I don't mean to say I'm an expert on cooking in any way. I didn't study at the CIA, or Le Cordon Bleu. I studied Photography at a New York State University. I don't even mean to say that I'm a great cook, but I love cooking.
Despite hating New York City while growing up in the NYC suburbs in Westchester, I moved here in order to pursue what I thought was my dream. Instead, I ended up signing a lease in Astoria and working in a job I hated for eight months. I try to look back on this as a learning experience.
I've really grown to like my neighborhood. I like it much more than the hustle and bustle of the main island, so I find myself most often in my foster borrow (if I can help it). I've thought for a while about getting out, about breaking my lease and moving away from this mad mess of people, noise and smells, but it just doesn't make sense. I do have a job I like finally, and while it doesn't quite pay me what I need to pay off those mounting student loans, on top of my monthly rent, it definitely puts escaping into perspective.
Like so many New Yorkers these days (I'm looking at you, OWS), I'm running out of money. I don't have health insurance because I'm working from part time jobs, and can't afford it on my own. I've thought about options for my low income bracket, but the prospect of looming taxes and further living expenses makes me think twice.
Among my living expenses ends up being the inevitable food budget.
For months, because of the job I hated, I never had the time, energy, or will power to whip up more than a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich for lunch, let alone dinner, so I found myself eating out, or ordering in most days. This, as so many of us living in New York know, is not cheap. The costs have definitely added up over the months, and I can tell you personally if you haven't gotten there yourself quite yet (though I'm sure most have) I skipped a lot of meals in order to make rent.
Working part time, in a job that isn't so emotionally an energetically draining, has put all this into much starker perspective; I now make less money than I ever have, and my bill notices are only increasing, but for once I actually want to stay here. So instead of panicking (well I'm still panicking), I looked to find some way to alleviate some of my financial stress while still not making my life any less enjoyable than it might be. I looked to my eating habits. I looked and not only found a way to save a great deal of money, but I also found a way to have more fun in my life. At a time where stress is a daily part of most New Yorker's lives, both at work and at home, the idea of adding some joy to a necessary part of life was welcome.
The purporse of this writing is both selfish, and hopefully helpful. I want to keep cooking, and I want to save money while doing it. Giving myself the structure (that I'm sure most of us need to begin a long term task) is going to help me a long with this. But hopefully, in my explorations and suggestions, I might get some of you, who order out way more than they can afford, to take steps in a similar direction.
So, to summerize in the words of a childhood hero, Allez Cuisine!
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