improvisations in a hostel kitchen: mini naan pizzas

For lack of time and (recently) internet access, I've had to take a break from the blog.


Now I find myself once again in a foreign country, cup of tea in hand, and with plenty of free time in my dorm room as I try to not spend money (ha!). If I had interesting experiences during my three weeks in Ireland, Poland has had more to offer in just a week.
In fact, I'm pretty sure that had I not familiarised myself with cooking in the hostel kitchens in Dublin and Galway, I would never brave the kitchen in my hostel/dorm here.


To make a quick comparison, the other hostels I've stayed in have had refrigerators, plenty of cookware, silverware, electric kettles and even miscellaneous foodstuffs like oil or spices. This kitchen lacks all of the above. The oven has no rack, there are only two or three pans (which are usually already in use), no cooking utensils or silverware to be found, and no fridge or cabinet space of any sort.

However, I am not one to be thwarted in my attempts at making meals! Thankfully, I brought two sporks, my bento box, chopsticks and some measuring cups with me. My dorm room's balcony works as a fridge for now (until spring actually arrives with warmer temperatures) - keeps my beer and milk cool enough, anyway. I suppose once it's too warm outside I'll be relegated to making quick errands to the grocery next door - something that's easily doable.


So far I've successfully made chicken burritos, some spaghetti, and lots of instant noodles. Today, however, I reached a new pinnacle of improv cooking: mini naan pizzas, cooked on the stovetop in a skillet.

Not bad, eh? The crust is simply mini garlic-flavoured naan (an Indian flatbread). The trick to achieving a close-to-real-pizza feel is to heat the naan pretty thoroughly at medium heat on one side, flip it over, add the tomato sauce, sprinkle with cheese and any other seasonings or toppings (I just used some garlic powder), then cover to let the cheese melt and the bottom side nice and crusty.


See? One spork, one skillet, and a wood cutting board (doubling as a lid for the skillet as well as a plate) can produce pretty tasty results. Proving that you can eat well pretty much anywhere, even with limited resources. I gotta say, though, I can't wait to find a store where I can pick up a few dishes and utensils...


Cheers!