2008FEB282149
Ask YC: What do bootstrappers eat for dinner?
"... want to know, what do you guys eat for dinner?! How do you buy food when you have no income? When I was an earning man, I managed to get by with meals at the office, lean cuisines, and hummus. Now that I'm on my own I have to figure out everything for myself ..."
Food is somewhat like hacking. You have to have access to the raw ingredients, the right recipes & kit. Most important is practice. One of the things I've noticed that differs from hacking is cooking is very time sensitive. Timing is everything.
So here's a couple of hints:
- REFERENCE: find a good food reference ~ www.jamieoliver.com Jamie Oliver may not be to everyone's taste but he covers a good variety of tastes and communicates well.
- BUDGET: set a budget, stick to it.
- LISTS: create a shop list, don't deviate: fruit, vegetables, meat, rice, pasta, bread, nuts, oils then cheese should be at the top list.
- PURCHASING: shop at markets and look for fruit/veg in season, shop at supermarkets also but be aware of specials. Limit purchases of non-essentials and learn to spot in-season consumables. For meats & fish wait till the later part of the day when the prices go down.
- MEAT CUTS: learn how to make do with cheap meat cuts (but be inventive). In the restaurant trade the difference b/w mediocre and great chefs is the ability to make something good out of cheap meat cuts. Do the same.
- BREADS: make your own bread (flour + water + yeast + oil) Unless of course you can find a cheap baker. My baker bakes bread 30% under supermarket price ~ flickr.com/photos/bootload/543460411/ then flickr.com/photos/bootload/1005146072/
- NO WASTE: don't overcook, portion out servings to avoid waste
The most important thing is to get as close to raw ingredients as possible. Then cook yourself. Cook when you need, don't freeze. If you go for processed stuff you are going to pay. The pay-off is better food, cheaper food ~ flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157600195801193/
Peasants always eat better. They just have to work harder at it :)
next >>>
2008FEB282149
Ask YC: What do bootstrappers eat for dinner?
"... want to know, what do you guys eat for dinner?! How do you buy food when you have no income? When I was an earning man, I managed to get by with meals at the office, lean cuisines, and hummus. Now that I'm on my own I have to figure out everything for myself ..."
Food is somewhat like hacking. You have to have access to the raw ingredients, the right recipes & kit. Most important is practice. One of the things I've noticed that differs from hacking is cooking is very time sensitive. Timing is everything.
So here's a couple of hints:
- REFERENCE: find a good food reference ~ www.jamieoliver.com Jamie Oliver may not be to everyone's taste but he covers a good variety of tastes and communicates well.
- BUDGET: set a budget, stick to it.
- LISTS: create a shop list, don't deviate: fruit, vegetables, meat, rice, pasta, bread, nuts, oils then cheese should be at the top list.
- PURCHASING: shop at markets and look for fruit/veg in season, shop at supermarkets also but be aware of specials. Limit purchases of non-essentials and learn to spot in-season consumables. For meats & fish wait till the later part of the day when the prices go down.
- MEAT CUTS: learn how to make do with cheap meat cuts (but be inventive). In the restaurant trade the difference b/w mediocre and great chefs is the ability to make something good out of cheap meat cuts. Do the same.
- BREADS: make your own bread (flour + water + yeast + oil) Unless of course you can find a cheap baker. My baker bakes bread 30% under supermarket price ~ flickr.com/photos/bootload/543460411/ then flickr.com/photos/bootload/1005146072/
- NO WASTE: don't overcook, portion out servings to avoid waste
The most important thing is to get as close to raw ingredients as possible. Then cook yourself. Cook when you need, don't freeze. If you go for processed stuff you are going to pay. The pay-off is better food, cheaper food ~ flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157600195801193/
Peasants always eat better. They just have to work harder at it :)
next >>>