by Ryan Silva

Created on: March 31, 2008

The stereotypical college dorm has that image for a reason, they really are tiny. The cafeteria food can get old and boring very quickly, and cooking your own meal in your dormitory can be a welcome change of pace, but you are going to need several things before you even begin.

I have 3+ years experience cooking in dorms now and I have tried several different methods, but I find that the following works the best. Since your dorm room is so small, you want to take up as little space as possible with all of your cooking supplies, and for this reason I chose to use camping gear for all of my kitchen needs. Camping gear is designed to be very durable and extremely compact.

A set of camping cookware will cost you roughly $40. This may sound expensive, but the extra money is worth it. Look for a set that has a large and small pot, and make sure the pot lids double as frying pans. In this way you can have 2 pots and 2 frying pans that take up the space of a single pot. They take up very little space, they are easy to clean, and are very durable. I own a cook-set made by GSI Outdoors called the Bugaboo Small. This set will easily cook for two, anything from stir fry, to hot dogs, to a birthday cake!
http://www.gsioutdoors.com/detail.aspx?c=4&sc2= 57&p=44205&lu=%2flist.aspx%3fc%3d4%26sc2%3d57%26p%3d 1%26&

Another very important thing to have is knives, utensils, spices, etc. I picked up a Backcountry Kitchen set from Outdoor Research. This kit includes eating utensils, wire whisk, spice containers, sauce containers, spatula, serving spoon, can opener, everything you need for 4 people to eat. I paid $20 for mine.
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servle t/ProductDisplay?productId=39176880&memberId=1250022 6

Lastly look for a set of camping tableware. Bowls, plates and cups that conveniently stack and nest together to take up very little space. These too should be durable and very easy to clean because they are, after all, camping wares.

When I am am in the mood to cook, I make sure to bring ziplock bags to the cafeteria with me next time I go, and try to find as many of the ingredients as I can at the cafeteria. Fresh raw veggies from the salad bar, sauces and spices, slices of bread, etc. You're already paying for the cafeteria to feed you, taking ingredients out of the cafeteria shouldn't be a big deal. I store these ingredients in my fridge until it is time to cook.

When I am ready to cook, all I need to bring with me is the camping pots that come in a convenient carry pouch, my backcountry kitchen set and all of the food I am planning on cooking. Using camping gear makes the process very easy!

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