Gramsci wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 9:34 am White bread, baloney and ketchup sandwiches.

Jesus this might be the most dirtbag food I've ever heard about. Wash that shit down with some grape Kool-Aid.

Tell your children with 80s fetishes (Stranger Things fans) to try the above if they really want to experience the 80s.

I'm pretty sure we washed it down with "raspberry" soda. The colors additives in that stuff made kids go mad. Big glass bottles we took back to the "diary" (New Zealandese for a 7/11-Corner Shop) for a 5c refund which we then spent on Sherbet lollies (New Zealandese for candy/sweets).

Or Raro, which was powdered "Orange juice" which was just sugar, citric acid and colors... it gave you diabetes if you drank too much.

Those were the days

enframed wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 12:30 pmTell your children with 80s fetishes (Stranger Things fans) to try the above if they really want to experience the 80s.

I was a Lunchables kid. Pretty much the most processed bullshit food imaginable.

Substitute the ketchup on that sandwich for Miracle Whip and I've definitely Been There..

Gramsci wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 9:34 am White bread, baloney and ketchup sandwiches.

A 2mm* thick layer of butter required.

* that’s 5/64” for you King’s Thumb measurement folks.

I used to eat this shit sans butter.

An American ambassador to New Zealand in the 1950s described the country as having some of the worlds finest produce that the locals managed to boil down into inedible paste.

Now NZ is a Foodie paradise, but when I was a kid it was super basic, maybe two brands of any given item. Often hyper processed.

Big fan of skin on/bone in chicken thighs. We buy the huge packs from Costco, and then roast 4-6 at a time in the cast iron with just salt and pepper. Eat 1-2 a person for dinner, then save the rest and chop them up to make tacos or mix in with a stir fry. Save the bones for stalk, and drain and save the fat to cook vegetables in later.

Carrots are cheap, plentiful, and we'll stay stable in the crisper for a long time. Big fan of cutting them up in quarters like a french fry and roasting with olive oil, salt, and pepper, anything we don't eat we then save in the fridge and chop up and mix in with said tacos or stir fry.

When I was real dirtbagging in college, I'd often by dry falafel mix from the discount grocery store (Deals Only: We Only Have Deals), fry those up, and eat them in a tortilla with some lettuce and salsa. Probably ate that 3-5 nights a week for years.

My favorite dirtbag snack on tour back in the day was a bag of grocery store french rolls and a jar of the cheapest marinara sauce, just dip those rolls in the sauce and eat up.

A couple times on tour I had a bunch of Tofurkey sausages (not econo) that I'd wrap in foil and heat up on the dash of the van, and then when we stopped for gas at an Arco I just went in and grabbed a hotdog bun, used my one sausage, and loaded up on their condiments (econo).

Most dirtbag thing I ever heard about someone on tour doing was going to a McDonalds, filling up a coffee cup with ketchup packs and pepper, then putting hot water in it for free "tomato soup".

tallchris wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 1:18 pm Big fan of skin on/bone in chicken thighs. We buy the huge packs from Costco, and then roast 4-6 at a time in the cast iron with just salt and pepper.

Literally the basis for the one pot biryani I'm making tonight:

-Rub the meat with the skug our friend makes in big batches, then brown both sides. (I think any curry paste or harissa would be good)

-Add the rinsed basmati rice and a mixture of stock, water, and whatever's left in the can of coconut milk I have open.

-Look up appropriate ratios and cooking times for similar recipes but that's basically it. I'll probably eat more of the meat when it's fresh, then save most of the rice to eat with the big batch of dal I have in the freezer. (a secondary freezer is also good for End Times)

It's not can of tuna into Hamburger Helper easy, but still pretty simple.

Most dirtbag thing I ever heard about someone on tour doing was going to a McDonalds, filling up a coffee cup with ketchup packs and pepper, then putting hot water in it for free "tomato soup".

Holy shit that's amazing!

I'll eat almost any leftover soup, chili, curry, or spaghetti sauce spooned onto a giant baked potato. Happily and with enthusiasm.

Leftover chinese food, especially a kung pow or beef with broccoli, general tso's etc, is perfect for bullshit fusion taco time.

5-6 Frozen Gyoza tossed into instant ramen is one of my favorite things to eat when I'm lazy/tired and hungry.

A can of beans can be made delicious with little to zero effort.

Jack's frozen pizza is elevated when dipped into mayo. Trust.

I did my time and I am never going back to the boxed shit. Maybe a frozen pizza, maybe macaroni for my daughter, but the other stuff NO.

Speaking of leftovers:
Leftover curry (needs to be thick) or etoufee served over a plain french country style omelet served with rice on the side.