Review: The Frugal Foodie Cookbook

Everyone is jumping on the frugality bandwagon these days, but the newly released The Frugal Foodie Cookbook distinguishes itself with this one simple gourmet decree from the get-go:

"Being frugal is about getting the most value from your food. It doesn't mean using absolutely the least expensive ingredients."

Authors Lynette Rohrer Shirk, former chef at Chez Panisse and Wolfgang Puck's Postrio, and Lara Starr, accomplished food blogger at Cakestarr, combine their professional expertise to offer readers hundreds of recipes and tips. Cover to cover, The Frugal Foodie Cookbook is infused with a gentle, genuine sense of humor and an unassuming, plainspeaking attitude reminiscent of the Greatest Generation, whose resourcefulness in the home and kitchen Shirk and Starr borrow and bring back to life for struggling "recessionistas."

The nine chapters in this portable tome move from morning (Bankable Breakfasts) to noon (Lunch for Less) to night (Pulled Purse-String Parties) and beyond (Thrifty Gifts, including budget beauty products made from food). All the while, Shirk and Starr offer advice on everything from coupon clipping (true frugal foodies don't!) to "antidepressants" (tips and stategies for reusing stuff, passed down from the Great Depression) to making the most of your ingredients, like the recipe for Exponential Chicken that stretches a single bird across five meals.

Whatever your level of frugal living expertise, The Frugal Foodie Cookbook is sure to teach you something new with its "Waste-Not Recipes for the Wise Cook." We're certainly the wiser for reading.

Image: Copyright 2009, Steve Aja Photography. Courtesy of V!VA Editions, publisher of The Frugal Foodie Cookbook.

Story Copyright 2009 Shoestring, LLC.