I like to cook. I like to learn about new dishes and how they’re made, and try to cook them. I don’t always do a good job of it, and I haven’t had any formal culinary training.

This is a blog about not eating out in New York. For my wallet’s sake, mostly. You can read more about why I’m not eating out on my mission statement here, and each month I post a new “Reason of the Month” for not eating out. I sometimes profile prolific people (whom I know) with a passion for cooking and spotlight certain markets. I also love hosting cooking parties, contests, and events both online and in person, so if you’ve got an idea and want to collaborate, hit me up sometime.

The recipes on this blog are all original and have been tested in my kitchen here in Brooklyn. The ones you’ll see are only those which are, in my opinion, good enough to make one not miss eating out (save for the occasional disaster). Hey, they’ve worked for me. There are plenty of vegetarian entries, though I myself eat — and cook — just about everything, from tripe to sea cucumber, and try to do so seasonally, locally, sustainably, cost-efficiently and healthily while I’m at it.

The catch: I will drink out in the city — or anywhere. It would be another story altogether to make bathtub gin or stink up my apartment with barrels of fermenting hops, and we all know that drinking is as indispensable as eating. Second catch: I will eat out if I’m traveling (outside of NYC) and can’t help it. Though I always did like the idea of renting a room or cabin with one of those cute kitchens and making a go of the local supermarket while on vacation.

Write to me at cathy[at]noteatingoutinny.com

“None can be an impartial or wise observer of human life but from the vantage point of what we should call voluntary poverty.”

–Henry David Thoreau, Walden