OnlineBookClub.org

Hi everybody, it's a gray rainy day in Charlotte, NC and I'm taking a break from reading to browse the forums... how are you all today?

So as you all know, a lot of foods commonly eaten vary by region. Different areas have local delicacies and dishes that show the influence of colonialism in the early US, or vary as a result of climate and landscape. We all have a taste for some things that others find odd but that are completely normal in our own communities. What I'm curious about is, what about foods that were born of poverty? Some regional foods have their origin in necessity. Barbecue is one. With barbecue, many people (read: enslaved/formerly enslaved black people) could only afford the poorest quality meat, and so they developed a special cooking method for it.

My personal experience wasn't "poverty" per se, but we struggled quite a lot. My Texan paternal grandparents were poor, and my dad told us stories of buying Wyler's powdered soda mix instead of Coke, drinking powdered milk mixed with water, and eating ground beef with sage mixed in and pretending it's sausage. My parents didn't have a lot of knowledge about cooking in general, so they didn't know about cooking from scratch or being creative with simple ingredients to save money. Everything they cooked came from the freezer and boxed mixes. As a grown up, eggs in purgatory and mujadarra are some end-of-budget meals I turn to frequently. These are both peasant dishes borrowed from other cultures; I'm southern through-and-through but was raised strangely devoid of food culture (probably as a result of our box-only diet).

What are some born-of-necessity foods you grew up eating or just are aware of? Are these known across the US or strictly regional? Did your family invent your own born-of-necessity foods? Any thoughts in general about this? I'd also be really interested to hear about dishes invented out of the waste-not-want-not mentality. I'm really interested and I hope you guys respond with your experiences and thoughts about this.

Thanks guys!

I hope you're doing okay after the hurricane. One of my favorite foods is spaghetti and meatballs; and I'm not sure if it was meant to save money, but it's definitely not expensive!

I didn't know that about barbeque, that's really interesting!

Rice is my go-to cheap food. You can buy it in bulk, it lasts for an eternity, and it goes with almost anything. I usually cook it with steamed veggies or eggs.

I used to really like those cheap ramen packs as a kid, but I kind of hate them now. I always feel sick after eating them. Maybe it's the salt? I've tried substituting the seasoning packet for other broths, but the noodles still aren't great.

What a great topic! Growing up we were pretty poor and I remember that my dad was famous for 'Chef's Surprise'. It was literally anything we had in the fridge left over from previous meals, all chopped up and cooked together into a hash of sorts. It inevitably had either rice or potatoes as a base with some sort of veggie and/or meat added in. I remember times when it was more like fried rice because we'd have an onion, carrot and egg and that was all, so in the pan it all went.
Now my go to is making soups. They go a lot longer and there are just so many variations. I can make a pot of soup that will last the family for a few days and it will cost maybe $10-12. Thankfully I've never had to resort to the all time cheapest soup (in my mind at least) Cabbage Soup, although it's come close!

If you're from Charlotte, then you probably know about pimento cheese. Not sure if it's exactly born from poverty, but it came about because it was a popular lunch staple for the lower class workers...It's a soft substance made of cheddar and mayonnaise. Sounds nasty to me, but it's very popular around here...

BookReader+6 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2018, 12:14 I hope you're doing okay after the hurricane. One of my favorite foods is spaghetti and meatballs; and I'm not sure if it was meant to save money, but it's definitely not expensive!

Thank you, we were very fortunate--we did a lot of prep, but we weren't called on to evacuate and our little neighborhood saw no flooding or trees down or power outage. the surrounding areas were a different story. Some people were flooded out, some lost power for days and days. There were quite a few deaths, and in particular the story of a wilmington nc family where the mother was holding her baby in her arms and a tree fell on them, killing them both, and another of a woman whose baby was ripped from her arms in storm surge, absolutely gutted me in a way that no news stories have in a long time. i still think about her and how she tried so hard to hold onto her baby and just friggin cry. we were so incredibly lucky.

as far as spaghetti and meatballs, i'm usually too lazy to make meatballs unless they're frozen from a bag, and oftentimes i don't have any meat in the house anyway. but, i usually do have garlic clove, so if a cheap pasta meal i've sorta cobbled together based on some different recipes, is pasta, finely minced garlic, chili flake, olive oil, and salt and pepper. a sprinkle of parmesan if i have it. all pantry ingredients that generally don't expire, super cheap, but seems fancy because it looks like pasta aglio.

jjmainor wrote: ↑26 Sep 2018, 22:05 If you're from Charlotte, then you probably know about pimento cheese. Not sure if it's exactly born from poverty, but it came about because it was a popular lunch staple for the lower class workers...It's a soft substance made of cheddar and mayonnaise. Sounds nasty to me, but it's very popular around here...

LOVE IT. i also have no idea why someone came up with it, but i'm glad they did

Allisunny wrote: ↑24 Sep 2018, 21:43 I didn't know that about barbeque, that's really interesting!

Rice is my go-to cheap food. You can buy it in bulk, it lasts for an eternity, and it goes with almost anything. I usually cook it with steamed veggies or eggs.

I used to really like those cheap ramen packs as a kid, but I kind of hate them now. I always feel sick after eating them. Maybe it's the salt? I've tried substituting the seasoning packet for other broths, but the noodles still aren't great.

YES to both! mujadarra is a fave because it's made with rice and lentils, pantry things that can be bought cheap and never expire. rice in bags forever. i hear you on the ramen, loved it as a kid and a college student, not so much now. i still eat it, but it's not a fave. some things i've done to kinda make it bearable, is i've cracked an egg over top while it's still cooking, or i stir fry the cooked, drained noodles it with frozen veg with only half (or less) the seasoning packet. it's a great way to make a bag of frozen veg into a meal.

[Krista_Michelle86] wrote: ↑28 Sep 2018, 11:29

BookReader+6 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2018, 12:14 I hope you're doing okay after the hurricane. One of my favorite foods is spaghetti and meatballs; and I'm not sure if it was meant to save money, but it's definitely not expensive!

Thank you, we were very fortunate--we did a lot of prep, but we weren't called on to evacuate and our little neighborhood saw no flooding or trees down or power outage. the surrounding areas were a different story. Some people were flooded out, some lost power for days and days. There were quite a few deaths, and in particular the story of a wilmington nc family where the mother was holding her baby in her arms and a tree fell on them, killing them both, and another of a woman whose baby was ripped from her arms in storm surge, absolutely gutted me in a way that no news stories have in a long time. i still think about her and how she tried so hard to hold onto her baby and just friggin cry. we were so incredibly lucky.

as far as spaghetti and meatballs, i'm usually too lazy to make meatballs unless they're frozen from a bag, and oftentimes i don't have any meat in the house anyway. but, i usually do have garlic clove, so if a cheap pasta meal i've sorta cobbled together based on some different recipes, is pasta, finely minced garlic, chili flake, olive oil, and salt and pepper. a sprinkle of parmesan if i have it. all pantry ingredients that generally don't expire, super cheap, but seems fancy because it looks like pasta aglio.

Glad you are okay. We have some family in Wilmington, but they evacuated and are ok. They just returned yesterday and we are hoping their home wasn't damaged. So sad about the young Mom, we heard about her story too.

Your spaghetti recipe sounds great and I'll be giving it a try! Thanks.

raqstar1 wrote: ↑26 Sep 2018, 10:05 What a great topic! Growing up we were pretty poor and I remember that my dad was famous for 'Chef's Surprise'. It was literally anything we had in the fridge left over from previous meals, all chopped up and cooked together into a hash of sorts. It inevitably had either rice or potatoes as a base with some sort of veggie and/or meat added in. I remember times when it was more like fried rice because we'd have an onion, carrot and egg and that was all, so in the pan it all went.
Now my go to is making soups. They go a lot longer and there are just so many variations. I can make a pot of soup that will last the family for a few days and it will cost maybe $10-12. Thankfully I've never had to resort to the all time cheapest soup (in my mind at least) Cabbage Soup, although it's come close!

necessity is the mother of invention! one time my dad had a little bit of mac-n-cheese and a can of clam chowder, had to make it into a dinner for three people, i'm not sure why he couldn't just cook 'em both and serve them, but his creative solution was to mix them both together. there should be a food network show about giving an ordinary person like us a mystery fridge to open, and seeing who comes up with the best meal that is both edible and uses up the leftovers and odds-and-ends. i once made an egg casserole/quiche like meal with a few eggs, the bits and pieces of produce we still had in the drawer, and like half a little tub of pulled pork... came out friggin amazing. soup!! is amazing, so glad soup season is right around the corner!

Allisunny wrote: ↑24 Sep 2018, 21:43
Rice is my go-to cheap food. You can buy it in bulk, it lasts for an eternity, and it goes with almost anything. I usually cook it with steamed veggies or eggs.

I also have to say that rice is my go to for cheap foods. I also will say that splurging on ground beef is another good option because mixing some ground beef with rice is extremely filling! And it can last for a long time.

I concocted a ginger and crayfish rice recipe a few years ago.

My opinion has always been that any traditional food is born from poverty. When you think of traditional food of any country or region, it's always local produce, seasonal, hearty, often not containing any meat. Where I come from we eat a lot of potatoes, cabbage, cheese, eggs, wild mushrooms. It varies with location. So if you want to eat cheap, make everything from scratch, it's cheaper, healthier and tastier than pre- or ready-made, buy local produce and choose seasonal. If you want to lower the expenses, cut on meat, use beans, eggs, or cheese, whatever it is that you have available. Make onion instead of meat gravy. Choose cheap cuts of meat and learn how to prepare them (usually cheap cuts are the tough ones, and need slow cooking, simmering, like in stews). Soups are a great thing, cheap, filling, tasty, easy to make and reheat.

A can of corn, A can of beans, and A can of chicken. Mixed with a bit of spices and its really good

Gumbo is another food born of poverty, and Navajo fry bread (you may already know) is a result of U.S. settlers imprisoning Navajo people in Arizona after what is known as the "Long Walk" (300 miles through the desert). The colonizers only gave the Navajo people canned food, processed white flour and sugar, and lard- the latter three became fry bread. That is a very brief recount of the beginnings of the food and I recommend reading more about it for those unfamiliar.

When my parents divorced my father had absolutely no cooking skills, and I remember when we would go visit he would always make mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs mixed in. Personally, rice and dry beans became my staple meal when I was vegan in college - it'll get you by but isn't much fun to eat. Now that I have a crock pot dry beans have become even more low maintenance to cook (just put a cup of dry beans in with three cups of water, leave them overnight on low - the house will smell strongly of beans in the morning, beware for those who mind) and I keep them all the time for easy meals. I agree with a big batch of soup as the ultimate money saving but hearty meal - you can make a week's worth of chili for only a few dollars if you don't mind canned tomatoes. I also love to bake bread and have a very easy bread recipe that I like to make, though I wouldn't call it cheaper than buying a loaf of the worst bread at the store, it is more gratifying and much better for you. A homemade sourdough starter is an easy cheap thing that can save you money on yeast, though I don't have my own recipes for baking with it yet. I do find that the meals that are cheap and healthy also often require the most time. It's sort of a pick two: Cheap, Quick, or Healthy. Here's that bread recipe:

1 tbsp Yeast
1.5 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Honey
1.5 cups Water
3.5- 4.5 cups flour*

*I use unbleached all purpose, but this recipe will likely work with half unbleached and half wheat flour with slightly more kneading and rising time added.

-Combine Yeast, Honey, and Salt in a bowl, keeping Yeast and Salt on separate sides of the bowl
-Heat water to 110-120 degrees Fahrenheit (or so that it is just hot to the touch) and combine
-Lightly stir to kick ingredients up from the bottom. Let sit open in a warm place for fifteen minutes or until very foamy
-Beat in flour 1/4 cup at a time, stirring vigorously to combine completely before adding more.
-When no longer able to combine with spoon, tip dough onto floured surface and knead in flour a tablespoon at a time. Continue adding flour until bread dough is no longer too sticky.
-Roll in flour and shape into long log shape. Place on baking sheet lined with foil and sprinkle lightly with flour. Slit diagonally three times with sharp, wet knife and cover with towel in a warm place.
-Set oven to 425* and let loaf rise while oven preheats, at least 20 minutes.
-Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

*note: my oven runs cold so I bake at 450.