Bachelor Cooking

Food is important to budget for because it’s exceptionally easy to overspend on it. Worst of all is snacks for grazing, which are usually 100x more expensive than their raw ingredients and are gone in just a couple days; this is a problem that I’m still experimenting with solutions. Regardless, to be able to retain home cooking’s cheapness, you have to know where to optimize your spending.

The system I have set up currently is a kind of self-correcting trial and estimation. Basically, in an excel sheet, list out the ingredients you buy regularly, their price, how often you need to refill them, and when you last had to buy them. Then, use the excel math functions to calculate the cost per day per item and the total cost per month. This can be expanded a bit as per your own imagination.

For reference, here’s my budget sheet. Feel free to steal anything you want, just remember that the prices are approximate and might be different in your area, so update them based on what you receipts say.

Further, there’s shopping habits. Obviously, you’ll want to go for the cheapest $/unit pricing - Walmart usually has these on the price labels themselves. Don’t forget though that there is a need to optimize how much you actually need something vs its full price. You could buy a $10 8 lb bottle of cooking oil, which will have a cheaper $/unit, but you’ll end up spending much more up front for something you won’t finish using for years. It’s better to buy a $2 bottle of oil that’ll last you a few months, especially if space is tight.

Unfortunately, this one was a real stinker. I won’t bother with the recipe, but basically I mashed together two different recipes and didn’t notice that I’d accidentally doubled the sodium content. I also substituted honey for sugar, but I think that was a mistake - probably needed less sugar, at least. The sauce’s base was sriracha, but honestly it didn’t taste as good as I hoped, so next time I’m going to try to make a more traditional buffalo sauce.

Since I couldn’t finish even half of this, I think I’m going to wash these off and use the rest to make some kind of chicken dish and then a broth from the bones.

Meat is one of the most expensive raw ingredients you’ll buy regularly. Most raw meats are even a health hazard, requiring proper temperatures and cooking soon after buying unless frozen. And what’s more, you don’t need it.

I doubt I’m the first to say, meat is delicious when cooked well. To many Americans, it’s a dietary staple as necessary as salt and pepper. This gives the impression that most vegetarian meals are bland or tasteless, little more than salads. But as seen from a nutrition standpoint, it can be easily avoided and some people claim it’s even healthier to be vegetarian.

Now, I’m not going to preach at you to give up meat because that’s stupid. Meat is delicious, basically an instant flavor enhancer, but it’s one that sets your wallet on fire. I absolutely won’t even suggest you go full vegetarian because frankly, you’d be giving up more than I’d consider worthwhile. Rather, meat should be treated as a seasoning, something you sprinkle into otherwise vegetarian meals to make them tastier. Or in the rarer case, something you splurge on. Now, suddenly that huge investment of meat is broken down into basically the same cost-benefit analysis as herbs and spices; big up-front payments which will last for ages.

The best example for this can be found in my post about rendering bacon. A ton of up-front work that can be used for months or even years afterwards to great effect. But even with that, not all meals need meat. Mashed potatoes, vegetable soups, macaroni and cheese, cereal, eggs, spaghetti, etc are all great examples of delicious meals which don’t need meat to work well. If you put your mind to it, just about any meal can be made to have a meatless equivalent, and many more can be thought up without needing conversion. I’ll post plenty of vegetarian meals here for inspiration too.

This is curry, specifically veggie korma... I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think I can even provide a recipe for this. There was just so much improvisation that accurate measurements and reproduction are nearly impossible. So, I’ll just list the ingredients and general technique of how to get something resembling it.

It does take a ton of work, since you basically have to hover over it an hour and adjust its taste, but the result is incredible and I’m certain will last me months because of the rice base. The above picture was a whole bowl of rice with a couple small scoops out of a pan with 12 or more scoops, and it’s very filling because of it. I’d consider half of that to be a meal.

Core Ingredients

Tomato paste/sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)

Milk/cream/sour cream/yogurt

Savory veggies

Lentils/beans

Potatoes

Peas

Carrots

Cabbage

Garlic

Onion

Ginger

Seasonings

Curry spice

Mine was a blend of coriander, fenugreek, tumeric, red pepper, and onion powder

Cumin

Garlic powder

Red pepper

Salt

Technique

Precook any of the veggies you need with plenty of oil in a large pan.

Dump in your tomato sauce and lightly season.

Reduce this for an hour, stirring frequently and periodically tasting to re-season.

When it reaches a point that’s thicker than your desired consistency, add a splash of milk/cream and reduce for another 10-20 minutes.

Serve piping hot over a bowl of rice. Eat with chopsticks ;^)

This one’s way harder than I’d expect anyone else to care about, but there’s really something magical about making your own bread. Not only is it loads cheaper (or more), it tastes better and is fully customizable! I messed this one up a bit because the dough was just a touch too dry, I didn’t coat it in oil before it rose so it dried out even more, and I used a weird method of shaping, but the result was way better than I expected. This one was a no-brainer for the cookpad.

Ingredients

2 tsp yeast

1.5 T sugar

1.25~ cups warm water

Cool enough that you can keep your finger in it indefinitely

3.5 cups flour

1.5 tsp salt

Any toppings or additives

Recipe

Mix 1/2 cup water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl and let proof for 5 minutes.

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, make a well, and pour the yeast mix and 1/3 of the water into it. You may need to add more - the dough should be moist and firm.

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic

Brush a bowl with oil, coat the dough, and cover with a damp towel. Let rise for an hour.

Punch the dough down, then let rest another 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into balls, then press a finger into each to form a ring. Stretch them to 1/3 the size of the final bagel and place on a baking sheet.

Let rest for 10 minutes.

Lower the bagels into a pot of boiling water and cook each side for about a minute - try not to overcrowd the pot as they should expand somewhat.

Add any toppings, then bake for 20 minutes at 450° F.

Toppings can be made to stick by applying an egg wash, though this doesn’t appear to be absolutely crucial. This’ll also help the color.

This one’s another family tradition: ham and potato soup, just like mum and dad used to make! This one’s a little bit trickier than normal because you have to make a roux, but as long as you’re careful, you can get it with no problems.

Ingredients

3 cups water

2 cups milk

3/4 cup ham

2 large potatoes

5 T butter (or oil)

5 T flour

1 bouillon cube

Salt and pepper

Extras

Celery

Carrots

Onions

Mushrooms

Cabbage

Garlic

Cheddar

Recipe

Put all your veggies and ham in the water, bring to a boil, and let boil for 15 minutes.

Towards the end of the above, melt the butter/oil in a pan and whisk in the flour (a fork will do). Stir this for a minute or two until it thickens, then slowly add the milk while vigorously whisking it.

Add the bouillon cube and roux-milk mix to the pot and let heat through - if you wanted cheese, now’s the time to add it.

Season to taste and serve scalding hot. If you want it thicker, either cook it longer or add instant mashed potatoes.

This here is braised cabbage with garlic, onions, and mushrooms. I haven’t made a post about it yet, but cabbage is probably one of the best vegetables you can have in your fridge. More on that tomorrow. Anyway, this dish is unbelievably delicious and works great as a side to just about any meal, or even a meal in itself.

Ingredients

Cabbage

A quarter to half head produces enough for a few meals

Oil (esp. butter or bacon fat)

About enough to thinly coat the pan

Salt and pepper

Optional

Savory vegetables

Whole onion

3 cloves garlic

4 mushrooms

Bacon (however much you’d like)

Recipe

If you need to, make your bacon and keep the residual fat in the pan.

Cook any extra vegetables on medium heat until tender (5-6 minutes).

Add in the chopped cabbage and cook until it starts to wilt (5-6 minutes).

Keep in mind that it’ll lose about 4x its volume. Be generous, this is braised cabbage after all!

Turn down to medium-low and cook while covered until the cabbage is tender, stirring every 5 minutes or so (45 minutes to an hour).

That’s it! It takes a bit of time, but it’s mostly 15 minutes of prep and then lazily stirring every few minutes until it’s done. I was able to comfortably work on my computer while this was cooking.

Never forget that grilled cheese is a good meal-type foodstuff that can be made with nearly no effort, even when depressed. If you use a flavorful oil (e.g. butter) you don’t even need spices. I either needed more bacon fat or it isn’t flavorful enough as this needed the Rooster. Adding a couple slices of ham or some other precooked item can instantly upgrade it.

Cooking is intimidating to the uninitiated. It’s an esoteric magic, converting raw ingredients to something not just edible, but fucking delicious. It literally fuels you, creates you even, and yet to many bachelor(ettes), it’s something so far beyond their skill level that all they can do is marvel at the wizards who can. But...

Cooking is easy to anyone who makes a serious effort to try. Initially, it’s quite literally following instructions. In more advanced stages there’s making calls yourself, but this is something which comes from the experience of fucking up enough. As with any skill, you see those who are at the end most prominently and lament how you’ll never get there, but the point is that they had to learn to do it in the first place.

Cooking is an investment, but it’s one of the best investments you’ll make. Making things at home is almost invariably cheaper than buying them, sometimes by orders of magnitude. What’s more, barring fancy restaurants, it’s almost always better than store bought because it’s fresh and uses real ingredients. And at the end, when you’re eating the fruits of your labor, the so-called IKEA effect fills you with pride that you fucking made this and it tastes all the better.

Today’s recipe is a personal pizza! This is basically a pizza shrunk down to a size that’s comfortable to eat without leftovers. My family’s had an old tradition of making these every Friday/Saturday to celebrate the weekend, usually with a movie. Now, I use it as a weekly splurge.

Whenever I talk to my internet friends about this, the most common answer I’ve gotten is “that sounds like a ton of work!” Well, I’ll be the bearer of good news and tell you pizza is one of the easiest, most rewarding recipes I know. It’s basically mixing and waiting, so all you need is patience!

Ingredients

1/4 cup warm water (10 seconds in the microwave)

You should be able to hold you finger in it indefinitely

1 tsp yeast [$5.22 / 4 oz : $0.13]

1 tsp honey or sugar [$2 / 8 oz : $0.06]

1/8 tsp salt [$0.54 / 26 oz : $0]

1 1/2 tsp oil (olive oil is best) [$6.68 / 24.5 oz : $0.07]

3/4 cup flour [$1.72 / 5 lbs : $0.08]

Spices

Garlic powder [$3]

Pepper [$2]

Italian seasonings (thyme, oregano, basil, etc) [$1 for a blend]

Preheat the oven to 450° F (I do this around step 4)

Mix the water, yeast, and honey/sugar and let rest no more than 10 minutes. At the end, there should be a bit of sludge on the top and mixing it should make a slight fizzing sound. This is called “proofing”, and it lets the yeast “wake up”.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix them together. Consider adding garlic powder and Italian seasonings to improve the dough’s taste. When it gets mostly mixed, use your hands to finish the job.

If the dough sticks to your hands and stays there, add flour to the dough a pinch at a time.

If the dough looks kind of clumped and doesn’t feel sticky to the touch, wet the tips of your fingers and work that moisture into the dough.

Mold the dough into a ball, cover it, and let it rest in a warm place until it’s roughly doubled in size (about an hour)

On a surface covered in flour, pat the dough flat and roughly circular, flipping occasionally. The dough should resist being stretched, just keep at it.

To minimize cleanup, try dampening your hand, wiping it on the counter, and putting cling wrap on top.

On some baking sheet or pizza pan, sprinkle course cornmeal/breadcrumbs or drizzle oil and put your pizza dough on it.

Decorate your pizza - you know what you want! Just about anything can be used as a pizza topping, so be creative.

Spaghetti sauce can be a really good pizza sauce substitute. If you’re up for a little more work, try heating your sauce on low with some garlic powder and oregano, stirring occasionally, while you make the pizza dough. This gives it a heavier/more savory taste than the brighter/citrusy spaghetti sauce.

Cook for 6-8 minutes, possibly longer. You want the cheese totally melted and ideally a touch of browning.

Let it rest for 3-5 minutes before cutting.

Total cost: $0.34 + cost of sauce, cheese, and toppings

For our first recipe, chocolate chip cookies! I actually burned these because dummy here forgot to set a timer and wasn’t paying attention to time. But don’t worry, that color is actually the cocoa powder I added! Despite baking for 9 extra minutes, these came out tasting fine, just with a crunchier texture not unlike biscotti. If that’s what you like, try turning down the heat to 350 or 325 and bake them for 15-20 minutes.

1 cup flour [$1.72 / 5 lbs : $0.10]

1/2 tsp baking soda (or 1 tsp baking powder) [$0.56 / 1 lb : $0]

1/2 tsp salt [$0.54 / 26 oz : $0]

5 T butter (about 2/3 of a stick) [$2~ / 4 sticks : $0.94]

1/3 cup sugar [$1.48 / 20 oz : $0.17]

1/2 cup brown sugar (or regular if you don’t have any) [$2 / 20 oz : $0.23]

1 egg [$2.50 / 18 : $0.14]

1/2 tsp vanilla [$2 / 2 oz : $0.08]

1 2/3 cup chocolate chips [$2.58 / 12 oz : $2.15]

I cut up half a hershey bar for this, but the result was too few chips that were too big. It’ll work decently if you don’t have chocolate chips, but you might want to use a food chopper instead of a knife.

(optional) 1/4 cup cocoa powder [$5.78 / 1 lb : $0.41ish]

Preheat your oven to 375° F (or do this later, there might be waiting)

Mix together the dry ingredients (sifting with a fork or whisk)

Add the wet ingredients on top and mix with a spoon or fork

When they get to a decent level of mixing, go ahead and mix it with your hands - the dough shouldn’t be overly sticky at this point

Roll the dough into a large ball, wrap in cling wrap, and toss in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to firm up. This is especially important if you used melted butter, as the butter melting in the dough is what causes them to flatten out. Without this, they’ll be very big and paper thin.

Break off pieces from the dough ball, roll them into smaller balls, and place them in an aesthetically pleasing arrangement on a baking sheet.

Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes (and keep track of time!)

Total cost: $1.66 - $4.22

Cost per cookie: $0.12 - $0.30