How to Cook Without a Book:
Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart
author: Pam Anderson

Successful Food Craft is always a multi-step process.

It has been my observation that the “iffy” things about recipes found on the internet is always the technique details or more accurately – the lack of technique details.

This book may be quite worthwhile both as a “refresher” and for those who need some help learning to customize a recipe
It does not matter what pan or appliance is needed, because all recipes start with “prep” and that seems to be where many of us tend to go astray.

Or, like most smart cooks, either you make it once to see how it works for you and yours

Or, need to make advance adjustments, based on taste or even allergy considerations.

I was pleased to find it once again (mine was damaged in a broken pipe incident) on Amazon.

This is a link* to the “used copy” Amazon Listings.
I have had good luck “so far” .
https://amzn.to/37LROvH

Hardcover: 290 pages
Publisher: Broadway Books; 1st edition (April 4, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0767902793
ISBN-13: 978-0767902793
Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1 x 9.4 inches

*This is an affiliate link and might result in a commission if you purchase this book.

I do not mind our local businesses adding what we all hope will be a temporary surcharge. Either those that “stayed open” so the rest of us could “Stay Safe” to “flatten the curve”.

Yes I’ll Pay a “Covid Surcharge without whining. It is NOT price gouging, it is FAIR, Reasonable and maybe necessary if you plan to practice what you preach to Buy (Your Country) now, or “after this is over”.

Hard to say who was smarter, those who created a surchage which seems to imply the fee is temporary or those that changed their prices, knowing the increased costs are not going to go away. Probably those listing the fee, because those who raised prices will likely be targeted by the hate squads as price gouging.

My premise is “Buy American-Made” can also be “Buy Canadian-Made” or “Buy German-Made” or “Buy Japan-Made” is equally acceptable . Buy from the nation where you live as a first choice. Let’s just get back to buying what we need even if it means a bit of patience till we can afford to support our local and overall national economy.

After reading a good bit of whining about it, more than a little of it posted by the same people who have posted one or more “buy American” statements or meme… This current media induced knee jerk reasction does not bode well for the “After this is over, buy…” movement. But then if they are planning to wait until this is over, well they will not have to live those words now will they.

A theme I learned as a child, along side having “cheap can cost you dear” pounded into my head by the same parents. So where possible I do walk the walk. Including limiting our dining out choices to those available to us in our immediate local area or at the very least in the county were we paid property taxes.

I do not believe in buying direct from another country. If I can’t live without the item for some real or perceived need, then I am obligated to purchase thru a US distributor – one that creates some kind of jobs for US Citizens.

Increased costs are what caused US business to move production outside our borders, that and the need to keep prices competitive.

If the costs of increased pay to your home nation mean paying more for a product, then we should recognize that. If it means making sure that the terms of special visas are met, particularly those where the sponsor is required to prove they cannot meet fill the job with a qualified Citizen. Then yes to that.

If we truly want our home country to return to economic health, then yes, we need to be prepared to pay a fair price so that those who brings us goods and services are adequately compensated.

Not An affiliate link: but worth a read.
It seems to be discussing a “stove top” Pressure Cooker, so I do disagree with the “you have to watch it every second” when it comes to the Ninja Foodi (and mostly for all other electric Pressure Cookers)

Mushy Vegetables can be overcome, but yes, that does take both planning and a bit of “tending” Still, as the article says, if flavor is important to you, then yes, it is worth that extra few minutes once or twice during the hour it takes to get something “Freezer to Table” in about an hour most of the time.

And since Home cooking is all about superior flavor, then according to Good Housekeeping’s Paul Hope Pressure Cooking is better

Frugal Beginner’s Tiplet: Meal Planning
McCormick Spice has always been a decent brand and has a pretty good newsletter. This week , their topic is Meal Prepping The kind that helps you eat healthier and less expensively with home cooked meals inside of picking up Drive thru on the way home.
This article is very basic but may help those new to “Frugal Living” get started. This is a recipe from their website that could easily be prepped ready to slide into my Ninja Foodie Oven – It was not needed to make any significant changes, to take advantage of the Ninja Foodi Digital Oven’s capabilities. I tend to follow the concept presented by Janet Zimmerman to leave temperatures the same but start checking for “desired degree of doneness” at about 3/4 the time suggested by the recipe.

Speaking of Janet Zimmerman concepts, another of my favorites is that the “rule of thumb of reducing temp by 25 degrees F should be replaced by using a percentage.
It has been my experience that 15% works for me and still following the check for doneness beginning at 3/4 the suggested time.
Sheet Pan Chili Chicken Tacos | French’s

updated 2020-April-5

It seems at least once a month someone in one of the Frugal groups asks:
How Much Do You Spend?

And less frequently, someone will say “I am a single…” Most recently living in Brooklyn without any option for even a few herbs. Since I have lived there (West Village and Prospect Park long ago) I know what she is up against.
And frankly well meaning as some of the few responses she got were, they did not really apply to her situation. Well except for one that stands out in my memory “Space is Space”
So yeah, boxes under the bed can hold canned goods if the buy is good enough to warrant the purchase and then hauling it up to that 5th floor walkup.

There are no easy answers to these questions and it can be quite daunting to someone just starting to learn to live a more frugal life.

Obviously this has been on my mind for awhile and so I finally sat down and wrote out my thoughts. If you are interested, the rest of the story is on my blog.

First, I do not look at one month, but average over a year because some things I buy in bulk have a longer shelf life and so I might buy something on sale that wont get used for several months –

Second, depending on where you live prices vary – sometimes greatly and especially if you are “Delivery Dependent”.

In the Aldi Nerd group for several weeks people were posting images of prices of milk and eggs – mind boggling the differences (and yes I do understand many if not all the factors involved) “Dairy” is almost always a loss leader in ALDI – they will lower/raise the price of milk, eggs, etc based on local competition in those and other items. Good marketing on their part – requires Caveat Emptor on yours.

Third, Some have dietary considerations that mean they likely have to spend more to get the same amount of nutrition even if comparing themselves to a neighbor.

Fourth, some (like me) are willing to spend a bit more when the difference in quality and/or flavor warrants the higher cost – like buying seasonal produce from a local farmer during the summer.

Sit down, do you basic budget ( listing all expenses that are even vaguely contractual necessities from rent/mortgage, vehicle payments, utilities, etc) And because I keep good records of actual usage – I have twice negotiated a better budget billing amount with BGE – better than any of the other resellers could offer.

Other necessities like monthly medical insurance and insurance co-pays. Again not a lot of room to play around with those.

Then contractual items where you do have some control, like seriously do you really need to upgrade that smart phone – or have all those extra cable channels, or whatever else has a monthly cost where you have some choices.

So add up all the expenses you do not control, subtract it from your likely income (and do include any benefits you qualify for such as WIC or SNAP) – decide what to set aside for an emergency fund each month and that is what you have left for food & entertainment and any other non-necessity.

That is what you have to work with. Now the hard work begins.
take EVERY receipt and look at what you buy “all the time” and what your paying.

Determine what resources are available to you and use the Internet to comparison shop at least prices and specials. Savvy shoppers know that if you use the current “leader” for Delivery InstaCart – IF you look at the various store listings, you will see some have “In-Store Pricing”. Others, depending on their agreement with InstaCart – have varying markups. Further, the markup and other details may vary depending on how you order – (I.E. ALDI order placed thru Instacart vs. ALDI.com – different payment arrangements, same percentage of markup)

Start looking at alternatives and be open. I know that JUST using my Ninja Foodi (I am cooking for two, 6 dinners, (he does one because that is our deal) and we have both Breakfast & Lunch at home – About once a month (usually his night to do dinner) we get Delivery Chinese or a Pizza. Long story short, the efficiency of the Foodi reduced our electric bill an additional average of 20%. ($21.75 less than past normal of $104)

On top of that it came down during my “experiment” year with a countertop convection oven and a 2 Cosori electric pressure cooker was good for another reduction of about $5 per month.

When the original oven quit, and it was clear the two quart was insufficient, I added the 6.5qt Ninja Foodi after extensive research and realizing that the IP and others looked less expensive but I would need TWO Appliances and a lot of extras that were already part of the Ninja products. It paid for it self in less than 6 months so after doing without a working oven for 6 months, added the Foodi Oven. Both are now paid for by savings and my electric bills continue to be an average of 40 to 50% lower. It does what I wanted, but it remains to be seen if it will be replaced with the same unit if it dies (both are now out of warranty, so I am starting thinking about what might be best next time)

We are in an apartment – and no windows suitable for even a small herb garden, so I tracked what we used for herbs and spices, learned how to buy and properly store bulk for locally grown fresh was not an option. And yes I did the math on dehydrating when they were in season, but this area’s electric is second only to the kind of rates we paid in NY to ConEd. So yes, to the lady in Brooklyn, I know what you have to contend with.

That made a 17% difference over buying even BOGO or similar specials in that category. With a bit of planning and my 20 year old immersion blender I knocked another 5% off this past two years by developing my own version of basic blends and then add what “suits the moment” if say, more marjoram is needed for the Italian salad blend.

By preparing condiments suitable to dietary restrictions, another 4-8% annually off the food budget.

There are no easy answers to these questions and it can be quite daunting to someone just starting to learn to live a more frugal life.

The good news once you get your records keeping set up, it usually requires less than an hour a week and I find that hour is often work at least $30 or more in savings. This allows us to choose better ingredients or to apply to other debts or to entertainment.

Enjoy The Making
Wheat