solve your dinner dilemma
scholarship entries close tomorrow!

• Hi Jules
  I’d love to win the 12 month scholarship so I am able to contribute more at home. My wife and I are planning a family in the next twelve months, so I’d like to be able to feed her healthy and fast meals while she is pregnant, and while Junior is feeding.

• Hi Jules,

  I’m a month or two away from finishing my PhD, and as a result I have been living off nothing but eggs on toast and persimmons for the past month. Before that, it was eggs on toast and apples. Before that, eggs on toast and watermelon.

  Are you seeing a pattern emerging?

  I would love to win the scholarship because I am soon to have a lot of time on my hands, and I have practically forgotten how to cook over the past couple of years! I used to be much more motivated and confident in the kitchen, but now I am terrified, and definitely need someone to guide me back into being more culinarily brave.

• I think I deserve this Scholarship because I love to cook, and I love it more when people eat what I cook with relish. Spoilt by my mother, I cannot stay a whole day without eating something freshly cooked, regardless of how scarce my time is. I have used some of the recipes here in the Stonesoup in the past, and find it brilliant to minimise the recipes and include only 5 ingredients – and still get a great result! I have often cooked with minimal equipment and ingredients before I knew this blog, but rather out of necessity, because I was low on cash, or on time, or because I was traveling and not in my own kitchen. Making this to a philosophy was a new idea introduced to me by this blog. I would love to enroll in the Stonesoup Virtual Cookery School, and would be willing to pay for it, but unfortunately for me, online payment is not easy in my country (Yemen), so I wouldn’t be able to participate if I don’t get this scholarship.

• I am now living with my daughter and her two sons. They are going through an ugly custody battle and everyone is stressed and tired and overwhelmed. It is a very expensive situation — legals fees, so there isn’t much money left over. If I knew how to cook meals that were easy and healthy and inexpensive , I could takeover the task of preparing meals and also help the effects of stress and strain with healthy food. I am going to pursue this goal anyway, but having your knowledge helping me would be a tremendous encouragement. And hopefully would give me ideas to get finicky boys to eat healthy. At the moment they are mainly eating McDonald’s because it is quick, easy and they will eat it. Getting the scholarship would obviously help on the financial side of life and make it easier to pursue this goal.

• Hi Jules,

  I would love to win the scholarship! I’m about to take a new turn in my career and I’m thinking about a new baby and I’m looking for new inspiration in the kitchen.

• Hi Jules,

  I would love to win the scholarship for my big sister.

  Money-wise, she could use the scholarship because she recently lost her job. This means that she, her husband and her 18-month old son are now living off of her husband’s part-time salary. Needless to say, money is tight for them.

  More importantly, my sister could definitely use some simple, but complete cooking training. She never mastered anything beyond heating up ramen noodles or boxed mac and cheese. Now that she’s got a family, she’d like to be able to prepare fresh and simple dishes for them to enjoy. She especially wants to learn how to make tasty vegetable dishes so that her son will learn to love veggies in a form that doesn’t involve smothering them in cheese.

  She, more than anyone I’ve ever met, could use help in cooking from start to finish (planning, shopping, cooking) which is what the Virtual Cookery is offering.

  If she gets the scholarship you’ll be helping to take someone from intimidating, non-cooker to gourmand (or at least closer to gourmand than Kraft mac & cheese!).

  Thanks for considering her.

  Best,
  Jessica

• Sorry. That should read “intimidated, non-cooker” not “intimidating, non-cooker”. I promise that my big sis is not intimidating at all!

• Hi Jules,

  I would be thrilled to win a scholarship :) My husband and I own and operate our own plumbing company. He works out of the home doing the plumbing part and I stay home doing the office part. We also have two boys ages 3 and 4 who stay home with me. It gets pretty hairy around here some times between screaming crazy kids and phone calls from clients. I love to cook but right now my meals need to be simple and nutritious, not only for my growing boys but also for myself. I am losing weight, after being heavy since my first son was born I now really see the mess I’ve made of myself and am doing something about it. I have lost 12 lbs and 40 inches overall in 7 weeks….still a ways to go but its working. I really feel if I knew how to cook simply and healthy my results would increase. And my family would benefit also. Happy healthy mom = happy healthy family.
  Thanks for offering such a great gift. Cheers :)

• Hi Jules,
  A big thank you for offering up four scholarships! I love to cook and make nearly everything we consume from scratch (bread, peanut butter, etc) which I enjoy and find therapeutic but lets face it, it is time consuming. I aspire to minimalism! So, here’s my deal. I am a wife, stay-at-home mom to three daughters; a 5-year old and 3-year old twins, earning my master’s degree in accounting, and a runner. Eating healthy with fresh ingredients and mostly vegetarian is a plus for us. Time is not on my side and you can imagine what cooking with five ingredients or dinner in 10-minutes would do for me.

• This is too good to pass up. (I just tweeted those exact words with your link).

  One of my creative outlets is cooking. I love to go into the kitchen and create. I’ve never had a course or class, so I sort of figure it out as I go.

  Imagine the possibilities that might come from my kitchen if I actually had support and assistance via a cooking class!

  Oh, what fun! And my husband and kids would be so grateful. I am sure.

  Thank you for offering a scholarship!

• I’m not sure if this closes as of Australian time or not, but I figured, why not enter?

  Anyway, I’m a new mom — which means I’m short on time and creativity when it comes to meals. While my husband has been awesome making sure I am fed (and, indirectly, our son) nutritious and tasty meals, I’d like to take on some cooking. Problem is, I’ve always been the “grand recipe” type — finding a particularly yummy recipe (think tamales or lasagna from scratch) and then spending some time on making it. So, if I win a scholarship, I hope that I’m able to create some delicious and easy meals for my family to enjoy.

  Regardless of whether or not I win, thanks for creating a scholarship for your readers, Jules!

• I was going to enter the contest, but feel like the people who are trying to feed families on limited salaries deserve to win more than I do, as a grad student living on my own. So instead, I will just say I think it is lovely that you are offering this opportunity to so many people! Bravo!

• Thanks everyone for entering! It’s going to be tough judging.

  And Lorena.. if it’s Thursday 2nd where you are you can still enter!

• and Megan
  that’s really lovely of you… I appreciate your thoughts

• I need to go to virtual cooking school because I broke my leg last week and I am an avid cooker and baker, so needless to say I need something to entertain me and get me prepared to cook when I am off these crutches and back in the kitchen! Thank you for offering this opportunity to so many people out there. I truly love your blog!

• I know this is the year I will turn my fate around in the kitchen. I’ve felt like a failure as a mom whenever my oldest son (6 year old) says comments like “oh, YOU are cooking today, I wish it were daddy cooking, I don’t like the things you make”. I will learn to cook delicious things from scratch, it’s just a matter of time and lots of practice. A scholarship at Stonesoup would help make this dream come true!

• Oh, I forgot to mention, right now it is Thursday, June 2nd, 9:59 PM here in “the middle of the corn fields” in West Latayette, Indiana, (Eastern Standard U.S. Time). I hope it’s not too late to participate!
  Thanks so much, Jules, for the opportunity!

• Suni,
  You made it!

  Everyone
  Scholarship entries are now closed. It’s with the judges now…

• Thanks everyone for your entries!

  Jessica (and your sister),
  You are one of the winners! I’ve emailed you with details… Looking forward to seeing your sister in class!

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