For one thing: High Street is filled with food places. I think there is something like 5 different Gyro shops within a 4-block area. There is a Raising Cane’s, a Chipotle, a Noodles and Co., A McDonald’s and Wendy’s, and plenty of other places that just about everyone has heard of.

And of course, there is the entire smorgasbord of hole-in-the-wall places with highly suspect “health-code approved” plaques that somehow skip a few months back in 2004…. See: No. 1 Chinese Food, Joy’s Asian Village, Mama’s Pasta and Brew, Hound Dog’s Pizza and Buckeye Donuts. (As I list those, I realize that they are my top places to eat).

There is also the dining plan for those that live on campus.

And then, of course, you can always cook for yourself.

Which is what I do.

With mixed results.

For example, the other day, my housemates and I took a trip down to a nearby Aldi’s Supermarket where we stocked up on the cheapest groceries around. I decided to make chili. The following is that recipe.

1 lb Ground Beef ($1.50)

1 large onion ($0.28)

2 cans Chili Beans ($1.08)

1 can Kidney Beans ($0.54)

3 cans Stewed Tomatoes ($1.08)

1 spoonful of garlic ($.02)

Spices: (total: $0.08)

Sprinkle of black pepper.

Dash of cumin.

Chili Powder Like You Wouldn’t Believe

Smidgen of salt.

            2 Dried Chili Peppers

            Brown Sugar (a handful)

Cook Beef and sliced onions on pan. Combine all ingredients in Crock Pot. Turn on ‘low’ and leave for 28+ hours, stirring occasionally.

Prepare rice ($0.83) and serve chili atop rice.

Total price: about $5.41. Number of meals served: 6 (price per meal is a little over $0.90). Ease of cooking: 3 (1-3, 3 is the easiest). Deliciousness: 5 (1-5, 5 is the tastiest).

This is how I live my life. Cheaply. But deliciously.

Ever since moving off-campus and into my own house I have taken up cooking for myself. For the most part, the things that escape the pans of our derelict kitchen are made out of entirely improvised recipes. Not once have I measured the spices on a meal. Not once have I looked up a recipe. Not once have I really known what-in-the-world I am doing.

But: the same is true for the two housemates of mine that cook with me. For the chili meal, one of my roommates made bread, without a recipe, in his bread machine.

Our specialties include: Chicken Curry, Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, Fajitas, and (the infamous) Whatever Is Left in the Cupboards Meal.

The best part about this entire experience is that, while certainly not the kind of food that you could serve at a restaurant, our dishes are always (with only a few exceptions) delicious.

And when I get tried of scrubbing the grease off of pans or coming up with a new way to combine the one can of corn, a slice of bacon, and a potato (all that’s left in the cupboard) into a meal for three people, we eat out.

And the great part is that there are plenty of places we can eat. And all of them are delicious. (Except Taco Bell. For some reason, I can’t force myself to eat at Taco Bell….)

I just am amazed that we haven’t managed to burn the house down yet. Especially when you consider that the fire extinguisher in our kitchen has been mysteriously replaced by a samurai sword (dead serious). Apparently, the plan is that, if a fire occurs, we will use brute strength to cut(?) it to death.

For some reason, I don’t foresee this going well.

-Andrew