The Cheap Bastid Way--My "Philosophy" on Food and Cooking

I have Open Salon to thank for Cheap Bastid. Shortly after joining the site I discovered this thing called “Foodie Tuesday”. So I posted a couple of recipes. Now, my recipes aren’t fancy. They are neither as complex nor elegant nor photogenic as many of the “Foodie Tuesday” posts. But I liked them. I think my first one was titled “They Call Me Mr. Gravy”.

At the time I was unemployed and we were living out of our meager savings. So, frugality was a necessity. My wife and I shared some laughs over this. We’d see recipes by “foodies” and talk about how it wasn’t really something that someone on a limited budget could or would do. My own cooking was changing to reflect our more modest lifestyle. And as it changed Carolyn would tease me for being such a “Cheap Bastid”—of course oftentimes the teasing would come while eating something delicious, but inexpensive.

My first “inspiration” was from “Sam the Cooking Guy”, Sam Zien here in San Diego. He would take limited ordinary ingredients and make quick and tasty dishes. But I had 2 differences with Sam—one, he would use too many “convenience” ingredients such as pre-cooked bacon that raised the cost of the meal and two, he became all about his “quirky” personality and less about the food.

So with her encouragement, I started to think and write as the “Cheap Bastid”. And what I discovered that it was fun to adapt dishes for absolute frugality. It was fun to resurrect some of the meals from my childhood and from when I was cooking for my kids every evening and show how they could be used to stretch a dollar into gossamer threads of taffy.

Here’s a few rules or “philosophical” tidbits that I follow as the “Cheap Bastid”:

• It’s a lot cheaper to cook and eat at home than to go out, drive thru or get carry-out.

• It’s a lot healthier to cook and eat at home than to go out, drive thru or get carry-out.

• Eating at home is all about the food AND all about family

• 15 minutes of planning before shopping will save you a lot of money. Make a list. Stick to it.

• Buy fresh produce and use it!

• When stuff is on sale—stock up!

• Buy your meat in quantity and then “break it down” into smaller packages for the freezer.

• Use your slow cooker and your grill. Make a big enough roast for a couple of different meals—not just reheated dried-out left-overs.

• Have a pantry well stocked with “staples” and a spice cupboard well stocked with spices.

• Don’t buy pre-mixed spice blends. They’re too pricey and have way too much salt.

• Get creative. Research various recipes and come up with your own versions.

• Teach yourself to do some baking. Cake mixes are cheap but pre-made pie crust and filling is expensive. Homemade bisquits are cheap and good.

• Prep first, then cook. Always! That’s what Tom Colicchio calls “mis en place”.

• A corollary to prep first, then cook is—clean as you go! Don’t turn the kitchen into a disaster area.

• Food is for eating not for looking at so you don’t have to make it “foo-foo” pretty. “Foo-foo” foodie food isn’t supposed to go up onto the side of the plate. Cheap Bastid food does.

• Be like “Gunny Highway”—Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

• Being frugal—a Cheap Bastid—becomes addictive and fun! Or is that obsessive? I’m not sure.

• And, last but not least—don’t forget the most important ingredient of all—a little pinch of love.

That’s it. This can help you save money and enjoy cooking as much as you enjoy eating. Now, some of you will be able to be like “the Neeley’s” and make cooking together a seductive, sensuous adventure. Carolyn and I have a hard time sharing the kitchen together—we’re both too territorial. We’ll pitch-in if the other needs an extra hand for something but then we kind of back out and cede the territory back to the one in the kitchen. It keeps the peace.

And of course there’s one last thing to say:

That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful.