Four years ago, I dreamed of putting together step-by-step video and picture books to help people get in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible – and live to tell about it – with something darn flavorful on a plate. And though I hopped on that dream right away and do have video and picture books on the market, I’ve always been limited by book distributor file size constraints and could never have the videos directly embedded in the books free of Internet access. Now I can – but only through Apple and iTunes – and specifically, only for the iPad.

The book that just went on the market, Dorm Room Food: Snacks, Sandwiches and Tortillas, is geared for college students. Most importantly, the book is entirely practical, “dirt inexpensive” – college costs enough – and is intended to start a conversation by interacting with college students, finding out what they want, figuring out how to do it quickly with limited resources, and together help them help others.  As it is, this first-of-a-kind step-by-step video and picture book has recipes in it like Ramen Smash, Banana with Stuff, Tuna Your Way – Now! and more that require only what’s available in a typical college dorm room: fridge, microwave oven and the most basic utensils. The book also comes with a shopping list uniquely organized by grocery store aisle.

For more about the book, go to the iTunes store and type in either my name or “dorm room food” in the book search box. For a sample step-by-step picture book recipe PDF (without video) showing how to make a cold or warm tortilla wrap made with the ingredients and few pieces of equipment shown below, click either picture on this page.