Today, I'd like to start with...
The College Cook: Apartment Life
Whether it is living in school apartments or an apartment you found on your own, living in an apartment gives you full control over what your eating habits will be. I had moved out to an apartment for my senior year at college and never looked back. The key to what types of tools you'll need is what kind of cooking you will be doing and how often you'll really cook. It's best to make a conscious effort to cook when you can instead of opting for takeout.
Essentials for apartment life:
- A standard set of eating utensils
- A medium-sized bowl (ceramic
or plastic
- A large plate (ceramic
- A few tupperware containers (Rubbermaid
- A mug/cup/tumbler
- Cooking utensils (wooden spatulas, etc)
- A small set of pots and pans
- Microwave (if your apartment doesn't provide one)
- An all-purpose/santoku knife or a set of knives (I got this one
)
- An electric kettle (Proctor Silex) or a stainless steel one for the stove
- Coffee maker
- Can opener
- Peeler
- A wooden or plastic cutting board
Extras
- Rice cooker
- Slow cooker
- Blender
- Measuring cups and spoons
Pantry Items
- Salt & pepper
- Other spices (basil, parsley, garlic powder, oregano, etc)
- Vegetable oil or olive oil
- Sugar
As an experienced cook, I had a use for having a wider variety of tools. This includes getting the knife block set of 14 instead of just a set of 5. If you are not as experienced a cook, start small since you will likely not need to use so many knives (such as a fillet knife). Start with at least one large knife to cut raw meats and vegetables and have one or two smaller knives for fruits, smaller ingredients (like garlic), or cutting cooked meats like chicken or steak.
The same goes when deciding on what pots and pans you will need. I started out with one large pan, Anolon Advanced Hard Anodized Nonstick 12-Inch Covered Ultimate Pan
, so that I could easily make anything. Hard anodized means that the aluminum material was treated to heat more evenly and provide a more non-stick cooking surface. Having the glass cover allows you to watch things more carefully if you're simmering or boiling. The size is useful to fry rice, cook vegetables, steam fish, boil spaghetti--you name it! That's why I selected this pan to start with. With cooking pretty much every day at least twice a day, this pan lasted me about two years.
It is useful to also have a smaller sized pan for eggs. That leads me into the pots I had. For pots, I recommend getting a 2 or 3 quart sized saucepan, also with glass covers. The pot is large enough to cook 2-3 packs of ramen in one go if you wish. You can also comfortably cook half a package of pasta. I bought a set which had a 3-qt saucepan and a smaller 1-qt saucepan (similar to the ones pictured here) which shared a lid. I used the smaller saucepan as my egg pan. I also had a larger stainless steel pot, probably 4 quarts, for boiling noodles, pasta, or making soups and stews.
, so that I could easily make anything. Hard anodized means that the aluminum material was treated to heat more evenly and provide a more non-stick cooking surface. Having the glass cover allows you to watch things more carefully if you're simmering or boiling. The size is useful to fry rice, cook vegetables, steam fish, boil spaghetti--you name it! That's why I selected this pan to start with. With cooking pretty much every day at least twice a day, this pan lasted me about two years.It is useful to also have a smaller sized pan for eggs. That leads me into the pots I had. For pots, I recommend getting a 2 or 3 quart sized saucepan, also with glass covers. The pot is large enough to cook 2-3 packs of ramen in one go if you wish. You can also comfortably cook half a package of pasta. I bought a set which had a 3-qt saucepan and a smaller 1-qt saucepan (similar to the ones pictured here) which shared a lid. I used the smaller saucepan as my egg pan. I also had a larger stainless steel pot, probably 4 quarts, for boiling noodles, pasta, or making soups and stews.
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