Summer Cooking for College Students
One of my favorite things to do is trying new recipes. There is something so therapeutic about experimenting with ingredients, spices, and presentation styles. What really makes cooking top-tier, however, is being able to share it with others. I love seeing my friends and family enjoy the things I have cooked up for them- it is my love language! We all eat, so making recipes is accessible for college students too (even if it means adding scallions to a cup of ramen). Here are my favorite moments (and dishes) from this summer that brought joy and satisfied hunger for my friends!
1. Mediterranean Dinners
When the weather gets warm (as it does in the summer), I find myself not really wanting to eat anything too hot. It makes you overheat and it is a whole thing- definitely not the vibe! To beat it, I like to make Mediterranean meals! They are light, refreshing, and full of flavor. My top one of the summer was this gyro platter- I had so much fun arranging everything on the plates and seeing it all come together. We made homemade tzatziki which I have been putting on absolutely everything for weeks!
2. Grilling Time
Aside from refreshing meals and flavors, summer recipes cannot be complete without a nice grilling session! I recently moved into a different apartment, and it happens to have a communal grill- so I couldn’t resist. I grilled up some skirt steak, zucchini, and sweet corn. Jewel-Osco has the best sales, so it was pretty cheap and turned out delicious. I feel like nothing can beat the taste of some char-grilled dinner. I also love feeling like a middle-aged suburban dad in my grilling stance, watching my friends chatting outside.
3. Charcuterie
Charcuterie is a hit in every season, and for good reason! It is a perfect balance of sweet, salty, soft, and crunchy flavors and textures. Everyone loves to walk past a nice board of snacks and nibble on them- it hits every time! I was able to make a nice charcuterie board for my friend’s birthday this summer and we had such a fun time putting it all together… and finishing it a few hours later. You can really make a charcuterie from anything, so anyone can try it!
4. Fresh Fruit Bowl
This is not technically a full meal, but is certainly a recipe for success- a fresh bowl of sliced fruit. There are so many options for ripe fruit in the summer, and they are great for you health-wise too. We must have made a fruit bowl at least once a week this summer and they never go uneaten for more than a day. Here is a spread from a friend’s hangout, where we all brought our favorite snacks to make a little grazing-style meal! Dinner does not always need to be conventional so we might as well have fun with it!
5. Something Sweet
No day can be complete without a little something sweet! When my freezer runs out of the endless ice cream options, I love to bake up some small desserts like cupcakes or cookies. One night, my friends and I met up to decorate cupcakes that we had made and it was a ton of fun! Sometimes, the experience of sharing with loved ones is even better than eating the dish (although they were, of course, delicious).
Overall, my advice is to have fun with summer and cook up new concoctions! They are best made with friends, your favorite flavors, and can be in whatever form you like best. People think that college students don’t eat real food- but with the right coupons and budgeting, you can be cooking up fun meals on the daily! I found my community here in Chicago, so every time we cook together, it feels more like home and really spreads the love.
~Breanne