A Third of a Penny Saved, is a Third of a Penny Earned!

Yesterday's post reminds me of a another nugget of fatherly advice given to me. Actually it was given to me to share with my then boyfriend (now husband!), Adler. My father never gave advice with any kind of actual value, but he did once call to share with me this:

(phone conversation, Adler and I had been dating for only a couple of months at this point)
Dad: "How's Adler?"
Me: "He's good."
Dad: "You tell Adler --" and then he really did pause, as if he was looking left and right to make sure no one could hear him before he revealed his sensitive information.
I nearly thought he might next say something semi-protective of me... you know "get your mitts off of my daughter!" etc.
No, no.

Dad: "You tell Adler -- you can get three uses out of a coffee filter before having to throw it away."

So there it is. If you want to save literally fractions of a single penny: reuse your coffee filters.

In the beginning

My mom was, and is, an amazing cook. I learned many things from her, but my fascination and ability to make anything from anything had to have been passed down genetically from my father. Though social norms and general fear of ridicule prevented me from going to some of the lengths, --or rather shorts that my father did, I still take after him, sadly. I have never tried, nor ever will try, the "technique" below. I also don't recommend it. But it did inspire me to create this blog, so here it is:

You can use a coffee pot to boil hot dogs. And by boil I mean, just get them hot enough to eat. You're not going to kill off anything that might be harboring in those dogs, so make sure they're not old. My father discovered this method upon moving to Torrance, CA (leaving his wife and kid behind) to take a temporary job to make ends meet. While walking through Hollywood with me, he found a coffee pot at a crummy yard sale. He bought it for two dollars. He was, in my opinion, overly-happy to acquire this used, crusty, off-brand coffee pot, but now that I know the major plans he had for it, I guess it makes sense...

He had no regular pots or pans in his studio apartment, so he put the hot dogs in the coffee pot carafe, loaded the reservoir with water and brewed his meal. I guess you could also heat up things like corn or frozen vegetables this way too. This method would also come in handy if you don't have a stove.

Welcome to the MacGyver Gourmet!

Let's face it (and let's also face that I just started my first entry with "let's face it") -- it'd be nice to buy the choicest cuts of beef and veal, the freshest produce, a lobster. But that's all pricey. I just left my job and I can't blow my non-existent paychecks on premium fare. Yes, yes, I know the best tastes the best, but I simply can't afford it. I'm going to have to cook with what I have and what I can afford -- this is The MacGyver Gourmet.