[alert variation=”alert-info”]Publisher: Viva Editions
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Kindle
Purchase: Powell’s | Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | iBooks[/alert]
True to its purpose, The Frugal Foodie Cookbook is a low-budget paperback with no other illustrations than occasional little filler sketches. Written by Lara Starr, an expert on low-budget cooking, and Chef Lynette Shirk, this cookbook will be most helpful for you if your food budget is hardly above the bare essentials. The book is filled with great tips, suggestions and advice on how to squeeze the most out of your food dollars. To save money, you need to work more in your kitchen. The nine chapters cover everything: breakfasts, lunches, dinners and in-between snacks, even parties, thrifty gifts and baby foods.
“This book is about keeping both our comfort—food-seeking souls and our sophisticated palates happy on a pauper’s pocketbook.”
The authors like cute titles for both chapters and recipes (Pulled-Purse-String Parties; Dirt-Cheap Self-Filling Cupcakes) and their humor is also evident in the recipe head notes. The recipes are well written with good instructions though they could be improved by referring to page numbers on items called for appearing elsewhere. The layout is poor because of the inexpensive production. Many recipes skip overleaf to the inconvenience of the cook. Lots of Cents-Able Solutions and Frugal Foodie Tips are very useful. Many recipes call for a food processor and an electric mixer. A mistake: they added no index.
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