4 ms·

We never did this, because realistically it meant one trip to find what's in season, go home, find a recipe, then go back to get anything else we need. Things

We never did this, because realistically it meant one trip to find what's in season, go home, find a recipe, then go back to get anything else we need. Things got better when we tried a farm-to-table service that would deliver a box of veggies every week. That was essentially the first trip. Then we could plan out our meals and take one trip to the store. We stopped the service because the quality of what was delivered...... varied. Greatly.

Symbiote 10y ago
If you're missing an ingredient, just skip it or substitute it. Recipes are suggestions, not rules.
- enraged_camel 10y ago
  Problem is that knowing what can be skipped and what can substituted with what (and how) requires quite a bit of experience. Not to mention the actual effect on taste. For instance, butter can be substituted for olive oil in many dishes, but the end result will taste very different.
  - jacoblambda 10y ago
    knowing what can be substituted boils down to google and in lieu of an answer, making a guess and bullshitting your way through it. Most of my favourite meals are those made from bullshit because we were missing ingredients.
    - tracker1 10y ago
      And it's not like having a single (or with leftovers couple) of sub-par meals is the end of the world... there are plenty of things prepared correctly that any number of people won't like or even try. It's all experience... Also, watching a few youtube videos on sauce basics doesn't hurt, and will carry you a long way in terms of "fixing up" what you make to a level beyond steamed broccoli and baked chicken and potato. Again, it does take some practice, but not that hard really.
    - dTal 10y ago
      >made from bullshit Well that doesn't sound delicious at all.
Broken_Hippo 10y ago
When I moved outside the US, I started going to the grocery store 2-3 times a week. This likely has a similar effect to the box service. It makes it really easy to get into a cycle where I'm generally buying meals based on the leftover vegetables from a different meal. As far as what is in season, I'd suggest simply checking the ads. In the US, a lot of foods get cheap when they are in season. Here in Norway, the prices go up (Paying more for better quality due to it being in season). If you simply pay attention to this sort of thing for a while, you get the hang of it. Another method is to check traditional foods for the different holidays and seasons, as they are often centered around seasonal foods.
white-flame 10y ago
Why are you so rigidly fixated on following exact recipes, instead of just preparing what you have on hand? Of course that's going to be a recipe (heh) for cost and nuisance.
- Noumenon72 10y ago
  Or you can just Google a recipe that uses your ingredients. I've discovered many delicious combos this way.
  - collyw 10y ago
    I wonder if anyone has done any machine learning on recipe ingredients. Type in what you have available and it could come back with combinations that work. There are tons of recipe sites out there that training data could be taken from.
- shaftway 10y ago
  There's rigidly following a recipe. And then there's "I want to make some kind soup and I have nothing in the house that can be used as broth". I keep most of the staples that don't go bad on hand, but there are plenty of recipes I want to make that don't have adequate substitutes because something I'm missing is a key ingredient. /me takes on a dramatic tone "Taco night was never the same after Shaftway tried substituting pumpkin for the tomatoes in the salsa..."

Symbiote 10y ago

If you're missing an ingredient, just skip it or substitute it. Recipes are suggestions, not rules.

enraged_camel 10y ago
Problem is that knowing what can be skipped and what can substituted with what (and how) requires quite a bit of experience. Not to mention the actual effect on taste. For instance, butter can be substituted for olive oil in many dishes, but the end result will taste very different.
- jacoblambda 10y ago
  knowing what can be substituted boils down to google and in lieu of an answer, making a guess and bullshitting your way through it. Most of my favourite meals are those made from bullshit because we were missing ingredients.
  - tracker1 10y ago
    And it's not like having a single (or with leftovers couple) of sub-par meals is the end of the world... there are plenty of things prepared correctly that any number of people won't like or even try. It's all experience... Also, watching a few youtube videos on sauce basics doesn't hurt, and will carry you a long way in terms of "fixing up" what you make to a level beyond steamed broccoli and baked chicken and potato. Again, it does take some practice, but not that hard really.
  - dTal 10y ago
    >made from bullshit Well that doesn't sound delicious at all.

Broken_Hippo 10y ago

When I moved outside the US, I started going to the grocery store 2-3 times a week. This likely has a similar effect to the box service. It makes it really easy to get into a cycle where I'm generally buying meals based on the leftover vegetables from a different meal. As far as what is in season, I'd suggest simply checking the ads. In the US, a lot of foods get cheap when they are in season. Here in Norway, the prices go up (Paying more for better quality due to it being in season). If you simply pay attention to this sort of thing for a while, you get the hang of it. Another method is to check traditional foods for the different holidays and seasons, as they are often centered around seasonal foods.

white-flame 10y ago

Why are you so rigidly fixated on following exact recipes, instead of just preparing what you have on hand? Of course that's going to be a recipe (heh) for cost and nuisance.

Noumenon72 10y ago
Or you can just Google a recipe that uses your ingredients. I've discovered many delicious combos this way.
- collyw 10y ago
  I wonder if anyone has done any machine learning on recipe ingredients. Type in what you have available and it could come back with combinations that work. There are tons of recipe sites out there that training data could be taken from.
shaftway 10y ago
There's rigidly following a recipe. And then there's "I want to make some kind soup and I have nothing in the house that can be used as broth". I keep most of the staples that don't go bad on hand, but there are plenty of recipes I want to make that don't have adequate substitutes because something I'm missing is a key ingredient. /me takes on a dramatic tone "Taco night was never the same after Shaftway tried substituting pumpkin for the tomatoes in the salsa..."