Reading Nook: 'Good and Cheap'

"Good and Cheap" by Leanne Brown

"Good and Cheap" by Leanne Brown

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Leanne Brown didn’t set out to write a buzz-worthy cookbook for people who want fine-dining taste on a food stamp budget.

Good and Cheap, a beautifully photographed e-book packed with low-cost, fuss-free recipes, actually began simply as a master’s thesis for the 29-year-old New York University food studies program graduate.

But after Brown posted it online as a PDF it got attention on Reddit, the social networking and news website, then turned into a surprise hit, spawning a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to cover the cost of printing hardcover copies for the people who need them most.

Her approach to the cookbook — using the same kind of high-quality photography and innovative flavor combinations that go into cookbooks aimed at people with $6,000 ranges in their kitchens — is part of a new breed of campaigns to help people eat well on a tight budget. The goal is simple — make it attractive to cook from scratch, almost always the best and cheapest way to eat well without spending a lot.

Recipes in Good and Cheap are nutritious and enticing. Think vibrant vegetable jambalaya and a fun section called simply “Things on Toast.” Brown wrote the book partly because she wanted a thesis that could have a life outside academia. She also wanted to research whether she could eat the kind of food she likes to cook on a food stamp budget (about $4.43 a day).

“If you can cook there’s so much you can do with limited ingredients,” Brown says. “If you don’t know how to cook, you’ll feel pretty trapped.”

The e-book is available for free at leannebrown.ca/cookbooks. The hard copies of Brown’s book will be available in September and sell for $20, but purchase options include buying additional copies to be donated to needy individuals for just a few dollars more. Brown also hopes to produce a Spanish edition and is looking for volunteers to help translate the book.