Starr Lara - The frugal foodie cookbook: waste-not recipes for the wise cook

This is the perfect book for the times. Actually, its perfect for any time! Cook up any of these delicious low-cost recipes, and you can put the extra money toward something else. If you love saving money and you love food, youll love the The Frugal Foodie Cookbook. These recipes do not skimp on flavor!

Nina Lesowitz, author of

Living Life as a Thank You and The Party Girl Cookbook

During a difficult economy, nothing could be better paired with good food than simple wisdom and humor. Lara Starr and Lynette Shirk serve it all up with a generosity of spirit that will keep a smile on your face and extra change in your pocketbook.

Jennifer Sauer,

author of The Way to Tea

Delicious fun! With kitchen goddess savvy and Betty Crocker smarts, Lara Starr and Lynette Shirk have concocted a gem of a cookbook that is both entertaining and practical. It is simple yet resplendent with excellent recipes. The perfect gift for any foodie, this will be a staple in kitchens for years to come.

Margie Lapanja, author of

Romancing the Stove, Food That Rocks and Food Men Love

{Waste-Not Recipes for the Wise Cook}

{Waste-Not Recipes for the Wise Cook}

BY LARA STARR WITH LYNETTE SHIRK

To my grandmother Naomi Spector and my great-grandmother
Esna Fishman, who taught me to be tight with my money
and open with my heart.

LARA STARR

Im not a food snob, but I am a gourmet at heart. From humble street food to white-tablecloth dining to home cooking, I love good food. What Im not hung up on is pretension. Im equally content to savor an organic stone-fruit compote gateau as I am to gobble a peach cobbler. I appreciate a wedge of ripe triple-cream St. Andr as much as the next gourmet, but yes, I occasionally enjoy (gasp!) Cheez Whiz. I grew up eating my great-grandmothers hand-stretched strudel and my moms homemade clairs along with Space Food Sticks and Tang, so lets just say my palate has range. This book is about keeping both our comfort-food-seeking souls and our sophisticated palates happy on a paupers pocketbook. Assembled here are recipes, tricks, tips, and anecdotes from frugalistas past and present. Vintage wisdom combined with modern sophistication will help you strike a balance between the gourmet in your heart and the miser in your head.

Being frugal is about getting the most value from your food. It doesnt mean using absolutely the least expensive ingredients. You could probably pare your food budget down to pennies if you lived on potatoes and ramen noodlesbut would you call that living? Making smart choices about how, when, and where you spend your money will fill your pantry and menus with delicious options. Splurge on a little balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil for salad dressings, and a few shallots and humble ingredients will come alive with flavor. Cooking at home is also a frugal alternative to going out. Of course youll spend a lot less than if youd gone to a restaurant, but cooking is its own pleasure and entertainment. After two hours in a movie theater, what have you got? Up to 100 fewer dollars in your pocket (movie tix, popcorn, parking, babysitter, it all adds up) and the pleasure of sitting next to a screaming baby or amorous teens. Spend that same two hours at home and teach yourself a new culinary trick, or try a new recipe. Youll have more money in your pocket and a delicious treatits winwin! Once you start getting into the frugal mind-set, its hard to stop looking for ways to stretch your dollar and find value. I recently tossed a bunch of pine boughs (freshly collected after a windstormI call it Seattle roadkill) in the back of my hatchback to serve as car air freshener. It lasted longer than one of those rearviewmirror danglers, smelled way better, and it was free!

Ive been fortunate to work in some of the best kitchens in the world, Chez Panisse, Masas, and as a cook and recipe tester for Chuck Williams at Williams-Sonoma. With each experience, I saw examples of foodie frugality in action. Alice Waters elevated humble vegetables to haute heights by taking celery root, rhubarb, potatoes, and the like, and preparing them with attention and care. Suddenly, a yam could reveal flavors of great delicacy. Fennel, often considered a weed, could touch the palate with striking originality. She and many other great kitchen queens and kings now have their own veggie gardens, as well as a cadre of micro farms to supply them with the very best and freshest produce. You dont have to have a deep green thumb to grow a few of your own ingredients. Its surprisingly easy and soulsatisfying to assemble a dish using food youve grown yourself. A few hours of work and just a little bit of planning can save money, provide big flavor, and bring immense amounts of joy to your table. Start a micro garden in your front yard and you can grab the makings for a mixed green salad and dig up a few purple potatoes as you walk in the door from work.

Even if you replace just a few restaurant meals with homemade, make one loaf of bread or one batch of homemade oatmeal a week, or grow one or two veggies and herbs, youre a Frugal Foodie. Youll eat better, save money, and have more fun in the kitchen than ever. I hope youll share your own tips and ideas, or photos and experiences of recipes youve made from this book. Lets create a Frugal Foodie community, and all feast from the table.

Bon apptit!

Lynette Shirk

Copyright 2009 by Lara Starr and Lynette Shirk

All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, television, or online reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by Viva Editions, an imprint of Cleis Press Inc.,
P.O. Box 14697, San Francisco, California 94114.

Printed in Canada.
Cover design: Scott Idleman
Cover photograph: Getty Images
Text design: Frank Wiedemann
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Starr, Lara Morris.

The frugal foodie cookbook : waste-not recipes for the wise cook / by Lara Starr with Lynette Shirk. -- 1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-57344-363-0 (trade paper : alk. paper)

1. Low budget cookery. I. Starr, Lara Morris. II. Shirk, Lynette Rohrer. III. Title.

TX652.S664 2009s
641.552--dc22

2009024435

Your mama was right. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

A healthy and hearty breakfast will make you more alert and productive (increasing your opportunities for raises and promotions, ka-ching!), fill you up so youll be less likely to spend money on midday snacks, and if done right can be a yummy pleasure and calming morning meditation rather than a rushed chore.

All happiness depends upon a leisurely breakfast.
John Gunther

Rather go to bed supperless, than run in debt for a Breakfast.

Benjamin Franklin