Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

eater.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 140 posts

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#81

Post by OJFord »

ghaff wrote: post #36
seanw444 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I think people try to optimize their budget a little too much. I doubt everybody is barely making the cut to get any food. A lot are just lazy. Me included sometimes. Spend a few extra bucks, and get something that's less likely to give you cancer. The end result can be very satisfying when you're finished making it, and you don't feel like a pig afterwards.

I admit there are evenings when I just don't feel like cooking at all--although a lot of the time I then realize it would be more effort/time to hop in the car and get takeout. I also admit that if I lived in a city and had good takeout options like decent Chinese within a 5 or 10 minute walk, I'd probably get takeout more. I've been mostly working at home (or traveling) for years now but when I was going into an off…

I enjoy cooking a lot (which can be parsed two ways and I mean both of them) but of course I feel like that sometimes too.

But once you're into it, that's simple, those are the nights you have leftovers, something from the freezer (made before), or 10-15min pasta & grilled vegetables.

(To be honest my problem is more not feeling like that often enough, so I always make something new and the freezer fills up. Also eating from the freezer comes with the problem of not remembering exactly what you did, if it's particularly good and you want it again...)

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#82

Post by OJFord »

ghaff wrote: post #80
DoughnutHole wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea I'm not sure how someone can claim "$5 for a meal for one" could possibly be cheaper than cooking unless you're deliberately cooking something expensive? Now maybe I'm missing some cultural context for the price of produce in the US but for €5 per person here in Ireland I could make an absolute feast. Say I make a ragu for 4-5 people, here's what my shopping list might look like (checking prices on tesco.ie): - P…

Those vegetable prices are very cheap compared to a US supermarket--like maybe 1/3 or 1/4 the price?

They look about right from the UK (I'd pay more for the tomatoes and pasta in particular, personally, but certainly available that cheap) - but that has been my experience in US/Canadian supermarkets, that groceries seem expensive.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#83

Post by ghaff »

solardev wrote: post #79
granshaw wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks that’s probably good advice Pineapple fried rice here I come

Man, I've been trying to make good fried rice for like thirty years. Let me know if you figure it out... supposedly needs a lava-hot wok and a gallon of oil or something.

I don't associate fried rice with a lot of oil. Maybe the hot wok. Woks can be problematic on electric ranges. Cooks Illustrated actually recommends using a skillet instead.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#84

Post by stonemetal12 »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #17
belugacat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes. Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom…

Yup. Exhibit A, found on this very site [0]: Cooking for one in the US with ingredients that aren’t laced with preservatives is incredibly expensive, especially if you live in a city. I found it to be the case even 6-7 years ago that it was cheaper to eat out every night than it was to cook. I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probabl…

If I go to McDonalds, I can get a hamburger for a dollar. At the grocery store I can't get the meat for a hamburger for a dollar.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#85

Post by mhb »

bitxbitxbitcoin wrote: post #62
mhb wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really don't need an extra freezer to buy 3/5/10 pounds of chicken instead of 1/2 pound.

The savings really add up at that 10 pound level. Chicken quarters are still under a dollar a pound at Walmarts in that quantity.

No doubt. But in the context of this discussion, it sounds like, for even that size package, the target audience could make room in the freezer they already have by consuming and not replacing their existing stock of frozen tacos, waffles and corn dogs.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#86

Post by MediumOwl »

solardev wrote: post #79
granshaw wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks that’s probably good advice Pineapple fried rice here I come

Man, I've been trying to make good fried rice for like thirty years. Let me know if you figure it out... supposedly needs a lava-hot wok and a gallon of oil or something.

This recipe helped me succeed finally, although I've still failed a few times https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-vegetable-fried-rice-recipe

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#87

Post by OJFord »

mbg721 wrote: post #63
dahfizz wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, though. There are Thai, Chinese, Mexican, indian, moroccan, Italian etc restaurants all within a few minutes from me. I've never seen a British restaurant. The closest you get is a UK themed pub, which just serves American bar food plus Guinness.

I think the reason you don't see British restaurants that much in the US isn't that it's bad food, it's that a lot of traditional British dishes have sufficiently close equivalents in "down-home cookin'" American restaurants (as in a roast beef dinner) or in bar food (as in fish and chips) that there isn't much demand for anything more specialized. The full fry-up breakfast is something isn't so easily found here, bu…

I think it was just never made restaurant food? You don't really get them in the UK either. A restaurant that doesn't bill itself as x country's cuisine is basically going to be French/in that tradition. Closest you can get is a chip shop or a 'real ales • good food' pub.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#88

Post by rowanajmarshall »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #19
SilverBirch wrote: post #9

>Although this was a gourmet meal, in many ways it was just as great as the store-bought hot dogs and macaroni salad we had eaten together hundreds of times before; the quality of a meal is really a reflection of the company you share it with as well as the long process and coordination it takes to get everything on the table. This is such a strange phrase to me. I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed…

> I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed, mass manufactured food is looked down upon. UK food (with the exception of dishes imported from India) is some of the blandest cuisine I have ever tasted. I would probably prefer store-bought hotdogs, and boxed macaroni and cheese.

It's only bland if your idea of good food is lots of spices.

The incredible umami depth of a beef dripping gravy, the intense burn of an English mustard, or the creamy tang of a good mashed potato with butter and sour cream, sprinkled with crunchy sea-salt. It's not delicate food, but dang it hits the spot sometimes.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#89

Post by smiley1437 »

shagie wrote: post #42
MontyCarloHall wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. Exhibit A, found on this very site [0]: Cooking for one in the US with ingredients that aren’t laced with preservatives is incredibly expensive, especially if you live in a city. I found it to be the case even 6-7 years ago that it was cheaper to eat out every night than it was to cook. I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probabl…

The cost for cooking for one becomes evident when buying meat and produce (things that aren't shelf stable) in units small enough to do meal planing without significant waste. There are things like the difference in the cost of a single, reasonable, serving of chicken. Buying a chicken breast is more expensive in price per pound than the family pack of chicken breasts or an entire chicken. Similar things with carrots…

I felt exactly the same until a friend introduced me to vacuum sealers and a big freezer, now I can buy the larger amounts of fresh food, divvy it up and freeze it with little loss of quality for many types of produce

3rd party vac bags are inexpensive on amazon

For thawing, I throw the frozen vac-pack into a sous vide set for 0C/32F - the circulation thaws very quickly. Rarely cook in the sous vide much anymore, it's become my thawing machine

For things like carrots, I freeze them in vac bag in an orientation where I can remove just a couple of carrots and then have enough space to reseal the bag in the vacuum sealer to save on plastic waste

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#90

Post by jefftk »

ghaff wrote: post #80
DoughnutHole wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea I'm not sure how someone can claim "$5 for a meal for one" could possibly be cheaper than cooking unless you're deliberately cooking something expensive? Now maybe I'm missing some cultural context for the price of produce in the US but for €5 per person here in Ireland I could make an absolute feast. Say I make a ragu for 4-5 people, here's what my shopping list might look like (checking prices on tesco.ie): - P…

Those vegetable prices are very cheap compared to a US supermarket--like maybe 1/3 or 1/4 the price?

Checking on Instacart and so including their markup, our local Market Basket has, for the veggies:

* Onions: $1.59 for 2lb

* Carrots: $0.89 for 2lb

* Garlic: $1.89 for 5 heads

* Celery: $3.09 for a bunch (~1lb)

The carrots are cheaper, and everything else is more expensive but mostly the celery. This "basket" of fresh vegetables is $6.67 vs €2.79 (2.4x). Exclude the celery and it's $3.55 vs €2.00 (1.8x)

Post reply on HN