Rough Living: Tips and Tales of a Vagabond

Part 3: Eating When You Have No Money and some easy recipes you can make anywhere

One aspect of this site is to share my work as a writer through the years. I’ve already started to share the audiobook version of Notes from Nowhere (2020) but now let’s go further back and hit the first book I wrote, Rough Living: Tips and Tales of a Vagabond (2003 & 2012 revised). In a sense, the success of this book set me on the path I’m on, or the failure of this book - depending on how you look at it.

In the paid subscriber section this week - I offer expanded content- as well as links to where you can get the full PDF versions of the book for free and I’ll also offer some commentary on the parts of the text we cover. In addition, paid subscribers get valuable updates on new ways to do things more than two decades after first publication.

Free subscribers will get pieces of the original 2003 text itself, delivered weekly. This week - it’s focused on filling your belly when you don’t have money. It’s interesting to note that the wealthy don’t mind accepting free food but generally don’t want you to have it.

Allons-y!

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Food: How to get the grinds

(A note from the present in 2025: These techniques and resources remain viable but not as easily used as they were in the early 2000s - the main reason is because there are so many more hungry people in the USA today than there were at that time. Another reason is that a lot of middle class folks have realized they can utilize some of these techniques to cut down on their expenses. Finally, there is an active war against feeding hungry people by the people who sit at the top of the food chain. They would rather see you starve and disappear than eat without paying them for it. )

There are plenty of ways to get food if you need it. This is especially true in the United States and other 'Western' countries. The following are a few ways to fill your belly.

Food Banks

The food bank is a free service who is privately funded in most communities to provide food to those who need it. Most of the food comes from grocery stores which would throw it away if the food bank didn’t take it or farms who have damaged produce they can't sell. Produce which isn’t beautiful enough to buy, dented canned goods, dairy products which reach their expiration date but are still good for a week or so, and also stuff donated by local people and business.

The corporate stores rarely participate. Once a month the government provides “commodities,” usually sub-par, unhealthy foods like powdered milk, canned beef, and surplus applesauce. Food banks are a great way to eat if you don’t have money.

The best thing about them is if people don’t use them, the food goes to waste, so you’re doing a good thing by taking free food. On most trips I've taken to the food bank, people are bitching about the wait for free food. I can never understand that. Don’t be one of those people.

Food Not Bombs

Food Not Bombs is a group which was born at the height of the Nuclear Protest Movement in 1980. It is organized collectively and relies on consensus decision-making. Food which is donated or saved from dumpsters is prepared into healthy vegan (no animal products) meals.

Howard Zinn, the noted historian and author, gave this description in the forward to the Food Not Bombs Handbook by C.T. Lawrence Butler and Keith McHenry.

The message of Food Not Bombs is simple and powerful: no one should be without food in a world so richly provided with land, sun, and human ingenuity. No consideration of money, no demand for profit, should stand in the way of any hungry or malnourished child or any adult in need. Here are people who will not be bamboozled by “the laws of the market” which say only people who can afford to buy something can have it. Zinn goes on... They point unerringly to the double challenge: to feed immediately people who are without adequate food, and to replace a system whose priorities are power and profit with one meeting the needs of all human beings.

I remember a plate of food at one of the Food Not Bombs events I went to in Seattle. It was served in a white plastic tofu container. I had salad and vegetable soup. There was also guacamole and sourdough bread from a local bakery. Forty or fifty people were fed. Lots of hands helped the FNB folks unload and then pack it back up. A couple of bags of clothing were handed around and shared throughout the meal. It was inspiring. Most of the people who were eating were the homeless people you don’t really notice when you’re downtown during business hours. There were also crackheads, bag ladies, and spare changers. They picked through the clothing occasionally making an exclamation of delight as they found something which would keep them warm or appealed to them. Everyone sat around having discussions with the people they knew, meeting new people, and overall behaving exactly as anyone behaves as they get food at a picnic or barbecue. It was an atmosphere of respect and human dignity.

Churches

Many churches and missions have regularly scheduled free meals. People who volunteer their time to make the world a better place cook most of these meals. Most meals I've had at churches or missions were cooked and served with love. If you have one of these meals, please take the time to thank the people who serve you.

Food Stamps

Food stamps are as simple to get as having valid identification and an address and phone number in most states. All you have to do to get food stamps is go to the office, jump through some administrative hoops, and claim to be homeless (whether you are or not). I've heard numerous stories of people taking advantage of the generousness of food stamp programs. I'm all for it. I would rather see the money go there than to building new prisons or supporting the wars on drugs or terror (or anything else we've had a war against in my lifetime.)

Dumpster Diving

I've read reports which claim Americans throw away enough material goods every day to feed, clothe, house, and educate everyone in this country. I believe it. Most grocery stores throw away produce which is perfectly edible but not visibly appealing enough. Dairy products are usually good well beyond the 'sell by’ date on them but are thrown away anyway. If you get to know the restaurants in a certain area you can pull unsold hamburgers, donuts, or fried chicken out of the trash with the wrappers still on. I've had burgers from the dumpster which were completely wrapped and still hot. It's all about knowing your dumpsters.

Successful dumpster divers usually have rounds and sometimes if you hit a dumpster which is on someone’s established rounds they can react as if you are robbing them. If this happens to you, my advice is to simply apologize and offer to give back what you’ve taken from that dumpster. You never know, that diver might end up a friend that can show you where the best dumpsters for clothes, food, and other things are.

Cafeteria Grazing

I've only done this a few times, but it works if you're hungry and have no other option. If you go to a self-cleanup kind of restaurant, the kind of place where you put your dishes in a bin before you leave, you can usually find large uneaten portions sitting on plates. It's unsavory, to say the least, but if you hang out for a bit and watch you can usually find someone who eats nearly nothing from their plate and looks clean enough to alleviate any fears of catching a rare disease.

Shoplifting

As a youngster I did a lot of shoplifting. I don't recommend it. The risks are too high. If you're going to shoplift there are a few ways to minimize the risk involved. One method is to have a baggy coat with big pockets and to slyly slip a few items in while you shop. I used to buy something trivial with my pockets loaded to alleviate any suspicion. The problem with shoplifting goes beyond morality to the fact that in all likelihood, you will get caught.

My good friend George Hush was an expert shoplifter for years. He had taken literally thousands of dollars in food and clothing without ever coming close to getting caught. One day he was in the grocery store and saw a 99-cent package of fresh herbs that he thought would go well with some pasta he was going to cook. With a casualness bom from years of lifting he dropped them in his pocket. Seconds later a hand clamped down on his shoulder and he was quickly escorted to the managers office where he was made to wait until a police officer arrived before being told anything. He was charged with theft, banned from that store for a year, (it was the store with the best deals on beer too!) and had to pay a hefty fine. All in all, it would have been a lot better for George if he had bought those herbs.

Natural Resources

If you are at all familiar with the plants that grow in your area, you can probably survive. In the Pacific Northwest you can get by eating dandelions, nettles, and blackberries. In Hawaii you can live on coconuts, guavas, mangoes, and taro. In other places you can go to the library or a bookstore (you don’t have to buy the book!) and usually find books on what grows wild and is edible. It's amazing how many 'weeds' are actually nutritious and delicious.

Rough Recipes

Rough Living Scramble

This is my favorite breakfast recipe. Like all of the recipes in this section, most of the ingredients can be whatever you find or have handy. Use your imagination or your host’s pantry to fill in the bla nk s.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 large potatoes

3 tbsp cooking oil

garlic

small onion

various vegetables and herbs (whatever you can find)

shredded cheese

spices

Directions Cut the potatoes into small cubes (1/4 inch) while you allow the oil (or butter) to melt in a skillet. Drop the potatoes in and cook on high heat for 5-10 minutes allowing them to brown and or burn slightly. Mince garlic, onion, vegetables, and herbs. Pour off the excess oil. Drop in your minced goods and cook 3-5 minutes adding spices (like a pinch of cinnamon, salt, pepper, and cayenne). Beat the eggs in a small dish. Pour eggs over the top and cook 1-2 minutes before flipping the entire thing. If you fail to flip it in one piece, just scramble the whole thing until all the egg is cooked. Put shredded cheese on top, cover for 1 minute, and serve it up.

Vagabond Sandwiches

Ingredients

1/2 lb. cooked meat, cubed

1/2 lb. cheese, cubed

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1/2 c. olives, chopped

1/2 c. mayo

3 Tbsp. chilli or BBQ sauce

1/3 c. onion, chopped

12 hotdog buns or folded pieces of bread

Directions Mix all together and fill hotdog buns with mixture, wrap in foil, and heat 10-15 minutes.

George Hush’s Hobo Supper

Ingredients

3 pounds ground beef

4 medium potatoes, quartered

3 carrots, sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Directions Form ground beef into patties and place each on a square of aluminum foil. Divide potatoes, carrots, and onions equally and arrange on top of patties. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place a spoonful of mushroom soup on top of vegetables. Seal foil tightly and place on grill or directly on coals for about 45 minutes to an hour. Can also be cooked in the oven at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes. Delicious and easy

Adventurer’s Onion

Ingredients

Large onion 1/4 C. (

1/2 stick) butter

Salt Pepper

Directions Score onion across the top several times and place in aluminum foil. Put butter, salt and pepper on top of onion and close the foil securely. Set directly in the fire and cook approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Unwrap and enjoy!

Scallywag Potatoes

Ingredients

2 cups potatoes, peeled & cubed

1 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots

1/2 cup diagonally sliced celery

2 T. water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and cut into 2" pieces

1 T. or butter or margarine

Directions Combine potatoes, onions, carrots, celery and water. Boil until vegetables are hot and just beginning to soften, stir once or twice during cooking time. Drain, then stir in salt and pepper. Place potato mixture on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Top with crumbled bacon and dot with butter or margarine. Bring up ends of foil to wrap securely and fold top of foil to seal. Place on grill, 4" to 6" above medium coals. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Hopalongs Cattail Salad

Cattails grow along the road in ditches and standing water throughout the United States. They are those tall weeds with the bulbous brown tops that grow in thick patches.

Ingredients

As many Cattail stalks as possible (peeled down to the soft white centers)

Bacon (minced)

Fine Mustard Vinegar

Directions Boil the hearts of cattail for 30 seconds. Heat the bacon in a skillet. Add the mustard and vinegar. Add the cattail hearts.

Aquillo’s Favorite Cheese Steak

Ingredients

Cheap sandwich meat

Onions

Cheese

Rolls

Pickled Peppers

Directions Mince onion. Cut baloney into long strips. Saute onions till slightly browned add meat. Cook till the meat is slightly brown. Stuff the rolls with your "steak". Top with peppers cheese. Wrap in newspaper and enjoy.

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(from the Present in 2025) It’s pretty funny that I turned my homeless manual into a cookbook…haha. In the paid section there are going to be a few more recipes and some other goodies. Why not upgrade to paid subscription and get all the benefits that come with it - like how to make perfect rice EVERY TIME.

Next Week: How to Get Money Without Selling Your Soul

I am Indignified,

CD Damitio

Satoshi Manor

Otaru, Japan