One of McMonagle's five roommates enjoys making chili. As for the rest . . . Chinese food and wings. Manhattan Bagel is the place of choice in the morning. She enjoys it, and she's trying to save money.
Breakfast is cereal or a bacon, egg and cheese bagel.
Lunch might be an omelette or sandwich, dinner a simple pasta and chicken or rice with fish. To avoid waste, she divides meat and fish purchases into single-serving portions as soon as she returns from shopping and tucks them into the freezer. She also freezes reduced chicken stock in ice-cube trays for use as a flavoring ingredient. Although Cheng's parents own a Chinese restaurant near Minneapolis, she never cooked until she left home for college. Living in a tiny dorm room, with a rice cooker as her only appliance, she began experimenting with soups, vegetables, noodles and even fish.