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!
Pasta with Eggplant and Tomato
Pasta tossed in a gooey eggplant and tomato sauce that comes together in the time it takes to boil the water and pasta.
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.
Broccoli Apple Salad
This salad may not seem like much at first, but thinly sliced apples and broccoli are not only delicious together, they have a crunchy, satisfying texture that makes this salad a lot of fun to eat. I had an apple salad at a neighborhood restaurant recently, and it had a little honey in the dressing, which I think would be a great addition here! People are always surprised by how much they like this, so shake off your skepticism and give this a try! (from Good and Cheap page 54) 1 large crown and stem of broccoli
Egg Sandwich with Mushroom Hash
A classic deli-style egg sandwich with potato and mushroom hash. Ideally enjoyed on a lazy weekend morning after a late night out.
On Tour with Good and Cheap!
Hi, friends! It’s almost here! The bigger, better 2nd edition of Good and Cheap is officially out on July 14 — just one week away. Unofficially, it's already on the shelves in some local stores :) Take a look for it, and send me a note on Facebook or Twitter if you spot it! I've just put up my Events page, because I'll be on tour across the US and Canada for the rest of the year. Already, I'm scheduled to visit 21 cities (hurray, but eek!). Undoubtedly, I'll be somewhere near you, so check out the map and please...
Potato Leek Pizza
This potato leek pizza is a fun variation that confounds expectations—proof that, indeed, anything is good on pizza!
Jacket Sweet Potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes are a fun weekday meal.All you have to do it throw them in the oven and grab a couple of toppings from the fridge. I first got into them when I had a large number of sweet potatoes from a farm share. They were all odd sizes with long knobbly bits and I just didn't know what to do. So I just baked them, grabbed some sour cream and other random sauces and made a little topping bar. We ate potato after potato (these were little ones I swear!) and tried different toppings on each. So easy...
A Good and Cheap Story from Carlos Olaechea
Today’s post comes from Carlos Olaechea, he’s working towards a Master’s degree in Boston University’s Gastronomy program. I was personally really touched by his story, and I think it points to a lot of issues with cooking and eating for little, that we don’t talk about enough. I hope you’ll read it, think about it, and consider sharing. If anyone has a story, personal or otherwise that you would like to share, please write to me at Leanne@leannebrown.com. I've never been on food stamps, but there were times when I was living on a very modest budget from my unemployment...
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.
Savory Summer Cobbler
Savory summer cobbler is a play on ratatouille with a big tray of roasted vegetables and savory southern style biscuit topping to soak up all the flavorful juices.
Filipino Chicken Adobo
Chicken Adobo is a classic Filipino dish of chicken and vegetables cooked in vinegar and soy sauce. Tangy, salty and rich, and it keeps for days in the fridge.
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...
