Being in prison is not a good place to be, and the food is bad. There are times when you get a sandwich that is supposed to be a BBQ beef sandwich, but it’s mostly a tablespoon of sauce in the middle of the bread with very little meat. Another common meal is a cheese sandwich with chili and beans, usually with cornbread, more beans, and carrots, but it’s very little food. These are just examples. However, if you’re fortunate enough to go to the commissary, you can make your own meals. Honestly, everyone has their own recipes, and there are so many. I make all kinds of flavored cheesecake with what I can get, and my favorite is strawberry cheesecake. All it takes is a pack of cream cookies, one bag of powdered milk, and one strawberry-flavored protein meal replacement shake. You can also use a pint of strawberry ice cream, but most people can’t afford to buy ice cream pints, so I use the protein meal replacement shake and two packs of cream cheese.

I don’t know how to make actual cheesecake in the outside world, but in prison, you just get the cookies, separate the cookies and cream—scooping the cream into a separate bowl with a spoon—and put the cookies in another. I start by crushing the cookies into a fine powder, then use 6-7 tablespoons of water. Don’t add too much water; you need to make dough, not pudding, so be careful. You can even start with five tablespoons of water to be safe. Knead the dough together. If it doesn’t stick, just add another scoop of water. Once the dough forms a ball, you’re good. Now, knead the dough ball with your hands, shaping it to the bowl. Use your fingers to form the edges into your crust. The crust should have the same shape as the bowl—this is your crust. Once done, it looks like a layer of dough in the shape of your bowl, with thick edges.

Now, for the cheesecake part: in a separate bowl, pour the cream you separated earlier, and then add the bag of powdered milk. Mix and break up the cream and milk. No water is added; this is done to avoid clumps. Stick your hands in there and massage the cream and milk together until there are no clumps. Now, pour the strawberry-flavored protein meal replacement mix, and then add the cream cheese. Remember, no water—just the cream cheese is enough. You only need two packs of cream cheese. Mix it all together, then whip it with a spoon until smooth with no clumps. It should look like icing when done. Pour the mixture into the crust you formed in the bowl. Use a spoon to spread the cream until it’s flat and covers the whole crust. Let it sit for 30-45 minutes until it’s completely set. I always tap it with the back of my hands to make sure the cream cheese part is locked up and not soggy. If you cut into it and it’s solid, you’ll know it’s ready to serve. You’ll get eight pieces of this cake. You can change the ingredients to make different flavors, like using chocolate protein meal replacement shake or lemon-lime electrolyte with a little Sprite. It’s up to you, honestly.

Now, the rice bowls I make aren’t always the same—it depends on what I have because most times the commissary is out of stock. You just have to use what you’ve got. I like to use an orange electrolyte that I place inside the bag of rice along with seasoning from ramen noodle soup. Add water, let it cook while I cut up jalapeños and turkey bites to place inside the bowl. Once the rice is done, I take it out, place it in a bowl, and add crushed pork skins. I use these as a type of spice seasoning. Then I add a sriracha mackerel—the sriracha sauce inside the fish pack gives it more flavor. Then I add hot sauce and place the mixture back in a bag for the rice to absorb the condiments more. I let the rice absorb the condiments and spices. While I wait, I get big pieces of pork skins and add them to the bowl along with the jalapeños and turkey bites. When the rice is done, I place it back into the bowl and mix it all together. You can add toppings—this is up to you, more condiments, whatever you like. Everyone is different. Me? I add ranch dressing, squeeze cheese, and more hot sauce. That’s just me. You can also add chips on top of the rice bowl to give it more of a crunch if you like that. It’s up to you—people like what they like.

This is just an example of two recipes. I’ve heard of so many, like Laffy Taffy candy or tamales, or fried banana bundt cake. There are so many prison food snacks that we make through commissary items. Well, if you have support from your family to make commissary, most don’t have this blessing. But there are people who are generous on commissary day and help others—friends or random people. But not all people are friendly. It’s prison, and well, if you live here, it’s not a good place to be. Even one day here is too much, and I’ve lived here 11 years. I wish I could go home and regain my freedom. I guess that’s every prisoner’s dream, right? Some people aren’t ever going home—they have a life sentence. So yeah, this is prison, and these are snacks made from commissary items, plus your tastebuds testing stuff out.