Mmmm...food

   So this may come as a surprise, but I'm a big fan of food.  I enjoy cooking it, eating it, and on occasion, hucking it at someone's face (don't worry, it's not often that happens).

   So in the spirit of this blog, and in time for the wonderful Fall farmer's market taking place every Saturday, this post will be food based.

   Students love food, but sometimes, they lack the time, resources, and if you have ever had the misfortune of a fire bell going off at supper time, the skill.  I loathe the steroetype of the typical student surviving off of Mac and Cheese and Ichiban noodles.  I mean, come on, it's 2010!  You think people would have found new cheap and quick food.  Luckily, there is! 

   First of all, farmer's markets kick ass.  I will admit, when I was younger, I didn't really care about going to them.  A bunch of old guys pawning off dirty potatoes? Ooh, blech, icky, boring  (7-year old me never actually said that, but you get the idea)

   Now that I'm older, I can appreciate the fact that these old guys grow those potatoes, and picked those probably that morning, or the night before, and probably are not making that much money.  They do it because they love their job.  And should you befriend one of those potatoe farmers, make some small chat, and be a regular or semi-regular customer, he might occasionally throw in a few Yukon Golds in your shopping bag.  Although I find farmers tend not to have the same, flashy, OMGITSSOCHEAP deals as grocery stores or superstores, they may give you things at a discount, although it's usually because they are going out of season.  If you have ever looked at the due date on those 50% off apples in the grocery store, you'll find they are doing the exact same thing!  

   With that in mind, if you buy, say, a 50% off red pepper that's starting to get a little soft, then cook it THAT DAY!  So your meal plans do make a difference; try to use what's perishable in your fridge as often and fast as you can, so that it doesn't go to waste and get thrown out.  I don't need to tell you, that's money in the trash there!

(***Added 9/12/2010:  In my efforts to provide well-rounded information, here are two websites that provide information AGAINST buying local food.  They are not that long, nor hard to understand, so I urge you to take a quick read and decide for yourself.)

• http://alwaysupward.com/blog/why-buy-local-makes-me-cringe/
• http://www.chrishardie.com/blog/2008/11/is-eating-locally-produced-food-a-bad-idea.html

   If you find you can't go to farmer's markets, you can continue buying local by supporting your home's Good Food Box program.  They sometimes go by different names, like Food Boxes, Local Food Sales, etc.  

   You make be asking, "What is a Good Food Box?"  Well let me tell you my friend in my own colloquial terms: It's a big-ass box of fruits and vegetables, sometimes delivered to your door or close location.  They are often very cheap, around $15-$20.

Some of last year's Good Food Boxes (in bag form).  

There are two Good Food Boxes here.  

That's a lot of food!

   I know from the ones I've worked and volunteered with, these programs often TRY to get as much local fruits and vegetables in them as possible, but sometimes they do have to ship out of town, or even out of province!  Last time I checked, the grocery stores did that as well.  However, to be fair, grocery stores are still capable of selling local produce as well.  Just make sure you look at the sticker or labels. or ask your grocer.  You'll feel a little better as you buy that mega-size bag of chips on sale for that party later (hey, junk food in moderation is still good!)

   But what do you do with all that food?  Well, you sure as hell don't let it sit in the box! You eat it!  Onions, apples, potatoes, celery, peppers, brocolli.  Cook it, bake it, broil it, eat it raw!  

   I recently came across a youtube channel that might be good for students.  It's very befitting for this blog.

http://www.youtube.com/user/brokeasscooking#p/a/u/1/mE0HyeTXhUY

It speaks for itself.

There are plenty of other links out there online to help the hungry yet culinary inadept (that means you suck at it!)  Here's a list of more that you might find interesting http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-helpful-online-resources-beginner-cook/

   Don't feel shy about searching online for other money-friendly recipes.  Most of the time, it just takes little effort to make cheap and nutritious meals.  Say you take that Mac and Cheese.  Fry some mushrooms and green onions, maybe some diced ham, and add it to the Mac and Cheese.  BLAMO!  You're not a lazy student, you are a conneisseur of the culinary arts and a patron to classic recipes of your predecessors.  By the way, if you're gonna cook for a girl, tell her that BEFORE you hand her the fancy-pants bowl of KD ;)

Students loans be damned, I know what I'm doing!

  And with the start of the school year comes a huge influx of energetic students, crazy events to get them active and involved and...well, shopping.  One of the many things students will somehow find the cash for.

  And with that, I put forth the first few ideas of how to save money while attending to school, especially when living at residence.

  I'm sure many students were appreciative of the free BBQ's.  This year, first-years were required to register for orientation so to get their free hamburger.  It goes with little saying that this is highly suggested for several reasons:

1. It's freakin' free!
2. Between lugging a moving truck's worth of crap into a room half the size of said moving truck, meeting new students and room mates and RA's, and rushing to get fees and books paid for, you have no time to go shopping unless your parents were nice enough to buy you food.
3. You may find not only do you not have the ingredients to make a decent meal, but neither the kitchen utensils or time.
4. The busses weren't running on Labor Day, so unless you had a vehicle to the grocery store wasn't an option anyway!
5. It's free!  You're a busy student, take advantage of a hot meal!  What's that? You're tired of burgers? Suck it up buttercup and grab a bun! 

  Last year, they had a BBQ and were finishing off a bowl of chips.  You know, where there's nothing but crumbs and small broken chips at the bottom of the large bowl.  The server was about to throw it out but I offered to take them off his hand.  I mean, come on, free chips!

  Unfortunately, he said he couldn't give them to me to take home.  It was actually some sort of health hazard that I didn't quite fully understand.  I felt a little disappointed, even if he was doing his job.  I hate wasting food!

  I've made it a point to tell my friends of two wonderful opportunities to obtain what they need aside from buying:  the Reciprocity Shelf and Freecycling.

  What is the Reciprocity Shelf? (Hell, I didn't even know how to say it for the first half of last year.  Incidentally, it's pronounced ress-sip-ross-ity)

  The Reciprocity Shelf is a shelf where perfectly good items (clothing, toys, kitchen utensils, books, etc) are placed.  These are everyday items that people can't bear to throw in the garbage, but don't care to sell, and are still functional (often) and good to use.  It's like a free garage sale!  I found shot glasses with letters on them that spell out KLINKO.  I don't know what the heck KLINKO means, but I'm going to turn it into a drinking game!

 Revel in its reciprocity-ness!

Look what kind of goodies there are: a sink/dish mate, clothes, a mug, cutlery!

  The other, Freecycling, is a online community created for the same purpose; to give another life to everyday products that people don't want to see trashed.  Once you find if your community has a FreeCycle network, you can sign up and begin posting!  Unlike the Reciprocity Shelf, you can email the group for things you want!  This works especially well in large cities, like Vancouver or Montreal.  There is a good chance that somewhere, out in the city, someone is giving away what your looking for!  Or better yet, someone might be looking for something you're willing to get rid of!

  I was recently given a toy RC helicopter.  I have no use for one, so I posted it, and lo and behold, I had literally more than 10 people asking me for it within a day!  And lucky for me, a professor here at the university was one of the people who wanted it, so I dropped it off at his office in person!  Convenience!

  I find it works on the "take a penny, leave a penny" principle.  Although I can honestly say I've taken twice the amount of things I've given, I still feel good knowing that I've kept people from throwing things out in the trash and surpassed having to spend money on a brand new product.

  Freecycling and the Reciprocity Shelf: two ways to extend the life of everyday items and products and a great chance to get some free shit!  Last time I checked, free is pretty easy on the wallet.

  For other chances to snag free swag, check out the free sections in Craigslist or Kijiji (at your own risk)  

  I highly suggest students at UNBC check these out.  If you don't have a reciprocity shelf at your own university, try getting one started!  You'd be surprised at what people are giving away!