I love restaurants. This is fortunate because I spend a lot of my time on the road. When I'm in town, I end up catching up with my friends over a dinner. My business meetings with booking agents and attorneys and bass players seem to be over lunch or breakfast.
I can go to the grocery store for the week, then legitimately eat every meal out -- for business. And though I go to the grocery store because I think I should, I think it might be cheaper for a single person to grab a falafel here or there rather than cook meals and be forced to eat the same batch of chili for a week straight.
But over the past year or so, my friends and I have slowly moved towards a bizarro communal living. I keep Mueslix and Hemp Milk (Yes, I said Hemp milk. So I think cow's milk is gross, so what?) at Friend-who-cooks-pancakes's house. I keep other staples at Friend-with-a-Truck's place. My own house merely has a tube of Vegemite (Thanks, Wayne!) and a loaf of frozen challah bread. I am rarely home.
I'm thinking, however, that this communal-living thing could be advantageous to my recent desire to save money and cook meals at home. Last night I tried out a new recipe, which I found on my friend Joy's blog. It was a tofu-broccoli-peanut-sauce dish that was absolutely divine.
Joy is a food writer for Philadelphia Magazine as well as a cookbook author and a friend from my days at NYU. I haven't seen her in ten years, but her blog makes me laugh. It also has meal plans for the week, something I just cannot wrap my head around. Who plans what you're going to eat three days from now? I freak out at the thought of planning my afternoon. But I'm liking the idea of a week of meals eaten and enjoyed at home, or at least eaten and enjoyed with commune partners.
My goal for the next three days -- yes, the weekend -- is to not spend a dime at a restaurant, unless it's for a cocktail. I'm going to cook.
We shall see...
I can go to the grocery store for the week, then legitimately eat every meal out -- for business. And though I go to the grocery store because I think I should, I think it might be cheaper for a single person to grab a falafel here or there rather than cook meals and be forced to eat the same batch of chili for a week straight.
But over the past year or so, my friends and I have slowly moved towards a bizarro communal living. I keep Mueslix and Hemp Milk (Yes, I said Hemp milk. So I think cow's milk is gross, so what?) at Friend-who-cooks-pancakes's house. I keep other staples at Friend-with-a-Truck's place. My own house merely has a tube of Vegemite (Thanks, Wayne!) and a loaf of frozen challah bread. I am rarely home.
I'm thinking, however, that this communal-living thing could be advantageous to my recent desire to save money and cook meals at home. Last night I tried out a new recipe, which I found on my friend Joy's blog. It was a tofu-broccoli-peanut-sauce dish that was absolutely divine.
Joy is a food writer for Philadelphia Magazine as well as a cookbook author and a friend from my days at NYU. I haven't seen her in ten years, but her blog makes me laugh. It also has meal plans for the week, something I just cannot wrap my head around. Who plans what you're going to eat three days from now? I freak out at the thought of planning my afternoon. But I'm liking the idea of a week of meals eaten and enjoyed at home, or at least eaten and enjoyed with commune partners.
My goal for the next three days -- yes, the weekend -- is to not spend a dime at a restaurant, unless it's for a cocktail. I'm going to cook.
We shall see...
2 comments
So glad you liked the tofu-broccoli peanut sauce recipe. That peanut sauces is good on everything, and the tofu goes with any tasty sauce! Cooking and sharing with friends is such a good idea. I think it can be even more fun (and often better tasting) than a restaurant. Good luck not eating out this weekend. I'll be eating out twice. For work.
ReplyDeleteWow...this is timely! This is an issue I've been mulling over for quite some time now. I'm also single--I love eating out with others & agree it's probably cheaper than buying groceries. The communal idea appeals to me. I find cooking for one to be depressing. Meals are meant to be shared. I've gone through stages where I pour over recipes and plan meals and grocery shop, only to be too tired after work to mess with it. Or something fun comes up and I go out instead. The amount of food I buy and then throw away is shameful.
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