Looking or a frugal cookbook

[stretchmark]

I have been searching on amazon for frugal cookbooks. I have come across miserly moms, more-for-less cookbook, etc. I want one that considders cost and taste. Any suggestions?

[TigerTail]

er, the frugal gourmet?

suse

[Katie Bugs Mama]

The More-with-Less cookbook is wonderful! You might also want to consider hitting yard sales and used bookstores to look for cookbooks from the 1920's-1940's. Back then, people used everything because they had to, and they learned how to make a lot of tasty dishes by using items and/or combinations of items that we would never consider these days.

Oh, and I wouldn't bother with the Frugal Gourmet. IMNSHO, he's neither (but I'm a cookbook snob.)

[Brisen]

I want to second the More With Less cookbook -- I it! Some info is outdated -- I think I have an older edition (it is spiral bound), but still it's great overall.

And ditto again on yard sales and thrift shops for cookbooks. That's how I find the neatest cookbooks.

[Katie Bugs Mama]

Mine is spiral bound too. I think that my mom bought it in the early to mid 70's. I didn't even know that there was a new edition. Sounds like a trip to the library is in order.

Signed,
Your friendly neighborhood cookbook addict :

[TigerTail]

'the frugal gourmet' series were groundbreaking books- just what kind of cookbook snob are you? how many people were introduced to things like making yogurt cheese, biafran food, etc, from the shows & books? shun him personally if you want because of the controversy (did he? didn't he? don't know), but the body of work was excellent.

if frugal means not creating waste, & honoring your food (and not things like 'make hot chocolate from dried milk & water! yum! here's some instant biscuit mix made from hydrogenated tallow!'), he was frugal. and the food tastes good.

(i AM a snob, lol- the only thing emeril lagasse has impressed me with is putting 'big al & the heavyweights' on his mardi gras show. and i am with anthony bourdain on bobby flay- shudder. the whiner- y'all see that iron chef?)

suse

[Katie Bugs Mama]

What kind of cookbook snob am I? The kind who leans towards old classics, like Fannie Farmer, the Joy of Cooking, and anything by Julia Child and James Beard. When I want frugal recipes and/or a frugal approach to food consumption, I turn to the More With Less cookbook and my collection of pre-WWII cookbooks.

And for the record, my dislike (or more accurately, distrust) of the Frugal Gourmet's recipes stems from the fact that the two times that I have made recipes from his cookbooks, the results were yucky. And I'm a good cook. And I followed the recipes exactly. Of course, this was almost 15 years ago, so maybe I will flip through one of his books (I own four) and give him another chance.

I'm not sure where your rant about Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse came from. Who recommended them as examples of frugal cooking? No one in this thread.

[TigerTail]

no, they were qualifiers of my foodie snobdom. sorry, i thought that was obvious in context (i guess not.)

what recipes did you try, just out of curiosity? i've had good luck (actually, reading the cookbook reviews in 'cook's illustrated', i am amazed at the lousy results many high-falutin' cookbooks have given to their testers... this is a common complaint, i don't doubt it wasn't you. but my results with jeff smith have been pretty good, over all.)

i have a few pre-ww (both) cookbooks, too. all that gourmet canned food! all those receipts for floor polish & boiled dressing! i am a collecter in a small way, & get the appeal, but mostly for camp.

btw, i think making stock with your bones is one of the most frugal things you can do- we just had the best soup, with the stock from grilled chicken breasts, red pepper strips, garlic, cilantro, green beans, black beans, yellow tomatoes, and... emeril habanero sausage (it was marked down three bucks a pkg.) lol, it's just the stupid show i'm a snob about (or the cookbooks; cook's gave them terrible reviews), the sausage was delicious.

suse

[Katie Bugs Mama]

Originally Posted by suseyblue

what recipes did you try, just out of curiosity? i've had good luck (actually, reading the cookbook reviews in 'cook's illustrated', i am amazed at the lousy results many high-falutin' cookbooks have given to their testers... this is a common complaint, i don't doubt it wasn't you. but my results with jeff smith have been pretty good, over all.)

I can't remember the exact recipes--it's been a long time. I do remember that they were both from the cookbook about early American cooking.

i have a few pre-ww (both) cookbooks, too. all that gourmet canned food! all those receipts for floor polish & boiled dressing! i am a collecter in a small way, & get the appeal, but mostly for camp.

I LOOOOOVE campy cookbooks. My all-time favorite belonged to my grandmother and was all about "company" food, circa 1955. It's a hoot. The old cookbooks that I actually use for inspiration are generally PA Dutch and Mennonite cookbooks written to preserve the old way of cooking that the authors felt was being lost. These women were very frugal because they had to be.

Of course, the down-side of these books is that many of the recipes are not especially healthy by today's standards unless you modify them. That suits me just fine though because I tend to use recipes as a starting point rather than as hard-and-fast instructions. For anyone who likes to follow a recipe more closely, the More With Less cookbook (which was also written by Mennonites BTW) is probably the best bet.

YMMV, of course.

[root*children]

Originally Posted by Katie Bugs Mama

The old cookbooks that I actually use for inspiration are generally PA Dutch and Mennonite cookbooks written to preserve the old way of cooking that the authors felt was being lost. These women were very frugal because they had to be.

ooh, I want to find some of those. I get all our cookbooks from yardsales/thrift, too. If you're veg, the Farm cookbook is a good frugal book, as are most Whole Foods books, IMHO, because I find it basically cheaper to buy in bulk and cook whole foods than mess with all that gourmet shiest!

[Meiri]

The thing about the Frug is that he puts the food into the context of the culture. Especially on the show. I miss that show. I'd never heard of Biafra, which no longer exists, until he mentioned the place.

And in a shameless plug for another cookbook

http://nursingmom.net/store/index.php

I have 3 recipes in this which can be as frugal as you choose to make them.

And what can be more frugal than using one's own milk?

[AvalonDaughter]

Saving Dinner by Leann Ely is great for taste!!!!!!!!!!

Also she is good with frugual and she gives you a grocery list!!!!!!!

[TigerTail]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0609...57#reader-page

<g>

the book will make you pee your pants; you will LOVE it.

suse