Often times, I set out to do something on the impulse that the "thing" will be exciting, revolutionary, informative, and fun...turns out to be a complete disappointment since I never really follow through with it. The "thing" just got forgotten and uninspiring. I'm talking about my last attempt with starting my own food blog.
This time will be different! This time I have a plan! This time, I have no choice since I just said that it will be different :). In all seriousness, I do have a plan of action this time around and I believe that the process will motivate me enough to keep up with it and keep this blog alive as long as I can.
This blog is about me wanting to cook my way through the world's recipes and saving money along the way. My philosophy is that good food does not have to cost you an arm and a leg; good food is about traditions, good-fresh ingredients, and what you do with those ingredients. It really upsets me when I have to pay $25 for a plate of "Italian" pasta at some wannabe high-end Italian Bistro (you know who you are), when I know that the same pasta dish would be considered as "peasant" or an everyday meal to some real Italian family. It pisses me off even more when that pasta dish sucks and I know full well that I can make it better, and less expensive.
Why foods from around the world? Why not? I get so bore with eating and cooking the same thing, it's time to broaden the horizon a bit. Besides, I'm very curious to see what other regions of the world have to offer to us in terms of foods. There has to be more to Indian cooking than "curry" or what we believe is "curry". What about Mexican cuisines? Did you know that nachos is an American invention? I'm interested in digging deeper to find the foods that we would considered as "homemade" or "grandma's cooking", foods that we would love to eat when it's cold outside, and chicken noodle soup just won't cut it anymore.
So here's what I'm going to do and how I'll do it:
The challenge: To cook and experiment with foods from all regions of the world on a frugal budget ($50 a week).
The purpose: To save $$ while eating well, and maybe learn a trick or two along the way.
Time frame: 1 year. I work well when there's an end date, even if that end date is flexible.
The end result: Hopefully a well-rounded collection of recipes from all over world, and some extra cash in my savings (these are hard times you know).
This weekend I will gather some recipes and do a little shopping (have to get started on my Christmas list as well); the next post will be my first step into a new (and frugal) culinary journey. Can't wait to start ...
