I'm having my lab group (2 people) over to study this evening. I promised snacks.

Since I've been writing papers, studying, etc. etc. I haven't been grocery shopping in forever, and my good-hostess / foodie brain had atrophied.

Given a budget of ~$20, what would you serve? Assume access to a general convenience store / small grocery, not Dean & Deluca.

Thanks in advance, eaters!

So, there's a lively discussion about seasoning and cleaning cast iron pans. What about using them?

My cast iron pan replaces a non-stick pan that was not oven safe. I'm wondering what new and exciting things I can do now that the oven is not off limits.

I'm imagining strata, maybe corn bread?

What are your favorite recipes for cast iron?

Any tips? My parents just gave me a cast iron pan to replace my trusty non-stick (teflon! oh noes!)

My mom already seasoned it, and warned me to be gentle. But when I cleaned it, I ended up with rust-like spots. What should I do now?

Perhaps slightly off topic, but I'm sure a lot of you Serious Eaters are also serious coffee drinkers.

I usually try to avoid caffeine, saving it for when I need a big boost. However, last week and the beginning of this week turned into a nightmarish collection of work deadlines, school assignments, and personal crises that sent me directly to Starbucks / the coffee-maker / trusty Diet Pepsi Max.

Of course, this turned to late nights and jitters and poor sleep. I'm up to about 2 shots of espresso, 2 cups of coffee, and a 20 oz bottle of the DPM a day, and it's gotta stop.

I considered going cold turkey, but I'm prone to migraines and I need to at least get through the rest of the week.

Any ideas for a good taper?

Imagine that you have... Trader Joe's, $45, half a mini-fridge, a microwave, and the need to feed yourself for a week.

Yes, imagine that you are an intern in Washington, D.C. scraping the bottom of the olde stipend. Why Trader Joe's? It's the closest grocery store other than the weird Safeway in the Watergate, and you're a Serious Eater (duh!)

Your reserves: half a cup of granola, a banana, half a jar of peanut butter, a relatively untouched jar of almond butter, strawberry and cherry jam, mustard, three slices of cheddar cheese, a gnu bar, three greek yogurts, lemon juice, and salt.

The stipulations: Nothing too smelly (roommate and co-workers!) No shell fish or bacon. Must somehow create 21 meals- breakfast can be minimal- and a few snacks.

What would you do?

Hello Serious Eaters!

In need of some advice here. I'm putting together a care package for my boyfriend, who is stationed at 29 Palms, California en route to Iraq. I always send books, magazines, other sundry items, etc. and I round out the package with food. Now that he's in the desert (and no longer on the East Coast) I am very concerned with melting.

The factors in consideration:

1. He's in the Mojave Desert, and soon will be in Iraq, so it is hot hot hot. Both places are, well, very far away from the East Coast, and, depending on a variety of factors, he only has mail call on a sporadic basis. So even sending stuff packed with dry ice would be iffy at best.

2. No pork or alcohol, or products containing either. Or porn. Not sure of the Green Machine's opinion of *food* porn though : )

3. He gets plenty of "chow," which he seems to enjoy. So at the moment at least, he doesn't need meal replacement bars or that sort of thing at all. It's just for fun, something special for him (and sometimes his buddies, when he feels like sharing).

Basically, I'm just looking for special, unexpected things to brighten his very long days. I think he's getting somewhat bored of my standard beef jerky / Hershey's kiss allotment, and, frankly, I am too.

Any and all suggestions very appreciated, especially from folks who have dealt with these conditions and know what will hold up!

Lately I've been very depressed and have lost my appetite. I've lost 7 pounds in the last two weeks. I don't really know whether it's not wanting to cook, not wanting to eat, or a combination of the two. Anyways, does anyone have any low effort, nutritionally sound ideas to help perk up my appetite?

Sorry for the downer of a topic. FYI, I am in the process of getting professional help for this.

Thanks in advance for your help!