Any recent CUNY undergraduates - whether currently enrolled, or recently graduated - with tips, advice, opinions, etc. to a drop-out who wants to re-enroll as a matriculated student, PART-TIME?

Whichever schools, or campuses you have attended (past or present), I would love your feedback about campus access and services as well as your own general thoughts about academics and your own experiences. Though I'd love any thoughts, I prefer anyone with very recent (as in current, to about three years) actual enrolled experience so I have a good sense of current expectations and protocols.


FYI I am now old in my mid-50s, on full disability (thus low-income, fixed income), but want to be more functional and access various academic and city resources. Oh, yes, I would like to get the cobwebs out of my brain too, maybe even get specific work related skills where my age is not a serious deterrent. I can hope, right?

I had last dropped out ten years ago, with about 30 accumulated credits.

I am not too concerned about which school to choose at this point, though I prefer ones I can get to easily by subway (commuting issues of course); big bonus for Manhattan campuses for sheer convenience, but not necessary. I'll know my re-application etc. process will weed me out as necessary.

My primary concerns is a campus with a lot of academic support services (tutoring and academic guidance, flexible library access, etc.) so that as a part-time student, I can spend a lot of my other time getting my academic skills up to date. I have a hope of later being a full-time student in a subsequent semester, but I am starting as a part-time student first. For the first semester (or two), my main focus is getting my basic academic skills up-to-date (reading, writing, and research, etc.) as well as having a sense of current academic culture, campus resources, etc. I know my math and science is very rusty so I am leaning towards a general liberals arts focus until I know where I stand academically. I'm open to either the two-year (community colleges) or four-year schools, as I suspect I will at least change my initial program, or transfer later once I have regained my academic bearings. Also I don't have much interest in social, or not strictly academic types of activities, or social clubs, at least for the first semester.

Certainly I am sure things have change in the 35-40 years since I was a NYC public high school student. (Yes, I am sure that's a gross understatement.) Note over the last 30 years or so, I had been accepted at (among others) Hunter College, Queens College, and others, but not necessarily interested in the initial majors / degrees I had once put on.

INCIDENTALLY, but important: I use an old home PC computer for almost all of my online access and reading and recently upgraded my online access. What are the current technical (computer, etc.) expectations for incoming undergrads at this point? How do students find acceptable equipment or discounts on required, or recommended equipment and access?

Anyone interested and able, I'd love to chat (or message) to and fro on the issue, if inclined.

Thank you.

Sweetened condensed milk is one of the vastly under-rated wonders of the universe. Cow's milk, reduced in volume by removing some of the water, and with sugar added (both as a preservative, and to create an early type of infant formula), then canned, had many advantages before refrigeration became common. But the processing serendipitously produced a mixture that simplifies making delicious custards. Here are two recipes. ( Read on...Collapse )

Here's a cheap, easy, and filling main dish, suitable for any meal of the day.
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I threw together a superduper chicken and sauce. I'll put instructions here for everyone before I forget how I did it.

Chicken: Prepare by dumping marsala wine over the chicken, enough to coat all surfaces, and then adding a garlicky spice mix. Roast chicken pieces in the oven at 350 degrees until done, probably 30 to 45 minutes.

When the chicken is done, make sauce:

Get some mushrooms, a box of either white button mushrooms or baby portabellas. Wash, then cut them up in thin slices. (If the stems are all woody, twist those out and throw them away.) Throw mushrooms in a deep skillet with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp of crushed garlic and cook until they are getting soft. Add some marsala, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup or so. Cook some more while the mushrooms soften further. Add 2 Tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and stir it all up into a pasty mixture, then dump in all the juice that cooked off of the chicken. Stir and cook for at least a minute so that it is smooth and bubbles and cooks the flour through. If too thick, add a little water or chicken broth to make a medium textured sauce.

Serve chicken with the sauce on it. You could have baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, rice, udon noodles, or whatever, and some kind of cooked veggies or a green salad.

I have a simple question. My grocery budget for the month is $174. I know I can get really cheap things like ramen and whatever, but I try really hard to eat healthy. I know what's good for me and what isn't, but it sucks have such a limited budget. I know that it may sound like a lot of money to some people, but I live in an expensive area unfortunately.

My question is, does anyone know where I can get printable coupons online for food? I'm thinking that coupons would make things a little easier. Or if anyone has ideas on healthy, yet cheap foods, let me know.

This has almost nothing to do with the sweet, minimally whole-wheat stuff they sell around St. Patrick's Day, complete with raisins moistened with Irish whiskey. (In Ireland, that's a "tea cake".) Irish Soda Bread began as a rock-bottom basic food, something that could be made out of ingredients that would be found in any farmhouse kitchen, no matter how poor. It only has four ingredients (five, if you use the variation), and it's easy enough that even children can make it with a bit of supervision. It goes well with soup or stew, or with cheese, or even just a bit of butter. It has an earthy, wholesome aroma and flavor, a close but not coarse crumb, and a good crunchy crust. And it's made out of stuff that's for you!

Preheat the oven to 425° F. Grease a cookie sheet, or one or two pie pans.

2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and stir in the buttermilk, until the whole thing comes together in a ball. Sprinkle a work surface with a bit more of the whole-wheat flour, and knead the dough a few times, just to make sure it's an even texture. Shape it into a ball, place it on the pan, and cut two deep lines across the top at right angles. Bake at 425° F. for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350° and bake about 30 minutes more, until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped, and/or an instant-read thermometer reads 200° to 210°. Cool on a rack before slicing.

For one large loaf, or two small ones, simply double all the ingredients. Bake a single large large loaf at 425° F. for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350° and bake about 45 minutes longer.

Variation: Instead of fresh buttermilk, you can use SaCo powdered buttermilk (I always keep some in the fridge - it keeps forever, and it's very handy). Add 1/4 cup to the dry ingredients before whisking, and use water for the liquid. I also like to use King Arthur "white whole wheat" flour instead of traditional whole wheat, but that's entirely a matter of taste.

I realize I could just use Google to look this up (and I have), but I feel like asking real people might motivate me more since it would take some of the guesswork out of whether something really works or not. I am very interested in your personal experiences. I also hope this helps revitalize this amazing community :)

I have a bunch of dried beans lying around the house that I'd love to use and just feel... stuck with. I don't really know where to start with them. Do I soak them? Do they rehydrate if I'm using a slow cooker? Think your basic newbie questions.

We have a variety of beans in smallish quantities since I wanted to get a feeling for how much thought they really take in advance of using them before buying truly in bulk. My husband and I don't always put a lot of thought into what we're going to make for dinner until the last possible second so I don't know if dried beans are right for us.

We have a slow cooker but not a pressure cooker.

So... does anyone have any recipes or handling tips? I'm particularly interested in Indian recipes (we have lentils) and in how to make amazing chili that is better than the stuff I make with canned beans.

Can you guys help me think up kid friendly,healthy cheap ideas for my son's lunches for school?

Here's the deal: I need to pack enough food for myself to last from 2 a.m. Sunday morning until I return home around midnight Sunday. I'll be travelling a total of 12 hours in a car, and will need breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for Sunday. I'll be doing pretty intense physical labor all day, so lots of protein would be nice.

I'm tired of sandwiches and onigiri (riceballs.) Last time I brought chicken fajita fixin's, and that was pretty nice. I'll have no way to refrigerate stuff, so it needs to be food that won't spoil quickly.

Also, I live in Japan, so access to things like cheese, good bread, and some other things are limited.

If it were you, what would you pack? Bonus points if you are familiar with stuff I can get easily in Japan. The only thing I really don't like is eggs. Otherwise, go wild! :D

Please and thank you!!!

(X-posted to a few other comms.)

My husband found this Indian food blog. The specialized ingredients she uses are available at Whole Foods or most food co-ops. In my part of NC, it's Weaver Street Market. I love Indian food and she makes it far more accessible than most cookbooks or recipe sites I've seen.

I have most of these ingredients and will be making this sometime this week.

http://www.thecolorsofindiancooking.com/2010/05/meatless-mondayless-cowbell-all-protein.html