Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Stove Woes

Katie D.

January 29, 2010 - 5:18 PM

Life in a college rental can be a delicate balance.

You move from your parents' house to the University dorms, where you are fed and your bathrooms are cleaned. You are only responsible for your laundry and your room, which might actually be less work than living at home.

Then you are turned loose into the world, and have to figure out a way to shop for groceries, get bills paid on time, and negotiate the world of renting. Even if the parents are still playing a large supporting role, this business of "adult life" can be quite the jarring one.

We all have different hangups. For some, it's the bills. For others it's keeping the shared space relatively clean, or remembering what day the garbage truck comes by. For others still, it's the basic challenge of both remembering to lock the door behind you AND leaving with keys in hand.

For me, the largest off-campus challenge has been food. I wasn't much of a cook growing up, and I've had to learn a lot about cooking and feeding myself. Going organic with my meat and local-organic with my produce has been an added challenge. I have also discovered an unfortunate and deep-seated hatred for that basic food chore: grocery shopping. I shop as seldom as possible, and am unlikely to try new recipes if they include something not already housed in my pantry. The shopping just isn't worth it.

To add to the food-related mess, our landlord recently decided to remodel our kitchen. My roommates and I are thrilled: on Friday, after two weeks of a gutted kitchen, we came home to a gleaming new oven/stove unit. A thing of beauty.

Renting is a strange reality. As a student, you are in and out of your house at all hours. You stumble home after a late night of partying or a late night studying, to find that your roommate has either feng-shui-ed your living room, or that there has been a massive party, complete with wall decorations and empty cans of cheap beer. Another option is that, after months of discussion of a kitchen remodel, you come home with groceries to cook a delicious dinner, only to find that half your kitchen has been totally removed. I mean gone.

So it's been an interesting two weeks. This has also been the busiest two weeks of my college career, so the sudden and unexpected removal of my cooking apparatus was a blow to my peace of mind. It meant lots of microwave oatmeal and cans of soup, until the soup ran out and then it was pretty much oatmeal and hot chocolate.

Luckily, our landlord is a great guy, who gave us a break on our rent and personally called the contractor on Thursday night (in our presence, even) to tell them that they absolutely had to install the stove before the weekend.

One of my roommates and I took the oven and stove on its maiden voyage tonight. I cooked a stir-fry of potatoes and squash while Devin cooked macaroni and cheese. Simple, yet delicious. Then we baked some brownies. Later I made a pot of tea, just because I could.

Next week the kitchen sink adventures begin. It'll be worth the inconvenience, though-we are getting a garbage disposal! We'll be cooking in full style by the end of February for sure.

It's funny that, as I was preparing to leave home for college, I spent almost no time thinking about my college diet. I made (unsuccessful) plans to not gain the infamous "freshman fifteen." I moved into my first apartment armed with some cooking tutorials from my mom and grandmother, and a fabulous list of recipes from my aunt. Since then, I have mastered a few culinary options (my signature pieces are chicken and dumplings, fried potatoes, fried rice with vegetables, squash stir-fry, and late-night pancakes). I have learned the delicate art of massive stockpiles of bargain non-perishable food staples combined with in-season produce. I have also successfully grocery shopped for a year predominately on foot, aided with a backpack and a reusable bag.

I don't imagine I will ever reach the food status of my roommate Lesley, who delights in pot luck gatherings and will joyfully invite the household to sample her new food creations. She cooks for the joy of it, and will make up new recipes from imagination or emulation alone. I don't cook with any particular skill, and I shop with very little enthusiasm.

However, tonight I took substantial pleasure from the simple sight of a pot of boiling water. A new stove! Tomorrow I'll be cooking pasta, I think (after all, I haven't had any in a week!). I'll make some squash and maybe some biscuits. Maybe even chicken and dumplings.

And for a study break? Pancakes after 10:00 pm. Ask any past roommate of mine: I make a mean pancake late-night snack. When a roommate stumbles in after midnight, I'm always ready to fire up the stove and make some delicious breakfast food. In fact, I might celebrate the new kitchen with a waffle iron.

There you have it: the kitchen adventures of college.

PS Please leave a comment with suggestions for easy college food! Really easy, remember. I might even post pictures of my culinary efforts.