The times they are a-changing...

Ok world, listen up. Things are changing around here, and changing soon. Rather than recipes only, sometimes I will include informative posts about things related to the world of cooking. Don't panic, you can still find plenty of culinary inspiration here. I will continue posting all my cheap, easy, fast, fun, filling, creative recipes. To that I will add an enrichment of reader's knowledge on all topics food, cooking and budgeting.

There will also be some tweaks to the layout and a re-naming. From my very first post on this fledgling blog to today,  many things have changed and yet many things have stayed the same. I have survived four years of undergraduate education, a masters degree, a thesis, many experiments, tests, quizzes, long nights, various jobs in restaurants and libraries, and have many great memories. I am no longer in college, but my philosophy of trying new, fun recipes while keeping it cheap and simple has remained. This blog is all about the creative fusion of new, strange ingredients with classic old standbys all while staying within a budget. 

Thus the name has evolved into "Budget Epicurean" to reflect the philosophy that eating inexpensively does not necessarily mean eating flavorlessly. A meal made for pennies can bring you great taste and joy. You can literally have your cake and eat it too!

Epicureanism is actually a system of philosophy based on the thoughts and teaching of Epicurus, a materialist from around 300 BC. He believed that "pleasure" is the greatest good, but unlike hedonism, he claimed that the way to attain such pleasure is to live modestly and to gain knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of one's desires. The ultimate form of happiness was a state of freedom from fear (ataraxia) as well as freedom from pain (aponia). Today epicureanism is meant to imply a love of the finer things in life like art, food, and sensual pleasures even to excess. However a true follower of Epicurus knows that happiness does not come from over-indulgence but from balance, prudence, and contentment.

So from now on, look for new posts every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday! 
 

Keep being fabulous, guys!

If you have any comments, suggestions, or wish to write a guest post, please shoot me an email. Keep on creating. Thanks for reading!

Pumpkin seed makeovers

One of my favorite parts of fall is carving pumpkins and roasting the seeds. Salty, crunchy, the perfect snack. A friend of mine decided to try branching out and putting weird things on the seeds we roasted. Here are our concoctions and my humble opinions thereof.

 This is the batch I made the day before, soaked overnight in salt water. They were simply roasted with olive oil and sea salt. My favorite, the old classic.

Indian spices: turmeric, curry powder & coriander

Brown sugar and cinnamon sweetness

Chili powder and chipotle pepper

Garlic and salt, a classic combo

All four batches of seeds, mixed with oil and a bit of salt each

Step 1: Mix seasonings, 2 tbsp oil and some salt into each batch.
Step 2: Spread the seeds in a single layer over a cookie sheet.
Step 3: Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, mix around so nothing burns, bake another 10 minutes.

 Each batch was put into its own labeled baggie.

The garlic salt was good, like original with garlic. The curry had a strange aftertaste. The spicy ones were nearly too much for me but tolerable. And the sugar ones caramelized and burnt into clumps... so as much fun as it was, I'll stick with the classics. But now you know.