[Removed] was a fake account, I’m really blown away by the generosity of this sub.

As most of you have theorized, [Removed] was a fake account I created to test how the community here would react to such a post. Suffice to say, I’m blown away. I was expecting maybe a few upvotes, a few comments, no real serious help. But this blew up. I woke up this morning just amazed at the sheer generosity of this sub.<br><br>I really can’t thank you guys enough for your kindness and generosity, even if the details were fake. In reality, I’m working part time and in school, but I do have a small 2 bedroom apartment to myself. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to get by ok. I use a portable induction stove and my fridge/freezer, and I cook for myself all the time.<br><br>I have to admit, I originally thought of this sub as a bit more of a joke. I mean, I’m a pretty regular visitor to r/chef, r/Cooking, r/AskTeenCooks, and r/CookbookCookoff, and have seen a lot of posts across those boards bashing the concept of this sub. Hearing people say “I can barely make this burger for $1.50 a serving, people who tell you they can are lying” got old really fast, so I thought I’d join the other side. The general trend in cooking subs is to say that you can’t feed yourself for less than $3 a meal.<br><br>But I see a different side of that here. I’ve learned you really can do a lot for $5 a week, depending on where you are and what access you have. I almost feel bad for being as blessed as I am with good entry level jobs and a lot of opportunities. I’ve seen the light, and I’m hooked. The amount of people offering to Venmo me, wanting to send me care packages, invite me over to eat. I’m blown away. Over 2500 upvotes on a post inviting me over to dinner. I know none of this was real, but the fact that you all cared so much is amazing.<br><br>A lot has been said already, but this is a toxic world. People in general can be bad. This is a bright gem in that, and I’m sad I won’t be as active here in the future, but I’m also happy to be able to go back to the other side of the fence and preach about this sub. The amount of people denouncing it reminded me of people who reject a religion without looking into it, and I had to look into that. And I’m so happy I did.<br><br>This is turning into a bit of a ramble now, but I just want to thank you all for being kind, generous, compassionate, and just good people. I almost feel like I’m letting you all down, by saying I’m not really in the situation I said I was, and that I’m not actually in need of anything. But the way you all reacted is a good thing to remember. Strive to be a good person, and help those in need. All of you are doing that.<br><br>Thanks again. Y’all are the best. And I know this post was long and ramble-y, but I wanted to share a recipe with you all. It’s pretty basic, but it works really well for me, and it’s very cheap. If you're looking for cheap, this is my go to. I know there’s already a recipe here that’s very similar, but I'm going to share mine as well, it’s slightly different.<br><br>Shitty Rice Ball Recipe<br><br>Ingredients:<br>1 cup of long grain rice<br>3 cups of water<br>1 tablespoon of vegetable oil<br>2 tablespoons of curry powder<br>1 teaspoon of salt<br>1 teaspoon of garlic powder<br>1 can of black beans, drained<br>1 tablespoon of soy sauce<br>1 tablespoon of tomato paste<br><br>Instructions:<br>Add the oil, curry powder, salt, and garlic powder to a large saucepan and sauté over low heat for about 2 minutes<br>Add the rice and mix well, stir for about 3 minutes<br>Add the water, black beans, and soy sauce, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the water has evaporated and the rice is soft and sticky, adding more water as needed.<br>Mix in the tomato paste, and turn off the heat.<br>Using your hands, form the rice into small balls, whatever size you like, shape them how you like, and serve.<br><br>You can probably get around 2-3 good servings out of this, so just triple as needed. I like to add in frozen peas sometimes, but I know that’s a luxury here. You can also mix in some egg if you want to add a protein element. I almost always eat this with some balsamic vinegar, but again, a luxury.<br><br>I hope you all enjoy it. And again, thanks for being amazing people, and opening my eyes to this. I see a lot of posts of people being very inspiring, including the front page post right now about the man who came from nothing. You all have inspired me not to take my opportunities for granted.<br><br>Edit: Wow. I thought this post was gonna get like 20 upvotes and a few comments. I didn’t expect it to blow up like this. I want to clarify, I don’t think anyone was duped. I think most people who saw that post realized it was fake, but I also think everyone was just using it as an opportunity to be kind. That’s what I really mean by the generosity of this sub.<br><br>Just keep being good people. Be kind, be friendly. That’s all I can say. And to reiterate, I’ve seen people talk about deleting their account, etc. Please don’t feel bad. This was never meant to be an attack on anyone, and I’m not mad that you posted. I just wanted to try something, and I think we all learned something. I would never want anyone to feel like they need to punish themselves for this. I think it’s clear we all want the best for everyone, so we should all just shake hands and move on and continue to be kind, generous people.