eatsing.

though i would love to leave everyone with the impression that i cook fabulously delicious meals every night in all my free time (i actually do have a lot of free time, i just make a point of wasting it), the fact is i had 1/3 a bag of frozen edamame and an oversized mug of hot chocolate for dinner.

eating out is expensive, yes. that much is obvious. sometimes i think about the money i've spent in restaurants recently and realize i could have bought a round-trip ticket to london.
but you know what can be even more expensive? cooking. on my walk home from trader joe's i calculated how much i spent to make soup, and it was more than i would ever pay for soup. i guess you can justify it because you're paying for 3 things. 1. the food 2. a sense of accomplishment 3. publicity: it's totally fine if you want to tell people i'm a good cook. it's not like you'd be lying, unless you were talking about anything other than pasta.

i've found teaching yourself to live on a budget is really hard, if not impossible. the way i've handled it so far is to cook and eat out every once and a while, and survive on <3 style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">fennel, anise, thai basil, terragon: they all have a licorice flavor, used in a lot of fish and egg dishes.
cumin, coriander, chili powder, turmeric: some people like to use them in a lot of middle eastern and indian dishes. i like to use them never.
nutmeg, ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon: the spices of baking and autumn
marjoram, thyme, sage, rosemary: chicken and beef spices.

another thing i've been trying to do is try and look at the farmer's market as a treat and NOT a regular grocery store. maybe one day when i become a stay-at-home owner and my dog godric is making the big bucks, i can buy all the grass-fed bison cutlets and apple butter i want. but for now the occasional produce splurge is all i can afford.
so look out acorn squash, because tomorrow marks the first foggy bottom market of october.