How to Use This Cookbook

  1. 1. These recipes are customizable and even include suggestions for modification. I know I have said this a million times, but every dining hall is different, so utilize whatever resources you have. You don’t have to run around your dining hall trying to use the exact ingredients specified in each recipe — make the recipes work for you, not the other way around.
  2. 2. There are no measurements. This is because, as you will see, this cookbook does not actually involve any real “cooking.” Add as much or as little of an ingredient as your preferences dictate.
  3. 3. Times are approximate. All of the “cooking” times are based on the equipment I used to test the recipes. Your microwave, for example, may be a lot stronger than mine, requiring you to adapt the recipes slightly. I trust that you can figure it out — after all, you did get into college.
  4. 4. If a recipe doesn’t seem to-go friendly to you, you can make it that way. One easy way is to put the ingredients in a wrap (Eggs Carbonara becomes a delicious breakfast burrito, for example) or press them in a panini press. Disposable soup bowls or your own reusable bowls with lids are also convenient. Many are microwave friendly, and you can make practically anything in them.
  5. 5. I developed these recipes to satisfy my tastes and preferences, but they only scratch the surface of the possibilities in your dining hall. My overall hope is that this book inspires you to make your own creations in the dining hall based on the ingredients that you love the most.
  6. 6. Don’t forget about microwave safety. Don’t be that person who put a steel plate in the microwave and started a cafeteria fire, and more important, remember that dishes may be hot when you take them out of the microwave. It is better to be safe than sorry and use two napkins as makeshift oven mitts when removing plates that have been in the microwave longer than a minute.
  7. 7. Assume serving sizes of one for each recipe. That means: for bread, I usually mean one or two slices, and for meats, I mean enough to feed one (e.g., one chicken breast). I am assuming here that you are not planning on throwing dinner parties at the dining hall, but if you are, please send me photos.
  8. 8. When you see PYOP, this means “Pick Your Own Protein,” as in, choose whatever protein you like best, be it chicken, steak, pork, tofu, or anything else.