Shoe Leather: Behind the seams of Shoestring Magazine

Frugal Foodies: Indian Takeaway

Ginger and I are closet foodies. Forget couture and modern decor — we frequently blow our budget on anything and everything epicurean, from street food to Michelin-starred fine dining. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for anything French.)

Not going out to dinner as frequently and curbing the urge to call up and order takeout have been the hardest parts of forgoing a paycheck to live the dream. But limitation is the mother of innovation, and we're discovering new delights with each passing week and grocery trip, some that we'll take with us into the flush days of the future. (You know, when we turn Shoestring into the publishing empire it's destined to become, and Meghan and I are as rich as Martha and Oprah...but I digress.)

The one thing I miss most from my formerly flush, six-figure life is my weekly Indian lunch at Punjab Cafe in Quincy, Mass. with Chris and Lanny, friends from my second-to-last start-up, a social networking site for the arts & entertainment industry called Nextcat. Punjab isn't exactly pricey — our total bill would always be less than $35, and our favorite chicken tikka masala lunch special was just $6.95 per person — but we've all spread out and day jobs (or lack thereof) and gas prices have, over time, removed this simple splurge from our budgets.

Which is why I was psyched that, at a recent dinner at his house, Chris introduced me to Patak's tikka masala curry, quite possibly the closest thing in a jar to Punjab's chicken tikka masala and available at Stop & Shop for just $3.99 (by the half case on Amazon for about $22). Whether you're trying to cut back on takeaway or just don't have any good Indian restaurants near you, Patak's is the closest thing to authentic that I've yet found, and unbelievably affordable. It has just the right mix of tomato, tangy lemon and cilantro, and heat from the turmeric. Just add grilled chicken, rice, and naan and you've got yourself a quick and cheap meal for four. Namaste, Patak family, namaste.

Tell us: What are your favorite grocery store finds? Things that satisfy your inner foodie while staying within your frugal budget? We're always looking for cheap eats, so leave us your recommendations in the comments and we'll pick up your products to test drive in our kitchen.

~ Melissa

Frugal Foodies: Pop Culture Pot Luck Suppers

Last night, some friends and I kicked off another exciting season of Bravo's hit culinary reality show, Top Chef, with our favorite frugal foodie tradition: the Pop Culture Pot Luck. Especially right now, it's a fantastic way to hone your chops as an amateur chef while at the same time taking a huge chunk out of your monthly fine dining expenses and getting to spend time with other geeks for anything gourmet.

So, how does it work? Every Wednesday night from now until the finale, about a dozen of my favorite foodies will gather for a weekly pot luck supper where we recreate dishes from the past five seasons of challenges on Top Chef (on a dime, of course) and watch the newest episode together. We each take turns hosting a week, and each host then cooks the main entree while everyone else vies for the amuse bouche, appetizer, salad, and dessert courses. Plus, everyone brings a bottle of wine under $10 to $15 to pair with their course. (I brought a bottle of $2.99 Charles Shaw sauvignon blanc from Trader Joe's last night, which was surprisingly good.)

The best part about it is that we created a fantasy league on Fafarazzi.com to track our favorite "cheftestants" and our three-person teams (see mine at left and below) score us points each week for winning challenges, swearing, and using favorite catchphrases from the show, among other things. At the end of the season, we'll award first, second, and third place prizes for the Top Foodies. Just like a regular fantasy sports league, each player kicks in a small amount at the beginning of the season ($25), which we'll use towards prizes and catering the finale party to the theme of the exotic locale in which the final two episodes are being filmed. Last year, we had the fabulous fortune of finding out that the founders and offices of Fafarazzi are based right here in Boston, so we invited them to join us.

To create your own free account and choose a team, and to either create or join a fantasy league, check out Fafarazzi. And, if you haven't already, subscribe to Shoestring Magazine for free now to get the whole scoop—including photos from last night's event with Todd Galloway from Fafarazzi—in next week's issue!