Introduction to the Food Scavenger, Interpretation of a Trifecta of Ingredients

I was once just like everyone, content to let someone else do the cooking, to letting slide a frightening amount of sodium, oils and fats, and sugar into my diet, to let be the random urges for something fulfilling to my heart and my belly. And then I got heartburn. And then after the twentieth peanut butter cookie (each one at 300 calories) being afflicted by heart palpitations and dizzy attacks, feeling nauseous and engorged, but not satiated. I had always had the propensity to hoard, in my room and in my sadly not voluminous enough stomach... why not make use of my obsession with food and neurosis for not wasting random crap I would come into contact with? Thus, was born the Food Scavenger, making use of all the odds and ends of plastic and produce here at college (and there is quite a lot of plastic and quite a lot of produce). Once you start, you can never go back, reveling in your independence, in your now-healthy body (and by extension, suddenly and inexplicably, sound mind).

Below, I begin with a trifecta of ingredients: meat, cheese, and vegetables. In this more specific state, however, they are known as deli turkey, feta cheese, and broccoli and tomatoes. For I am the Food Scavenger and the Microwave is my erstwhile Servant, the Oven my Minion.

First, for a savoury snack (or breakfast in my case): a cheesy, vegetable dip that requires a minute of preparation and half a minute of "cooking." Below you stretches the cutting board with a collection of cheese (feta) and vegetables (broccoli and tomatoes):

Beautiful, isn't it? Simply chop up the broccoli and tomatoes, then layer them along with the cheese into a small, microwaveable cup: a smattering of vegetables, then a smattering of cheese, and repeat until the cup is full (or until you're satisfied). Note, however, for a minimum of tomatoes or any watery vegetable. In my case, I only sprinkled one and a half quartered grape tomatoes to prevent the dip from becoming too watery.

Pop the cup into the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds, remove and either spoon the cheesy vegetable goodness onto a slice of toasted bread or some crackers. Feel free to sprinkle this with a little salt, depending on what kind of cheese you use (some are saltier than others), and some spices.

Cheesy Vegetable Dip Recipe: 1/4 cup cheese, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1 1/2 grape tomatoes

On the other hand, if you should happen to have a kitchen nearby, you could do this as a bruschetta or embellish with meat as I did below to make an open-faced turkey, feta cheese, broccoli, and tomato melt with oregano, basil, and garlic powder sprinkled atop. The unseen bread, covered as it is by the slice of deli turkey, is Gold Medal Oat and Honey Wheat Bread. The ingredients are easily customizable to your preferences. One of my friends did Genoa salami, olive, peppercorn, and feta in a pizza-fied version.

Before baking at 375 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes:

After baking:

Open-faced Melt: 1 slice deli turkey, 1/4 cup cheese, 1/2 cup broccoli, 2 grape tomatoes, a dash of oregano and basil and garlic powder

Alternatively, with the addition of the deli turkey, you could do a cheesy meat and vegetable roll-up, which can be placed on bread or eaten as is with salad (as I did).

Simply lay a slice of deli turkey on a microwaveable plate, sprinkle with cheese, your favorite vegetables and spices. Then, place this all in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds. Remove from the microwave, roll it up and you have a soft and warm roll-up to be placed on bread for an impromptu turkey (or ham or beef) melt or a compliment to a cold, dreary, plain salad. I, personally, enjoy the contrast of the warm, gooey, salty roll-up with a cold, crunchy, bland salad. This was probably my favorite creation of the three in terms of ease and satisfaction. What can I say? I appreciate much bang for my buck (of time).

Cheesey Meat Roll-up: 1 slice deli turkey, 1/8 cup cheese, 1/8 cup broccoli

Note: I've added tags. You may be puzzling over the word "sandwich" in quotation marks. Well, anything that involves bread and cheese becomes a "sandwich" to me. To clarify: anything involving bread is basically a variant of a "sandwich" to me.