Basic food for basic students (you’re basic)

For many of us, it’s revision week time! Yay!! Can you feel the enthusiasm? I can feel it all around campus – especially in the library late at night or when I see some girl crying in the bathroom; I’m not saying that men do not cry in the bathroom, but I for one cannot see them – the perks of using the ‘ladies room’. But enough about depressing subjects! Or happy ones assuming you’ve been waiting for this time of year to show everyone just how smart you are (Good for you). As you might know by now, this is a food article and, hence, I am going to talk about food (duh!). Mostly about easy to make recipes that will allow you to spend a lot of time revising – and we all know that by this I mean learning stuff for the first time.

French cuisine at its finest Pancakes! Maybe not the healthiest food in the world or the easiest to cook, but they give me the boost of happiness I need to continue my day; especially if they are Nutella and banana pancakes. Just don’t think about American pancakes. Here we’ll talk about the French kind – crepes.

• 2 eggs
• salt
• 1 spoon of sugar
• 1 ½ cups of flour (I recommend white flour, but anything will do as long as it is not self-rising flour)
• 1 cup milk
• Oil (if you don’t have a non-sticky pan)
• Nutella
• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Cream Beat the eggs in a bowl, big enough to be able to hold all the ingredients. Add the sugar and a touch of salt. If you feel like experimenting, get rid of the sugar and add a bit more salt. This way, you will bring out the contrasting flavours, assuming their pairing with excessive amounts of Nutella. Just be careful not to add too much – the seasoning of food is an art I cannot teach you; you must learn it yourself through trial and error. To the mixture, add half of the milk and stir until it becomes homogenous. Slowly, start adding the flour and continue stirring. Add the rest of the milk until you get a smooth mixture, liquid enough to be able to pour it easily. Depending on the flour you’ve picked, you might need to add some more milk. If you are not sure about this, just try cooking a small pancake and taste it; you will know if it feels right or not – hopefully, it will! Be aware that the opposite might happen and the pancakes might be too runny. In this case, they will take forever to cook – you might not even be able to flip them. If this is the case, just add a bit more flour. The final step has come, now that you have the perfect batter. Just pour some of the mixture in a preheated pan with a bit of oil in it if you’re not using a non-stick pan. You can try and flip them in the air – I mean, what loss is a crepe or two! When you are done, stuff them with anything you want. You might try my favourite combination – and by my I mean, everyone’s favourite combination – of Nutella, banana, strawberries and cream. When I am really desperate for some sugar I even add some maple syrup. (Yes, you can judge me and yes, probably I’ll discover that I have diabetes in a couple of years). Or you can just come up with your own combination. Congratulations, you are a French chef now that you know how to make crepes!

Healthy mind in a healthy body – keep lying to yourself! This is just a simple salad, for those of you who just want to feel healthy from time to time... Or all the time. It will work if you are on a diet, too – but really now, who can be dieting and revising at the same time? For me, this is the best 15 minute recipe that can work for either lunch or dinner or both, depending on how much I make.

• 2 eggs
• 1 large chicken breast
• Feta cheese (or goat cheese or any creamy cheese you like)
• 2 tomatoes
• salad leaves
• 1 small cucumber
• small tin of corn
• 1-2 spring onion(s)
• salt, sugar and pepper
• Greek yoghurt for dressing I really believe that you have enough imagination to know what to do with all these ingredients in order to get a salad – unless you have a howtobasic Youtube channel and you think you can eat the same things you upload. If this is indeed the case, you definitely need my guidance. Or anyone’s guidenace for that matter.

Hard-boil the eggs (8-10 minutes). While they are boiling, cut the chicken breast in stripes (or cubes, or spheres or amino acids – maybe this way you’ll finally remember them) and fry it in a preheated pan – if it’s a non-stick pan, don’t forget to add a tiny bit of oil.

Cut the tomatoes and the cucumber. Chop the spring onion(s). You might also want to chop your salad leaves if they are of the large variety. Add them in a bowl with the corn. Add the fried chicken breast.

Peel the eggs and cut them into bite-size pieces. Cut the cheese in 2x2x2 cm cubes (if they are 2.01 cm, you’ve ruined the whole thing). Add everything to the bowl. Mix a bit – you can feel civilised and use a fork or you can go wild and use your hands. Add salt and pepper to taste. My secret ingredient in a salad is a bit of sugar – just a tiny tiny bit. Don’t tell anyone! You can use it.

In the end, add some Greek yoghurt. As much as you like – or don’t. I honestly cannot congratulate you for managing not to ruin a salad, but I will once you share your very own recipe with me.

Go nuts for the nuts (with chocolate) I might have a problem with sweets. And when it’s revision week, it gets worse. I can eat a whole chocolate bar in one go. I mean it! I am a chocolate monster when I have to learn something. Or, if I don’t have chocolate, anything with enough sugar. And I am not even 100% sure that it’s scientifically proven that sugar helps learning – but my mom told me that when I was a little girl and I, as a good girl, must listen to my mom’s advice. And you should listen to mine and eat as much chocolate as you can – at least you won’t feel bad about it now. Just tell yourself that it helps you go through those boring soil lectures (I’m assuming that’s all you geologists learn about).

But if you plan to increase your chocolate intake, at least do it in style! Or be like me, and just wolf it down, you decide.

• Nuts
• Chocolate Melt chocolate. Mix with nuts. Attempt to wait and eat when cold, in reality eat when still molten and delicious.

And good luck with your exams!