A version of this post was originally sent to our email subscribers on October 2. To receive Sara Kate's weekly email, sign up in the column to the left or click here. Something tasty will arrive in your inbox every Thursday.
We talk about frugality a fair amount here in The Kitchn — if you don't believe me, just dig a little — but given the events of the last few weeks, we're going to start talking about it even more.
In one of Maxwell's recent daily emails, he wrote from his ever-sunny heart about how hopeful he feels given this economic downward spiral. "We're being handed a tremendous opportunity to refocus and rise to a new challenge." I couldn't agree more, and not just because — full disclosure — he is my husband.
Most people I know feel that it's time to buckle down and tighten our belts. Part of our job here at The Kitchn is to continue, through these hard times, to inspire you to cook more (maybe even more now), and to also focus on specific ways to help you save money. My credo will continue to be
Eat less quantity, waste less, continue to seek high quality ingredients.
I saw something the other day about how to find the absolute cheapest gallon of milk. I understand that many people are trying to feed large families on very fixed incomes and how difficult that is. However, I want remind you that when it's cheap, it's not free. Shifting to cheap food in an effort to save money can cause more harm than good. The mistake we're making is focusing on trying to get the same amount for less instead of shifting that focus to paring down quantity. It's a balance, I understand that. And we will support you in the quest to strike that balance.
But instead of starting from the concept of cheap, try starting from here:
Instead of finding cheap chicken in order to continue eating it twice a week, what about buying one organic pastured chicken and learning (with our help) to roast it, pick it dry, and make soup from it, getting three meals out of one bird?
Another quote from Maxwell's email: "It's a time to focus on happiness and spend more time at home. It's a time to buy flowers and to start cooking again."
We're here for you. What an opportunity.
One final thought: I know there are a scant few who aren't scared, who feel flush (lucky you!) and have not been hit hard by the tumbling stock market, by a lost job or a rent increase. For you, I can recommend a few ways to help others:
• We're participating in the Donors' Choose Blogger Challenge again this year. I just gave $20 to help fund a kitchen center for kindergarten classroom because I believe that awareness about food and cooking starts early. Won't you join me?
• Kiva is an organization that supports farmers with loans. Just a small donation makes a difference. Check out the farmer Faith is supporting here.
• There are many hunger organizations across the country. Food Bank for NYC is one of many local hunger groups here in New York. Have a look around your neighborhood and find out how you can help those who are hungry.
• The Chez Panisse Foundation supports an educational program that uses food to nurture, educate and empower youth originally in Berkeley and Oakland, California, but with program replication happening nationwide. Send them a donation or get involved as a volunteer.
• Shop at farmers' markets as much as possible. By giving your money directly to farmers, you are helping a population that surely is feeling the squeeze of the economy. You are doing a good deed.
Some recent posts about cooking frugally:
• Could You Eat on $25 a Week?
• Laurie Colwin on Luxury and Frugality
• Freezing Fresh Produce
• Have You Ever Priced a Home Cooked Meal?
• Mindfulness About Waste
• Mark Bittman on Minimizing Meat
(images: Children cooking from Belling.co.uk, raw whole chicken from Faith Durand for The Kitchn, Delicious 30-Minute Chicken Posole soup from Emma Christensen for The Kitchn)
Cheers,
Sara Kate
Last Week's Posted Email: From The Email: The Only Three Things You Really Need
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
I was wondering if The Kitchn could do weekly pieces... starting with one cooked ingredient, that is ultimately carried over to a 2nd or 3rd day... i've done it with a chicken before: made a simple roasted chicken, had it for lunch through the week and made soup with the bones and stock... but i'm not sure anything else I could do with other cuts of meat, or not even just meats but any ingredient at all...
also during these times people recommend making stews; you add some diffferent things, they obtain a lot of flavor at minimal cost, but unfortunately I've never made or had a stew that i've liked or that i've wanted to make... so i guess i'm wondering in what other ways can I use things such as beans, pasta, and anything else people throw in stews, to make my own delicious-ness at home...
and on a final note.. i am always very averse to using things from cans... why use canned beets when beets are currently in season? but then again its probably so much cheaper to get the 2 cans for $1 deal going on at the current foodmart, then buying fresh beets (obviously this all depends on the /lb price and all)... but it's so hard to draw the line...
view MikeyV's profile
MikeyV--Nancy Silverton's book about the use of canned stuff for quick meals really inspired me. She's got great ideas, and when you're short of time and money, stocking up on a few canned staples can make real sense, economically and food wise.
But for most single adults or couples, making a huge stew or casserole isn't sensible. First, you'll get sick of it before you finish it, and even if you freeze part of it, you'll probably forget what you froze.
Buying a whole organic roasting chicken isn't very sensible either. Stock up on thighs and backs, and make curry or tacos, and then use the bones for soup. A whole chicken can be expensive, whereas less popular parts are far cheaper and more versatile.
view Palmetto's profile
I always freeze second helpings of meals to be eaten at a later date - you don't forget what they are if you label them! - and they are so great for those days when you just feel like calling for a take-out but are trying to save money - just grab something from the freezer and ping it in the microwave - home cooked food but quick!
aubergine and courgette lasagne works especially well this way - if I run out of lasagne sheets I just bung pasta in instead - works a treat!
One of my favourite cheap quick easy and long-lasting meals is mixed bean chilli - fry off an onion - add spices to your liking (I use cumin and chilli powder) add a chopped pepper and one can of each: borlotti beans, black eyed beans, baked beans, refried beans - cook for 20 mins max and eat with rice or naan bread or tacos or whatever carbohydrate you have to hand - it freezes really well and last in the fridge really well too - and microwaving it only makes it better!
view Violetsrose's profile
thank you for this post! yes, it should be stressed for us to look for ways to eat better food, instead of just cheap finds.
i grew up in the 70's and i remember buying a whole chicken at the market used to be the norm. i learned how to cook, as a child, and my mother taught me how to properly cut up the chicken. i noticed in the late 80's chicken parts started to become more ubiquitous in the market, and it got harder to find whole chickens. the big-box retailers were growing like mad, so i always wondered if parts vs. whole was not entirely coincidental. this was also the time when our diets were using more and more chicken breasts, that i'm sure the factory farms moved their production to "parts" over whole birds.
you know, it's very easy to cut up a whole bird, but i know it's daunting for a lot of people. maybe you could post a "how to" video on this? and yes, whole chickens costs more now, which is pretty sad, but i suspect this reflects a demand of our buying habits -- even butchers are disappearing from the supermarkets.
i, myself, am on an extremely tight budget, but want to keep quality food on my table. i'm achieving this by eating more vegetarian dishes, and more whole foods. sometimes i'll buy free-range, local, organic meat if the craving strikes and i have a few dollars to spare. i'm also visiting my farmer's market and looking into community garden projects to see where i can learn to be more self-sufficient. i encourage us all to try to get in touch with the land, even if it's a simple trip to the weekend farmer's market.
view antoi's profile