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!
Fast Melon Sorbet
It's SO HOT. Let's eat watermelon together. Let's just eat watermelon and sit and sweat. Okay, some of you are overachievers. This is for you. Take some of your sweet, sweet watermelon and chop it into cubes (take the rind off first, silly). Put it in a bag or receptacle in your freezer. Once it's frozen make it into sorbet using just a little yogurt and sugar and a food processor or blender. Add some vanilla or lime juice (or anything else you think would work with watermelon) if you're super serious about it. Fast Melon Sorbet FOR FOUR
Kickstarter for Good and Cheap
Today I am launching a Kickstarter to fund a print run of Good and Cheap, my free PDF cookbook for people on Food Stamps. Please take a few moments to check it out and share it with your friends. Just over a month ago, April 29th, a lovely person posted a link to Good and Cheap on Reddit. Soon it was on Tumblr, Hacker News and many other places besides. It was downloaded so many times that it temporarily broke the site twice. I was so encouraged and touched by the supportive comments from strangers. It was tremendously heartening to...
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...
Dumplings 2 Ways
Homemade dumplings made with either vegetables and tofu or pork and greens. You decide; steamed, boiled or pan-fried!
Big Idea Week!
Happy May to you all! It's a beautiful day here in NYC. I'm participating in Big Idea Week as a mentor and this morning I got to present to a bunch of 4th graders at PS 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The basic premise of Big Idea Week is that people from all kinds of industries (even cookbook authors apparently!) come to present their work to the kids. We talk about the problem our work addresses, the ideas we came up with to address those problems, and how those ideas become solutions. So we present to the kids on Monday,...
Chana Masala
Of all the recipes I've ever shared, Chana Masala is the one I hear about from my friends the most. I think it's the magic of how shockingly easy it is to make, combined with the fact that it costs next to nothing, topped off with how it tastes absolutely incredible. You will crave it all the time. You might even drool a little when you think about it. Just try it. You're welcome. (from Good and Cheap p. 93) ½ tbsp ghee or ½ tbsp butter plus a splash of olive oil
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.
Rainbow Rice
Here are three quick ways to make plain rice into beautiful, delicious rainbow rice. Vegetables are a great way to liven up the usual rice and beans.
Cheddar and Potato Perogies
Perogies! Delicious, pillowy pockets of dough filled with potato, cheese and anything else you feel like adding, fried in butter and served with sour cream. Great to make in quantity and freeze.
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Moist chocolate zucchini muffins with oats and yogurt, perfect for breakfast or dessert!
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.
Avocado Milkshake
A delicious and unusual blend of super creamy avocado and milk or milk alternative, lightly sweetened with sugar and lime juice make up this avocado milkshake.
