Teaching a young cook

[Pontormo]

JMG: I hear you on running around town, especially with a young child, soon with two.

However, I do think you should read the very long, detailed thread on cutting down costs for groceries if you have not. It has good links to lots of relevant threads. Your friend might spend some time online here herself if she has help with child care, either at your house or the public library.

You seem to have a smaller range of options in Wichita and among most families who have lived there for generations, probably a more limited repertoire of foods bought and prepared than you'll find in coastal locations, large metropoli or certain college towns. Yet I can't help but notice that there are Latino and Asian grocers in addition to Dillon which I am guessing is the major supermarket chain. Many eG members find lower prices in these stores, useful when it comes to meat, poultry, fish, grains and produce should you find a good, nearby store whose line turns over frequently.

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Minor issue: Don't make Alfredo with bechamel. Ugh. (Lasagna without ricotta and mozzarella, yes.) Your new friend is probably thinking about the Alfredo made at Olive Garden or sold frozen, pre-made. You'll get that rich taste with domestic cheese (Grana Padana is less expensive than Parm-Reg, but not by much), but you'll need to use egg yolks and cream.

A half-pint of organic heavy cream here in the land of High Costs is $1.69. I buy a carton and use it for about 3-5 meals for myself. Free-range eggs: $1.89. Supermarket eggs: 99 cents a dozen. Butter: $2 a lb on sale. Parm-Reg: extremely expensive, so avoid.* Yet I spend about $8 every other month on it and compensate by rarely buying expensive cuts of meat.

I get a lot of quick, simple, inexpensive meals out of pasta served as a main dish instead of a first course, e.g. penne with sautéed broccoli rabe, garlic, red chili flakes, olive oil and P-R. That rabe could easily be broccoli crowns on sale for 99 cents a lb. or broccoli, regular price of $1.29 a lb. Half of a roasted butternut squash or oven-roasted carrots and red onions. No-knead bread. White beans (bought dried) with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil on the side for protein.** An apple, pear or cranberry crisp with oatmeal topping for filling dessert with a dollop of vanilla ice cream (on sale all winter long somewhere) or strained, plain yogurt.

I'm with Mottmott and everyone else on empty-calorie drinks. Cheerios can be a real bargain on sale with coupons, but oatmeal on sale can be $2 for 3 lbs. or even less scooped in bulk store or Super Sam's perhaps. A bowl of cream of wheat requires 1/4 cup per serving vs. 1/2 c for oatmeal. Make your own soup instead of buying cans that seem cheap. Lentil or split pea soups made with water vs. broth cost hardly anything, supply lots of protein and are so much better.

Bags of potato chips, infrequent treat vs. regular purchase. Popcorn kernels and canola oil on sale vs. individual microwave bags with fake butter powder. Change diet gradually.

*Some staples cost a lot to buy and replenish. However, switching from lots of butter to a decent olive oil (not light) if a bargain anywhere in town is good for health and budget.

**Phlawless said this early on: meat does not have to be served every single day. Early diets used to treat meals as bread and everything else was a condiment; the starch could be rice or noodles instead. Use meats or fish as a flavoring agent. A lot of cultures do this for what Italians call "cucina povera", or the traditional food of the poor which many well-off families treasure. When the center of a meal, stick with poultry ($1.69 a lb. not on sale as parts in the expensive Whole Foods, here; probably less than half that price at the right place in KS) as in the excellent first example you provide, beef chuck for pot roast vs. steak...

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Finally, you should perhaps solicit ideas for inexpensive menus here or start creating your own. However, past threads offer more than enough advice on these matters. I believe the forementioned thread on cutting grocery bills has links to Old Foodie's Pantry thread, Carrot Top's challenge on creating tasty meals for for families with kids when the cupboard is bare and wallet thin...

[moosnsqrl]

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

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Sounds to me like you've been eating cheesy corn again.

Actually, in thinking of "the season" and this topic, at various times between now and the end of the year, turkey will be offered as a "loss leader" to get people into a store. There's nothing much simpler than roasting a turkey, it requires a few hours but little hands-on time and you can get SO MUCH meat off of it that can be used in countless ways, freeze it into one-meal size packets, turn the carcass into a stock . . . A sound investment, I think.

[jgm]

OK, OK, the alfredo sauce will be the real deal. We'll use the bechamel for other things.

This young woman is a friend of mine, not a participant in a program, and I can't tell her and her family what to eat. I can offer information, try to get her to try things, help her explore the unfamiliar, etc., but essentially, as a friend, it's my place to help her, not direct or control her. I'm hoping I can help her save enough money on the everyday meals she WANTS to make, so that she can afford to make Alfredo sauce now and then. If she and her husband are not already fans of tofu, I can make a couple of things with it so that they can experience it, but if they don't care for it, I can't push it on them. I don't yet know what her family's eating habits are. My main push is to help them enjoy the foods they like to eat, as cheaply as possible, and to help them explore other dishes to the extent they desire. If they want to drink soda pop, I can discuss alternatives with her; but if that should be what they want to do, I am not going to lecture her. For all I know, they may already use very little or none of that kind of thing.

There is still much I can do for her. I'd like to get her to the point where making things from scratch instead from a box or mix, is second nature to her, and help her develop the skills, depth, and breadth in her cooking so that she can use up what she's got. That will involve learning the building blocks, menu planning, shopping, etc. If I can take her that far, I think she'll be able to feed her family pretty well. And if I can help her develop the confidence to make her own baby food, so much the better.

A lot of this is about developing a knowledge base and the confidence to use it. I will also need to help her find the cooking equipment she needs. I've already alerted several friends not to toss or donate anything from their kitchens without consulting me, and they're excited at the prospect of being a part of this, too.

Most of all, I want to pass along my passion and love for cooking. She already says she loves to cook, and if I can help her expand her horizons, I think a lot of the rest will fall into place.

[Lori in PA]

You are wise.

[Pan]

If she's receptive, introduce congee to her. That's a great way to use leftover rice (I imagine cheap rice is to be had in Wichita) with scraps of this and that for flavoring, and it's filling and calorie-rich for the children. Among other things, it's another place where eggs can be used.

I think that pork fat may be pretty useful for this family, to flavor things from congee to baked beans to split pea soup.

If there is a decent East Asian store in Wichita, there are certain flavorings that should be buyable in bulk and good to use in small quantities to impart a lot of flavor. I'm thinking of items like soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, rice vinegar, fried shallots, fermented black beans, dried baby shrimp, dried fish, dried chilis or/and chili flakes, etc. These things add taste -- and in many instances, protein -- to the diet. The fried shallots and hot peppers can just be used in small quantities out of the container, while some of the others just need to be reconstituted with some hot water for a few hours. It would take a long time to use up a bag of any of those items. Meanwhile, you could have tofu with black bean sauce; fried rice with baby shrimp, plain omelette, and leftovers, with fried shallots sprinkled on top; congee with dried fish, some kind of cheap squash, soy sauce, chicken stock (made from the carcass of an already-eaten chicken, et al.), and some chili flakes; etc.

[jgm]

Our first cooking session was last night, and it was enlightening for both of us.

First of all, I want to say that although this is turning out to be a somewhat different thing than I had first thought, it remains an extremely satisfying thing to do.

This is a financially struggling young couple. They have a bit of family support, but would rather not rely on it. Their wonderful baby is quite active, but played contentedly by himself while we worked and talked.

We stewed a whole chicken, discussed food safety issues (she has worked in restaurants, and so was well aware of them), and discussed a range of foods to work on. She does think she can afford to make fettucine alfredo from time to time. She owns a fat separator, although she didn't know that's what it was.

Her husband doesn't like anything with tomato sauce or ketchup in it, so that's going to limit a whole range of dishes. She has a few food "hesitations" but seems to be willing to try new things. Bonus: they received an outdoor grill as a gift, and with it came a vegetable grilling tray. She's already grilled vegetables on it, and discovered how good they taste that way. And she was happy to know she can do about the same thing in her oven.

Tomorrow night, we'll turn the chicken, the broth, and some other ingredients into filling for chicken pot pie. Not sure where we're going from there... probably the fettucine.

[annecros]

Wonderful JGM.

Keep us posted.

[Kouign Aman]

So glad to hear a good report on your first lesson!

I'd like to get her to the point where making things from scratch instead from a box or mix, is second nature to her, and help her develop the skills, depth, and breadth in her cooking so that she can use up what she's got. That will involve learning the building blocks, menu planning, shopping, etc. If I can take her that far, I think she'll be able to feed her family pretty well.

When you are done teaching your friend, want to take me under your wing?

[Lori in PA]

It sounds like it was a satisfying evening. I'm looking forward to hearing about the next session.