From: reb@amc.com (Bob Brunjes)
Subject: Re: Recipes For The Cooking Inept??
Organization: Applied Microsystems, Redmond, WA
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 00:49:34 GMT

In article <ya+yr8c@rpi.edu> dzembj@rpi.edu writes:
>	Well, I'm finally going to be moving into my very own apartment and
>have decided that, unless I want to die of starvation, or go broke eating
>out for every meal, I need to learn how to cook.  I've gotten a few good
>recipes from lurking here for a while, but I thought I'd throw out a
>general question:  Does anyone have so simple (read: quick 'n easy)
>recipes that a college student could make with a meager income?  Also, 
>I'll soon be visited by a young lady I'll be wanting to impress, so if
>someone could suggest something a bit more formal, but still quick, easy
>and, well, inexpensive but not gaudily so, I would be eternally grateful.
>Thanks kindly.  
>					- Jason 
>					"I've gotta get one of those .sigs..."
You need to know about trash.

Trash (which came by its name honorably) is a wonderful dish for
new cooks, camping, when the kids come back home (in our case),
or any other time you want something tasty.

The basic recipe for two with some good leftovers is:

Some lean hamburger (1 to 1.5 lbs)
a couple of medium-sized yellow onions (or white, or red)
about a cup of high-quality catsup (more about this later)
one heaping soupspoon of ordinary flour
water as needed
salt to taste

pot of fresh-cooked rice (instant, if you _really_ must)

Cut both onions more or less radially through the major axis.
This should yield onion wedges about 1/4" thick at the thickest
section.  When it cooks these wedges will fall into many boat-
shaped pieces.  To assure this cut off enough of the root end
of the onion to assure that the layers are not connected.

Put the catsup in a bowl, add the flour, and moosh it in with
a fork until thoroughly blended.

Have the water ready by your cooking surface.  This is important.
I usually use a teapot.

Fry the hamburger in a bit of oil, crumbling it with a fork as
you cook, stir, crush the stuff.  The hamburger color will progress
from pink to gray to a featureless tan as you stir (important to
keep this up) and cook it.  When the first trace of crusty brown
appears on the tan, throw in the onion and cook it until it is 
transparent.  Drain this now, if it's too greasy.

Throw about a cup of the water onto the hamburger/onion mixture,
add the mooshed catsup/flour mixture, keep stirring like crazy
(preferably with a spatula to keep the bottom of the pan scraped
clean), and add water, as it thickens, to a gravy-like consistency.

Salt to taste, turn to low heat, cover, and simmer for about 30
minutes, adding water or catsup as necessary.  Serve over rice.

That's the basic recipe, and no, it _doesn't_ taste like catsup.
Catsup is fairly complex, and when it cooks it changes many
flavors.  It _is_ important, however, that the quality of the 
catsup be good; the cheap stuff just doesn't do it.  	

That's the basic recipe; it can get _much_ better.  Our
family favorite:  Grate a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger into
the catsup/flour mixture, along with 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Add a can, with juice, of pineapple chunks.  When you add liquid
(less than before, because of the pineapple juice), add vinegar 
(any kind that turns you on- it's all good) until the sweet-sour 
balance is a bit too sour; as it cooks it will mellow just a bit.

Other possibilities: Use cornstarch instaed of flour, use soy for
the salt, add green pepper slices with the onions, flavor with
chili powder, or oregano and basil.

Happy trash to you. 


Bob Brunjes		Applied Microsystems Corp
			Redmond, WA
			reb@amc.com