Graduation can mean many things to many people. Some begin careers in marketing, fundraise for a national charity, or embark on their quest to become the next prime minister. To me it meant returning to the family home, jobless and ‘Gilmore Girls’ on repeat.
While my monetary situation meant financial offerings to my parents were limited, I felt duty bound to contribute to the house in some way. I decided cooking would be (pardon the pun) my meal ticket.
Amazingly in my three years at university I managed to avoid becoming a cook of any description. I subsisted on a diet of Alpen for breakfast and cold baked beans from a can for dinner. As a treat I would have toast and buy Mr Kipling Cherry Tarts. Now I knew these nutritious recipes would not cut it. I threw ‘The Marmite Cookbook’* to one side and turned to Jamie and Delia in an attempt to learn what to do with a colander.
In my culinary journey of discovery I learnt not only that water is not an adequate replacement for stock but that simple tasty food is a good weapon in the battle to appease quizzical parents.
So unemployed graduates of the country listen up, learn to cook and win the respect of your family (or at least a five minute break from your mum’s nagging). Here is one of my best discoveries:
Red Pepper Soup
You will need:
1 onion, chopped, 2 large red peppers, chopped, 2 cloves of garlic, chopped, 1 tin of tomatoes, 1 litre of stock, 1 tsp fresh basil, chopped, a splash of olive oil, a slither of chilli, chopped.
1) Fry the garlic, chilli, onion and peppers in the olive oil for a few minutes.
2) Add the tomatoes, stock and a cup of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for half an hour until the peppers are soft.
3) Pour the soup into a blender and puree until smooth.
4) Garnish with the basil, add a little salt and pepper, and serve!
Thank you Jamie, Delia and Nigel. *This is actually a real book.
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