Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I find some of the comments above to be a little surprising and off-the-mark with regard to Waters’ philosophy behind food. Let’s not forget that her early inspiration came from Marcel Pagnol films, which spoke to her about the lifestyle of French farmers, a lesson in frugality. As a student with very little money, I still follow her philosophy behind food. It boils down to saving money wherever I can with a little labor: soaking beans instead of buying canned, having a vegetable garden, making a sourdough starter, making granola. (Who wants packaged foods, anyway?) In one of her cookbooks, I came across a very useful tip, that if you don’t have the herb that a recipe calls for, you can use whatever you have that’s fresh. The integrity of ingredients is what counts; if you’re poor like me, maybe shy away from the foie gras, but you can still eat well for cheap.
I had a friend who waitressed at Chez Panisse, and the way they treat all of their employees is no joke. I don’t know the particulars of how much they were paid, but the grand prize at their holiday party was airfare, hotel, and dinner for two at a restaurant somewhere in Europe. . .

I love that Time Life cookbook. It's my go-to for Danish recipes. The look in Max's eye when he skaals has always amused me, so I'm glad that others are following suit.