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The last cookie. (One Crafty Mother)
Three things I learned from religiously reading food labels. (Attune Foods)
Think you can't eat local, organic and sustainable for less than McDonald's? Think again. (Food on the Food, via Grow. Cook. Eat.) Related: Finally, a food pundit realizes junk food is not cheaper. (New York Times)
Is canning really worth it? Only if you have a low-cost source of fruits and veggies. (The Simple Dollar)
Recipe Links:
An incredible Tuscan White Bean Soup, straight out of Emeril's latest cookbook!
(Cooking with Books)Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry, and an clear explanation that canning really IS worth it. (Addicted to Canning)
Delicious, easy and seasonal: Homemade Apple Chips. (Cupcake Project)
Off-Topic Links:
The four best pieces of artistic advice I've ever seen--in one PDF file. (Keri Smith, via A Life of Spice)
The two iron laws of modernity are: 1) things are getting better, and 2) people think they’re getting worse. (Open Market)
The six killer apps of prosperity--and how the West is deleting their own apps. (TED Talks, via The Simple Dollar)
Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!
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5 comments:
Just a gentle comment re: eating local. While the food posted at the link looked delicious, in this economy not everyone can budget $5/person per meal. For perspective, on the rare chances my husband and I eat at McDonald's we order four things from the Dollar Menu and share them: two cheeseburgers, a small fry, and a large unsweetened iced tea. That's $2/person per meal. And that's what we strive for with home-cooked meals, if not less.
Great point Kimberly. And hey, here at CK there are dozens, if not dozens of dozens, of recipes that work out to $1.00 per person or less.
DK
PS: No need to be too gentle! CK is a safe place for debate from all sides. :)
Also, I'd like to make one other point for the benefit of newer readers here at CK. I'd like to focus on the hypothetical person Kimberly cites who can't afford $5 per person per meal, and I'd like to unpack some of the potential implications of that person. (Forgive the next 30 seconds while I stand on my mini-soapbox!)
First, it's always going to be true that certain articles or facts or tips won't work for some people. And it will always be true that some people will be disadvantaged to the point where they can't use certain tips or advice.
However, I want my readers to be careful to not use this "hypothetical person" as a reason for not taking action themselves. That hypothetical person is not you.
I'm not saying Kimberly is doing this--in fact she's doing exactly what I love to see, by showing what she strives for at home in her own kitchen. That's a great example of taking action. Thus I'm not directing this comment at Kimberly, but for the benefit of other readers.
Finally, for those readers who'd like to explore these ideas further, I address this subject in a lot more depth in this post and in this post.
DK
I get the point about sometimes being able to eat cheaply at fast food restaurants, but, like is often mentioned here, good, home-made food does not have to be expensive.
Unless I am eating a treat, like steak, I come no where close to $5 per person per meal.
Example, this week: I roasted a chicken ($5 on sale, a local, sustainably-raised one would be about double that) and made mashed potatoes with onions (both from the garden) along with the last of the green beans from the garden. Four meals, for the cost of the chicken.
Since I spatchcocked the chicken, I simmered the backbone and innards in a bit of water, then used this to deglaze the roasting pan. This all went, along with the chicken left-overs, into the stock pot. The stock and meat, along with some frozen veggies (bought on sale) and pasta (bought on sale) made about 6 servings of chicken noodle soup, all for the cost of the pasta and veggies.
Chicken: $5 ($10 for a local one)
Pasta: $0.50 (about half a bag, bought for $0.99)
Frozen veggies: $0.30 (about 1/3 of a bag bought for $0.99)
Potatoes, green beans and onions, if I had to buy them, would be less than $5 total.
Cost of spices and seasoning, negligible.
So, 10 servings for less than $6 ($16 at the most expensive).
Between $0.60 and $1.60 per meal, for excellent food.
I cannot eat out anywhere for $0.60, and probably not even for $1.60.
P.S. This is the first time I spatchcocked a chicken - highly recommended!! It cooks much quicker, and the breast meat stays moister!
K, thank you for an excellent comment. Thanks for sharing.
DK
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