Category Archives: Cheat Codes
Cheat Code: Seasoning Ramen Yourself
There’s an interesting dynamic when it comes to ramen in the United States. On the one hand there’s the packaged ramen you can buy at any grocery store for like, 25 cents and that’s been stereotyped as a poor college kid food staple. On the other hand you have ramen houses/restaurants where you can get more authentic ramen dishes, but they tend to range from a bit pricey to way too expensive. I’m not entirely sure what it means, I’m just interested by the fact that there isn’t much of an in between.
That is, of course, unless you make your own in between. This post will look at some ways you can upgrade your cheap grocery store ramen to something a bit more personalized. Ramen comes with its own flavor packets, which are tasty, but a lot of times people don’t want to use them because of the massive amounts of sodium in them. Here at PCFG if we’re using the flavor packet we usually only use about half of it, and it’s fine. But here’s some ways to give flavor to your ramen without using the flavor packet at all.
Cheat Codes: Helping Bread Last Longer
When you live with a bunch of other people, food tends to disappear rather quickly, and you don’t usually have to worry about it going bad before it gets eaten. But when you’re living on your own or with one other person, the food doesn’t fly out of the cupboard as fast anymore. Things that used to be gone in days can now take weeks to finish. And that can be a problem for perishable food items. You don’t want to end up throwing away food you spent good money on. Luckily there are ways to help a lot of foods last longer. Today we’ll focus on bread.
Cheat Code: Saving Avocados
We’ve touched upon the somewhat unstable nature of avocados in the past on this blog. Once you cut into an avocado you have a limited amount of time to use it before it turns brown and unusable. This happens because of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase in the flesh of the avocado. When it’s exposed to oxygen polyphenol oxidase changes the chemical structure of the avocado’s flesh and increases the amount of melanins. So the same pigments that cause you to get a tan in the summer also cause your guacamole to go kaput. While it’s easy to finish up guacamole before it goes bad (because, you know, it’s so delicious), there are times when you want just some avocado, but don’t want the rest to go to waste. I usually encounter this problem when I want to put some avocado on a sandwich since I don’t make sandwiches large enough to use an entire avocado on. So I’m left with half of an avocado that’s now a ticking time bomb. Avocados are kind of expensive, so you should try your best to make sure you use that other half and don’t just end up throwing it out. How does one do this?
You could buy one of those “avocado saver” things I’ve seen various places.
It’s like a sandal for your avocado I guess.
I have no idea if things like this actually work though. A quick scan of reviews on Amazon.com gives a pretty mixed bag of results.
Cheat Codes: Save Your Condiment Containers For A Later Date!
Condiments are great. Virtually every type of cuisine on the planet features some sort of condiments to go alongside its dishes. If variety is the spice of life, then condiments are the spice of food. Well… you know, besides actual spices. Afterall, french fries are pointless without ketchup and chicken fingers without honey mustard is a crime against humanity. But let’s face it, the vast majority of sauces and dressings we use are liquids that don’t hold up against the almighty force of gravity. Sure you can pour your favorite salsa out onto a plate and thrash your corn tortillas around in it like some sort of gluten intolerant caveman, but why do that when you can do better?
For reals. Don’t be save. Not cool dude.
Cheat Codes: How To Make A Tostada Meal
People who are following PCFG may remember tostadas, from our post on how to make your own Crunchwrap from Taco Bell. They’re a lightly fried, crispy, corn tortilla that somewhat resemble a giant tortilla chip or a flat taco shell. They work really well for a number of different simple dishes or recipes.
But wait, actually, a tostada is also just the name of a meal in Mexican cuisine. Shit, this might be confusing. (Actually, it’s pretty simple. It’s made out of the aforementioned tostadas, and can be prepared in minutes.)
The Poor Couple's Food Guide 
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