I’m a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh, with a passion for fine cuisine. Of course, that I’m a grad student means I’m on a student budget, so I want to make my delicious food affordable. Cue cheapest-price hunts and more-affordable substitutes!
Life as a graduate student means less classes and more reading, but also more time at home and less money to order in. Grad School is also a stage of life where you still crave food like an undergrad but where your body doesn’t cope with it the same way anymore. Which is why it’s important to keep an eye on spending all the while eating as healthily as possible, but if you’re anything like me, sad meals make you sad, and you want to have good food.
Now I know what you’re thinking. Low on spending, high on nutritional value and big on flavour?… But it’s possible. I’m making it work; and I’m keeping track of it right here, primarily to benefit myself in the future – but also to benefit anyone who happens upon this blog.
Not everyone can be a great chef, but anyone can cook; and the more you do it, the better you’ll get. So get off that restaurant table and get into your kitchen. You’ll never believe how far you can go in just a tiny bit of time.
It is important for me to disclaim any connection with any of the food production companies or stores I shall be mentioning on here. It is also important to note that I currently live, cook, and shop, in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; and that product prices are very likely to be different where you live. In fact, they’ll change as time goes, even in Edinburgh. So do not just rely on the prices here: in fact, I recommend that you keep a list of prices for as many of the products you buy as possible, and that you refer to it when budgeting your week and setting your menu — which I recommend you do, weekly or even monthly if possible, to reduce the time you waste going to and from stores, and inside. One last point I need to make is that unless you keep a stocked pantry, you’re likely to spend a lot more and end up with much less tasty food.
Ultimately, if there’s one advice I’ve got to share, that’s plan, plan, plan.