Leah!

In honor of my non-vegan friend who's desperately trying to do what I hope everyone considers - cooking for yourself... I would like you to consider the following recipe and overall some helpful hints.

Time is a tough thing - yes I know it all to well - work, school, gym and tutoring not to mention the whole house upkeep thing - keep your fridge/house stocked with the basics and buy VWAV...

The basics being:
Onion, garlic, ginger (in freezer to maintain freshness)
Stock - veggie preferably, a grain - your choice - quinoa being the best, but whole wheat couscous or even brown rice are perfectly fine
Beans - chickpeas or black beans - or even if your lame like Leaha and I - baked beans - they make a quick dinner with a tofu hot dog - um not healthy but it could be worse...
Spices - simple stuff is great - salt, pepper, oregano, basil, cinnamon, vanilla etc.\
Olive oil
Flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder

Granted my cupboards are full of all sorts of other great stuff - but start here and then move onwards.

Perishables - find a local market - in Vancouver it's really easy and stock up on the basics there - so a starch - potato/sweet potato, variety of veggies and fruit - make sure to keep a lemon in your fridge. Variety is the spice of life.

Beyond that read, flip through magazines (Veg Times is great), the PPK is a great resource too - the really simple stuff is normally what I do eat... not to mention I always try and have one or two back ups in the freezer - like Amy's Roasted Vegetable pizza or a batch of the frozen mushroom potstickers from Bunnyfoot. The meal linked above is one I do often - once a month a least because there are so many variations - cut, season, roast. More specifically pick some veggies you like - beets, sweet potatoes, plantains, yam, potatoes, parsnips, squash, cauliflower etc - cut into pieces and then season accordingly - so you want Indian - you can use the Nobu spice mix or a curry paste, want it Eastern European - then dill and some salt and pepper etc - a little oil if you want and put it in a HOT oven - on a parchment lined cookie sheet - it cuts down the cleaning too. So then you can make a grain to go with, or add a can of rinsed beans to the veggies it's up to you...

So while it's cooking you can clean, organize, shower whatever... eat while studying is normally what follows... Best of luck Leah and hopefully you guys can come over this weekend for an Italiano feast