Dear readers,

Last week on his blog, Adam Roberts, The Amateur Gourmet, tackled the topic of “How to Cook on a Budget.” Not surprisingly, his advice was this: “You go to the store, you stock up and then you cook what you have on hand.”

In other words, start with a well-stocked pantry. Too many people cook like Adam has done for years: They find a recipe they want to make, go to the market to buy the ingredients, and then proceed. I know; I’ve done it, too.

But that gets expensive and wasteful; you wind up with costly ingredients that you’ve used only once or twice — and no depth to your repertoire.

Instead, take inventory of the ingredients you have on hand and then decide what to cook. It’s a different way of thinking about cooking, and it’s not always as intuitive as it might sound (although Deborah Madison, in describing her New Year’s Eve supper, makes it seem easy.)

Culinate member and friend Katherine Deumling is helping others tackle this problem. In her new business, “Cook With What You Have,” she teaches the skill of kitchen improvisation, among other things.

And speaking of improvisation: Another fabulous resource for cooking on the fly is The Flavor Bible, a book that I turn to again and again for its helpful cross references. (There’s a review here; scroll down the page.)

Kim Carlson
Editorial Director