All About Good and Cheap
Good and Cheap is a cookbook for people with very tight budgets, particularly those on SNAP/Food Stamps benefits. The PDF is free (ahora en Español!) when you sign up for my newsletter and has been downloaded more than 15,000,000 times. It is also available in print, and for every copy sold we donate one to someone who can’t afford it.
Good and Cheap had an unusual journey into publishing. It started out as the thesis for my Masters degree in Food Studies at NYU. I made a digital version of the book, but didn’t have any kind of distribution or marketing plan. After some fruitless attempts at working with non-profits, I decided to simply offer it as free download on a simple website in early 2014.
A few weeks later someone posted it on Reddit and I was astonished by the interest! The book was downloaded so many times that first day that it broke my website. Suddenly my inbox was full of kind advice, stories, gratitude, and encouragement from strangers who wanted to get the book out there as much as I did!
With that encouragement and proof that there was an interested audience, I started a Kickstarter project to fund a print run to get Good and Cheap into the hands of those who couldn’t get it online. For the summer of 2014, I worked night and day, along with my now-husband Dan and many generous friends, to make the project a reality. The experience changed my life. We were trying to raise $10,000 but ended up with a whopping $144,681. This allowed us to print 40,000 copies of the book, giving away one for every copy sold to someone who couldn’t otherwise afford it. We made 25,000 available for just $4/copy to organizations who work with target populations. It was amazing! Also completely wild and exhausting and unsustainable. But luckily we got help.
Next I found a wonderful publishing home in Workman Publishing. I never thought the book could be a commercial success; that was why I did it as a master’s thesis. I was so happy to be wrong. Workman was supportive of the buy-one-give-one model from the beginning and have been even more insatiable than I was about getting it into the hands of non-profits at deep deep discounts. In 2015, I got to go on a massive book tour, meeting so many incredible people, sharing stories and generally basking in the glow of all the incredible work people are doing. In addition, Good and Cheap won the 2015 IACP Judge’s Choice Award, I made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Food and Drink, and Food & Wine and Fortune named me one of the Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink. Good grief!
Check Out Some of the Recipes!
Ginger and Mushroom Tofu Hot Pot
This Tofu Hot pot features tofu slices, vegetables and noodles snuggled into a hot ginger, garlic and mushroom broth. Comes together quickly and is even better on day 2.
Fast, Simple Roti
Roti are a simple homemade flatbread common to many parts of South Asia. They are quick and easy since they don't require yeast. Enjoy them with curries, soups, stews or alongside any meat or vegetable dish.
Cauliflower Cheese
A classic side dish in Great Britain: creamy, cheesy sauce over cauliflower, baked in the oven until the edges get crunchy and bubbly.
Anything Goes Raita
Raita is a delicious easy to make sauce made from adding chopped vegetables and spices to plain yogurt. It is delicious as a topping or dip for all kinds of South Asian food and keeps well in the fridge.
Banana Pancakes
Don't let this weekend pass without these banana pancakes in your life. They are ridiculously good. The banana melts into the pancake almost like custard. I like to add some fresh nutmeg or a little cinnamon, but I bet some coconut would be delicious as well. (from Good and Cheap p. 18)
My Dad’s Baked Beans
My Dad is a man of simple tastes. Not that he likes things boring! He always chided my sisters and I for getting "just pepperoni" on our pizza when we were kids. What sort of lunatics don't get olives and peppers and mushrooms? Well, my sisters and I obviously. BUT the truth is that the easiest way to please him was to simply make him a grilled cheese sandwich. And man, if you thought to put some spicy mustard, pickled jalapeños or olives in it. WELL, clearly there was a culinary GOD in the house. This recipe is what my...
Ultra-Simple Tomato Sauce
Super simple tomato sauce with bold tomato flavor that comes together in 5 minutes.
Charred Summer Salad
I am so glad that this salad has popcorn on it. Aren't you? Gina, who sponsored this recipe in Good and Cheap through last summer's Kickstarter, suggested that I add something crunchy to this salad of grilled zucs and corn. I was like "hello!! Have I forgotten my own rules? Salad must always have so
Flour Tortillas
I don't know about you guys, but lately I have just been ALL about the tacos. One of my favorite things growing up was taco night. Yes, the tacos were delicious, but I also loved that my Mum would put out all the different toppings and fillings and we'd just make our own. Even as a kid I guess I was kind of a control freak and I just loved making up my own taco. I think my Dad's favorite part was trying all the different hot sauces. Maybe also the sour cream. Anyway, I digress! My point is that...
Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls
A much less labor intensive version of the hearty eastern European classic, cabbage rolls.
Vegetable Quiche, Hold the Crust
As long as eggs are in my fridge I know that a good meal is only a few minutes away. But sometimes scrambling, frying or poaching just doesn't feel enough like dinner. This quiche looks beautiful and is great to serve to guests. (from Good and Cheap p. 114)
Cool Announcements Alert!
The new year is bringing a new phase for Good and Cheap. Last year was utterly, staggeringly incredible, but would you believe that this year might be even better? I am officially sold out of the 1st edition of Good and Cheap. We gave away over 9,000 donated copies, sold 24,000 at cost to non profits and sold another 7,000 to you! Oh, and the free PDF has been downloaded over 500,000 times so far. But being sold out doesn’t mean this is over. It means it’s just beginning. I'm excited to announce that this summer, Good and Cheap will...
