About

Welcome to No Free Lunch. My name is Sebastian Wai. I'm a PhD student in Economics at Purdue University faculty member at Indiana University the University of South Dakota University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but when I'm not locked in a dark office solving problems grading homework, I love to cook. No Free Lunch is my way of sharing the food I've been making with friends, family, and anyone who happens to wander into this corner of the internet. Maybe you'll even try some of these.

I have a no-fear attitude when it comes to cooking, and I think that's the only way to approach the kitchen. Just two Several years Way too long ago, I was an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon with almost no cooking experience. I didn't really know how to make anything. But I did know that I love food. When learning how to cook, you have to dive right in. Peruse some recipes, and work with what you have. Never made something before? No problem. It's okay if it doesn't work out the first time, or even the tenth time. You'll get it eventually.

I like to improvise while cooking, often coming up with a stripped-down version of a dish that is easy to make with readily available ingredients. A well-stocked collection of herbs and spices makes this easier, of course. The recipes you see here are a combination of old family recipes, my own concoctions, and recipes that I've improvised off of ones I've seen elsewhere.

A lot of people my age, or, in fact, of all ages, tell themselves they have no time or skill to cook. These are terrible excuses. A good cook (and we all have it in us) can make good food quickly and on a budget. So next time your potatoes burn or your sauce doesn't work out, just remember that every great dish had a dozen failures that came before it.