I love to cook and I spent quite a bit of time looking through magazines and the internet looking for new recipe ideas. I found one I wanted to try and it also contained one of those expense counters. The ingredients are tallied up for price so you'll know how much the whole meal costs. Except, sometimes, the ingredients are not things I keep on hand.
Ingredients like onions and garlic, yes, I purchase those and use them regularly. But fresh sage? No. Maybe in the summer I might be able to score some. A lot of people have gardens and give away a bunch of herbs here and there. So, I find it frustrating to have the recipe say something like 'fresh sage 50 cents', because if I purchased it, I'd only use a tablespoon or two. True, but the rest of it probably won't be used, unless I figure out another recipe.
Sure, some people are excellent at fitting together their groceries like complicated jigsaw puzzles. Buy one ingredient, use it 6 times. And I do that to the best of my ability.
My apologies for the dash of negativity, but this really is something that irks me.
I was cooking at a friend's house (for another friend -- casseroles to stuff a freezer for an upcoming rough time) and had to purchase practically all the ingredients from scratch. (A little white wine, onions, and garlic were on hand, but nothing else.) I'm glad to do it, and the feeling of having someone make homecooked food is half of the tonic, but that little nugget along with the recipe that it should have turned out to be some economical choice just chafed my sensibilities!!
(Unless everyone out there keeps fresh sage growing on their windowsills?)
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