I highly recommend "The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks" by Kathleen Flinn for people who are wanting to downsize their food budgets and replace processed food with more whole foods.
Kathleen Flinn is a food writer who attended Le Cordon Bleu (her lifelong dream) in Paris. This book documents a cooking class she led for average people who were hooked on convenience foods, uncomfortable in the kitchen, and eager to make real changes in their diets.
Much of what Flinn has to say about processed foods and hormone injected meat is not new. Those who have read Michael Pollan will see parallels. But what Flinn gives her readers who live vicariously through the lessons taught in her cooking school is the confidence, the skills, and the knowledge to make healthier and more economical choices. She teaches them that a recipe is just a guideline, and they can master a few basic recipes, adapt them to their needs, and continue to grow as cooks.
I particularly liked the tone of this book. There is no sanctimony here. There is no suggestion that people are stupid or lazy. She provides context for why we make the choices we do about food -- some of which goes back to the way we were raised, messages we receive in the media/recipes suggesting that convenience products are time savers, and experiences (like being afraid to use a knife because we once sliced a finger badly -- a very common experience.) It is fun to be a fly on the wall as people are engaged and enjoy the thrill of experimenting with food and being creative in the process.
Although not exhaustive, here are some of the lessons she teaches -- many of which are Mustachian in nature:
1 - How to cut up and roast a chicken (with many different flavor profiles)
2 - Knife techniques
3 - What kitchen tools you really need and why not to clutter your kitchen with gadgets
4 - Soups, stocks, and broths
5 - How to use better quality, but less meat in cooking
6- How to make a basic cream sauce as a base for many things
7 - How to eliminate food waste and cook with what you have
The last point really hit home for me and for a lot of the people in the book. We throw a lot of food away (the statistics on it are a little sobering). She provides practical tips for using up the things that lurk in our fridges and pantries and suggests methods of preserving things to not waste. It is a good challenge that I have decided to take up (and will post about in Throw Down the Gauntlet thread.)
I also highly recommend Flinn's first book, "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry." It's a great memoir about following our dreams at any age.
