Tonight's dinner for this alien, just finished eating (yes, this is a picture I took of it before chowing down, lol!). If you are a poor starving student (or just poor and starving anyhow) in these depressing economic times but you're reasonably creative and resourceful, this would be something you'd come up with - instant Vietnamese style pho noodle soup bought for 25 cents a pack (at most oriental food stores or if you're lucky, from a selection at your local big chain grocers), then reinterpreted by you with custom add-ons and served piping hot.To start I boiled about 2 cups of water (or whatever the directions say). At the bottom of the bowl I threw in sliced onions and tomatoes, crumbled dried mushrooms, small slices of roast beef (or any kind of sandwich meat if not actual thinly sliced raw beef, as authentic pho soup usually features raw beef that's then cooked to rare by the boiling water poured in, which makes a delicious stock), a couple tablespons lime juice, a dash of soy sauce, a teaspoon of hot sauce, and the small packets of powdered flavourings that come with the noodles; then I placed the (as of yet) dry noodles into the bowl. Once the water is boiling I pour it into the whole thing and cover it with a plate for at least 3 minutes, and finally top it all with more sliced tomatoes and onions, sliced hard boiled egg, and mint leaves.
A creative and resourceful starving student knows to invest in a few key spices and ingredients - oregano, sugar, dried or crushed chili peppers, bag of dried mushrooms, soy sauce, dried parsley flakes, beef and chicken bouillon cubes, olive oil, cooking sherry, etc. It's good to keep at least 3 kinds of vegetables in the fridge all the time (onions, potatoes, etc.), and to always have some kind of sandwich meat as well as eggs, milk, and bread (basically all the staples). When you're on a very limited budget combining these ingredients in different ways creates some really good home cooked meals that are as healthful as the budget allows. And you'll usually make enough to have leftovers to last the next day or two (or the rest of the week!), which saves money over always relying on junky fast foods or processed crap.
For example, combining the onions, sugar, beef bouillon, olive oil, sherry, and water will make you a hot steaming pot of hearty French Onion Soup (what the poor and struggling farmers in France created out of humble stocks). You can toast some bread to be extra crispy and crumble it over the soup as croutons, and if you happen to have some cheap chedder or mozarella cheese, melt it on top of everything for a more French version (though the authentic version uses expensive Gruyère cheese if you can spend a couple or more extra dollars). Google up for exact recipes. Bon apetit!
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