Showing posts with label college. Show all posts

10-Minute Meals: Bolognaise Spaghetti


      Wooo, we're back! Sorry for the MIA status, university has been such a huge roller coaster ride. Anywho, university started two months ago, and I (Char) have realised I just couldn't keep eating out for dinner, just because there isn't a stove in the kitchen. Similarly, I couldn't bare to let myself survive on instant noodles every night either, can I? And so, I have started to experiment with the microwave that we have and there and then, begun, my college culinary adventure! You see, living in a student apartment, with a shared dining area and a well-equipped dry kitchen, gives me the little perks of having at least a microwave, fridge and cabinets for my usage, as compared to my counterparts in public university dorms. Although stoves aren't allowed at my place as well to avoid us burning up the whole building, but thanks to the microwave, we were able to whip something out in a short amount of time to fill our tummies.

      So, I thought I'd share some tips on how to make your college life a little easier with a segment on the 3BW blog, with content surrounding how to make food in a knick of time! For the first post, I'll be sharing with you how to make Bolognaise Spaghetti, everyone's favourite Italiano meal! The steps are really easy-peasy and kind of a no-brainer for people who have had experience with a microwave. 


STEP 1: 
Prepare the ingredients which you can easily get from a departmental store near you and make sure to have a microwave. Any type of pasta or pasta sauce will do, according to your personal preference. As a college student, we want to save as much as possible, right? So, be on a lookout for two-for-one promotions! And by that, I mean sometimes, the spaghetti is sold together with a bottle of sauce. So, keep your eyes peeled! Another great tip is to get packet stoppers as well. Trust me, they'll be your best friend.


STEP 2:
Soak a handful of spaghetti into hot boiling water in Corningware or a microwaveable bowl. The reason why I said hot boiling water is so that the spaghetti would soften easier and quicker in the microwave, rather than waiting for the water to boil first. 


STEP 3:
Pop the Corningware into the microwave and heat it up for 8 minutes or so, according to the kind of pasta you're using. Thicker pastas usually take a longer time to cook, so be mindful of that when you're buying them. After 8 minutes, if the pasta's not soft enough, reheat it up in 30-second intervals, checking after each to see if it is thoroughly softened. Pour away the water. For a healthier option, rinse the pasta with cold water/tap water to eliminate the starch.


STEP 4:
Scoop four spoonfuls of pasta sauce onto the Corningware, again depending on how much sauce you'd like. Here is where you can also opt to throw in some baby tomatoes or other veges but at that moment, I didn't have those with me and I was lazy, so I didn't add any good stuff into my sauce. Pop that into the microwave and heat it up for 30 seconds.


STEP 5:
Mix the spaghetti and the pasta sauce up and voila! Makan time! :)

     It didn't even take me 10 minutes, really! So, if you're having a long day at college and the last thing you want to do is cook yourself a full-blown meal or go out with a bunch of friends who're always so indecisive on where to eat, try this 10-minute meal out! It's quick, fast and you don't need a lot of ingredients!

Homesickness Strikes!

[I'm taking the Bachelor of Economics, University of Malaya]

I'm pretty sure many of us face homesickness at some point in our lives. I know I've reached that point and am slowly getting out of it. In this post, I'll be writing about my experience with being homesick...the result of transitioning from being home, lazing around, enjoying hot showers and air-conditioned room, having food around at all times and having my family around to disturb...to being in a new surrounding with no familiarity, no heater, no air-conditioner, no Rebecca to call 'Teapot', being forced to sleep at 1am plus and wake up at 5am for a week and...you get the gist. At least Michelle's 20 minutes away from me..that brings me some slight comfort.

I think I'm the only one amongst us three that faced this problem, or at least had it hit me the hardest. My homesickness was around for about a week...or slightly more and I spent a lot of time either holding back my tears or crying when I'm alone(ie. in the shower or when roomie isn't in the room).


It all started as my family were leaving the campus after tidying up the room for me. I knew I was going to miss them so much- all the familiarity and people who actually care and look out for me, making sure everything goes well and I don't miss a meal...all the shizzles. I dried my tears and marched on into Dewan Gemilang, not looking back as I know I'd reopen the flood gates if I do.

Orientation week lasted for 6 days, 5.45am till 12.20am daily. It was very energy draining and physically exhausting that on the third day or so, my occasional asthma attack launched its attack on me. What's the worse thing that could happen? I forgot to bring my inhaler from JB ha.ha.ha. I wasn't really panic at first, then I called my mom and she got all worried and panicky, which made me kinda panic and scared too, which resulted in me sobbing away. Michelle bought an inhaler and passed it to me that evening and I felt I wasn't going to die after all XD

I survived orientation week, with me skipping the last day to be back at home. My homesickness was so bad that not only did I cry in the cold shower(past midnight everyday..as scary as it sounds, the bathroom was a bustling place with others showering too..so it wasn't eerie at all haha) or in the room when my roommate is out, but I also cried when I'm home! When Rebecca came home late, when my aunt called, when I turn on the hot shower, when I turn on the air-conditioner, when I lay on my bed hahaha

I was sobbing as my bus back to KL was arriving at the station. Cried when my parents called while I'm on the bus too. Luckily, my laptop was fully charged and I have Digi Broadband, so I went online and talked to Joe. Some distraction was much needed.

In the cab on the way to UM, when the taxi driver talked to me, I felt the urge to cry but I held back, obviously or he'd think I'm a nut and drop me by the roadside. Back in my room, packed my cupboard and study table...then I realized it's almost dinner time. My dad said my hostel(KK12)'s cafeteria wasn't opened last Sunday and I took his word for it(I was practically too sad and brain jammed, okay? Don't judge), so I texted my roomie who was out, asking if she could help me buy dinner and she said she wasn't going to have dinner that night as she had a heavy lunch. I actually meant more of just hopping into any shop and buy me bread or something, but oh well.

I kinda decided to have snacks for dinner that night, but I texted Gup, Char and Muiz on Whatsapp..and an extra SMS to Muiz saying, "Muizzzzz! Helpppp!" and within a minute or two, he called and asked what's wrong. I told him I didn't have dinner and he was like "=.=" Ohhhh..." and said he'll bring me out later that night after he's done with his friends at One Utama haha On the phone, I almost cried too! Probably because I felt there's hope! Michelle was sleeping, so she didn't answer my texts or calls to a point that I thought something happened to her lol

Dinner at SS2 Murni

I had watermelon juice and Roti Hawaii, which is something like Roti Canai with fillings like smashed chicken patty, pineapple and some other ingredients. Didn't pay much attention as I was too hungry. First dinner settled!

The next day(Monday) was my FIRST day of class! I had 2 classes on Monday with an interval of 3 hours, so Michelle brought me to Mid Valley to get some stationary supplies and lunchhhh! :D


Had a more than hearty meal since Delicious was having a 50% off everything!!

Rushed back to my English class and it was over in like 45 minutes! Later that evening, Muiz, Char and I were going to meet up, so before that, I got to snack on some leftover Caesar Salad and it was yummmmz!


Muiz picked me up and off we went to meet Char. It's been a looooong time since I saw her :'( Felt great catching up and just chilling at Grafa Cafe :D

Glad we could bring her some stress relief

I kinda like Char's area as it has a number of cafes and...probably I feel more at home there, since Sunway is kinda like my territory haha Too bad it's rather far away, so I can't actually go there often :(

Tuesday came AND I GOT TO SKYPE WITH JOEYYYYYY!!! That made me very happy :D Funnily, he said my hostel's WiFi connection is much better than my home's. Burn! :/ I got to talk to him for quite some time.. I complained and listen to him talk about his day...it was nice :) and and...my class ended early so Muiz brought me to Mid Valley for lunchner(lunch/dinner) and catch a movie! I didn't know there's a Sushi Tei in Mid Valley and man, was I excited to see it! We watched Riddick later on as the time fit the best, not a bad movie la.

Expensive meal :( Time to skip meals lol

Wednesday is when I begin to soarrrrr like an eagle(my current favourite bird)! I had my meals on my own, didn't trouble Muiz to pick me up and am still alive! haha

Nasi Goreng Paprik paired with Ribena for dinner

I can't and won't say the homesickness phase has worn off completely because this weekend I'm back in my home yet again and will be leaving tomorrow.. To my prediction, I'll tear up again. Not as hard as I did, but I probably still will.

And yes, you can conclude that friends and food helped with my homesickness.