|
That’s an incredibly kind thing to say, and I thank you. That totally made my day.  It’s my genuine hope that anyone whom I’ve taught to cook never needs me again, because they have the understanding of the technique. To be honest, a lot of my cooking ability comes from being dirt poor and not ever seeing my mom using a shopping list. Shopping lists were for people who had way more money than my parents did. Mom literally only bought what was on sale, manatee’s special, or marked down in those stores like Big Lot’s. There’d be warehouse type stores where you could buy stuff close to expiration date for pennies on the dollar versus retail. She’d haunt those shops religiously. If a thing she got was gross or really past eating (rancid, rotten, etc), she’d take it back to the store and return it, get back her $0.50 and get the next round of stuff. It basically made me reliant on very little stable things. We could always find rice. In those days, they’d have special deals where you could get a 20 lb bag of rice for $3 if you bought $25 worth of groceries. Sometimes, she wouldn’t find enough in that store that added up to $25, so she’d add a bottle of store brand olive oil into the cart, and then come back some other day and return it without the receipt. She didn’t care if it was store credit, because she’d be back anyways. Rice was there. Potatoes she’d always have. Onion, ginger, garlic, and spices were always there. When the spices came on sale she’d buy like 20 lbs at a time. My rinkydink 1-lb bag of bill spices is nothing compared to what she’d buy. But she knew that outside of that special Diwali sale, spices and daals were going to be triple that price. But the fresh veg? That was a crap shoot. Sometimes she’d get various squashes. Dark leafy greens. Spinach. Whatever. Broccoli and cauliflower were a rare treat because they’ve always been expensive. Cabbage was always around. Green beans were a super rare treat. Everything else depended on what was on managers special. It meant that outside of the staples, you had to figure out something delicious with whatever you could find. When we moved to a house, she had the stuff growing in the garden. There was a spell where I subsisted on the stored rice and daal, and the one or two veg that were growing in the back yard, and that kept me going when I had literally no money. We never had those casseroles because all the stuff in there was expensive. Running the oven is expensive. Cream of sodium soup is expensive. Frozen food is expensive. Cheese is expensive. She could take the money someone spent on a casserole and make a several course meal. What I tried to do with all the stuff I teach is to get out of the mindset that a recipe is necessary once you know the building blocks of cooking. Recipes are for people who can afford all the stuff on there. The rest of us can figure it out! And it’ll still be tasty and non monotonous.
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 21:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 7, 2024 10:51 |
|
|
YouTube University is the best. I learned to do plumbing, electrical wiring, garage door fixes, basic carpentry, basic car maintenance and cooking from it
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2022 19:00
|
|
|
Murgos posted:Alton Brown taught me how to cook. Alton Brown got me really started, too. There was a period of time on early Youtube, before Food Network realized they could sell old episodes of his shows, when someone had uploaded every episode of Good Eats. I'd watch those while I was slacking off at work. It got me very excited and I tried lots of his recipes and messed up most of them. That was loads of fun and helped me get over my fear of screwing up in the kitchen. aw frig aw dang it fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Oct 9, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2022 04:29
|
|
|
I really appreciate the diversity of experiences in this thread. I was definitely on the “am poor, need eat” side of the scale, and learning how to stretch pennies for two people over the course of a month was crucial to my understanding of cooking today. While the times were tough I still have really fond memories of roasting a whole chicken with a pile of carrots around it and eating it over rice for days and then using the carcass to make stock for soup for the rest of month. Sometimes we’d treat ourselves to some comfort food and make tuna helper with frozen peas. I’m no longer in that situation but I’ve definitely let veg spoil in my fridge and felt a sting of panic before I realized I can just buy another bunch of celery and things are gonna be aight. To dino: you done good by a lot of goons I think who probably never said anything, me included. Thank you.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2022 15:51
|
|
|
Honestly, it's been a ride since I joined all those years ago. I've met a bunch of cooking goons in person. I've flown out to their homes, and hung out with them. I've been there for weddings, divorces, deaths in the family. You are all my family (that I chose), and I love you guys.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 12:57
|
|
|
Frugal Gourmet as a kid (pity about the dude himself) -> How to Boil Water as a teen -> Alton Brown as a late teen/adult.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 13:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 7, 2024 10:51 |
|
|
Test Pattern posted:Frugal Gourmet as a kid (pity about the dude himself) -> How to Boil Water as a teen -> Alton Brown as a late teen/adult. I THOUGHT I WAS MAKING THAT SHOW UP. I loved How to Boil Water, and that guy host with the swoopy hair. They hit up the basics, while still being entertaining. I also loved that Cooking Live (?) with Sara Moulton. She had a ton of good ideas on the show. Same with that lady Michelle Urvater. That David Rosengarten had a bit of smug doucheyness to him in Taste, but overall good info anyway.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 13:10
|
|