I still don’t understand why rabbit needs a special feed, when there are wild rabbits eating everything in my lawn/flower beds. Why can’t rabbits be pasture-raised?

I’m a bit late on this thread, but I wanted to mention that our local food pantry tells us that many of their recipients live in accommodation which does not include a proper kitchen; that’s the reason they can’t cook things like potatoes. All donations have to be things than can be eaten without cooking or simply heated in a microwave. So I don’t think we should be judging the food pantry customers until we know their home situation.

On another note, I’m glad to say my kids’ middle school has a compulsory “life skills” program which includes cooking and mending/sewing, and in high school will cover personal finance.

Also, in teaching my kids to cook, I notice that most kids cookbooks have recipes for what I consider “useless” food (i.e. cookies). Similarly in summer camp cooking classes - there seems to be an idea that kids can’t be trusted with knives or hot stoves I think. So in our weekend cooking lessons we do “real” food (i.e. the stuff you can sustain yourself on) like omelets, pasta, rice, learning how to chop onions, etc.

I was surprised you didn’t include eating up the left-overs (from home, not just restaurant). Since I started taking last-night’s dinner remnants to work for lunch, I have thrown away almost no cooked food, and saved about $25 per week in lunch costs.

I’ve been to some places with “tasting menus” that I’ve really enjoyed (but I haven’t tried any of the recent molecular gastronomy examples which just don’t appeal to me), and I am a big fan of tapas too. To me the key is that several different small plates can be a wonderful way to try lots of interesting things in one meal, but to really “taste” something, it has to be bigger than one bite. The first bite is just an introduction, then you try another and another, experiencing something more each time. I think my sweet spot is a meal of about 6 dishes being enough to fill me up comfortably.

Of course, yoga doesn’t need to cost anything; once you’ve done a few classes, you can just do it at home. At least that’s always my plan, funny how it’s much easier to remember to do it when you’ve paid for it...

Interestingly the breast is my least favorite part of the chicken. For casseroles, curries and stirfries I always prefer the tastier juicier thighs, and for grilling drumsticks and wings with their complete skin-cover are best. The only way I like chicken breast is when it is roasted, and then only to temperatures somewhat less than USDA recommendations, so that it’s still juicy. I’ve always found breast the most tasteless part of the chicken...

NE = North East US, sorry forgot to put the US!

Wish I lived in a climate where perennial herbs were perennial. Unfortunately here in NE, the only herb that comes back in my pots is mint. Rosemary survived one mild winter. But the others I have to replant every year....

I’m a gas fan, because I like being able to turn the heat down as soon as I want. My stove top has two high power burners, and two lower ones, so no problems getting enough heat. My problems are more than I burn things, but I think I did back when I had electric too. Electric ceramic top is definitely easier to clean! If someone could invent a burner that switches off the instant the water in the pan has boiled away I’d be happy!

One thing I’ve had success with is the “make your own pasta topping” night, when I have veggies on my penne and they get to chop up ham and grate cheese for theirs. But no luck whatsoever getting anyone else to eat beans/lentils etc. Completely “Meatless monday’s” would have everyone else cooking their own dinner (and they are all good at cooking what they like - my husband would happily do all the cooking so that he could have red meat every day).

I don’t have any food intolerances to cope with, but one very picky eater, and the other and her dad both solid meat eaters while I would very much like to cut down on meat. But cooking separate meals is too much for me. The picky eater sometimes gets hardly anything she likes to eat, other days I’ll cook her favorite (for everyone). For myself I’m experimenting with cooking up chickpeas/beans and only enough meat for the meat-eaters. But it’s still twice as much work....

While I agree that living off the contents of your lavishly stocked pantry is not living on a true budget, nonetheless it does prevent food going to waste. I think learning to not waste things is an important part of living frugally. We might buy something we only need a spoonful of for a particular recipe and then trying to find ways of using it up before it spoils can be a challenge. Anything that reduces the amount of food thrown away is a good idea.

Are flavor packs only used in orange juice made from concentrate, or also in “not from concentrate” juice?

According to wikipedia, kiwicha and amaranth are one and the same.....

Note Grace C, that “organic milk” probably doesn’t come from as idyllic a scenario as this. Several of the big organic milk producers use the same type of concentrated feeding operations as non-organic. “Organic” just means they were fed organically-grown grain, and not pumped up with hormones etc.

While I think that many people who are really in need of donated food (i.e. not the author) don’t have the equipment or skills to cook from scratch, I can see where this author is coming from. My daughter (age 10) would agree with you - when asked to contribute to her girl scouts “bake for the needy”, she declined to make packet-mix sugar cookies, and instead made wholewheat homemade parmesan focaccia. Her argument was that “if I was poor, I would still like good food”. For all I know the recipient might have thought - what’s this rubbish yuppie food, where are my cookies? The cost argument (buy twice as much for the same money) doesn’t necessarily work either - I find plain oats a lot cheaper than processed cereal. Now if it has to be organic, locally grown, etc that’s different. But if you buy ingredients for cooking, rather than ready made meals, you can get much more for your money. But our local food bank says specifically that all food must (a) be non-perishable (b) be edible without cooking, because many recipients live in kitchen-less accommodation. There’s hardly anything I eat myself which falls into both categories. So then I have to just guess what I would like if in a similar situation.

Cranberries, diluted with apples and plenty of sugar, make a great crumble/crisp too. And BTW my “best of british” cookbook does have oats in its “crumble” recipe.

Marmite (yeast extract) is a great vegan source of B vitamins (inc B12). Of course you have to be British to appreciate it!

Funny: I have the opposite problem with persuading my mother and mother-in-law on the virtues of local food. They don’t think it’s fancy enough. They want to make desserts with raspberries, arugula and tomato salad in January. They want to buy pears in June instead of local strawberries. To them, imported is fancy, local is boring.....

I love, love, love cranberries! I like to make a cranberry compote, and add it to ice-cream, or make it into pies, mix it with apples in a crisp, put it under creme brulee, or just eat as a side dish with meat. Such a great color! Such great taste. Keeps me going until rhubarb is ready (another great sour “fruit”).