Finals Food

Waddling Thunder has a post dealing with responses to his Waddling Kitchen Post about the harried law school student's diet.

I, too, dream about food in my spare time. The approach of summer has me excited for several reasons, but the ones vying for the #1 spot are: barbeques, and going to the summer farmers' market every Sunday. Perhaps people who live for food don't begrudge the time it takes to make it. Maybe it is more efficient to buy pre-prepared foods, either in fast-food joint form, or in the bakable/microwavable "meal" form.

But, really, I don't believe it.

Last night, I made stir fry. It took about 10 minutes. It would have taken me at least that long to drive to the nearest fast food joint, order food, and bring it home. Plus, I fed 3 people and had left-overs for one more for about $6. Feeding four people in 10 minutes for $6 is not possible with fast food. But, if you hate cooking, cleaning the dishes, and don't really care about the quality of the food you eat, I could see how the effort saved may make pre-prepared food worth it.

Finals Stir-Fry:

1. Before finals, I do a bunch of little things to make finals easier. So, part of the ease of this meal is that I already went to the store and bought the stuff I didn't have out of the ingredient list. This meal requires:

• One package frozen stir-fry vegetables $1.69


• One Carrot (optional, it was in the fridge so I used it) $1 - high estimate


• One inch piece of ginger root $1 - high estimate


• Three Garlic cloves (staple, calculated into the high estimates above)


• Chili oil, or olive oil and chili flakes (staple, calculated into the high estimates above)


• One package firm tofu $1.69

2. Heat 1-2 Tbsp chili oil (or olive oil and chili flakes to taste) on med-high stove in a sautee pan or a wok. Add minced garlic and ginger (feel free to throw in sliced shallots, onions, or anything of that nature that's lying around).

3. While oil is making the kitchen smell delicious, cut tofu into 1 inch x 1 inch x 1/4 inch pieces. Sautee and stir in oil/spices for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add Frozen vegetables and chopped carott. Sautee and stir for 5 minutes.

5. Serve immediately. (Serves 4 without rice)

6. Variations: 1. buy a can of black bean sauce and add it to the stir fry after the vegetables are partially cooked. 2. Serve over rice.

Okay, enough procrastination. Back to Tax.