Welcome to the Gazette’s very first food blog! My name’s Grace, I’m a sports editor at the Gazette, and I love food.

Student living is great, and admittedly one of my favourite things about university is the impromptu late night trips for takeout, but I refuse to settle for a regular dose of packaged food.

The purpose of this blog is to unite tasty, healthy, fast and easy meals all into one — all from a student-friendly living situation. We’ll practice with the frying pan, work with the crock-pot, and perfect the fine art of using the oven. Don’t worry — I’ll guide you through each step.

Don’t know what to buy at the grocery store? No problem. Unsure what a garlic press is? I’ll show you. Wish you didn’t have to buy your lunch on campus every day? We’ll fix that.

Whether you’re a masterful chef in the kitchen or you don’t know the difference between an oven and a stove, you’ll get something out of this blog.

The goal is to make some inexpensive delicious meals, impress your friends and family with your wicked kitchen skills, and learn how to experiment with ingredients successfully. Living on a student budget can make it difficult to eat fine cuisine, and that’s where innovation comes in. Go ahead and try something new!

And at the end of the day, if all else fails, throw on your game face and get creative in the kitchen.

Banana Peanut Butter French Toast

This is a fantastic breakfast dish that uses simple ingredients and is incredibly easy to throw together. I often freeze my bread so that it doesn’t go bad, so I typically make this meal after a trip to the grocery store and before I stick my bread in the freezer. I’m a huge peanut butter and banana fan, so this is one of my favourites.

1 banana, sliced

2 pieces of bread (I prefer 12 grain, but white bread is typically favoured for French toast. *note, make sure the bread is fresh)

Dash of cinnamon

Dash of vanilla

1 large egg

2 teaspoons of milk

2 tablespoons of peanut butter

Cooking oil

Directions:

1. Spread peanut butter on both pieces of bread and then place banana slices on one piece, and make into sandwich.
2. In a bowl — that’s wide enough to fit a slice of bread — whisk together egg, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk.
3. Turn the stove on to medium heat and place oil (or butter) into pan. Make sure the pan isn’t too hot! This will sear the outside and leave the inside soggy.
4. Dip the sandwich into the egg mixture (you should be able to soak up the whole mixture) and place into pan once oil is heated.
5. Wait until the one side is golden brown then flip the sandwich and cook the other side.

Serve with extra banana slices and any other fruit that you have lying around. Add syrup if desired, and voila! A few minutes later and you’re left with a delicious and nutritious meal.