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Comment by anatoli | Hacker News Reader

As in, "No more Ramen, I can now afford a Hamburger." (Which totally makes it not funny... oh well.)

Our ramen was rice and beans. In fact the rice and beans I used to make during Viaweb became the basis of the dishes we make for founders at YC dinners. (I say we because we now have a cook make the dinners, but I made them for the first 7 cycles.)

Rice & Beans For 2n

   olive oil or butter
   n yellow onions
   3n cloves garlic
   n 12-oz cans Goya white beans
   n cubes Knorr beef bouillon
   n teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
   3n teaspoons cumin
   n cups rice, preferably sushi rice

Put rice in rice cooker. Add water as specified on rice package. (Default: 2 cups water per cup of rice.) Turn on rice cooker and forget about it.

Chop onions and fry in oil, over fairly low heat, till glassy. Put in chopped garlic, pepper, cumin, and a little more fat, and stir. Keep heat low. Cook another 2 or 3 minutes, then add beans (don't drain the beans), and stir. Throw in the bouillon cube(s), cover, and cook on lowish heat for at least 10 minutes more. Stir vigilantly to avoid sticking.

While not only delicious, one reason Rice & beans is preferable to Ramen is that it is a complete protein[1], "a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all of the essential amino acids for the dietary needs of humans" [2].

[1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_protein [2] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_and_beans

You probably want a little more fat than this diet provides alone. Also be sure to watch out for Vitamin B12 deficiency :-)

That's where the donuts come in:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=511085

"How to eat like a startup: A Cookbook by Paul Graham"

In the works?

I remember reading about a startup that produced a cookbook for startups out of their experience. Unfortunately I couldn't find the reference, but I wouldn't mind hearing what others have come up with.

Maybe consider cutting back on the bouillon cubes.

Beef bouillon cube ingredients:

Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Beef Fat, Hydrolyzed Protein (Corn, Soy, Wheat), Caramel Color, Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, Water, Beef Extract, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Spice and Coloring, Dried Carrots, Parsley.

Per your serving size:

1340 mg sodium = 56% RDA

The Knorr vegetable cube trades off MSG for partially hydrogenated oil so doesn't seem much more appealing.

24 ounces of beans for one person? Do you mean for 2n, not for n/2?

Oops! Fixed; thanks.

Too many ingredients for Heyzap's taste. I am going to try that out without the garlic and bouillon.

Though I did find a Chinese supermarket in Mission with cheap pre-chopped garlic.

If you aren't going to use bullion, sprinkle some MSG on, umami is essential here.

Stir vigilantly to avoid sticking.

Or allow a little bit of sticking at the end and add some white wine to unstick (deglaze) the sticky stuff. Cook away at least half of the wine you added. This little flourish always adds good flavors.

for n/2 weeks, right?

If you happen to be in Thailand, try the street food - satay skewers, spicy soup, deep fried fish cakes...

[ The crispy grasshopper beer snacks are mainly there to shock ]

geek culinary bliss on a budget

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