Expensive recipes | Imamother

amother

Winterberry

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 2:17 pm

I'm with the op on this. And there does seem an emphasis on quick and easy recipes, which is great, but most of them do seem to involve a lot of ready made stuff. Like shortcuts to making great mac and cheese, meatballs etc, all involve using jars of sauce. I live OOT and half of the ingredients aren't available where I live, or are extremely expensive.
I get that people are saying well take what you want from the recipe, but then why am I bothering? I would rather use my current recipes that work. I'm looking for new recipes to make a change, but not recipes that would make me think well how can I adapt that? I'm not a great cook and once I start deviating from the recipe I'm likely to flop it.
But then whenever I read these sorts of magazines, I never feel like they're aimed at my demographic.

amother

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 4:50 pm

amother Cerise wrote:

Yeah this is complete deja vu Very Happy

I don't know what the purpose of this thread is - is it to kvetch?

Reality is that many families do eat chicken on week nights just like many families do have money for other things that cost money whether it be clothing, vacations, cars or whatever.

There are also stay at home mothers or families at a different stage of life so that they have more time to cook as well as more disposable income.

Are people looking for recipes to cook - if they aren't cooking meat, chicken or fish - presumably they are cooking legumes or pasta. There are loads of cookbooks which have low cost recipes using those kinds of ingredients.

Inexpensive - fast - and easy - there are even recipes that incorporate all of these elements although inexpensive and fast are a bit more difficult because a lot of saving money on food is because people are willing to take time and effort to cook more from scratch foods and/or take the time to make big batches of food that can be frozen or otherwise stored.

I don't get these magazines as I don't get any magazines but when I checked the recipes on the Mishpacha website they seem relatively normal

I don't want to single out OP but a recipe using ice cream and chocolate chip cookies in some form is not generally considered to be a super expensive dessert especially for Shabbos. Many families do have those foods at least once a week.

I didn't see that thread and didn't mean to be redundant!
It's nice to see your opinion - obviously you are the kind of person these magazines are catering to. I'm sure many people are making these expensive recipes and I'm happy you can afford it.

I started this thread - because I felt like I must be the only one who cannot afford to make these recipes, and I got lots of validation!! I know there are people like you out there but it's not everyone.

amother

Cerise

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 9:22 pm

amother OP wrote:

I don't get these magazines and had to go to the Mishpacha website to actually see what their food selections were.

Maybe I am missing something but the recipes on their website don't seem to use particularly odd or costly ingredients. There is a meatball recipe using a pound of meat for six servings - several chicken recipes - some specifically suggested for Shabbos. A few fairly normal cake and brownies recipes and some eggplant dips.

I understand a lifestyle that doesn't seek out *new* recipes because it is more realistic for many busy women to rely on a few recipes that you don't have to think about.

But I am not understanding how the recipes - at least the ones on the website - would be so triggering in terms of being outlandishly expensive. Maybe I am missing something or the recipes in the magazine are different than the ones on the website?

amother

Blushpink

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 9:39 pm

Personally I agree with you OP, about both magazine recipes and many cookbook recipes and of course a lot of instagrammers and blogger's recipes.
However I do have a lot of friends and relatives who have a much higher budget and lifestyle than me and cook /eat on that kind of budget on a regular basis.
As an aside, most blogger's/insta people are either on the wealthier side /living a higher level lifestyle, and/or making recipes/meals is like a business expense for them so they can spend more money on their meals/eating out than many of us average/lower level budget people
Reminder that Instagram does not reflect real life!! It's all carefully curated and crafted to create a certain reality/picture. Same for magazine articles/recipes

amother

Jean

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 9:42 pm

amother Cerise wrote:

https://www.amimagazine.org/20.....chef/

Amelia Bedelia

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 9:48 pm

watergirl wrote:

In general, I find a lot of kosher food blog/magazine recipes to be an exercise in "pick two things from this list". The recipe can be:
a) cheap
b)easy
3)kid friendly
4)easy to find ingredients

But it can not be all of the above.

MASSIVE shout out to Miriam Pascal Cohen (who we now know is on this site! Hi!) who regularly creates recipes that tick off many boxes. I find most (not all, and that's ok) of her recipes to be assessable, easy to follow, easy to shop for, and the results come out the way she promised they would. Of course she has show stoppers (read: $$) and more involved recipes. But I've found her to be the most well rounded and down to earth recipe developer out of everyone out there.

I agree! Love her recipes

What's her SN?

amother

Cerise

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 9:50 pm

amother Jean wrote:

https://www.amimagazine.org/2023/01/18/secrets-from-the-chef/

But that is one recipe on a website and the other recipes are meatballs, some chicken recipes, stuffed peppers, vegetable carbonara. The tuna recipe (tuna is expensive) is described as a Yom Tov dish.

It seems to be a mix of types of recipes.

Again, I understand why people don't have the energy or inclination to want to try new recipes. Most women who work have a lifestyle where they just want to cook very basic stuff they don't have to think about. But often that changes when they enter a different phase of life - have more time and more interest in cooking as a hobby.

zaq

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 9:52 pm

Eh, who cares? You're an adult and smart enough to know what does and does not suit your style, preferences and budget. Just as you know to skip the pork recipes and recipes for basar bechalav in a regular cookbook or magazine (I mean, you do, right? RIGHT? Hello?), so you have the brains to skip recipes in frum 'zines that are clearly too rich for your budget. You can use them as jumping-off places to jazz up your usual fare, or you can follow the recipes and sub less costly ingredients. Of course it won't be the same but it may be good anyway. Hey, I'm not going out and buying three threads of Spanish saffron for five dollars a thread--I'll use turmeric for the color and not worry about the taste. You won't find me using turquoise gravel salt from Mars, either--plain old Diamond Crystal Kosher salt will have to do. Or if there are too many exotic ingredients for which I can't think of substitutes, I'll skip the recipe entirely. Given that the first thing listed in a recipe is the ingredients, It's possible to tell within seconds whether or not the recipe is a good candidate. Recipes are like ~~shidduchim~~ buses--you don't like the one in front of you, another one is bound to come along soon enough.

Really, life is too short to go around resenting what magazines have to offer. If you know a 'zine is going to be filled with costly stuff you can't afford, don't read it!

essie14

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 11:18 pm

zaq wrote:

👏 👏 👏

amother

Iris

Mon, Jan 23 2023, 11:47 pm

watergirl wrote:

How do we know this? What did I miss? So exciting!