This is an ongoing experiment in life in the kitchen, and beyond. I am a divorced dad who loves to cook, and enjoys the good things in life. With Depression-era parents, I was brought up to try to wring as much out of a dollar as I can. So, I am appalled by awful food in restaurants, at ridiculous prices; take-out glop; indifferent or downright hostile service; and all manner of efforts to pry money from my fists without giving some value in return.

But look, I'm a busy guy. Between jobs, kids, a budding new business, and the myriad small pleasures life has to offer, I don't have time to research every spending opportunity to find the best deal. I can't cruise every store to see what's on sale. And I don't want to waste my time. So, over time I found that I adapted, using the POOMA Principle (Pulled Out Of Mid Air, polite form). The POOMA Principle states, in essence:

* Work with what you have, or can easily get. If cooking, use up what's in the fridge. If it's on sale, buy two and put one in the freezer for later.
* Trust your own instincts. Pursue life's good things as you perceive them. A good yardstick: if you heard about it on TV, you can probably do without it.
* Be not a slave to impulse, which constricts choice and burns your clock. Don't covet The One Thing--it's invariably more expensive than readily available alternatives.

As a guideline for making delicious, cheap meals, the POOMA Principle helps you get the most out of your dollar. It frees you from avoidable wild-goose chases. You get the quiet pleasure of providing superior results for yourself and your loved ones, at a fraction of the cost that other drones pay. And a fringe benefit is that it gives off a nice right-brain-activity buzz--cooking, far from drudgery, is a pleasure that engages the parts of your brain devoted to creative activity, like painting or making music.