31Jan/118
Learning to Cook
by Jeff
Image text: And yet I never stop thinking, 'sure, these ingredients cost more than a restaurant meal, but think how many meals I'll get out of them! Especially since each one will have leftovers!'
This one is pretty self explanatory for your Monday morning. Another flow chart from xkcd. Don't have to use your brain too much (or mine).
January 31st, 2011
This actually happened to me with a noodles romanoff recipe. It’s on the “kinda” end of the scale. There are much leftovers. Going to have a BLT (wonder if bacon would improve the stuff…).
February 13th, 2011
A BLT Sandwich? Sure, bacon would improve it a lot, but use a couple of slices of bacon. Also, add something spicy too for the taste.
February 1st, 2011
Why would ingredients cost more than a restaurant meal? Does McDonalds fall in the “restaurant” category? And if they did, I assume you could find similar “meat” at a decent price..
February 1st, 2011
Usually, you don’t buy ground beef one patty at a time. Even if you buy them preformed, you have to buy several. The smallest I see fresh ground beef is 1lb packages which is two very large burgers. Buns come in dozens. You have to buy a whole tomato and a head of lettuce. With spices, you have to buy more than you would use in a month’s worth of meals. The point is, when you buy ingredients, you have to spend more than it would cost to buy a single meal, but you would be able to use them for several meals. If the food turned out well, this would be a good thing, but since the food turns out “Kinda” at best, all the extra goes to waste and you end up getting a pizza any way.
February 1st, 2011
A McDonald’s Big Mac is what, $3? You require:
Two all beef patties
Special Sauce
Lettuce
Cheese
Pickles
Onions
Seasame Seed Bun
Patties = $8 for pack of 10
Special sauce = $2 for bottle of TID
Lettuce = $1 for head
Cheese = $1 for 12 slices
Pickles = $3 for bottle of dill slices
Onions = $1 for a small brown one
Sesame Seed Bun = $3 for a pack of 8
So you spent $11 to eat a Big Mac, when you could have bought the Big Mac itself for $3.
But aiasadan makes the point already that those $11 can make you at least 5 different Big Macs.
February 2nd, 2011
Wow! I live in an area with repressed pricing! I cooked burgers on the grill last night. I made 8 burgers from 2.25 pounds of meat. The meat was $1.97 per pound, so our burgers cost: 2.25*1.97/8=55.4¢ each.
Tomatoes @ $1.99/pound, a medium sized one cost $1, a pack of 8 buns – $1.89. . . and so on.
But, we cook at home about 5 days per week, making the investment in spices and ingredients worthwhile. Just like learning new software, or reading your favorite comic online three times a week, cooking at home takes discipline and commitment.
February 2nd, 2011
Funnily enough, someone made a “Big Mac Index” comparing the price of a Big Mac i each country. The index gives you an idea of the general price in a country. I live in Norway, so I chuckled a bit at your $3 Big Mac:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index#Figures
Also, buying all of those ingredients would reduce my wallet contents by at least $25. On the other hand I’d be able to make several well-tasting burgers as opposed to the garbage they serve at McDs. I refuse to even enter those places..
The comic would’ve fit me perfectly a few years ago, maybe even last year. I’ve since then learned to compromise, stocking only ingredients that last (I keep rice, pasta, frozen chicken, spices, etc. stocked) and buying the shortlived stuff (vegetables, fresh meat) for each bunch of meals. And I’ve learned a couple of meals that are easily warmed up the day after (or eatable cold), e.g. any wok recipes, any pasta recipes, pancakes..
February 15th, 2011
If the flowchart author had someone congenial to cook with, or to cook for, the flowchart would look a lot different.