One way I've cut food costs is to provision off the local economy, for locally grown or produced goods.
Stopping at a small fishing village on the coast of Mexico, the major product was wee tiny squid. Having never prepared such tiny creatures, I asked a lady who was looking them over "how do you clean" these things. She gave me a detailed description, and I bought 2 kilos, for about $2.00 US.
The squid served for 3 meals and as appetizers on a beach pot-luck get together. If you've never cleaned little squid, here's the process:
PS, as an edit, I prepared these by soaking them in a beaten egg, then throwing them into a plastic bag with flour, salt, different spices to taste, then deep frying. For the pot-luck, in a batter like fish and chips. Some use milk to wet them before flouring, but I like egg.
Stopping at a small fishing village on the coast of Mexico, the major product was wee tiny squid. Having never prepared such tiny creatures, I asked a lady who was looking them over "how do you clean" these things. She gave me a detailed description, and I bought 2 kilos, for about $2.00 US.
The squid served for 3 meals and as appetizers on a beach pot-luck get together. If you've never cleaned little squid, here's the process:
PS, as an edit, I prepared these by soaking them in a beaten egg, then throwing them into a plastic bag with flour, salt, different spices to taste, then deep frying. For the pot-luck, in a batter like fish and chips. Some use milk to wet them before flouring, but I like egg.