vegetarian on the cheap

Sformato - where have you been all my life?

2010-11-22T19:40:00.004-05:00

I just discovered this recipe I don't even remember where. The first time I played it safe and played by the rules and followed the recipe pretty much to a tee - the second time around I barely glanced at it and changed everything. So, this is my version of Sformato - it may not be authentic, but it sure is tasty.
And the variations here are of course endless - whatever you have on hand goes in the Sformato - re-invent it everytime you make it!

Broccoli & Sundried Tomato Sformato:

You will need:

1 head broccoli cut into small florets - this is the variable here - any green veggie will do
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes - soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes - then cut into small pieces
2 Tbs oil
1 3/4 oz grated parmesan
2 cups milk
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour

4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups roughly cut pieces of bread - day old is best
1 onion

1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. Saute your onion and broccoli in the oil until soft.
Brush a 8 x 10 pyrex or similar baking dish with butter and dust with a bit of flour and parmesan.
3. Melt the butter in a separate pot - whisk in the flour. Heat the milk and add hot milk to the flour mixture. Whisk for about 2 minutes over medium heat until you have a nice thick bubbly white sauce. Reduce to a small simmer and make sure it does not burn.
4. In a separate bowl - whisk eggs and oil until fluffy. Drop in half the sauteed broccoli and half of your day old bread. Add about 1/2 cup of white sauce and put everything in a blender. Add one teaspoon salt. Blend on high for about a minute. Transfer back into bowl and add all of the other ingredients - mix thoroughly and transfer to your baking dish.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until brown and set on top.

When is Jam not Jam?

2010-10-04T12:32:00.006-04:00

Shopping in a rush is NEVER a good idea. I was rushing earlier today in the health food store and picked up a jar of Cascadian farm Fruit Spread. Small jar - on sale - organic, how bad can it get? Well, that depends. Had I been in a regular supermarket I would never have put that jar in my cart without checking the ingredient list first. But since I was at the health food store and in a hurry, I didn't bother. Result? I have been duped and upset ever since. The "jam" turns out be more than 50% sugar. Every 19 grams of this jam contains 10 grams of sugar. The first ingredient in my fruit jam is: sugar.
Again, that wouldn't surprise me in a supermarket, mass marketed brand, but with a brand such as "Cascadian Farms" it was a letdown.
So, when is jam not jam? When it is more than 50% pure sugar.
So, I sat down to write them a good old fashioned letter, actually e-mail. Let's see if they will respond.
E-mail:

Hello!

As a longtime health food store shopper, vegetarian and food writer I wanted to share with you my disappointment when I - without reading the ingredient list first - picked up your Blackberry Fruit Spread. Had I known - should have checked - that the number one ingredient in your Fruit Spread is sugar - even if it is organic, I would never have purchased this product. I forgot to check the label because I simply trusted that a company such as yours would be concerned with the sugar content of its products. In a 19 gram serving more than half is pure sugar!
While I do understand the need to sweeten fruit to make a preserve, especially tart fruits such as berries I am not willing to eat a sugar/fruit half and half concoction. This is is really nothing more than a sugar spread with fruit flavoring where I was expecting it to be the other way around.
I gave it the benefit of doubt and opened it to taste - it is of course way too sweet.
I would understand if that was the only way to make jam - however at least two brands I checked - D'arbo and Bonne Maman are able to make their Blackberry jams without using sugar as the first ingredient.
I took the time to write to you since I feel that you may not realize that your average consumer does read labels and does realize that the first ingredient is the most important.
I will not purchase this product again.
Sincerely,
Moni Schifler
I will post this on my food blog: To see if others agree with me.

Make your own pumpkin puree

2010-09-09T16:41:00.004-04:00

I know there are some of you who would ask "What's the point of making it, if you can buy it in a can?", well if the huge loss of vitamins and minerals doesn't disturb you maybe the fact that your canned pumpkin could be over two years old may rattle you a little bit. Anyway why pay extra for something that easily makes itself while you are cooking something else? Also your whole house may get that nice pumpkin aroma, which is quite festive.

How to make Pumpkin Purée:

Cut your pumpkin in half crosswise and remove the seeds and fibrous material. A melon baller works great for that. Cover the cut side of each half with aluminum foil, and place the pumpkin halves on a baking sheet, foil side up. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 90 minutes, or until the flesh is fork tender. Remove from the oven and cool. When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and mash it in a food processor, or puree it in a blender with a touch of oil. Sometimes your purée maybe watery,so drain it in a cheesecloth-lined colander. Your yield should be about one cup of purée per pound of pumpkin.
And that's all there is to it.....

What do you get, if..?

2010-09-08T14:30:00.006-04:00

You combine this....

with this

and that?

How about a dish that is satisfying, sensual and only has three ingredients?
The only thing missing would be a clever name, but this dish is fantastic even without a catchy moniker.

Roasted Pumpkin with Fried Sage:

You will need:

1 large onion - red is nice for the color
1 pie pumpkin - peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
at least half a bunch of fresh sage leaves - plucked from stem
cooking oil
salt

1. In a large pan or wok - sautee onions until translucent - season with salt.
2. Add pumpkin cubes and reduce heat - coat pumpkin cubes well with oil all around and stir fry for at least 15 minutes over low heat with a cover - until pumpkin cubes are soft enough to be pierced with a knife. The tenderness is up to you, but you should taste one, because undercooked squash is unpleasant.
3. In a small separate pan heat at least two tablespoons of oil until it is quite hot - not smoking - careful! - add your individual sage leaves. They should crisp as they hit the oil. If they don't the oil is not hot enough. Crisp lightly on both sides - you would like them to get a crunchy texture, but don't overdo it.
4. Serve your pumpkins on a plate and add sage leaves on the top. This goes really well with a fresh salad and maybe an oat burger on the side.

Fall is here!

2010-09-07T14:45:00.005-04:00

I saw the first pumpkins at my local market this week and I couldn't be more excited. Pumpkins means the winter squashes are here and cheap, nutritious easy-to make meals are not far behind. Even if the days are still warm, it cools down considerably at night, and a dinner with this delicious soup is a lovely way to warm up.

Pumpkin Soup  :

This is a bit of a misnomer since any kind of squash or root vegetable will do - butternut squash, acorn squash, hubbard, turban or all the other crazy looking squashes would make an equally tasty soup. as would carrots, turnips, parsnips or rutabaga or a mix with some assorted squash with a bit of potato or sweet potato.

You’ll need: (for about 6-8 servings)

  6 cups peeled squash  - this takes a while but it is worth it!
2 onions chopped
 3 cups vegetable stock 
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
 2 tablespoon soy sauce
 1/2 cup citrus juice - lemon, lime, orange, etc 
zest of said citrus - please use organic - otherwise don’t use the zest - just the juice 
1/2 cup sour cream - optional if you want to keep it vegan 
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro or sage
 salt and pepper  

1. Add the first seven ingredients to your soup pot, season with salt and pepper and cook for 45 minutes over medium heat. You want your veggies to simmer very slightly but not to boil.
  
2. Let the contents cool and pierce the squash to make sure it is tender, transfer into a blender or use a soup blender stick in the pot itself if you have one and blend to creamy consistency. 
3. Transfer blended soup into a pan and gently reheat. Add more stock if too thick. Taste and finish seasoning.
 4. Serve in soup bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped parsley/scallions.

No Bake - summer dessert - RAW Macaroons!

2010-07-20T13:54:00.003-04:00

Having a bit of a sweet tooth lately - I don't know maybe it's the heat. These don't need baking - just drying really. You could just put them on a hot porch with a fly cover on - and they should dry very nicely.
I love coconut oil and coconuts in general so naturally I have a fondness for macaroons. These are really good for you - raw, vegan and gluten free - and out of this world yummy!

You will need:

3 cups coconut flakes
3/4 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup coconut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or amaretto extract
Optional: 1 cup cocoa powder

1. In a large mixing bowl mix all ingredients by hand. Make sure you break up all clumps of coconut butter - it usually responds well to the warmth of your hand and becomes workable immediately. Add the cocoa powder if you want a chocolatey version otherwise omit or go half and half - leaving half blonde.
2. Refrigerate mixture for half an hour - then form little macaroon shapes and “bake” at the absolute lowest temperature your oven will allow 120º would be ideal - or use a dehydrator if you have one. Dehydrate for 5 to 6 hours. If using the stove you will probably need less time check every hour until you have the desired crunchiness.

Taste the Lavender!

2010-07-15T13:36:00.003-04:00

If you mix equal parts dried: marjoram, rosemary, thyme with light touch of lavender - you have - you guessed it -HERBES DE PROVENCE:- using fresh lavender makes this meal incredibly sensual - try it out.

  Pinto Bean and Carrot Soup:

You will need:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 leek, sliced, including green top
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8 medium carrots, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup cooked pinto beans or any other bean will do
2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons herbes de provence

Heat olive oil in large pot and sauté leeks, garlic, carrots, and sea salt. Add stock and pinto beans and cook for 10 minutes. Scoop out half the soup and puree in blender. Return to pan, add sage and herbes de provence, and cook for 5-10 minutes longer.

Should you have any leftovers - just drain the soup - reserve the stock for your next summer soup - and puree the veggies with a little olive oil - for an incredible bean dip. Garnish with lavender flowers and serve with pita chips.

Foraged foods! - What to do with wild onions!

2010-04-24T13:29:00.003-04:00

I am sure you have seen them grow somewhere near you. Wild onions. They look like a cross between Chives, scallions and Garlic plants and they also taste very much like that. Here is a recipe that would call for a good amount of wild harvested onions - the green bits only. Of course wash them well use them only from a source you know so you can be sure they were not sprayed with weed-killer. And of course if you don’t have any wild onions handy you can use store bought chives or scallions - even the organic bunch of scallions is only 60 cents now!

Thai - Coconut Soup:

For 4 servings - for a light lunch or a first course:

1 can coconut milk - not the light version
1 large bushel wild onions - green parts only or substitute one bunch scallions
1 lime - organic if you can
2 large carrots - sliced thin
2 large potatoes

salt
other veggies such as zucchini, squash, mushrooms - optional

This makes a very nice light, yet filling soup - other than the carrots and potatoes if feel you could add whatever veggie you have in your refrigerator. It is also quite quick to make - 30 minutes from scratch.

1. In a shallow pan add all the soup veggies - carrots and potatoes and whatever else you would like to add. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and simmer lightly with a touch of salt until tender to pierce with a fork - about 10 - 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile open your can of coconut milk and empty into a blender - make sure you get all the coconut goodness including the fat that likes to stick to the side of the can. Add a good amount of salt - a 1/2 teaspoon - and slice the lime in half. If using an organic lime you could throw in half the whole lime -skin and all. If using a non-organic lime I would suggest to scrape out the flesh only - a grapefruit knife works best and use both halves. Next add the wild onions or scallions - trim off the white ends and wash really well first. Add about 4 coconut cans worth of water and blend until you get a nice creamy, green colored water - about 30 seconds to one minute.

3. Add you coconut water to the softened veggies and heat up your soup. Taste for seasoning you want a salty, creamy, slightly sour taste - that is quite addictive. Serve immediately and enjoy.

New Ideas for leftovers!

2010-02-23T16:57:00.003-05:00

So, back from Valentine's Day madness. I made Menu 2 and it was delicious. Also, I could not resist and had to also make the baked bananas from menu 1 - they were a revelation, especially hot out of the oven with the cold icecream. Divine!
I know, again with the leftovers - but it really is a money saver if you learn what to do with them.
Think of your leftovers this way: they are take-out without the out. They are already in you fridge.
So, what new ideas do I have.
Well, how about calzone?

I am sure you have come across ready made pizza dough in the prepared foods section of your supermarket - it maybe in the freezer section, but then the recipe will not be instant - you have to give the dough a chance to de-freeze - usually a day in the fridge will do that.
In a good supermarket you will find whole wheat pizza dough - and I think that is worth the money.
You could make your own dough - but it makes the recipe a little more complex, not much more, but enough to disqualify it for a quick weekday dinner.
So what can we put into our calzone - well what can’t we? Since calzone is just a pizza folded over anything that could go on a pizza can go in a calzone - I personally think you can even be braver with the calzone.

For one pound of whole wheat dough I pay $1.99 - not cheap but okay! I get 6 mini calzones out of one pound dough. They are only mini in relation to the size you get served at Italian restaurants - where they would make probably no more that two calzones out of one pound of dough. I find that size to be very heavy and I’d rather serve my mini calzone with a nice big side salad.

What you will need:

1 pound pizza dough
1 egg (optional - to brush the dough to give it color)
1 ½ cups leftover - chinese, stir-fry, or any other chopped and prepared vegetables
1 cup cheese - optional
dipping sauce - marinara or other
side salad

1. Preheat oven to 420º.
With scissors cut off about golfball sized amount of dough. Roll it into a flat round - put about three tablespoons of filling on one side of the circle and top with cheese. Then fold over and cramp closed with a fork or by hand.

2. Repeat until you have no dough left and transfer calzone’s to an oiled cookie sheet.

3. Beat one egg and brush outside of calzones lightly for color.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately with a side dipping sauce - such as marinara and a side salad.

Valentine’s Day Recipes: Menu 3

2010-02-12T17:15:00.003-05:00

Menu 3: Note: I am assuming you have coconut butter as a staple - If you don’t have any - buy a very small jar which will cost around $6.99 and you will need less than an eighth of it.
Also we will make some Harissa Spice Mix for the stuffed Eggplant. You should really double or quadruple the spice amounts and make a staple of it. It keeps nicely in the fridge and will dress up future meals for cents.

Appetizer: Salad of Beet-greens, Feta and Hazelnuts in a Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette
Main Event: Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant over Cous-Cous
Dessert: Real Red Velvet Cupcakes with Coconut Icing

Salad of Beet-greens, Feta and Hazelnuts in a Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette

For the Salad:
1 bunch beets with tops
2 tablespoons feta cheese
½ tablespoon hazelnuts

Staples you should have on hand:
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
olive oil
vinegar

How to:

Separate the greens from the beets - set the beets aside to boil in a pot with water - you will need them for the cupcakes. Trim the greens from the stalks and wash both thoroughly. Cut or tear the leaves for the salad to bite size pieces and chop the stalks finely as you would celery.
Make your vinaigrette by mixing vinegar, mustard and olive oil and taste. Add more of any ingredient to suit to your liking.
Toss everything together in a large bowl and serve immediately.

Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant over Cous-Cous:

First set up your cous-cous with three times its volume of water. Bring to a boil and put a firm lid on the pot and set aside.
Then let’s make the harissa.

HARISSA:

This is a beautiful North African Spicemix with endless variations. In countries such as Tunisia and Morocco it is served as a condiment much as our ketchup or mustard. But it can also be used as a rub for seitan, tofu or eggplants.
This is enough to make two cups worth to keep in your fridge - or you can also make only enough for this recipe. Adjust the amount of chili to your liking - from the picture above you can tell that the traditional harissa is very hot - but you don’t have to miss out on its fabulous taste just because you don’t like the heat - just make it milder and enjoy! 

1 cup olive oil
½ cup mild chili powder
1 tablespoon mint, dried or fresh, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried garlic powder or 3 cloves finely minced
½ tablespoon ground caraway
½ tablespoon ground cumin
½ tablespoon ground coriander
½ tablespoon salt

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. 
Pour half a cup of olive oil in blender and add wet ingredients (garlic and/or mint). Blend thoroughly.  
Add dry ingredients and blend slowly. Scrap sides of blender so nothing gets stuck and slowly add rest of the olive oil. 
Transfer to a clean glass jar. Put a layer of olive oil on top. Keeps up to 6 months in fridge: Yield: 2 cups Time:10 minutes

  If you’d like to make only enough for this recipe use:
1 teaspoon each
dried mint, garlic powder, caraway seeds, ground cumin, ground coriander, salt
dash of chili powder and follow directions above.

  Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant for two:

You will need:
2 small eggplants
1 small can diced tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup brown rice- cooked and drained - leftovers work fine
½ cup couscous
Staples:
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar

Preheat oven to 350º. Slice eggplant in half lengthwise. Heat two tablespoons olive oil and brown eggplant on both sides over medium heat, covered for 8 minutes. Scrape out the insides with a spoon and chop the pulp coarsely.

Heat more oil and saute the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the eggplant pulp, rice and half of the drained diced tomatoes, parsley and harissa and cook for 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Grease an ovenproof dish and arrange the eggplant halves - fill with the rice - vegetable stuffing and arrange the rest of the tomatoes around them. Season with salt, pepper and honey/agave nectar and bake for about 40 minutes.
Serve over the couscous and a mint yogurt sauce ( just mix a dash of mint into two tablespoons of yogurt with a pinch of sea salt).

Real Red Velvet Cupcakes with Coconut Icing

Red Velvet Cakes and even cupcakes were all the rage about a year ago. I think the version with all the artificial coloring is going to go out of fashion really soon and we will look back at this time in years to come and think - “Where we ever this young?” This version however, using the natural coloring in beets and benefitting immensely from the nutritional punch they add, is a keeper.

½ cup cooked mashed beets
( you already bought them for the salad)
⅔ cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 eggs
¼ cup whole milk yogurt (or soy or coconut)
1 organic lemon (has to be organic - we will
need the peel)
6 cupcake liners

Staples:
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup agave nectar or honey
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350º.
Cook beets by either boiling or steaming them. You should not peel them since so much of their nutritional benefits are in the peel. Just scrub them well and half each and make sure they are well done = nice and soft. Let them cool down and then puree them in a food processor or blender. Add the coconut oil, lemon juice and eggs and mix until you have a heavy batter.

Transfer into a large bowl and add the the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and the yogurt. At the end, mix in the cocoa powder, sugar and agave nectar. Add a touch of water if the batter seems to heavy or dry.

Fill the cupcake liners set in a cupcake pan until each liner is about ¾ full - the cupcakes will expand as they bake. Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center cupcake comes out clean. Let cool before icing.

To make the icing:

Ingredients:

¼ cup confectioners sugar

Staples:
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 tablespoon milk - any kind
2 drops vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon coconut butter

In a bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Slowly add the milk and beat until the mixture is nice and creamy - add the vanilla and the rest of the ingredients and chill.
Spread the icing over the cooled cupcakes.

Valentine’s Day Recipes: Menu 2

2010-02-12T16:22:00.002-05:00

Menu 2: Note: the dried fruits for the brownie have to be soaked a day ahead and the brownies are best when made a day ahead.

Appetizer: Cajun Cakes with Yogurt Sauce
Main Event: Sweet and Sour Tempeh with Nuts over Stir fry vegetables
Dessert: Raw Brownies with Coconut Sorbet

Shopping List:

For the Cajun Cakes:
1 can black eyed peas
½ green pepper
¼ onion
1 tablespoon cajun spice
3 sprigs fresh parsley
2 tablespoons yogurt plain

Staples:
black pepper
2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

How to:
1. Pureé black-eyed peas in a blender. Chop parsley, pepper, onion finely and add to the pea puree add ground pepper and cajun spice. Mix until well combined.
2. Heat a large pan and melt the coconut oil. Form the pea mixture into four balls, each the size of a well-rounded tablespoon. Flatten the balls between your hands and set them in the skillet. When brown flip gently and brown other side. Repeat with remaining cakes.
3. Combine yogurt and ketchup and serve with the warm cakes.

Sweet and Sour Tempeh with Nuts 
This is a fun and easy way to enjoy tempeh. It is traditionally made with peanuts - but if you are allergic any other nut will do splendidly. 
For the Sweet & Sour Tempeh:
1 package tempeh - cut into 1 inch wide sticks
½ onion
scallions - small bunch
1 finger-sized piece of fresh ginger
1 clove garlic
Stirfry veggies: small amount
such as 1 carrot
the leftover green pepper, onion from the cajun cakes
½ cup of green leafy vegetable

Staples you should have on hand:
⅛ cup barbecue sauce or a mix of ketchup and soysauce
2 tablespoon oil of choice
1 generous tablespoon nut-butter
1 tablespoon sweetener (agave nectar etc)
1 tablespoon vinegar
⅓ small dried chili

1. Blend barbecue sauce with freshly grated ginger and garlic, chili pepper and 1 tablespoon oil. Remove from blender and work in the nut butter by hand.  2. In a pan heat the remaining oil and add chopped onions and chopped stir fry veggies of choice. When the veggies are softened remove from pan and set aside. Add tempeh sticks and brown on both sides add more oil if necessary. When they have some color, add the barbecue sauce and nut mix and smother them. Turn down the heat - add the sweetener and vinegar and gently move things around. Add the veggies and half the scallions and a touch of water if necessary. Again move things around and make sure everything heats through thoroughly. Serve topped with the rest of the scallions.  

RAW Brownies:

This is a recipe borrowed from the RAW cooking style - which is often referred to as “uncooking”. Rawfooders have different reasons for choosing this lifestyle - I suspect quite a few of them were initially won over by the desserts which are truly outstanding. Try these and then imagine that they are also very healthy - very caloric, but as an occasional treat they do get two thumbs way up.

You’ll need:

½ cup dried black mission figs soaked in water for at least 4 hours
( or prunes as a substitute)
⅓ cup pitted dates soaked in water for at least four hours
½ cup nuts - walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts your choice chopped coarsely
1 tub coconut ice-cream or sorbet

Staples:
1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

In your smallest loaf pan baking dish spread half of the broken nut pieces. Drain the soaked fruit - save the water and in a blender or food processor blend until smooth and creamy adding a bit of the soaking water if necessary. Add the cocoa and cinnamon and blend in.
Pour mixture into pan over nuts and spread, pressing down a bit. Top with the remaining nuts and pat down again. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or better overnight. Cut into squares and serve. Keep the remaining soaking water to use as liquid sweetener for smoothies and such.
3. Serve cut into squares with ice-cream.

Valentine’s Day Recipes: Menu 1

2010-02-12T15:44:00.003-05:00

Menu 1:

Appetizer: Raw Quinoa Tabouleh
Main Event: Tofu-Mushroom Stroganoff over Tagliatelle Noodles
Dessert: Angelic Bananas with Dulce De Leche Icecream

Raw Quinoa Tabouleh:

One of the most unusual quinoa recipes I have ever come across is RAW quinoa tabouleh. It is absolutely delicious and wonderfull to bring to parties. And it is so easy!
Quinoa will sprout very willingly - however it does not like to be sitting in water. So you add just enough water so all the little seeds have access - but don’t drown it in water. It will sprout in about one day - so make your quinoa sprouts a day ahead.

Quinoa Tabouleh: You will need:

¾ cup quinoa
1 small cucumber
1 bunch fresh parsley
½ teaspoon fresh mint
1 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
.
1 small tomato
1 teaspoon garlic powder

The day before or even two days - if you have the time:
In a shallow bowl mix your quinoa with just enough water so that it is all wet. Make sure there is no water hidden on the bottom of your bowl, but also make sure that your quinoa doesn’t dry out - especially if the air in your house is very dry. Put the bowl in a window sill where the sun will get to it and let it sprout for 24 hours.
The day of:
Juice your lemon, chop about ½ cup fresh parsley, chop the cucumber and tomato.

Combine all ingredients, mix thoroughly, and let marinate in your fridge for at least half hour before serving.

Tofu-Mushroom Stroganoff over Tagliatelle Noodles

For the Stroganoff:
1 cup pasta - tagliatelle
or whatever kind you prefer

1 tub extra firm tofu
1 cup mushrooms
½ onion
½ cup cream cheese or silken tofu
(vegan version)
1 tablespoon dried mushrooms

Staples you should have at home:
½ tablespoon soysauce
1 tablespoon cooking oil
pinch of paprika
½ tablespoon dried herbs such as rosemary, majoram and thyme
1 tablespoon flour or instant mashed potatoes

1. Cover your dried mushrooms with 1/4 cup boiling water and set aside.
2. Make your pasta according to directions and meanwhile heat oil in a pan. Add minced onions to the oil and cook until golden and soft, add drained tofu and soy sauce and stir. Let cook for another two minutes and add garlic, dried herbs and fresh mushrooms. Cover and let cook for another 3 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened.  3. Drain dried mushrooms and add to the pan reserve the soaking liquid and add that liquid to the saute a tablespoon at a time as it dries, as needed. You want medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. I always use quite a lot of pepper - I think it really complements the mushrooms. When you have used up most of the soaking liquid - turn off heat and let your mushroom saute cool for 5 minutes. Check on your pasta meanwhile. 4. Cut the cream cheese into the mushroom saute - you may need to use the remaining soaking liquid and mix it with the cream cheese to create a thick sauce. If you have a lot of sauce in your saute drain some and mix your cream cheese with that. You want a nice creamy sauce - if it is too watery balance it out with the thickener - flour, starch, instant mashed potato - use as little thickener as you can get away with, and again you may not have to use any at all. 5. Carefully reheat your mushroom saute with the cream sauce mixed in. Do not overheat or it will curdle - separate. 6. Serve mushroom stroganoff over pasta with a pinch of paprika on top for color. 
This reheats really well - mushroom dishes in general taste better the next day, when the flavors were allowed to meld together for a bit, but there are very rarely any leftovers. 
Angelic Bananas with Dulce De Leche Icecream

1 banana per person - unpeeled washed very well - with a deep slit made with a very sharp knife along the side
Ice cream as an accompaniment
agave nectar to garnish

Preheat oven to 400º.
Arrange bananas - unpeeled - with slit side up and bake for 15 minutes
Arrange the now blackened banana - force the slit open a bit more with a fork and serve ice-cream on top - garnish with agave nectar and serve immediately before the ice cream melts.
 

Shopping lists for the Valentine's Day Menus

2010-02-11T22:54:00.009-05:00

Here we go! Here are your shopping lists for the Valentine's cooking extravaganza. Please read them before you head out so you can check your fridge for what you may already have and remember you are always allowed to substitute in my recipes.
Check to make sure you have what consider staples on hand and tomorrow we will work our way through the actual recipes.

Menu 1: Please note that you have to set up your quinoa to sprout the day before and leave it overnight!

Appetizer: Raw Quinoa Tabouleh
Main Event: Tofu-Mushroom Stroganoff over Tagliatelle Noodles
Dessert: Angelic Bananas with Dulce De Leche Icecream

Shopping List:

For the tabouleh:
¾ cup quinoa
1 small cucumber
1 small tomato
1 bunch fresh parsley
½ teaspoon fresh mint
1 lemon

Staples you should have at home:
3 tablespoons oilve oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Stroganoff:
1 cup pasta - tagliatelle
or whatever kind you prefer

1 tub extra firm tofu
1 cup mushrooms
½ onion
½ cup cream cheese or silken tofu
(vegan version)
1 tablespoon dried mushrooms

Staples you should have at home:
½ tablespoon soysauce
1 tablespoon cooking oil
pinch of paprika
½ tablespoon dried herbs such as rosemary, majoram and thyme
1 tablespoon flour or instant mashed potatoes

For the Angelic Bananas:
2 bananas - ripened
1 tub dulce de leche icecream

Staples:
agave nectar or honey or brown sugar

Menu 2: Note: the dried fruits for the brownie have to be soaked a day ahead

Appetizer: Cajun Cakes with Yogurt Sauce
Main Event: Sweet and Sour Tempeh with Nuts over Stir fry vegetables
Dessert: Raw Brownies with Coconut Sorbet

Shopping List:

For the Cajun Cakes:
1 can black eyed peas
½ green pepper
¼ onion
1 tablespoon cajun spice
3 sprigs fresh parsley
2 tablespoons yogurt plain

Staples:
black pepper
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the Sweet & Sour Tempeh:
1 package tempeh
½ onion
scallions - small bunch
1 finger-sized piece of fresh ginger
1 clove garlic
Stirfry veggies: small amount
such as 1 carrot
the leftover green pepper, onion from the cajun cakes
½ cup of green leafy vegetable

Staples you should have on hand:
1/8 cup barbecue sauce or a mix of ketchup and soysauce
2 tablespoon oil of choice
1 generous tablespoon nut-butter
1 tablespoon sweetener (agave nectar etc)
1 tablespoon vinegar
⅓ small dried chili

For the Brownie:
½ cup dried black mission figs
( or prunes as a substitute)
⅓ cup pitted dates
½ cup nuts - walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts your choice
1 tub coconut ice-cream or sorbet

Staples:
1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Menu 3: Note: I am assuming coconut butter as a staple - If you don’t have any - buy a very small jar which will cost around $6.99 and you will need less than an eight of it.

Appetizer: Salad of Beet-greens, Feta and Hazelnuts in a Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette
Main Event: Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant over Cous-Cous
Dessert: Real Red Velvet Cupcakes with Coconut Icing

Shopping list:

For the Salad:
1 bunch beets with tops
2 tablespoons feta cheese
½ tablespoon hazelnuts

Staples you should have on hand:
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
olive oil
vinegar

For the Moroccan Stuffed eggplant:
2 small eggplants
1 small can diced tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup brown rice
½ cup couscous
For the harissa spice mix:
1 teaspoon each
dried mint, garlic powder, caraway seeds, ground cumin, ground coriander, salt
dash of chili powder

Staples:
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar

For the Cupcakes:
½ cup cooked mashed beets
( you already bought them for the salad)
⅔ cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 eggs
¼ cup whole milk yogurt (or soy or coconut)
1 organic lemon (has to be organic - we will
need the peel)
6 cupcake liners

Staples:
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup agave nectar or honey
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup coconut oil

For the icing:
¼ cup confectioners sugar

Staples:
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 tablespoon milk - any kind
2 drops vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon coconut butter

Three Valentine’s dinners for 2 for $15!

2010-02-10T22:36:00.003-05:00

Having been to three different restaurants for my last three Valentine’s Day dinners I have vowed this year to spend a relaxed evening at home cooking my own meals that won’t break the piggy bank, will still have all the trimmings and will guarantee a relaxed unhurried evening with my husband.
The prix fix dinners at the various restaurants, some of our favorites any other day of the year were pricey, extremely rushed (after all, each table had to fit three couples in succession) and just not the best night to be eating out period.

So, I tried to have fun here: Each menu has an appetizer, a main course and a dessert.
I have included shopping lists and I tell you what you need in terms of staples. There may be a slight extra cost if you do not customarily keep something as a staple.
Also be aware that this is dinner for two - if you are trying to make this for more people you should add about $5 per extra person and double up on ingredients.

Menu 1:

Appetizer: Raw Quinoa Tabouleh
Main Event: Tofu-Mushroom Stroganoff over Tagliatelle Noodles
Dessert: Angelic Bananas with Dulce De Leche Icecream

Menu 2:

Appetizer: Cajun Cakes with Yogurt Sauce
Main Event: Sweet and Sour Tempeh with Nuts over Stir fry vegetables
Dessert: Raw Brownies with Coconut Sorbet

Menu 3:

Appetizer: Salad of Beet-greens, Feta and Hazelnuts in a Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette
Main Event: Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant over Cous-Cous
Dessert: Real Red Velvet Cupcakes with Coconut Icing

The price for each of these menus is around $15. It depends a little on if you are out of a certain staple or not.
For me the pricing was as such.

Menu 1 was $15.81
Menu 2 was $16.16
Menu 3 was $15.07

Recipes are all in my book - but don’t worry I will post them tomorrow together with detailed shopping lists!

No Fear Fillo!

2010-02-05T20:41:00.006-05:00

In the middle of winter, where fresh greens seem like a contradiction in terms, frozen greens really come into play.
Whereas I would be hard-pressed to buy frozen spinach any other time of the year - in winter it makes a lot of sense. Frozen fruits and vegetables, although they do suffer a little loss of nutrition in the freezing and later thawing process, have the advantage to have been harvested when at nutritional peak, namely when in season and therefor cheapest.
One neat way to try frozen greens is in pockets or pot pies.
Spinach pockets in fillo dough is like a to-go version of spinach pie, and while handling fillo dough is a bit intimidating at first one quickly gets the hang of it. Just give it a try. Also there is a really handy HOW TO Video here.

Filling: For a vegan version - omit eggs and all the cheeses and use the marinated tofu and nutritional yeast. The dough I use which is from Athens Foods is vegan.

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
 1/2 cup scallions, minced or half an onion 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped 
¼ cup dried dill
 1/2 cup Feta cheese, crumbled - or for a vegan version try scrambled tofu marinated in an olive oil-lemon juice-oregano mix 
4 ounces cream cheese, softened 
2 tablespoons grated cheese or nutritional yeast 
2 eggs
 Salt and pepper to taste

 1 packet fillo dough, thawed 
cooking oil and pastry brush

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly oil a cookie sheet.

2. In a blender or food processor quickly puree all your ingredients to a lightly chopped filling. Don’t blend too long - you don’t want a sauce.

3. Open your fillo dough packet and lay flat. remove three sheets of dough and stack. Cut the dough in half lengthwise and work halves separately.
Put a generous tablespoon of filling about 1 inch from lower corner and fold dough over the filling to form a triangle. Keep folding dough over until it is all folded up. Lightly brush with cooking oil. And place on cookie sheet seams down.
Repeat until all filling is used up.

4. Bake at 350º for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm or cold with a nice greek salad.

To make your trip to the market a pleasant one!

2010-02-01T21:30:00.003-05:00

Here are some excerpts from my book! Enjoy and use them every week and you WILL save money!

It is finally here!

2010-01-18T16:06:00.003-05:00

The book is done and yours to own. All you have to do is click on this button for an instant e-book download. I hope you enjoy it. I finally had a chance to surpass the blog entry format and really explore my subject to my heart's content. There are 100 recipes in here, from breakfast, lunch and dinners to lots of delicious and affordable desserts and of course lots of suggestions what to do with leftovers. I hope you have fun reading it and contact me with comments or suggestions.

First Frost

2009-10-11T20:55:00.001-04:00

We are expecting the first frost tonight here in Upstate New York and while I was outside all day picking and rescuing all of the basil and green beans I could, I was for the most part on the farm by myself.
For those of you not familiar, I am a member of a CSA and part of my share is produce that is too labor intense to be picked, so we have the opportunity to pick for ourselves. Sometimes the yield of certain crops is just so phenomenal in a particular season that the farmer will just open fields to everyone to pick unlimited amounts. Needless to say that that is an immense bargain right there, because you can truly pick to your hearts content and freeze anything that you can’t use right away for the winter months.
What is a bit strange is that in my experience with different CSAs over more than 10 years now, there is usually just a core group of members that will pick produce themselves, the rest never take advantage of this bargain. In my 200 member CSA - I would venture to say there are about 40 people more or less that will pick, and I think I am being generous here - the rest would rather not. Why? I have no idea!
And that brings us to a rather solemn point - whilst writing this there are literally 100s of pounds of green beans that will die tonight and the amount of basil that will freeze tonight would make enough pesto to supply all the restaurants of Manhattan for a month. Why does it have to go bad - I guess nobody really appreciated the amount of work and the resources that went into producing their share of basil and green beans - so they just let it rot…..

Vegetarian on the Cheap - The Book

2009-10-10T14:15:00.005-04:00

After an extended summer hiatus - at least I have something to show for myself. Vegetarian on the Cheap - The Book is ready for takeoff. I will post the link for an e-book version as soon as I have it ready but I thought I give you a preview of what will be featured:

Here is the index:

Chapter 1: Introduction: Why “vegetarian”, How “on the Cheap?”
A brief outline of vegetarianism in all its incarnations, from the timid occasional vegetarian to the die-hard raw food vegan. Is being a vegetarian even healthy for you? How you can save money going veg, when chicken substitute is three times more expensive than actual chicken.

Chapter 2: The 10 Secrets of the Bohemian Vegetarian.
Pst - don’t tell - this could actually be fun. Where do we go wrong and how can we do better. All about seasons, being your own boss in the kitchen and getting out of cooking the same old budget zapping meals over and over.

Chapter 3: Planning: Where and How to Shop to recharge your Budget.
Shopping - a tutorial. You are on a mission, ditch your hubby, your kids and your chatty friend and get to shop well. The bulk food section, your place of worship.

Chapter 4: To eat, or not to eat - Which foods give you the most bang for your buck.
Whether we like it or not some foods are just healthier than others. Yes, even fruits and vegetables have their nutritional superstars, whereas others merely fizzle. Find the 15 most affordable veggie super foods, the 10 fruits not to be missed and the 10 most affordable protein sources.

Chapter 5: Ye old protein myth - or how you’ll learn to stop worrying and love tofu, tempeh and seitan.
Yes, I will try to get you to embrace seitan. Also, what to do with tofu and what on earth is tempeh? Where will you get adequate protein, that won’t cost a fortune but will taste great?

Chapter 6: Carbs - Not the Enemy? The best carbs for your cash.
Carbohydrates are good for you, as long as you indulge in the right ones. A hit-parade of the most delicious and affordable grains from around the world from amaranth, buckwheat and corn to wheat and wild rice.

Chapter 7: Love food - hate waste. How to properly store and preserve your food.
What a bummer that organic spinach from the farmers market committed suicide right in your fridge! What did you do to it? Nothing? That is exactly your problem! Learn once and for all how to store your food. We will look at which foods should never go into your fridge and which ones will be fine in there for months?

Chapter 8: “Organic? You gotta be kidding! I can’t afford that!” - Wrong!
In an ideal world we all would eat only organic foods, right? Wrong - some foods are actually always organic, even if the label does not say so, and others are a bargain even if they are not organic! Find out who is who.

Chapter 9: Rent-a-farmer: All about getting your veggies on the cheap. Do something amazing for yourself, your kids and the local economy all whilst getting your veggies 50% off. Here is how. Where to find farmer’s markets, local farms and buying co-ops, and why they are such an amazing deal.

Chapter 10: Crock pot - the best pot you’ve ever had!
This is zero effort cooking. In spring, fall or winter this inexpensive kitchen appliance never leaves my counter. Make elaborate meals in minutes and save in the process. Recipes and tips on getting cooking done, even while you leave the house!

Chapter 11: Putting it all together: How to save money immediately!
Let’s start right now. All you need is a pencil! Answer a few questions and fill out this chart, and you will be ready to plan out the next two weeks worth of eating vegetarian on the cheap. We will incorporate new foods slowly, shop with confidence and eliminate dead end shopping, working with what you already have at home.

Chapter 12: A sweat deal: cookies, cakes and candy.
You have to have sweets! Recipes for world-class cookies, homemade candy bars and easy bake muffins and such.

Chapter 13: Kinder-garden - how to get your kids to go veg!
15 tips on making this change easy on your kids - you may be in for a surprise, being a vegetarian is considered quite cool in the kindergarden to high-school world!

Chapter 14: Around the world in eight cuisines: become a spicy recessionista and make something out of nothing!
Pack you bags, we are going Indonesian, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Ethiopian, Moroccan and Caribbean, right in your kitchen.
Nothing screams “sophisticated” louder than exotic dishes from around the world. The big secret is that so many of them are super cheap to make. Learn about spices and how to make your own spice mixes in minutes, and impress your family and guests with flavorful meals that won’t make you smash your piggy-bank.

Chapter 15: Cosmetics, cleaners and the rest: Insane and Unheard-of Ideas to save.
Other ideas that can eliminate money hogs from your grocery list. The nitty gritty on cleaners, cosmetics and keeping you and your home clean for less.

So, I was able to go into depth in how we can really save some money - while being good to our bodies and to our planet. I have included a great number of recipes to get even the most timid cook started - all are no-nonsense no hard to find ingredients and no gimmicks recipes which get you well on the way - eating a varied, healthy and affordable way.
I am excited the book is finished and can't wait to hear some feedback!

Happiness,

Moni

Who would like a great Vegetarian Cookbook for 1 cent?

2009-05-14T22:28:00.003-04:00

Book Review: Vegetarian Four Seasons - Rose Elliot

I have been meaning to write a review on this book for a long time - among all the cookbooks I own and have owned - I have to go through a purge every so often or they would take over my kitchen - this one is of the kind where the pages are splattered, the book is coming apart by the seams and yet I keep coming back to it time and time again.
Rose Elliot strikes an amazing balance between simple and elegant recipes and slightly more daring ones.
The photographs are amazing and very inspiring. I have found that I rarely use cookbooks that don’t have nice pictures in them, and the recipes I use most often are usually the ones that are featured in the pictures.
One of the best features of this book is that it is organized by seasons - so if you shop at your local farmer’s market or you are a member at a CSA this book really comes in handy.
Also quite useful are the full menus for special occasions, for example the spring section features suggestions for a Late Spring Picnic and the Fall section features a hearty full menu for a Halloween party for twelve.

Outstanding recipes include:

Mango and Cardamon Parfait
Salad Nicoise with New Potatoes and Scallions
Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Gratin
Spaghetti Squash with Gorgonzola and Walnuts
Pear and Almond Tart
Christmas Wreath with Cranberries - a great holiday vegetarian main dish

and many more.

And how can you buy this marvelous book for a cent you ask - well Amazon of course: Link

What’s in season now: May & June

2009-05-13T19:48:00.002-04:00

Gas prices are going up again - I know we all remember last summer too well - and immediately the price of produce creeps up as well. It pays off to shop local - the farmer’s markets are about to open in the Northeast and it also pays to shift over to recipes that use what’s in season now.

May:

Fruits: apricots from California, first berries(careful), Florida mangos, citrus(end of season - careful), fresh figs, pineapples from Hawaii (end), cherries (end of month maybe! - really short season - so grab!)

Veggies: green beans, bell peppers (first), cucumbers, summer squash, celery, sugar snap peas, vidalia onions, asparagus (end - careful!), endive (end- careful!)

June:

Fruits: Cherries (short season - grab!), berries, cantaloupe, apricots, plums

Veggies: green beans, bell peppers, carrots, beets, garlic, summer-squash, swiss chard, basil

The trouble with flaxseeds and how to find a way to love them

2009-05-12T21:32:00.006-04:00

By now I’m sure you have heard it numerous times: we should all eat more flaxseeds. They regularly are featured in the top ten lists of foods to include in a healthy diet.Their healing properties curing everything from constipation, arthritis, cramps, skin problems, heart disease and many other ailments are widely proclaimed. They are the single richest source of the ever elusive Omega 3s, contain lignans which function as antioxidants and also provide us with 60 other essential nutrients. However, the trouble is - they taste absolutely awful. When you chew flaxseeds they become somewhat mucusey and their overall taste is nothing to write home about.
Flaxseed oil is not too bad tasting - a bit nutty maybe, but if you want the full benefit of what flaxseeds have to offer you, the actual seeds are the only way to go. Ground up in a coffee grinder and sprinkled over oatmeal, granola or salad works quite well but is a bit boring. The absolute ultimate flaxseed recipe I have come across can be found in the Raw Food cuisine: Flaxseed crackers.
A lot of crackers claim to have flax seeds in them - which is usually in a forgettable amount and at that point absolutely useless since it has been toasted, baked or fried to high heaven, but RAW flax seed crackers keep the omegas and all the other nutrients intact and make an absolutely delicious powerhouse of a cracker.

They are featured in many raw food books and I have tried many different recipes but I think the simplest crackers - with just three! ingredients are the best.
The technique sounds a but complicated at first but once you have the hang of it you can whip up a two week supply in 15 minutes, which is the crackers other great feature -unlike other raw food concoctions these keep really well.

Raw Flax Seed Crackers:

You will need:

3 cups flaxseeds
½ cup sun dried tomatoes - soaked in hot water to soften - about 10 minutes
1½ tablespoons nama shoyu - or soy sauce - low sodium is fine I use the wheat free version

1. Grind about ¾ of your flaxseeds in a blender. They grind up very easily and a couple of pulses should do.

2. Empty your ground seeds into a bowl and mix in the un-ground seeds.

3. Blend the softened sun dried tomatoes - add a little of the soaking water and reserve the rest of the soaking water.

4. Mix the ground sun dried tomatoes with the flaxseeds and add the soy sauce. Stir and let sit for a couple of minutes. Because of the oil in the seeds the mixture will be quite gooey. You could also add herbs or garlic at this point, but that’s optional since they taste quite fantastic without any additions.

5. Meanwhile prepare your baking surface - if you have a dehydrator this is easy - if not an oven will do - just put it at its absolute lowest setting and leave the door propped open to lower the temperature. It should not go over 125º. If you have teflex sheets for your dehydrator, they work really well for this otherwise use parchment paper. Cut the parchment paper to line your dehydrator trays or cookie sheets and oil slightly with some quality oil - coconut, olive or flaxseed work well - use very little and spread over the paper with your hands or a brush.

6. Here comes the tricky and ingenious part - after doing this many times I found a way to make crackers so thin you can almost see through them. Using one oiled sheet (teflex or parchment) as a bottom spread a good handful of the dough and place a second oiled sheet on top of the dough. With a rolling pin - spread the dough evenly working towards the edges. Once you have a nice flattened square of cracker remove the top sheet - it will peel right off and place in the oven or dehydrator.

7. Repeat until all the cracker dough is used up. It will take anywhere between 5 to 12 hours to fully dehydrate your crackers - it depends on the humidity in your house, whether you use a stove or a dehydrator and also on your personal preference - some like a more flexible cracker others want theirs bone-dry. So experiment and have fun!

Love Food - Hate Waste!

2009-04-13T12:17:00.004-04:00

How to store food is truly a science. Supermarkets spends billions a year to improve food storage. They know every head of lettuce that wilts before they were able to pass it on to you means money washed down the drain.
It is really frustrating to go through lengthy planning, careful choosing only to have to toss that unrecognizable heap of mush into the bin. I know I absolutely hate it.
It is estimated that the average American family throws away nearly $500 worth of produce a year.

What can we do to prevent you from having to throw out one more piece of fruit, vegetable or any other food item. Let’s look at storage and educate ourselves.

A couple of points to consider:

1. If you routinely throw out lots of food - you may be buying too much. Slow down at the store and try to make a plan before you shop. Guesstimating costs an awful lot of money.

2. In your plan-making, leave gaps. I don’t know about you, but I know that if my plans are not flexible they won’t work for me. A big part of cooking well and on a budget is all about using leftovers and there has to be space for these in your menu for the week. So leave some meals - lunches and dinners blank and that is where your leftover meals will fit.

3. Also make a point of positioning dishes that use produce items that spoil quickly at the beginning of the week. Example: it does not really matter whether you make a potato salad on Tuesday or on Saturday - if you do your shopping on a Sunday - but if you are planning on a spinach salad I would not want to wait all the way until 6 days later to eat raw spinach that is now clearly past its prime.

4. If in doubt how to store an item imagine where and how it was located in your local supermarket when you bought it. Onions will never be refrigerated and neither will be potatoes - how about green peppers, lettuce or broccoli? Close your eyes imagine - the answer for the above items was one: no refrigeration, two: yes three: yes - and that is how it should be!

5. The refrigerator is your biggest helper when it comes to food storage - but it has to be clean - and you have to see what is in it! If your fridge is so full that you have no chance of seeing everything you also have no chance of using all that food. A refrigerator should be cleaned once a week - yeah not a typo - every week before you go shopping you have to know what is still in there from last weeks shopping! So, everything has to come out - things that have to be used immediately go in a crockpot or soup pot and while you clean out the fridge - wiping everything down - takes about 15 minutes really - you can already put together your meal for when you get back from your shopping trip - convenient and cheap!

6. One spoilt apple will spoil the barrel! So true and not only for apples. There are people in the supermarkets constantly picking over the produce trying to pick out the rotten apples and such. Another reason to clean out your fridge once a week - germs spread and infect other food. Spoilage needs to be nipped in the bud.

7. Store bulk grains in airtight glass containers - old spaghetti sauce containers work great. Grain moths can be a rather persistent problem - store a small dried habanero pepper in the glass jars, but don’t forget to remove it before cooking otherwise you will have a spicy surprise!

8. Raw nuts - which are by far the best nuts your money can buy - should ideally be stored in the refrigerator. Make sure they do not become humid - you use container with a tight seal and buy only as much as you can use up in a month. Do not waste your money on broken nuts - they will almost always be all rancid and severely lacking in nutrients. Also nut flours are easily made in a blender - it literally takes seconds to grind up nuts.

9. Dried fruit can be kept in the fridge and stays fresh longer that way - zip-lock bags work great.

If we divide our fruits and vegetables in sections:

+ Always refrigerate

+ Never refrigerate

+ you could refrigerate - especially once fully ripened

+ ripens nicely on the countertop - in a brown bag

+ eat asap - won’t last no matter what you do

Let’s start with fruits:

Always refrigerate:  

Apples - put in a bag - paper with a plastic bag inside, always choose apples that smell good and have no bruises - check on them often since one apple does indeed spoil all the others

Cherries - refrigerate immediately - and use asap - you only have a couple of days to enjoy them at peak flavor - and cherry season is horribly short!

Coconut - both fresh Thai and brown - should be refrigerated where they will last a couple of weeks - a bit less for the fresh ones 

Grapes - should be refrigerated in plastic - but should be dry - wash them only immediately before eating.  They can last for a week in your fridge 

Never refrigerate:

Bananas - they will turn dark brown instantly - just arrange in a fruit bowl and buy at various stages of ripeness to have a constant supply - don’t throw out overripe bananas but freeze them for smoothies

Mango - never - it will kill the flavor

You could refrigerate:   

Citrus - if you are trying to make it last more than a week - otherwise it would be fine on your countertop 

Kiwi - if you are trying to hold on to them for up to a month - otherwise they will be good on your countertop 

Melon - if they are whole, refrigeration is optional - especially if they could use a little ripening - keep them on the countertop until they develop a bit of aroma (water melon excepted which will not have any scent) - then you can refrigerate, cut melon of course has to always be refrigerated and should be eaten asap

ripens nicely on the countertop - in a brown bag:   

Apricots - can be bought hard - will ripen on countertop - if bought ripe enjoy immediately or keep in fridge for couple of days - tops

Nectarines - can be bought hard and ripened at home - in a day or two - when fully ripe you can refrigerate them and they will last another day or two 

Papaya - if you bought it green - leave on your counter until they have color and aroma then you can transfer them to the fridge where they will keep another couple of days, but should be used asap 

Peach - same as with papaya - will ripen well on the counter in a brown paper bag - once you have the characteristic aroma you want to eat them asap - but you can refrigerate for another day or two 

Pear - another one for the countertop - if you want to slow down the ripening process- refrigerate  

Pineapple - looks beautiful on your counter and that is where it belongs - until you get the wonderful aroma which could take a week or longer - then cut it up and store it in the fridge in a closed plastic container - it will pick up other aromas and will last only a few days

Plums - will ripen in a brown paper bag - once ripe they will keep in the fridge for a few days 

Pomegranates can be kept at room temperature for a week or longer, but can also be refrigerated where they will last several months

eat asap - won’t last no matter what you do:  

Berries: I know you can refrigerate the hardy blueberries or blackberries for a couple of days - but buy local, go crazy when in season and eat right away and stay away from all not local berries the rest of the year and go for frozen if you have a craving. Out of season berries - are simple tasteless and never worth the money. Never wash fresh berries until absolutely ready to eat and berries will never ripen after they are picked!

Vegetables:

Always refrigerate:

Artichokes - up to one week - choose firm globes, stay away from opened leaves

Asparagus - couple of days tops - look for tight and dry tips and a bright, fresh green color throughout

Beans - string or snap - in a plastic bag, do not wash until you are ready to use them - if they are slightly wilted you may be able to revive them in a bowl with ice cold water

Beets - buy with tops only - cook with a bit of stem and cut only after cooking, to not lose the nutrients into the cooking water - use the greens like salad greens 

Broccoli - stores well right in the plastic bag it came from the store - make sure there is a little moisture - like from the misting that happens in the store - keeps well for at least a week 

Brussels Sprouts - keep well in the fridge for at least a week 

Cabbage - will keep for many weeks in your fridge - when you don’t want to use the entire head of cabbage at once - it is worth to simple peel off the outer leaves and leave the rest of the head intact - the rest will keep for another meal that way  

Carrots - will keep in the plastic bag you bought them - if you bought ones with the top on - twist it off - it will draw the sweetness out of the carrots - and use carrots with green tops sooner - you can revive limp carrots in an ice bath 

Cauliflower - store in the plastic bag it came in keeps well for a week and beyond - watch for black spots and use immediately if they appear 

Celery - refrigerate - will keep crisp for at least a week 

Celery root - will keep for many weeks in your fridge - in a plastic bag to keep in moisture 

Cucumber - refrigerate only for a couple of days  

Eggplant - will store in plastic bags for several days  

Ginger - will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge 

Leeks - will last a week or more - store dry in a plastic bag 

Mesclun greens - will store well if refrigerated - however if you purchased them loose by the pound - transfer them out of the loose plastic bag into a plastic container - tupperware works - otherwise splurge on a mesclun mix in a hardshell plastic container and keep that for repeated use since it was designed by the growers to keep loose leaf lettuce, it does a fine job in keeping your greens fresh - always keep them dry and pick out any wilting leaves immediately 

Whole lettuce heads - should be kept in a plastic bag and should be slightly moist - it will keep three to five days at peak freshness

Mushrooms - never store them in a plastic bag - paper bags only and add a slightly damp sheet of paper towel - use asap they really don’t last 

Peppers - should last up to a week - dry in a plastic bag - wash right before use 

Spinach - store in fridge right away - do not wash until ready to use, but even if stored perfectly you will only get a couple of days - so use it soon 

Sprouts - parish quickly - store in refrigerator and use within a couple of days 

Summer Squash - store in unsealed plastic bag 

Swiss Chard - store in open plastic bag in the fridge - will keep for a week

Never refrigerate!:  

Garlic - moisture is an absolute killer - keep it in a dark, cool place on your countertop - and don’t waste your money on the pre-chopped stuff 

Winter Squash - unless it has been cut - store in a dry dark place and winter squash will keep for a couple of months 

Tomatoes - never ever refrigerate! - even if ripe - it just kills the flavor - make gazpacho and salsa if you have too many ripe ones

You could refrigerate:   

Corn - but only for a short time and you should really eat it asap

Onions - some people recommend refrigeration others condemn it, I guess it depends on how good your storage is outside the fridge - you want a cool, dark, dry place away from potatoes and apples 

Potatoes - other than the very thin skinned new potatoes - potatoes usually do not need to be refrigerated they should be kept in a cold, dark, dry place

And - that's all folks!

How about a really good burger?

2009-03-29T21:07:00.004-04:00

Oat Tofu Burger:  

Oats really lend themselves well to giving a meatless burger consistency.

 You will need: (for about 10 burgers)  

1 package tofu = 1 pound
 ½ cup steel cut oats  - pour 2 cups boiling hot water over them and let sit until absorbed - about 1/2 hour
1 onion - minced
1 cup carrots - minced
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 egg (optional - vegans just omit or replace with a tablespoon wheat germ)
1 tsp oregano, marjoram, basil or a combination
2 tablespoons oil

1. Set up oats and meanwhile drain the tofu and crumble with your hands in a bowl - chop and add all other ingredients and shape into 10 burgers. For them to hold together well it helps to refrigerate them for half an hour especially if you don’t want to use the egg.

 2. Brown your burgers in the oil and serve or store in the fridge for later. They are quite delicious eaten cold.

Organic produce, organic produce on the wall - who is the fairest of them all?

2009-03-19T21:40:00.006-04:00

Our friends at the Environmental Working Group have updated their “Dirty Dozen List” of the most polluted and pesticide laden fruits and vegetables brought to you by the friendly and concerned folks at Mega Bucks Agriculture - so if you want to indulge and make sure you have the maximum exposure to pesticides please choose only from these twelve foods, and while you are at it work on your tan at noon not wearing any sun screen whilst sipping Coca Cola out of a PBA lined plastic bottle (which you will not recycle).
If you are one of us - however - and feel you should have some say in which poisons you will subject your body or your children’s bodies to - pay attention - you should be able to rattle off these twelve fruits and vegetables flawlessly even if I came to your house and woke you up in the middle of the night.
There are pediatricians and nutritionists out there who will go as far as recommending NOT to give any of these fruits or vegetables to your children ever, period!  
I will give you the list at the end and the link to the full list can be found here, but for those of us who have been using this list faithfully for years after some research I was able to figure out what had changed. 

Dropped from the twelve most contaminated list:
potatoes - dropped to #15

spinach - dropped to #14

raspberries dropped to #20.

Newly on the watchlist:

Kale!!! at #8 - way too high for my taste - and will be bought organically from now on

Lettuce - at #9 - not much of a surprise for me - has been on my private watch list forever

Carrots - at #11 - they just moved up from #13 so they were too close for comfort anyway - not such a big surprise and if you buy the big 5 pound bags the price difference between conventional and organic carrots becomes almost negligible.

Also, on the other side of the spectrum - the twelve safest fruits and vegetables - there was a bit of a shakedown - Broccoli, Cauliflower and Bananas, all were pushed out of the twelve least contaminated produce slots and seem now a little less safe at slots #13, #24 (!) and #21 respectively.

On the bright side - Pineapple - Cabbage and Eggplant have taken their spots.

Here are the lists:

Dirty Dozen: Most Pesticide Contaminated Fruits & Vegetables:
 You should buy only organic: (from worst to best)

1. Peach
2. Apple
3. Sweet Bell Pepper
4. Celery
5. Nectarine
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes - Imported
11. Carrot
12. Pear

and just for completion sake: if the money allows!

  13. Collard Greens
14. Spinach
15. Potatoes (used to be much higher on the list)
16. Green Beans
17. Summer Squash
18. Pepper - (hot ones - I presume)
19. Cucumber - ( I usually buy the English variety - at least they come sans wax)
20. Raspberries   

The consistently clean conventional produce - buy these non-organic: (from best to worst)

  1. Onions 
2. Avocado 
3. Sweet Corn - Frozen
 4. Pineapple
 5. Mango
 6. Asparagus
 7. Sweet Peas - frozen
 8. Kiwi
 9. Cabbage 
10. Eggplant 
11. Papaya 
12. Watermelon 
13. Broccoli 
14. Tomatoes ( now if they only tasted like tomatoes…) 
15. Sweet Potatoes ( great alternative for regular potatoes - cheaper and more nutritious) 

Also, a quick reminder - know your PLU codes = Price Look-Up codes - that is the code that the cashier will put in before they weigh and price your produce. It will either be on the sticker, on the rubber band holding the produce together - like in broccoli bunches or sometime tattooed on the fruit itself.

PLU Code Type of Produce:

4060 4 digit code - conventional broccoli
94060 5 digit code starting with a “9” - organically grown broccoli 
84060 5 digit code starting with a “8” - genetically engineered broccoli
( why do we worry about mouse genes in our oranges - well, it is all the rage in Europe… read up here)

The Flexetarian Vegetarian Conundrum:

2009-03-05T14:05:00.001-05:00

After being a vegetarian for almost 20 years I have been every kind of vegetarian you can think of.
From the occasional vegetarian - I guess that is how most of us started out - some teenage rebellion combined with a disdain for everything ordinary - I went through a couple of try-outs, that would go really well for a few weeks and than fall flat.
Than later came the ovo-lacto phase, which morphed into years of being a happy vegan, which morphed into years of being a happy raw food vegan to - right now.
Where am I right now? Well, to be quite honest - I am back to square one - being an ordinary ovo-lacto vegetarian. How did I end up back here? Not that there is anything wrong with being just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill kind of vegetarian, mind you!
The economy has a lot to do with it for me.
Going back to organic eggs and organic milk seems to be cheaper when in a severe crunch, and so a dedicated vegan is sent back three squares and becomes a regular vegetarian once again. At least for now.
Especially in winter - when produce is available to me almost exclusively in the supermarket or health food store - at a high price and so-so quality, I cannot imagine trying to be a raw fooder on a limited budget.
Now, I know that some of you manage it somehow - I would love to hear how you stick to your vegan, raw fooder or other guns in times of economic distress.
Comments anyone?

Who is ready for spring?

2009-03-04T13:21:00.000-05:00

For all of you who are sick and tired of citrus, winter squash and collard greens - I am so with you on this.
I can’t wait for spring and thought it may be a good idea to peek a little into what’s to come.
March is a great month in the produce department because after three months of relatively little variety ( citrus, citrus, citrus and winter squash ad nauseum) new things are all of a sudden in season. It hasn’t quite happened in my local stores but for me the absolute indicator for the change of seasons and the arrival of spring are the aptly named “spring onions”.
So let’s see what we will be able to purchase for a reasonable price:

March:

Fruits: pineapple, Mexican mangos, citrus (especially Valencia and Blood Oranges), rhurbarb

Veggies: spring lettuce, endive, artichokes, mustard greens

April:

Fruits: pineapples from Hawaii, asparagus, avocado (haas), rhurbarb,mangos, first strawberries (careful!)

Veggies: asparagus, spring cruciferous - especially broccoli, first summer squash, spring onions (with green tops), garden peas, romaine lettuce, artichokes, new potatoes, spring carrots, spinach

Seitan Bourginon

2009-03-02T14:51:00.000-05:00

This is a lovely recipe - which is simple, yet elegant and a cheap treat for yourself or when you have guests coming.
I will give you two variations - one is the quick approach - the other is the “no work at all since I am going to dump everything into the crock pot” approach. Either way very tasty!

For either version you will need for 4 servings:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
4 small onions peeled, 2 minced and two cut in fours
 5 medium carrots roughly chopped in rounds 
2 sticks celery roughly chopped 
1 cup whole mushrooms - any kind will do - or omit if you are not a mushroom fan about
1 cup leafy greens - kale, collard or spinach work well - or omit
3 cups homemade seitan - if using store bought - one tub will do  if you need a refresher on how to make your own seitan check here
1 tablespoon tomato paste - diluted in ½ cup water or broth
or use canned crushed tomatoes ( which you will have to drain) about ½ cup total
2 cups potatoes quartered - or left whole of they are small 
1 teaspoon soy sauce 
1 cup heavy red wine  

1 bay leaf - can be omitted or substitute dried basil, oregano or sage
 3 cloves garlic - grated
 1 teaspoon thyme dried - or ½ teaspoon fresh thyme 
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped or omit but rather nice if you have it at hand 
salt and fresh pepper 
two tablespoons flour or instant mashed potato to thicken the sauce

Crock pot version:

 1.Add all ingredients into crock pot, except for the fresh parsley and flour/ instant mashed potato. 

2. Cook on medium for 6 - 8 hours. Add the fresh parsley and let sit for 5 minutes. Transfer into serving dish - draining some of the liquid. Thicken the drained liquid with some of the flour/mashed potato and mix back in with the rest of the dish. Serve with side of potatoes and wilted greens or a green salad. 

On the stove version:

Can be cooked in under 30 minutes - and is still a great dish.
Adjustments to be made - you want all the veggies to be chopped finer.

1. In a steamer basket set the potatoes to steam over water.

2. Saute the onion, carrots, celery and garlic until soft and aromatic.

3. Add the drained tomatoes, mushrooms, seitan, parsley, spices and soy sauce and saute for another two minutes.

4. Add the red wine, and season with salt and pepper - cover and simmer for another 10 minutes over low heat.

5. Check on the potatoes - pierce with a knife to ensure they are soft all the way through - set aside and let cool.

6. Transfer the bourginon to a serving dish - draining the liquid. Mix the liquid with just enough flour or instant mashed potato to give it some substance then mix it back in with the veggies and serve with the potatoes rubbed in a bit of sea salt.

Insane and unheard of ideas to save money - Make your own deodorant!

2009-02-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

The reasons why you want to make your own deodorant are many. Saving money seems to be almost trivial compared to the many health implications regular use of main stream brand deodorants has.
The aluminum chloride omni present in all the big brand deodorants has been linked to Alzheimer's and breast cancer and even though the industry spends billions of dollars trying to disprove any connection of their products with any bad effects on health - I remain skeptical. After all how thorough and truly truth finding can an industry sponsored study be?

Our friends at the Environmental Working Group point out a staggering array of chemicals in deodorants that promote endocrine disruption, allergies, mutation and growth of cancerous cells in the lab.

So, the answer would be to switch to the natural brands of deodorants proudly promoting their Aluminum hydrochloride free bliss - only two problems - first they are not all as wholesome as they seem - I was shocked to find Jason’s deodorants as one of the worst offenders in the EWG’s cosmetic database and of course even the good ones come with a staggering price tag.
Shopping for my son’s favorite deodorant at Whole Foods the other day - I simply could not stomach the $18.95 !!!! price tag and I had had enough. What are these magical ingredients that make up this 1.7 oz of elixir - is liquid gold part of the concoction?
Of course reading labels is always enlightening, amusing and infuriating all at the same time!

So, comparing three different brands Weleda, Dr.Hauschka, and Crystal,
the most common ingredients seem to be - not surprisingly - some form of alcohol, mineral salts - can you say table salt?, fragrance = a couple of drops of essential oils and lots of water.
So, here is my recipe for homemade deodorant - as always - experiment wildly and have fun creating your own!

Deodorant recipe - you will need:

Some form of alcohol
Fragrance
Water
a spray bottle or reuse and old roll-on deodorant bottle

1. Some form of alcohol - just like for making perfume - vodka works well - you could even try flavored - I am sure citrus would give it a nice base tone. You don’t need a whole lot since you are going to cut at least two parts water to one part alcohol.  

2. Salt - add a tiny bit of regular table salt - should neutralize the bacteria a bit, but salt is a very optional ingredient.

3. Fragrance - a couple of drops of essential oil - whatever you have at hand. You could produce you own - by squeezing citrus peel or infusing flowers or bits of spice in your deodorant - add a small dash of ground ginger or cinnamon - costs cents.

4. Add water - just enough so it will flow but not too much to make it runny - you will have to play around with it. 

5. A nice addition which I use instead of alcohol is Thayer’s Orginal Witch Hazel Formula which has alcohol in it and works really well as a base. The Aloe Vera formula is very nice for sensitive skin.

  6. All you need now is a bottle - The insanely expensive Dr.Hauschka deodorant at least buys you a reusable glass bottle that looks very nice and can easily be refilled. Most plastic bottles cannot be reused. In that case a little spray bottle should do.

Please check out the list of harmful ingredients in deodorants here. may be that will give you the inspiration you need to make your own.

No-Crash Risotto:

2009-02-11T18:21:00.000-05:00

A quick and filling dinner - that doesn’t have to be expensive, and doesn’t have to make you feel heavy and drained of energy - Mushroom Risotto.
A big misconception about risotto is that you have to buy a special kind of rice to make authentic risotto and that it takes hours to cook. Yes, most gourmet chefs will go on and on about arborio rice being the only official risotto rice. In my opinion arborio rice, which is almost always white, is super starchy, extra expensive and nutritionally akin to bleached paper napkins kind of rice.
I have been super successful with short grain brown rice, which nutritionally is the only acceptable type of rice in my book and it is really not that expensive. It cooks beautifully to a nice creamy consistency in about 25 minutes and since it is not overly starchy it gives a nice “No crash risotto”.

The other ingredients of your risotto are highly seasonably adjustable. Mushrooms and leeks are some of my favorites.

No-Crash Risotto - for four servings you will need:

0.5 pounds short grain brown rice 0.5 lb @ $1.39 = $0.69
½ bunch leeks - can be two small stems or one thicker one = $1.20
1 tablespoon coconut oil or oil of your choice = $0.50
8 oz mushrooms, coarsely chopped = $1.50

1 tablespoon of dried porcini mushrooms - 0.02 lb @ $39.49 = $0.79
2 tablespoons of grated percorino romano - 0.04 lb @ $6.49 = $0.26 (or omit)
1 tablespoon soy sauce = $0.10
½ tablespoon dried - rosemary, sage, marjoram or thyme or use fresh if available + $0.05

Total cost for 4 servings: $5.09

1. In a large pot bring brown rice to a rolling boil with at least three times its volume of water. Use a big pot and be generous with the water. After it reaches the boil - turn down to a simmer and let it bubble for 20 more minutes with a lid that is slightly askew.

2. Reconstitute the dried mushrooms with about ½ cup of very hot water.

3. Wash the leeks throughly - two or three times if necessary - separating the leaves - they can trap quite a bit of dirt. Once clean cut into ringlets and lightly saute in a bit if oil. Add the soy sauce and the mushrooms - cover and let soften over medium low heat. About ten minutes. About midway through - add dried mushrooms with their soaking water.

4. Check on rice - it should have absorbed lots of water and be really soft and creamy. Make sure it does not stick and cook a little longer if necessary.

5. Once rice is cooked - mix with the wilted vegetables add some cheese and serve.

Essential savings tool: The address book

2009-02-08T12:42:00.000-05:00

How many of you comparison shop? In these economic crisis times who can afford not to? One problem though is, that comparison shopping - which I whole heartedly endorse and practice - becomes a major mental exercise. The moment you spot a sale, you have to immediately recall what said item is going for in all your other shopping haunts.
I don’t know about you, but I often have trouble recalling exactly what a five pound bag of organic potatoes goes for in the health food store, so I could actually compare and see if the sale of organic potatoes per pound in the big chain supermarket is really such a good deal. And I only shop at two stores - health food store and big chain supermarket - which are conveniently located next door to each other. I know that some people actually run or more accurately drive from store to store picking up items here and there. I don’t know how they do it!
So, to take the mental exercise out of the comparing I have started using an address book. I know this is a little goofy - but it really works. You can find an address book for a dollar at the dollar store and you will make up that dollar the first time you use it.
Simply enter each food at the appropriate spot - designate one line per store - for me big chain supermarket prices take the address line, whereas health food store prices go in the phone # line, and take down quantity, price and maybe specifics such as organic - non-organic, sales price etc.

Surprises for me after using it for the first time:

Organic coconut milk is 25 cents cheaper per can in the health food store, than the non-organic one in the big chain supermarket.

The same brand potato chips in the health food store - are twice!! as expensive as in the supermarket, since the bag is almost twice as big - who knew - I just never noticed - there is so much air in these bags

Grated Percorino Romano cheese is $3.00 more per pound in the supermarket than in the health food store - and the one in the health food store smells, looks and tastes fresher!

Agave nectar is $1.00 cheaper per same size bottle in the health food store

These are just some of the revelations in the first couple of weeks of writing down prices. I am sure there are more to come...

Main Dish: Super Easy Bean Chili + Leftover Recipes!

2009-02-06T19:51:00.001-05:00

I know you all have a favorite chili recipe. This is the bare bones version - a great way to stretch a budget and an awesome cornerstone for a whole week’s worth of dinner, dinner variations and lunches. After all, chili is not just a main dish, but also an ingredient in dishes such as tacos, fajitas, burritos and can easily be made into a soup. There are not many recipes that are that versatile. 

Super easy Bean Chili:   For about six servings you will need: Cost from $6.31

 ½ pound dried beans - prepared the Romanian way - or substitute two cans if you are in a rush = $0.90 for dried or $2.00 for canned 
vegetable oil of your choice - $0.50
 1 28 oz can tomato - you can used crushed, or whole peeled or sauce = $1.79
 2 large onions - chopped roughly = $1.10 
2 large carrots - diced = $0.35
 2 green peppers - chopped ( can be omitted if organic green peppers are too expensive) $1.00 
about two cups corn - frozen works well ( highly optional) $1.00 
1 head garlic - cloves roughly chopped - or if you must substitute, one generous tablespoon garlic powder $0.37
 1 small can green chilies or 1 fresh chili pepper - (believe it or not those are optional) =$1.25
 1 tablespoon cumin = $0.10 
1 tablespoon chili powder = $0.05
 hot pepper - dried or liquid = $0.10 
2 tablespoons salsa ( can be omitted - but rounds up the flavor nicely) = $0.25 
fresh cilantro - really nice when you can add it, but optional = $0.50 
Salt and pepper = $0.05

  1. After you have prepared your basic beans or opened two cans of beans, chop onions, carrots and green peppers and gently sauté in two tablespoons of oil. 

2. While your veggies are sautéing prepare your fresh garlic - roughly chop or finely grate with a cheese grater and add to the sauté. Move everything around - the garlic usually makes things sticky, and once you see the onion softening add a tiny bit of the tomato sauce.

 3. In about half a cup of tomato sauce - dissolve your spices - cumin, chili powder, garlic powder( if you use it) and stir to dissolve - add to your saute and once stirred in, add the rest of the tomato sauce.

 4. Add beans, corn and chilies and turn heat down to simmer. Let simmer for about 35 minutes. Mix occasionally, taste and add salt towards the end, also add hot peppers to taste.  

Potluck variation chili:

When I take this recipe to a gathering of non-veggies, I usually add some sort of vegetarian version of ground beef to disguise my chili. Peoples jaws drop when after they lapped it all up they are told they just had vegetarian chili. So, to add extra protein you could use TVP- texturized vegetable protein - the best brand in my opinion is made by Heartline Meatless Meats - their products absolutely rock! You could also use their vegetarian jerky which they sell in little lunch box bags - they are under a dollar - the jerky cut into little strips would dress up any chili.
 A more expensive option is ground beef style crumbles found in the freezer section by Boca Burgers or Ground Beef style quorn. But do keep in mind that none of these products are needed and they make this dish considerably more expensive!  

Ideas for leftovers:  

Leftover chili is awesome!  

Leftover recipe 1: Burritos  
You will need:

 Leftover chili 
One package whole wheat tortillas
 ½ jar salsa 
Cheese of choice - optional of course  

1. Heat oven to 375º. Heat up your leftover chili in a pan.

 2. If you have an electric stove - rejoice - perfect for heating up tortillas - just heat on very low setting and then put the tortillas directly on the coils. Warning this is a major fire hazard - so watch them like a hawk and leave them on there only for about ten seconds. If you don’t have an electric stove, either omit this step altogether or heat up your tortillas in a pan over low heat for a couple of minutes. Basically, you want to heat them so they become nice and pliable and not to be ice cold straight out of the refrigerator. (Yes, I keep my tortillas in the fridge - they last longer that way)

 3. Scoop some chili into each burrito, add some shredded cheese and a small scoop of salsa, roll up and arrange in a slightly greased baking dish our better yet in a large cast iron pan.

 4. Use up all your tortillas and your chili - and layer your burritos in the pan. Top with salsa and some more cheese and put in oven for about 10 - 15 minutes. Not really to cook just to heat everything well through.

 5. For my vegan friends - the cheese is absolutely optional - the meal tastes equally good without it - if you want to splurge on vegan cheese you can but it is certainly not necessary and a tad expensive.  

Leftover Recipe 2: Bean Soup:  

Takes minutes and is phenomenally delicious and filling.  

You’ll need: 
Leftover chili 
1-2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes - or any style that is on sale - break down large chunks if necessary 
1- 2 cups of basic beans - either prepared the Romanian Way - or canned
 dried herbs
 salt and pepper  

Sorry I am a bit vague with the the number of cans of tomatoes and beans, but it really depends on the amount of chili you have left over. You want the chili - tomato ratio to be equal, maybe leaning towards the chili a bit. But again my recipes are merely suggestions, I am sure you can make a stunning soup that would be much heavier on the tomatoes.

  1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and heat. 

2. Taste for seasoning - you probably will have to add - salt, pepper, and any dried spice (short of mint) should lend itself well - oregano, marjoram, sage, basil will all work well. You can add extra chili powder and adjust hotness according to your wishes.

 3. You may top with a tad of shredded cheese - just before serving - for extra impact.

Cheap Vegetarian Food: Beans

2009-02-06T19:20:00.001-05:00

There is simply no other food available that will feed you and your family as variedly, deliciously and cheaply as beans. I know some of you have some major reservation regarding the musical fruit - but cooking beans is certainly not the magic trick some people make it seem. With very little prep - how hard is it really to soak something overnight in water? - this should absolutely be an easy part of the way you eat.

To put is more bluntly - the more bean and lentil dishes you can cram into your weekly menu, the cheaper - and many times better, you will eat.
 Beans come in two forms: dried and canned. Since we are talking affordability, dried beans are the better option - obviously. But canned beans do have their place. They are a great emergency staple - dips, main dishes, soups are all of a sudden available in a matter of minutes, whereas the dried beans do take some forethought. However, always keep in mind that money wise the canned bean manufacturers really charge for their pre-cooking services. Also, for those of us with delicate digestive systems, dried beans prepared according to the method explained below may be gentler.

  Beans - the musical fruit:

 Beans prepared poorly can be quite unpleasant. In my family we all have quite sensitive stomachs when it comes to beans and I have tried many methods of preparation, until I found a way to make eating beans an enjoyable part of a meal. Here is what I have found out:  

A - Lentils are generally gentler than beans - they are a slightly different type of legume and are an excellent way to get started.

  B - soaking is both easy and necessary. I don’t know why some people make such a big deal out of pouring a cup of beans into a larger cup with water.

It literally takes two seconds and I think the beans look like little jewels submerged in the water. It puts me in a good mood knowing that in a couple of hours time they will be ready to feed me and my family. Even though most people say you don’t need to soak lentils - I soak all legumes and would recommend you do the same, especially if you are a bean novice. I like to err on the side of caution. I find overnight soaking to be the most convenient. If you have to dash off to work in the morning - just change the water - and give your beans an extra soak - so they are ready to be cooked when you come back. But generally overnight is all the soaking that is needed.  

C - we are all different when it comes to digesting beans - some lucky people never have a problem and others have to be more cautious. There is even a difference within different types of beans from person to person. Someone, who may have a harder time with black beans could chose to make a chili with Navy beans or lentils, because their digestion will be easier on them. I personally see very little difference when it comes to the taste of bean types - what changes is mainly color, shape and texture, when cooked. So substitute wildly and take advantage of sales. Chili for instance, can be made with pretty much any bean or lentil - the texture of the dish may change every so slightly, but the taste and nutritional profile will certainly remain unaffected. 

Nutritionally they are all little miracles. Beans are packed with protein, contain impressive amounts of fiber, help lower cholesterol, help regulate blood sugar levels and contain a wide array of phyto nutrients, vitamins and minerals.  

Now comes the cooking. I call this the Romanian method - since I observed it first from my Romanian nanny, not paying much attention then, but when I heard it referenced again as the bean cooking method of Romanian peasants, I remembered  it and so it shall be the “Romanian method”.

   The Romanian Method for cooking gas free beans:

  This will also work for lentils - but be careful not to overcook them or they will fall apart.
  Basically all you need to do is gently boil the beans three times.

  * First chose the amount of presoaked beans you want to make - you should make more, rather than less because they keep well in the fridge - which gives you access to instant beans just like from the can only for a fraction of the cost, and also if you make too much, beans freeze well. At most I would want you to have to prepare your basic beans only once a week.

 * Combine your presoaked beans with a lot of fresh water - somewhere around 3 to 4 cups of water to every cup of bean.

 * In a large pot over medium heat bring to a gentle boil - that can take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes depending on your stove. 

* Once boiling, turn off the heat immediately - and carefully drain your beans - rinsing off all the cooking water. Clean the pot well - scrub off any stuck-on foam and continue. 

* Repeat the process - once again filling the pot with beans and fresh water in 3:1 ration and again over medium heat bring to a very gentle boil. Note: do not add salt. That will not help and leads to tough beans. 

* Once the boil is reached, turn off the heat and carefully pour off the water - rinse your beans and repeat once more.

 * Now we are at our last step - again submerge your rinsed beans in a generous amount of fresh cold water and bring them to a gentle boil and then reduce the heat down to a simmer. The beans should simmer covered for anywhere from 15 minutes for little lentils to 45 minutes for some heartier beans. Timing really depends on your stove and the freshness of the beans in question. Also if you will continue cooking your beans you can leave them just al dente since they will be exposed to more heat. Therefore the chart below is only a very general guideline.
The goal here of course is a creamy, soft bean that is neither mushy nor broken and certainly not hard or chewy. Practice makes perfect. It helps to take notes - so you will have your own magic bean formula for next time.

 Now you will have a couple of cups worth of basic beans - some of which you can use immediately in your recipe of choice - the rest should be stored in the refrigerator to be used within the week, or frozen in one cup increments to be kept for a lot longer.

  Bean chart:  Soak all beans at least overnight. You can soak them longer, just change the soaking water every 12 hours and soak them in the refrigerator, when it is very hot so they don’t go sour. If little white sprouty buds develop at the end of your beans,rejoice, that means your beans are fresh and alive! Cook these sprouted beans extra gently and for a shorter time.

  Bean name: approximate cooking time - after two times boil a la Romanian method  

Adzuki Beans 30 minutes 
Black-eyed Peas 45 min
 Chick Peas 50 min
 French lentils 35 min 
Green lentils 45 min 
Green Peas (Split peas) 30 min 
Kidney Beans 50 min 
Mung Beans 45 min 
Pinto Beans 50 min 
Red Lentils 20 min 

Easier than Pie! Make your own Granola Bars!

2009-02-04T19:25:00.001-05:00

Why spend $2 or even up to $4 on granola bars with very questionable ingredients if you could make some that are actually nutritious, tailored to your taste and cheap? Standard granola bar template:

A - Grain base: Most often rolled oats, but could also be puffed rice or millet or combination of grains. This accounts for about ⅔ of your granola bars substance.

B - Nuts and seeds - unless you are allergic - in which case you just omit - this is what gives the granola its nutritional value. All nuts are fine - almonds are always my favorite nutrition-wise. Suggestions: Peanuts, almonds, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds - all should be unroasted, organic if affordable and sugar free.

C - Fun stuff - that’s where the customization comes in - anywhere from chocolate chips to flaxseeds - you can either go sweet or nutritious - it is yours to chose. Of course you can also make compromises and add a little bit of junk and lots of good stuff. The list here is pretty long: shredded coconut, TVP(for extra protein), chocolate chips, carob chips, white chocolate chips, pretzels, yogurt covered raisins, bits of leftover cereal, mini marshmallows etc

D - dried fruit - again anything goes - if the dried fruit is a bit big chop down to about chocolate chip size - scissors work best. Suggestions: raisins, figs, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, apples, apricots etc

E - glue - otherwise know as sugar. Actually what you want is a combination of sugar or honey or agave nectar with a certain amount of nutbutter - peanut or almond work really well - tahini or sesame seed butter is really nutritious as well

F - flavorings: a touch of salt is essential to bring the flavors together, cinnamon, vanilla, orange zest all works well - for more unusual flavors try hot cocoa mix or paprika, sage and chili mix - Who says granola bars cannot have a savory flavor?

So, pick one or several favorites from each group and get mixing. The recipe I used is geared towards my son’s taste - notice the absence of dried fruit. Go ahead make your own and share your favorite combinations.

Granola Bars: makes about 20

3 cups rolled oats = $1.38
½ cup shredded coconut = $0.30

½ cup pumpkin seeds = $0.48
1 cup walnuts = $1.89
½ cup almonds = $0.79
¼ cup flaxseeds = $0.12
1 teaspoon sea salt = $0.05
1 teaspoon cinnamon = $0.09
¼ cup agave nectar = $0.64
¼ cup peanut butter = $0.68
¼ cup dark brown sugar = $0.03

Total for 20 granola bars: $6.45 or $0.32 per granola bar

1. Heat oven to 325º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange oats, nuts, seeds and coconut shreds and toast for 15 minutes.

2. Combine the wet ingredients - agave nectar and peanut butter - with the flavorings salt, cinnamon - leave out stuff that would melt such as chocolate chips - and combine with the sugar - stir over a low heat until the sugar melts.

3. Combine the dry toasty ingredients with the guey ones and mix well. Spread out in a baking pan - so the mixture comes up about ¾ of an inch on the sides. If you like your granola bars thinner use a bigger pan or a smaller one of you like them chunkier. Press down well so there are no air pockets. Bake for 30 minutes.

4. After the baking sheet has cooled down completely - cut with a very sharp knife - pressing down with your weight to produce clean cuts. Enjoy!

Easy lunch or superfast dinner: Beans a la paprika:

2009-02-03T14:17:00.001-05:00

This works with any bean white, black, lentils or chickpeas - it is quite addictive and if using canned beans, takes all but five minutes to prepare. How about for a quick lunch? Can also be assembled and eaten cold - if you have to bring lunch to work. Go easier on the garlic then or omit all together!

Beans a la Paprika - Total cost: $8.65 serves 3 ½ - or add another can of beans (no need to up the other ingredients) and for an extra dollar it will serve four comfortably. Of course this is a bit of an extravagance in the winter, when in summer this dish would easily be 2 or 3 dollars cheaper - but I had a craving!

 You will need:

2 cans beans or equal amount prepared dried beans = $2.00
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes or if those are off season - 1 cup cucumbers chopped - or both! = $1.79 for organic cuke - ouch! plus $2.16 for the organic tomato - sigh!
1 onion - chopped finely = $0.55
2 tablespoons olive oil = $0.60
1 cup plain yogurt $0.90
2 - 3 cloves fresh garlic, or as much as you can handle and the people around you will let you get away with - it will not cook, so it will be quite strong - proceed with caution = $0.10

fresh parsley - only if you can get it cheap, otherwise omit - dried parsley is a waste of money in my opinion =$0.40
1 teaspoon - cumin seeds - if you don’t have seeds, powder will do, but you need to add it later - not directly into the oil or you will have a clumpy mess = $0.05 1 teaspoon paprika - kind of essential - if you omit, you will have to come up with a new name = $0.05
salt and pepper = $0.05

  1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seed over low heat. When they start jumping and crackling immediately reduce heat and add the onions. Saute lightly until the onions soften. Add the chopped tomatoes if you are using them. If using cucumbers add them at the end. Add the drained and rinsed beans.

 2. In a bowl mix yogurt with the freshly grated garlic (cheese grater works best) some salt and pepper and the paprika. 

3. Chop parsley roughly and add to beans - this would be the point where you can add the cucumbers. Season with salt and pepper and stir to make sure everything is mixed and heated. Turn off the heat and fold in the yogurt sauce - again mixing thoroughly. Serve immediately with some crusty whole wheat bread.
This can easily be made vegan - simple omit the yogurt - obviously and use tofutti cream cheese or vegan sour cream.I for one am not a big fan of vegan yogurt, but love vegan cream cheese!

TVP Sheperd’s Pie

2009-02-02T21:17:00.000-05:00

 I love this one - it is quite heavy, but really filling and so affordable. It is not your standard sheperd’s pie - this one is really the deluxe version nutritionally speaking. A bit elaborate for a week day meal - although you could easily pre-prep all the way to step 9 - and then just pop things in the oven, but I actually see this more as a center of a Sunday meal, when you have friends or family over.
Regarding the TVP ( Texturized Vegetable Protein) - found in your health food store’s bulk bin - or slightly more expensive pre packaged by Bob’s Red Mill. I know some people are a bit hesitant about soy in general and TVP in particular. I think it cannot be ignored as a cheap protein source for vegetarians. I would not make it the only source of protein and I would not eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for months on end, but I think it is much smarter to buy soy protein this way rather than plunking down a fortune for meatless crumbles made by Boca Burger and company with a hefty 75% mark up. “Morning Star Crumbles” for instance goes for $3.99 for 12 oz - which means you would have to use at least two packages for this dish, turning it from a $9 into a $16 dollar dish. That is a bit much and the nutritional value does not change either way. Also chances are, you are consuming TVP whether you like it or not - it is found everywhere from burgers to power bars. Every time you read “soy protein” it means TVP.

Sheperd's Pie:

Serves six: Total cost: $8.94

  You will need:

¾ pound of potatoes - scrubbed, but not peeled = $0.80
¾ pound of sweet potatoes or yams - scrubbed, but not peeled = $0.80
6 tablespoons vegetable oil of your choice = $ 2.00
1 large onion, chopped= $0.55
2 large carrots, chopped = $0.35
1 other root veggie chopped - parsnips, rutabaga, celery root ( or omit ) = $0.40 1 bunch leafy greens - spinach, kale swiss chard etc cleaned very well and chopped roughly = $1.69
3 cups dry TVP = $1.47

2 tablespoons ketchup - or two tablespoon tomato sauce with a teaspoon sweetener=$0.20
½ teaspoon salt = $0.05
½ teaspoon oregano ( you may omit one of these dried herbs if you are out - but try to use at least two) = $0.05
½ teaspoon marjoram = $0.05
½ teaspoon ground sage = $0.05
½ tablespoon garlic powder or 4 cloves fresh garlic - be generous here, you could even use a whole bulb = $0.18
2 tablespoons soy sauce = $0.20
2 tablespoons milk - any kind will work $0.05
1 tablespoon flour or potato starch $0.05

  1. Preheat your oven to 400º. Fill a large pot with about 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile dice your scrubbed potatoes and sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Put your cubes into a steamer basket and suspend over your boiling water - cover with a lid and steam for 10 minutes. Alternately, if you don’t have a steamer basket - just use more water and boil the potato cubes right in the water. 

2. Submerge you TVP in twice the volume of boiling water and add the ketchup or tomato sauce - and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Cover and set aside.

 3. In a pan saute the onion, carrots, root veggie in about two tablespoons of vegetable oil over a gentle heat. Drain the TVP and reserve the water.

 4. Add the drained TVP and the remaining soy sauce to the vegetable saute and use about ½ cup of the TVP soaking water to dissolve all dry spices. 

5. Add the spice water to the saute and grate your garlic and add that as well if you are using fresh. Make sure you have a nice simmer going, up the heat to medium if necessary and cover with the lid askew - you don’t want an airtight cover or your saute will dry up.

 6. Check on your potatoes, pierce one with a sharp knife - they should be soft. Drain them or simply remove the steamer basket from the pot and put them laid out on a plate to let them cool. 

7. Add your green leafy vegetables to your saute. Mash the cooled potatoes with the 4 remaining tablespoons of vegetable oil and the tablespoons milk - season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

8. Check on your saute - the veggies should be soft - the greens wilted. Remove the greens from the top. Add a little flour or starch to the saute to thicken the water - stir and turn off heat.

 9. In a greased, rectangle baking form arrange the saute veggies then top with the greens and finish with the mashed potatoes. Rake with a fork gently through the top layer of your mashed potatoes to form little peaks and valleys - makes the top look pretty. 

10. Bake for 30 minutes until the potatoes have taken on a golden brown color. You can also broil for the last minute for extra browning - just watch it like a hawk.

   Ideas for leftovers:  

Leftover recipe: Croquets  

You’ll need:

  Leftover sheperd’s pie  & oil

  1. Preheat oven to 375º. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly brush with a high quality vegetable oil. 

2. Basically you will shape little bits and pieces from your sheperd’s pie into croquets. Remember you are in charge as to what your croquets look like. There is no wrong shape here - and the taste certainly will not be affected by the shape or your croquets. With a tablespoon take a scoop of sheperd’s pie and with wet hands shape into a round or oblong small shape. Make sure that you have a bit of everything in your little ball - a bit of the veggie bottom and a lot of the mashed potatoes. The outside of your croquet should be mainly potatoes - with the veggies forming the inside. You may have to chop the leafy greens with some scissors - otherwise you may have long, dangly unruly strands. Arrange croquets on your cookie sheet.

 3. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown - think Hash Browns for color.

Red Lentil Dal

2009-02-01T13:01:00.001-05:00

Total cost for four servings: $5.92
Cost to transform leftovers into 1 soup and 1 dessert: $3.04  
One of my absolute favorites. It cooks a lot faster than you would think and it is such an elegant dish. You can adjust the hotness by upping the amounts of spice.
Both the crushed tomatoes and the coconut milk are optional and either or. I usually add neither since the dal is creamy enough without them and use the tomatoes or coconut milk for transforming leftovers of this dish into an amazing soup.

Ingredients by order of importance:

1½ cups red lentils - about $3.29 per pound - for 0.86 lb = $2.83
1 onion - non organic yellow - $0.99 per pound - for 0.56 lb = $0.55
coconut oil - 1 tablespoon = $0.50
½ head garlic - non organic - $0.37 per head = $0.17
curry powder - 1 tablespoon - $15.95 per pound = $0.32
½ teaspoon salt = $0.05
guaram masala - ½ tablespoon - $18.99 per pound = $0.25
ginger, fresh grated - 1 tablespoon - $0.25
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes = $1.29 (optional)
or 1 13 oz coconut milk = $1.99 (optional)

½ pound brown rice, as a side dish - $1.39 per pound = $0.70
 ¼ tablespoon coconut oil = $0.25
pinch of cardamon = $0.05

1. In a pot wash the rice thoroughly and with about three times its volume in water set to boil.
2. After rinsing the red lentils, set with twice their volume in water and also bring to a boil.
3. Meanwhile, dice the onion and peel the garlic cloves and mix your spice with about 1 ½ cups water.
4. When the lentils are foaming turn off heat and carefully drain in colander in your sink and rinse. Turn down the heat for the rice to a slow simmer.
5. Over low heat melt 1 tablespoon coconut oil and saute the onion until golden. With a cheese grater grate your garlic cloves and add to onion. Keep things moving so nothing sticks. Add pre boiled red lentils and water with dissolved spices. Add another cup of water ( or the crushed tomatoes or the coconut milk instead), salt and grated ginger and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Taste to make sure lentils are very soft. The rice should be done as well by then - taste to make sure it is soft. Drain the rice and mix with ¼ tablespoon coconut oil and a pinch of salt and cardamon.

Serves four with leftovers. Cost: $5.92

Recipe for leftover dal:

Indian soup: 

If you have at least 1 cup leftover dal - blend with either the crushed tomatoes or coconut milk to create a stunning velvety soup for lunch or as a starter.

Recipe for leftover rice:

Rice pudding;

2 cups cooked rice leftover
1 can coconut milk $1.99
1 teaspoon vanilla extract $0.25
1 pinch cinnamon $0.05
½ cup agave nectar $0.75

Put all but ½ cup of the rice in blender and blend quickly. Add unblended rice and taste to adjust sweetness.

Recession Recipes a la Vegetarian on the Cheap!

2009-02-01T12:15:00.001-05:00

First day of the second month of the new year - time to launch “Recession Recipes”. Every day until my birthday - March 31st - I will feature a recipe that can help you get out of any financial crisis, while still being healthy and delicious. Most of the recipes will be for dinners, but I will also feature delicious and affordable breakfasts, snacks and desserts.  Many of these recipes will be staples - but some may be new to you. If there are any favorites you would like to have featured - send me a quick e-mail with your recipe (and a picture would be awesome too!) at vegetarianonthecheap@mac.com. In each recipe - I will let you know which ingredients are absolutely essential - we are not going to be able to make Indian Dal without lentils obviously - but some ingredients will be optional a la - “If you have in the house great, but don’t run out to buy it”.
Also I will list the cost of the ingredients - according to how much I can get them for here - upstate New York in the middle of winter in 2009, so the cost may be slightly different for you.
Generally I will gear the recipes towards four servings, I always have leftovers( especially since switching to smaller plates), which I can never afford to waste - so each recipes will come with leftover ideas as well. That is usually how I see lunch - as a chance to use up what’s already in my fridge. I hope that at the end of March will have a nice cache of recipes to build our weekly menus around. Let’s get this show on the road!

Why I hate sales and coupons:

2009-01-28T13:42:00.001-05:00

Yep, you have read correctly - the resident vegetarian on the cheap is anti sales and anti coupons! Now let me tell you why:
I have written before about the importance of an eating plan for the whole week before you go out shopping. There is simply no way to make intelligent shopping decisions when you don’t really know what you will have to cook the rest of the week. The more you plan, the better your shopping experience will be. Events such as soccer practice, attending a dinner potluck, having to work late one night - all have to be factored in since they have a huge impact on what you will be able to cook or eat that week. If you also consider other influences such as, what is in season or how fast some produce will spoil - you realize why it is a good idea to sit down at home and devote 10 minutes to actually write down what everybody in your family will have for breakfast, lunch and dinner that week.
And here it often comes - “But how will I know what is on sale at any given week - if I am supposed to plan my week at home?” Well, quite honestly the more you make your own buying decisions, the better off you are. Sales are nothing more than gimmicks. Supermarkets are not our friends - quite often you almost feel like they are the enemy. A sale is not a friendly offer to pass along the discount the big chain supermarket was negotiating on our behalf - you wish!
A sale or a coupon is a marketing tool. Nothing more. It is supposed to get you to come to the store and separate you from your money. I know there are people out there who are the coupon queens and kings but what they don’t realize is that they are still being told what to buy, when, where and how much.
I never use coupons and furthermore most of the foods I buy are never on sale or featured in coupons. You will rarely find a sale in the bulk bins, and store brands not only rarely are featured in coupons, but are almost never more expensive than the brand name item, coupon and all. The coupon madness has finally also arrived in the health food stores, since many of the smaller mom-and-pop manufacturers have been gobbled up by the multinational mega corporations that also own the big chain supermarkets: Stonyfield Farms is owned by Danone, Kashi by Kellogs, Boca Burgers by Kraft Foods.
So, where does that leave us when we are trying to feed our families as intelligently and efficiently as possible?
My rule is this: if something that I had on my shopping list is on sale hurrah! If one item is an easy substitute - cheddar over mozarella or cauliflower over broccoli - fine, but if a sale would prompt me to buy something that I would not usually buy, or have never bought before, I simply pass.  This way I am still making my own buying decisions and take comfort in the fact that I don’t fall prey to the mass manipulation that is the coupon game. Any thoughts?

Forever Lemon!

2009-01-26T21:22:00.000-05:00

I am very careful when I endorse any product. First of all because most items that would be worthy of endorsement come without marketing or hype - broccoli, onions, quinoa etc. But once in a while I find something that makes a difference especially in my budget and then it’s time to share.
I am big fan of citrus - if you missed my enthusiastic endorsement - read it here. To keep lemons and limes fresh is not as easy as one would think. First of all, I find that regular lemons at 3 for two dollars - this week at the local supermarket - are really a rip off and second these lemons rarely make it past two weeks in the refrigerator - so really not a good deal. On the other hand a squirt of lemon makes so many things more tasty. For instance if you are trying to cut back on your salt intake, nothing works better than a squirt of lemon in your stir-fry or salad dressing to wake up the flavors. And here is the other problem - whereas uncut lemons last at least a couple of weeks - a cut lemon is do or die. If you don’t use all the juice - the lemon will not last more than a day or two in the fridge.

When I came across the little yellow and green bottles in my health food store’s produce section I actually was a bit turned off by the fact that they managed to come up with yet another plastic product - but since actually having had a chance to use them I have to admit that I am hooked. These little marvels are extremely convenient - the juice is from organic lemons - usually way out of my budget range - and they last forever. On the container the advertised expiration date is 6 months - and I am pretty sure they could go even longer. There are no preservatives other than citric acid and you do have to keep them in the refrigerator - always a good sign - if something has the ability to spoil it means it is not quite dead. For about 2$ you buy yourself two months worth of lemons - even if you use as much as I do. Like I said: I am hooked!

Free soup!

2009-01-22T13:31:00.000-05:00

 One of the challenges I have set for myself for 2009 is to never again buy pre-fab stock for my soups. The buying of big containers full of flavored water for up to $3.50 per 32 oz has always irked me, but I never really took the plunge to make an effort to end this travesty. If we look at the ingredients of the stock pictured above, the first one listed is “water” - and of course water accounts for about 98% of what is in that $3 container, all the rest of the ingredients onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, salt, spices, oil and garlic are represented as mere trace elements floating in water. To get to make your own stock for free I followed the advice of a dear friend and restaurant owner, who makes the best soups far and wide. His secret lies in the compost bin - or rather the things he will not throw in, in order to make soup. Kitchen scrap soup - I am pretty sure that was also my grandmother’s secret for her fantastic vegetable soup. Basically as you chop veggies for stir fries, curries or any other vegetable dish, have a separate container ready to collect all the bits and pieces that even though they are not good enough - or sometimes merely not attractive enough - for your stir fry - they are perfect for cooking over a slow simmer and giving you that flavor that we are looking for in a good broth. The obvious candidates are: the tough core of a cabbage, the woody ends of broccoli, the butts of carrots, the outer layer - not the skin - of onions, the stem of kale etc. All these should go into your soup stock container and keep in the refrigerator for two or three days - after that - if you are eating enough veggies - as you should - you will have a full container of cookable scraps. Put up a large pot with water, salt and spices and simmer - after about an hour you have wonderful and free stock! Enjoy!
It freezes great and lasts almost indefinitely!

Mind your plate!

2009-01-16T07:37:00.001-05:00

Are we tired of New Year’s resolutions yet? Did we already abandon the new diet - they never work, do they? Well here is another approach - one that actually makes sense.  Something I have been doing since last December. 
There is a new book out there - presented with the impressive amount of new diet books released for the New Year, that examines something I have been commenting on for years. About 10 or 15 years ago the size of dinner plates went up - drastically. I still remember where in New York City I bought my first set of these 12 inch diameter monsters, my mother would have used as serving platers. But that really was the beginning of the incredibly expanding dinner plate - whereas the standard diameter had been around 8½ to 9 inches (and still is in Europe) - you will have a really hard time finding a dinner plate that is that small today. All of the dinner plates I found at the mall recently were 11½ to 12½ inches. And of course that is not the only thing that has been expanding! With all these added inches in the plate department, the inches that we like to obsess about are not far behind.  The aforementioned book - “The 9 inch Diet” estimates you will be able to reduce your calorie intake by a whopping 35% switching to smaller plates! 
Why does this come in handy for Vegetarians on the Cheap? Because these 35% do not only apply to your calories, but also to your budget. Less food eaten, means less food you have to buy. 
Trying this at home myself I kept cooking the same amounts, but simply could not fit all the food on the smaller salad plates I was using, and while I thought that the family would notice and complain and jump up to run for seconds, that never happened! Not once did anyone in my family state that they were left hungry - even though they consumed way less food than they would have otherwise.  It is a known psychological fact that people tend to eat just as much food as you put in front of them - the old "finish your plate syndrome". I would take it a step further and assume that one of the biggest cues our brain processes when eating, is a visual one. Namely, "when the plate is clean - I am done and not hungry anymore". This really works! 
Should you run out and buy either the book or new plates?   Not really - salad plates do an excellent job - just make your salad plate your new dinner plate and you should be in business. The book is visually entertaining, but since it gives you only some inspiration and no recipes, it is a fine thumb through - but not a must buy.

When the weather outside is frightening…

2008-12-26T13:37:00.000-05:00

When it has finally sunk in that your CSA is over for the year - (sigh!) - and you feel kinda lost in the supermarket looking at pricey half- dead produce, the Winter-CSA comes at you like a winter miracle. This is a rather new idea - not available in many places.  The main mission of this Winter CSA - mine is called Winter Sun - is to keep local produce available to its members at affordable prices and offer it at a time when we would otherwise be at the mercy of the big chain supermarkets. The concept is really simple and cool. When the local farms have more produce than they can handle - remember the 20# of tomatoes per week? - they sell their surplus to Winter Sun, who in turn lightly process the fruits and veggies and freeze them. For four months in winter there are distributions where you pick-up your frozen treasures and get to shop at a really cool winter farmer’s market. The quality of the produce is of course outstanding and the farmer’s market with everything from greens to apples, cheese, quiche, honey, jams and breads is truly a wonderful resource of local goodies.  I bought some of the best apples of the season fresh, crisp and organic - at less than half price compared to the supermarket!  This month's frozen share contained:
 a rainbow pepper mix
 diced heirloom tomatoes

green beans
yellow & summer squash
 whole blue berries
 some potatoes
 onions
acorn squash  

The handling of the produce is of course super easy - since most of it is already frozen in handy little containers, which Winter Sun will gladly take back to reuse. So, of to a good start here - so much local goodness to enjoy.

In season Now: Citrus

2008-12-18T14:47:00.001-05:00

I am a big fan of citrus. It seems to be our only friend in the fruit department in the dark cold months of winter.  Unfortunately, it also has to be shipped from far away to be enjoyed, when nothing else will grow in the northern hemisphere. But it seems somewhat more justified to sponsor long distance shipping for a fruit you would otherwise never be able to enjoy at all, in a time when nothing else will grow where you live.
I don’t like to sponsor long distance shipping when it is meant to deliver something at abnormal times during the year - see apples, or when there is an abundance of other local options to chose from - like in the middle of the summer. With citrus it is very easy. Either they are shipped or you will not be able to enjoy them at all, unless you are in Florida or California of course. 

The citrus family contains widely available favorites for everyone from the tiny key limes to the basketball sized pomelos.
They all feature a baseline nutritional profile they can be proud of with some of them sporting additional benefits. Their flavors range form quite sweet mandarins and oranges to grapefruits with a bitter note and lemon and limes with their mainly sour tastes. There is a citrus for everyone - and even though there are slight differences nutritionally they are all quite comparable.  It is important to point out that we are talking about whole fruits here. Juicing especially when the pulp is removed is a really bad idea. All of a sudden the nutritional profile changes and the sugar takes over.
Orange juice, the most popular of the citrus juices, should not really count towards your recommended daily fruit and vegetable servings, it should count towards your daily allowance of desserts though. Juicing any fruit has several consequences - the fiber is filtered out - the nutrients are exposed to air - which means they rapidly die off, since they are all relatively unstable and often the product, in order to halt this quick die off, is pasteurized, which means heating the juice to high enough temperatures to kill off all harmful microorganisms. Unfortunately we know that a lot of antioxidants and beneficial phyto-nutrients are very unstable and easily destroyed by the exposure to heat, so what you are left with is liquid sugar with a touch of vitamin C maybe, but don’t kid yourself you mainly had sugar. 

Whole citrus fruits are a completely different matter. They come in their own packaging, supplying us with nutrients just at a time - usually in the middle of winter - when we could use the boost of Vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants. 

Nutrients: The citrus family is famous for the Vitamin C it provides - all of its members are an excellent source of high quality unprocessed Vitamin C. They are also rich in folate, fiber, potassium, calcium and Vitamin A. All citrus fruits have a nice range of carotenoids and flavonoids. Some have their own unique flavonoids - lemons and limes boast hesperitin and naringenin which are powerful antioxidants. Grapefruits promote detoxification and seem to interrupt the growth of tumor cells.

 Seasons: Their availability in the winter months is one of the main reasons the citrus family is one of my favorites They get us through the months of November through March. Enjoy all the grapefruits, oranges, mandarins, clementines, kumquats, pomelos, tangerines, lemons and limes you can, and then give them a rest until next winter when they will be most affordable and nutritionally at peak.

 Organic: With oranges at #19, tangerines at #22, lemon at #25 and Grapefruit at #27 in the EWG list of most contaminated fruits and vegetables I would say to go with conventionally grown citrus unless the organic variety is on sale and even in price. Having said that, with certain recipes which ask for citrus cest - the grated peel mainly of lemons, limes or oranges - I would recommend to go organic. 

How to get your veggies for $1000 less - A look behind the scenes.

2008-12-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

Above: Farmers L: Jesica Pascual and R: Gwenael Engelskirchen

One of the nicest things that happened since I started this blog is that one of my long held beliefs - local farms beat prices at the supermarket any day - came true. Finally taking notes and tallies I was able to prove that a CSA is a good deal and combines the three most important things for me - cheap - green - healthy - into one neat package. Here is a look behind the curtains at the people responsible for saving me and about a hundred other CSA members substantial amounts of money in 2008. Of course they also spoiled us with the quality of produce and their general positive outlook.
Here is an interview with “my” farmer Jes Pascual

Q: How long have you been a farmer and did you always want to become
a farmer?

A:
I've been officially employed at farms on and off for the past 5 years but it was only recently that I didn't hesitate at calling myself a farmer. Along with many in my generation, I didn't even know until after my college years that people could still become farmers. Some part of me always knew, however, that I would end up working with nature and especially with plants. For a long time I thought I would go into scientific research. I've since then discovered this is what I had wanted all along.

Q: What do you think is the most amazing accomplishment for a CSA?

A:
It think it's in the way it changes people's view of food and diet. Faced with unknown vegetables or even unknown colors of vegetables (purple carrots? Yellow zucchini?), but knowing and trusting the person who grew them, I find folks are more willing to be adventurous and open about trying new veggies. And then they realize that they like something they grew up thinking they hated. It's almost as if some people break out of a certain anxiety about food and at the same time embrace the new connection to the people and the land that provided the "real" food. It's always wonderful to see.

Farm interns: L to R: Magen Markham, Cian Dalzell and Eric Newman.

Q: How was this season? Particularly difficult or relatively smooth?

A:
If I ever have a relatively smooth season, I'll know it's time to quit. Every year there are always challenges, whether self-imposed or provided by nature. Figuring out how to grow better beets on this land and struggling with the eggplants and peppers were only some of this year's big challenges. On the other side of things, hey, it could have been worse. I think overall it was a pretty even, slightly good year. Next year will be better, of course.

Q: Anything you will do different for next year - aka things the farm
taught you?

A:
Something valuable that farming has taught me is that patience is not only a virtue, but it is required- at least in this line of work. You always have to wait till next year to do anything different. One thing that I did at the end of this year that I will do again is grow beets from transplants. I will also grow more, much more, garlic. There are always new varieties to try and new techniques you hear about from other farmers. I am also always learning more about training interns. Probably that is where I have grown the most since coming to Phillies Bridge.

Q: If there was something you could ask from the members it would
be......?

A:
The members as a whole are wonderful and honest people, whether they are saying good things or bad, and I value their frankness in the distribution room as well as in surveys. It's hard to ask anything from them because I'm not here to force feeling of community or volunteer-ship or even good eating habits. One thing that I like to see and that I hope spreads is
personal and educational involvement on the farm. If you like broccoli and don't understand why you don't get more of it- ask the farmer or come hoe the broccoli patch one day. If you like seeing children on the farm and wonder about the current state of public education, participate in the school visit programs. If you're wondering whether or not you too could grow veggies and help our planet, I'd love to help. We provide that opportunity here and I know people are short on time, but it only takes a little while and you'll be infinitely more knowledgeable afterwards. Even in the internet age, I think it's much better than looking something up on Wikipedia.

Q: Favorite vegetable - least favorite?

A:
These days my favorite vegetable to grow is a tie between potatoes and cauliflower and my favorite to eat is string beans. I love growing potatoes because somehow I never get sick of digging them up and discovering the bounty beneath...it's the five year old in me. I enjoy growing cauliflower because growing it well is a challenge and I love seeing this huge beautiful plant come from a teeny-tiny non-descript black seed. I grew up eating and enjoying a lot of stir fried string beans and I love being able to say that the string beans I grow are ten times tastier than the ones I had as a kid. My favorites often change though. In the near future I want to grow hops for super small batch beer even though I don't really drink the stuff just because I like the way the plant looks and grows. I'm also interested in trying out dryland rice, but maybe on my own land if I ever get it. Those two might be the next favorites.

Q: What do you like to do when you are not on the farm?

A:
Right now I'm getting into home improvement with my boyfriend and his old house. It's satisfying in the same way that farming is. I tend to knit and spin yarn in the winter and this year I just bought a whole raw fleece from
the Hudson Valley Sheep and Wool Festival that I'd like to take all the way to a shawl or sweater. Next year I might take one of our sheep's fleeces and do the same. And I have to say that I do occasionally enjoy a milkshake from the diner.

Insane and Unheard of: Window Cleaner

2008-12-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

Of all household cleaning tasks - including cleaning garbage pails - which actually has become a lot more pleasant since I ditched the plastic garbage bags - cleaning windows is the task I hate the most. The combination old windows, hard water and a nosy dog that leaves nose prints is just too much. Also this insane rush of absolute perfection sets in and it just feels that no matter how hard I try it leaves me exhausted and the windows are never perfect. But of course, I would not be talking about if I had not found a solution. And it is so painfully simple - I wonder if I could have enjoyed my windows all these years when I looked all over the place for the one cleaner, that would make this task a breeze. Long story short - it was under my nose all this time. Plain old white vinegar - undiluted - full strength available for about $2.50 per gallon. I think I remember, years ago trying vinegar in a complicated recipe for a homemade window cleaner - but between the water I had to add - not a very good idea with my hard water - it leaves a white film - and the old newspapers I was supposed to use to wipe the windows dry, I just remember it to be very messy leaving my hands black with newspaper ink and my windows schmeary and cloudy. Really upsetting, after you put in all this effort. So, the other day - guests on the way - there was an incident with a squirrel and my dog looking through the glass door and I just happen to have my bottle of vinegar out grabbed it just to clean the nose prints of - well it worked so well before I knew it I had to do the whole glass door. It was so easy, the vinegar cutting through every smear. And even after several hours, the streaks did not reappear.  

Recipe for perfect windows:  

You’ll need:   One old towel - cut in half.  One half soaked in vinegar, the other half to dry off.
 Start wiping with the vinegar soaked one and dry up with the other towel. Make sure you wipe the window completely dry - done!  Absolutely effortless!
The aroma is not great, admittedly, but at least it is not harmful. I guess you could add some drops of essential oil if it really bothers you - peppermint, lavender or rose maybe. And here is the rest of it.

Three cheers for Cast iron cookware

2008-11-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

Three cheers for Cast iron cookware

Even though I usually recommend NOT buying anything rather than buying, I have to confess this is one kitchen item I think you should not be without.
Cast iron. Lately I have come across so many reports mentioning the health risks of all different types of non stick coating, you know the type of cookware that will knock any pet bird instantly of its perch. You may not have birds, but why expose yourself and your loved ones to potentially harmful fumes? And I know, no matter how hard I try not to scratch the surface of these non stick pans, scratches happen - which of course makes me even more uneasy, since all the promises of the manufacturers of “no known effects on your health” always come with this handy little proviso - “as long as the surface is not damaged in any way” which surely must be impossible. Anyone who has ever attempted to cook anything in a pan knows, that tiny scratches will appear within a couple of weeks - and those are the scratches you can see - there might be micro ones way before that.
Cast iron on the other hand is worry free. I know people always make it sound like seasoning a cast iron pan is akin to brain surgery in complexity - nothing could be further from the truth. What really seasons cast iron cookware is usage. The more you use it, the better it gets. And forget the whole - “your food will have a metallic taste” - nonsense. What your food will get, is extra iron - not so much that you could actually taste it, but if you are iron deficient - you will feel more energetic after using your cast iron cookware.
Best of all - cast iron is both indestructible and cheap. You could pick up cast iron cookware at the antique’s dealer or a thrift shop - just clean it - scrubbing it with either steel wool or just a plastic brush, then re-season it (covering it in oil and baking it for one hour) and you are in business. Cast iron can be passed down to your children - I have heard it even survives camp fires.
Also, it is not expensive, especially compared to every other pan on the market. I prefer the smaller sized pans since they are not too heavy. My favorite is the 10 ¼ inch skillet which is a steal at $19.95, and just think - it can not be destroyed - ever!
The best maker, I think, is the original Lodge Cast Iron which you can find here.

Nice pizza recipe:

Cast Iron Pizza:

½ package dry yeast
⅓ cup warm water
¾ cup - flour of choice - I use gluten free, but any "all purpose" will do

⅜ tsp salt
¾ tsp sugar or agave nectar
toppings of choice

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Mix yeast and water. This should be slightly foaming - let it sit for a couple of minutes. Add the sugar flour and salt. Stir well. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it sit in a warm place.

  2. After dough has risen - about 15 minutes or so - knead the dough and push the dough into your slightly oiled pan. By the way - if your dough does not rise - don’t panic - you can still make the pizza - it just will be more reminiscent of thin crust pizza - my family actually prefers those.  

3. Add your toppings of choice and bake at 425º for about 15 minutes.

Seasons - What seasons?

2008-11-19T21:26:00.000-05:00

Now, that I am back to shopping in the store for most of my veggies - sigh - I have noticed again how much we have come to disrespect Mother Nature and are completely ignorant of what the earth has to offer us at any given time of the year. I am talking about seasons. When you look into the produce department of the average supermarket you would think that we have done away with seasons all together. Yes, it makes perfect sense to buy an apple that has racked more frequent flier miles than you did last year. Watermelon in late November, why not?

We need to get back on focus here - first step would be to know what is in season. There is a wonderful website where you can check the seasonal offerings in your state. You can access it here.
Also, I have compiled a quite extensive list of fruits and veggies. Print it out - bring it to the store with you. I tried to be thorough, but if your favorite fruit or vegetable is missing - just drop me a line and I will include it. This list does contain fruits and veggies that have to be shipped from far - you can avoid those and only shop what is grown locally. You will definitely save money that way - and the planet will love you for it!

I have included some stern warnings in my seasons chart - vigilance please!

“First” means it could be a bit early for an item to taste like anything - if you don’t get an aroma - maybe pass for that week. Some veggie producers in their rush to be first on the market will order to pick when things are only barely ripe - not good for us - since the taste will be missing. Also, I have witnessed with some hardier items unscrupulous markets to offer last season’s leftovers! Happens more often than you would think!
“Last” of the season - should not be a problem - more of a warning to you - if you would like to stock up! Keep in mind you might see a particular item still offered weeks after the season is really done, but it will often have had to endure long storage or be an inferior substitute shipped from a lesser market all together.
“Grab” - means just that - this item will have a really short growing season and you might see it offered only once! So - Grab!
I have grouped cruciferous veggies together - since they have overlapping seasons - a quick refresher:

Cruciferous veggies love the colder weather from late fall to early spring. They include:
Kale
Collard Greens
Cabbage
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussel Sprouts
Turnip
Rutabaga
Bok Choy

And just to remind everyone the Citrus Family contains:
Orange
lemon
lime
mandarin
clementine
tangerine
grapefruit
satsuma
tangelo
kumquat

Seasons:

January:

Fruits: citrus, the last apples (careful!), cranberries
Veggies: leeks, beets, cruciferous veggies, spinach, swiss chard, potatoes

February:

Fruits: citrus
Veggies: cruciferous still rule

March:

Fruits: pineapple, Mexican mangos, citrus (especially Valencia and Blood Oranges), Rhurbarb
Veggies: spring lettuce, endive, artichokes, mustard greens

April:

Fruits: pineapples from Hawaii, asparagus, avocado (haas), rhurbarb, mangos, first strawberries(careful!)
Veggies: asparagus, spring cruciferous - especially broccoli, first summer squash, spring onions (with green tops), garden peas, romaine lettuce, artichokes, new potatoes, spring carrots, spinach

May:

Fruits: apricots from California, first berries(careful), Florida mangos, citrus(end of season - careful), fresh figs, pineapples from Hawaii (end), cherries (end of month maybe! - really short season - so grab!)
Veggies: green beans, bell peppers (first), cucumbers, summer squash, celery, sugar snap peas, vidalia onions, asparagus (end - careful!), endive (end- careful!)

June:

Fruits: Cherries (short season - grab!), berries, cantaloupe, apricots, plums
Veggies: green beans, bell peppers, carrots, beets, garlic, summer-squash, swiss chard, basil

July:

Fruits: watermelon, peaches (short season - grab - local, no spray only), berries, plums, currants (very short season)
Vegetables: tomatoes (first local - careful still early) walla walla onions, eggplant, peppers, beets, green beans, cucumbers, summer-squash,

August:

Fruits: watermelon, pears (first- careful!), berries (end - careful!), peaches ( short season - grab - local-no spray only!), plums
Vegetables: corn, eggplant, tomatoes ( peak - local only!), basil, summer squash

September:

Fruits: cranberries, grapes (American - organic only), apples ( first new crop), berries ( last - careful!)
Vegetables: cruciferous veggies ( first - careful!), mushrooms ( short season - buy local & wild if possible!) corn (last - careful!), green beans, summer squash ( last - careful!), potatoes ( new season’s crop), winter squash ( first- careful!), eggplant ( last - careful!)

October:

Fruits: cranberries, apples, pomegranates, pears, fresh nuts ( walnuts, hazelnuts!), avocado ( Fuerte varietal)
Vegetables: winter-squash, pumpkins, cruciferous veggies, rutabaga,

November:

Fruit: kiwi ( US grown), Navel oranges, grapefruit and other citrus, apples, pears, nuts ( almonds)
Veggies: Sweet potatoes, winter-squash, pumpkin, cruciferous veggies ( especially cabbage), turnips, parsnips, carrots

December:

Fruit: Jaffa oranges, apples & pears ( last for the season), cranberries, all citrus
Vegetables: cruciferous ( especially kale, brussel sprouts), sweet potatoes, winter-squash (last - careful), turnips

This is it! The CSA is over -long live the CSA!

2008-11-10T14:00:00.001-05:00

CSA 2008: The last pickups

So here we are 6 months later. What started out as an attempt to prove that a CSA is indeed worth it, and one would break even joining a CSA, has become something totally different. Break even we did - and then some. All in all we have gotten $1000 more in vegetables than we paid for. Again, this is not a typo: we paid for $860 worth of veggies and received $1800 worth of veggies this season. The tallying up of comparable pricing in local stores - both health food store and big chain supermarket were considered for the figures - was done to the best of my abilities. I counted everything, and made use of the self-pick as much as I was able.

Having been a member in several different CSAs over the years, I would call this season very good, but not spectacular, in the sense that the amount of veggies received was typical. Some crops did not do quite as well as excepted, whereas others really flourished this season, but that is, what I have come to expect from my CSA. The weather early on was a bit erratic. I know that some local farmers had a really hard time with their peaches with losses of about 80% of the crop. So that makes this result even more amazing. Needless to say I already gave my deposit for next year.

The quality and variety of the produce was beyond amazing. To compare these vegetables picked that very morning with anything in the stores, which has been picked green and then was trucked or flown half way across the globe, is really unfair. In some vegetables this is particularly evident. I have had a hard time getting the broccoli home at each pick-up, because it was so delightful eaten raw right there in the car. When you try the same thing with a supermarket broccoli - even an organic one - you feel like you are gnawing on a piece of wood!

A benefit that should be part of the decision to join a CSA is your carbon footprint. Sponsoring all this absurd trucking of vegetables around the globe with your shopping dollars, when the same fruits and vegetables can be grown around where you live seems insane. I know not everybody has the benefit of living in an area where there are many CSAs but looking at the map - they certainly are sprouting up all over the place. And let’s not forget cities grew around agriculturally rich locations, because the food industry has changed into this global beast rather recently. Until about 60 to 80 years ago almost everyone ate the localvore 100 mile diet not even by choice. It was inconceivable to ship apples from Argentina, China or even Washington state to New York state with its network of apple farms. Yet, nowadays nobody seems to have any qualms about buying an apple that has more frequent flyer miles than you do. I think that we are looking at the end of this madness. Change is in the air. How we feed ourselves will be part of that.

Last two pick-ups:

1 pound mustard greens $2.75
2 pounds parsnips $3.50
1 pound kale $1.86

1 bunch turnips $2.50
1 bunch radish $2.50
1 pound carrots $1.79
1 pound onions $1.30
1 ½ pounds jerusalem artichokes $3.75

And the final list:

2 heads cabbage $4.00
1 stalk brussels sprouts $2.00
½ pound collard greens $2.75
1 pound parsnips $1.79
1 pound beets $2.75
6 ears popcorn $3.00
3 ½ pounds potatoes $5.99

Total for the last two pickups: $42.23
Our season’s total so far was: $1836.43

So our final grand total for the 2008 CSA share is: $1878.66.

To wrap it up I paid $855 back in February and I received $1878.66 worth of vegetables and berries from middle of May to beginning of November. Wow!
I will tally things up - to show what the $1878 worth veggies contained, and also I will have an interview with our farmer Jes - to get a behind the scenes look at the CSA. Keep posted!
And I also have to tell you about the winter - CSA...

Insane and Unheard of: How to make your own Automatic Dishwashing Detergent

2008-11-06T12:11:00.000-05:00

After you have tried making your own toothpaste, there is just no way back. You are on the path to utter money saving insanity. You really start looking at every item on your shopping list in a new way. Do I really have to buy this, or is there a way I could make this myself and save a bundle? I have to admit that dishwashing detergent had me stumped for a while, and then of course the solution was super simple.

Two things first, my dishwasher sucks! I am sorry to say it is an expensive German model and I have tried to defend it up and down, to the not very printable things it has been called by both my husband and my son. Even the repairman, who came in to repair my refrigerator, which was upset with me because I crammed it full with my lovely CSA produce, gave me a look, that was very non approving, a la “How could you spend this much money on such a piece of junk….”
Also, our water which is wonderful well water, that tastes great, is actually very hard, chock full of minerals, which leaves a whitish deposit on everything from the tea kettle to the wine glasses. So, the odds were stacked heavily against being able to get away with a homemade detergent, but, as usual, homemade beat the pants out of everything else I have bought in the store. I should have had a revelation, when I started getting sparkling glasses, an event in my house, with a simple vinegar rinse. But I guess I wanted to remain faithful to my Seventh Generation detergent, even though it costs way too much.
However, after the toothpaste incident, I was determined to give the expensive cleaner the boot, and I did a little research.

What I found was baking soda’s older, stronger brother “washing soda” or sodium carbonate, as it is called by Seventh Generation as the main ingredient in their automatic dishwashing detergent. Figures!
I paired this with Borax, which is a bit of a controversial cleaner. It is all natural, but of course that does not mean much, since poisons, such as arsenic are technically all natural too. After reading an health study conducted by the EPA, I have concluded that for me it does not represent a risk, but of course I would like you to make your own mind. You can find the EPA article here. Given the choice of having to swallow a shot glass worth of Cascade™ or my homemade borax - washing soda mix, I would chose my mix any day!

So here is the recipe:

1 tablespoon washing soda ( Not baking soda)
1 tablespoon Borax

1 cup vinegar as a rinse in a seperate rinse cycle - or filled directly into the rinse dispenser, or both.

This works wonders for me, despite the lame dishwasher and the hard water.
You may have to experiment a bit - you can double the amounts of either, or both the washing soda and the borax. Make sure everything is rinsed off well. I usually run the rinse cycle twice and add the vinegar to the last cycle.

Borax and Washing Soda can be found in the laundry aisle of your supermarket. You will have to buy it about once a year.
I paid $4.39 for 76 oz of Borax and
$2.99 for 55 oz of Washing Soda.

The white vinegar varies in price. I have found some supermarket store brands as low as $1.00 per gallon. Needless to say that although it is a great bargain as an all around house cleaner, I definitely do not consider this vinegar to be food. It is just awful and should never be used to eat - only to clean!

So, all in all your dishwashing detergent is down to cents per load - another expensive item eliminated from your shopping list for good!

A late autumn pick-up!

2008-11-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

No more self pick. But still some awesome food to be had.
List for third pickup in October:

¼ pound arugula $2.00
¼ pound spinach $1.00
1 pound kale $1.86
2 pounds carrots $3.57
1 pound cauliflower $1.50
1 pound broccoli $1.50
4 pounds peppers $7.36
2 pieces squash $1.50
4 heads rutabaga $4.00
1 bunch parsley $1.99
1 bunch dill $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99

Total this pick-up: $30.26

Added to our total: $ 1806.17 = $1836.43

And now, the end is near….

2008-11-04T14:44:00.000-05:00

Last couple of CSA pick-ups
With frost now coming up ever night - the pick-ups are getting smaller but the variety is still there! Love the hot peppers!

The list:

4 heads lettuce $6.76
2 pounds onions $2.60
1 pound swiss chard $2.10
1½ pounds broccoli $2.25
1½ pounds cauliflower $2.25
3 pounds peppers $5.52
2 bunches beets - with huge green tops! $3.98
2 handfuls raspberries $2.29
1 bunch parsley (curly) $1.99

1 bunch parsley (flat) $1.99
1 bunch dill $1.99
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
2 pounds hot peppers $6.00

Total this pick-up: $43.70

Season’s total so far was $1762.47 plus $43.70. Grand total $1806.17!

Making your own toothpaste -part deux of the insanity!

2008-10-27T12:34:00.000-04:00

So, after promoting making your own toothpaste - I researched the price of tubes to refill. If you don’t know what I am talking about, check it out here.
I was quite shocked to learn that Pearl Paint, one of the cheapest art supply stores in the world charges $1.04 for them. Plus shipping. So that got me thinking. It irks me to put cents worth of homemade tooth paste into a container, that costs $1.00. Since when is the container supposed to be more expensive than what’s inside. So, I looked at what I already have at hand. And then it hit me “Eureka”! Why not use the tube I already have: namely - the old toothpaste tube. So, I went to work.

1. I unravelled the end and cut off the last bit. This would only work with metal tubes. Shame on you, if your toothpaste comes in plastic tubes!

2. Then I inserted my homemade toothpaste - which admittedly was a bit messy. Careful don’t overfill! because then..

3. you have to reseal the end. A small pair of pliers works best.

4. Voila - done - of course you could also use a small container. If you want to be boring…

You are going to be able to do this two or three times only and the tube is going to get shorter each time, but it stays out of the trash -Green- and it is free -Cheap-, but it is definitely insane, although fun!

TA-DA! DRUMROLL - PLEASE! Our veggies are now 50% off - officially

2008-10-21T11:11:00.001-04:00

Sadly I found out today, that the last pick-up for the season will be on November 8th, which is only 3 weeks away - but all good things must come to an end. For the last week I thought it might be a good idea to do a grand-total of all things picked, and the money saved and all that. Of course at the end of the season it is also the time to think of next year and with so many CSAs now having to establish waiting lists - the sooner you put down that deposit the better! I think I have proven here that a CSA a is well worth the money - especially since the 20th pick-up holds a bit of a surprise. We have now picked up $1762.20 worth of produce - so, we can truly say we have gotten our veggies 50% off - since we only paid $860 for them back in February. Not bad!

4 heads lettuce $6.76
4 roots rutabaga $4.00
1 pound kale $1.86
1 pound broccoli $1.50

1 pound cauliflower $1.50
3 pounds peppers $5.52
2 pounds eggplant $3.00
2 butternut squash $4.00
2 pounds hot peppers $6.00
1 handful raspberries $2.29
1 bunch flowers $5.00
pick your own green beans - 10 pounds - $19.90
pick your own basil - for pesto - hard to price - $5.00
1 bunch dill $1.99
1 bunch parsley flat $1.99
1 bunch parsley curly $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch thyme $1.99
1 bunch cilantro $1.99

Total: $78.27
The season’s total so far was $1684.20, if we add this pick-up we have a grand total of $1762.47! Grand indeed, especially if you take into consideration that we paid $860 for our $1762 worth of veggies! The power of the CSA - and a true reward for doing something good for the local economy!

How to get your Kids to give up Soda!

2008-10-19T15:05:00.001-04:00

I think we all know it by now - sodas are by far the worst part of our children’s diet. They have been implicated in everything from childhood obesity to bone loss. They are a nasty mix of hydrogenated corn syrup, caffeine, carbonated water, phosphoric acid, artificial flavors, artificial sugar and sodium benzoate (yum!), and they are completely void of anything remotely beneficial, nutritionally speaking. So, the task would be to remove this item from our children’s diet permanently - or at least ban it from our house and make soda an “on the road treat” only.

Now, the obvious solution would seem to be replacing soda with other forms of soft drinks, such as vitamin waters, sports drinks or iced tea. Ha! Actually that’s just side-stepping the real issue at hand. In reality, you haven’t advanced at all. All these drinks are still manufactured by the same soda industry - you are still feeding the beast! All these so called sports drinks are still loaded with sugar and many unhealthy ingredients. Your dentist will be forever grateful - you will send his kids to college, and the negative impact on the planet remains the same - all these drinks still come in plastic bottles.
But “no” you say, “Iced tea comes in glass bottles!” - well, apart from the fact that it is very unlikely that you will find an iced tea that does not have high fructose corn syrup in it - the very notion that it would be okay for a little kid or a growing teenager to habitually drink a very caffeinated beverage is simply wrong. Black and Green Tea have been implicated as a growth retardant (great, tell that to your football playing son or your daughter with model aspirations - or vice versa), and caffeine affects their little bodies particularly strong: irritability, mood swings, restlessness, dehydration, adrenal exhaustion, mild addiction are just some of the benefits!
So, what is the solution? Well, let’s look for something that is healthy, cheap and makes a positive difference for the planet. May I introduce: Water and Herbal Tea!
Water: plain filtered tap is just fine - stick it in the fridge. Done! You will have an ice cold, delicious, zero-calorie power beverage. Fill up your kid’s stainless steel to-go canteen and they are all set.
Herbal Tea: comes in a dizzying number of flavors; Raspberry Zinger, Lemon Zinger, Bengal Spice, Mandarin Orange, Peach Passion, Honey Vanilla Chamomile, to name a few. Stick two tea-bags into a glass jar, fill with filtered water, and in about 5 hours (or better yet, overnight) you will have an extremely flavorful, inexpensive, delicious, cold drink - try out all the different flavors and you may be surprised how willingly your kids will embrace this change. Cut out the often funny pictures on the tea box and stick them onto the glass jar - or better yet have your kids decorate the jar themselves for extra P.R. impact. Make sure your tea does not have artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners in it. Celestial Seasonings is a great brand to try - they offer flavor variety packs, which is a good way to get you started.

Try to resist the urge to sweeten the tea - it takes about a week for taste-buds to readjust and that way you can keep the tea calorie free. If however you absolutely must sweeten I would suggest agave nectar or stevia for a low-glycemic natural sweetener and then gradually try to phase them out. Both are available at your health food store.
Also, for the grownups, iced Earl Grey tea or Irish Breakfast tea is delicious and may replace that cup of coffee for a fraction of the cost. Enjoy!

Sources:
High fructose corn syrup and obesity link
Bone loss: check here

Can you guess this veggie?

2008-10-19T14:12:00.000-04:00

I am falling behind documenting my pick-ups at the CSA, so I have decided to bunch up two pickups in one post - to speed things up!
So these are actually pickups #18 and #19 and finish up the month of September - I know! - I said I was behind!
Even though the pickups are getting smaller - they are still full of traditional vegetables and unusual ones, just like the one in the picture - which is “celeriac” or celery root - an awesome soup veggie - that will produce great amounts of highly flavored broth and also makes a wonderful flavor addition mixed in with mashed potatoes.

List of Pick-up #18:

1 celeriac $2.00 - educated guess, because you cannot find them anywhere -much less organic!
¼ pound arugula $2.00
2 bunches beets $3.98
⅔ pound lettuce mix $3.75

2 pounds tomatoes $7.98
2 pounds peppers $3.68
1½ pounds chard $3.28
4 delicata winter squash $3.75
1 bunch flowers $5.00
pick your own green beans - unlimited - 10 pounds for me $19.90
1 pint raspberries $2.99
pick your own cherry tomatoes - unlimited - 5 pounds for me $10.00
cornstalks for decorations $4.99 - I have seen then from $4.99 to $12.99 Crazy!
1 bunch basil $1.99
1 bunch parsley $1.99
1 bunch hot peppers $1.00
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 handful okra $1.00
1 handful tomatillos $1.00
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch dill $1.99

Total for pick up #18: $86.25

on to pick up #19

2 heads cabbage $4.00
1 bunch radishes $2.75
¾ pound carrots $1.34
2 pounds peppers $3.68
1 ½ pounds eggplant $2.99
1 ⅓ pounds collard greens $2.79
1 head broccoli $1.50
1 head cauliflower $1.50

Pick your own green beans - another 10 pounds for me $19.90
pick the last cherry tomatoes - 2 pounds $5.00
1 pint raspberries $2.99
1 bunch flowers $5.00
1 bunch dill $1.99
1 bunch lemon verbena $1.99
1 handful okra $1.00
1 bunch rosemary $1.99
1 handful tomatillos $1.00
1 bunch parsley $1.99
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99

Total for pick up #19: $67.38
Our season’s total so far was: $1530.57 We add pick up#18 for $86.25 and pick up #19 for $67.38, and we have an end of September total of $1684.20!

15 Ways to get your Kids to eat their Veggies - Guaranteed!

2008-10-19T12:18:00.000-04:00

Ok, let’s back up - I can not guarantee anything - but here are my credentials:
I have raised one picky eater into a handsome, 17 year old, healthy vegetarian and have been a nanny to countless others, some of whom I have turned into artichoke connoisseurs - at age two!
I refuse to believe that kids will not eat healthy food - after all the survival instinct kicks in at one point, and I refuse to have power struggles over food with two year olds - because to put it very bluntly - you won’t win - they will!
So - general rules - it has to be fun - relatively simple - and doable. Some of these tips may seem borderline insane - but let’s face it, so is trying to be a good parent some days! I am not in favor of “sneaky chef” tactics, you know the whole “hiding spinach in brownies” philosophy - because, quite honestly I think it is lying, reenforcing the notion that veggies are bad and brownies are good, and it is also a whole lot of work to hide miniscule amounts of vegetables in cups of sugar and goops of oil - there has to be a better way, and there is - 15 of them! No lying, no tantrums and no marathon sessions in the kitchen!
Some of these you might have tried, some of these tips already work for you, and others are worth a shot. Let’s start:

Let’s try to understand why kids are such picky eaters. I think it has something to do with the basic survival tactics of our caveman ancestors - back then, the kids who did not practice extreme caution when coming across an unknown food, often did not survive their curiousness. As a result, this inbuilt safety mechanism can drive the most dedicated mom or dad up the wall.

Let’s take it step-by-step

1. The “Salad - no way!” problem. What might be going on here is, that the mixing of different textures and flavors feels like a loss of control to our cautious kid. Solution: Try serving the same ingredients as a platter - nothing touches anything else - with the salad dressing as a dip. As you are slicing and dicing the ingredients for a salad don’t mix your child’s portion, simply arrange them in piles on a plate - or for extra coolness- bonus points - make them into a face or a character from a book. The dressing as a dip has to be of the highest quality; only the best oils, with a protein base and not too much sodium. Definitely out: anything with artificial flavors or colors, anything hydrogenated and please no MSG. Tofu as a base, works really well. Readymade dips include nut butters, cream cheese or hummus. Store bought dressings I can recommend include Newman’s Own - especially their “Light” line - and Amy’s salad dressings, available in the health food store or some supermarkets.

2. Rename veggies to give them a funky spin - I learned this trick from my grandmother, who was a cool person way before "cool" was even a term. She would have no problem naming spinach leaves “dragon scales” and snow peas “magic butterfly wings”. You could even make a dragon with spinach as scales with a lovely thousand island dip - maybe some carrot slivers as fiery dragon breath - you get the idea. Be creative - for more inspiration, consult Play With Your Food, by Joost Elffers, available at Amazon.com link

3. Sometimes it all depends on consistency - I know many kids that will not touch any green veggie that has wilted in the cooking process - they call wilted spinach “slimy” and to be honest, they are kind of right - but they will happily eat spinach "raw" - remember, better call it “Dragon Scales”.

4. You have heard this one before - let your kids help you cook. Take a deep breath - stop stressing and have more fun in the kitchen. Okay maybe this does not work after a long, busy day when you are just plain tired, but maybe on the weekend. Let them help you bake, or chop veggies, or mix dough for homemade pizza. They love getting their hands dirty and you can have really great conversations in the kitchen - I don’t know why it is, but being in the kitchen and cooking together gets people to talk to each other. When I say let them chop and cut - before you sue me for handing kitchen knives to your three year old - I am talking about craft kids scissors and plastic lettuce knives, of course. They are quite handy for performing a number of tasks. Not everything can be accomplished with these tools but you would be surprised at how handy scissors are in the kitchen. I actually have several pairs of real scissors in my kitchen, and they are some of my favorite prepping tools.

5. Research recipes together - kids are wizards on the internet and there is not a single fruit or vegetable that does not have an almost exhaustingly long description in Wikipedia or sites like that. Learn about veggies together! Give older kids the power to research recipes and make some choices about what goes on the dinner table. They may surprise you in their fearless approach to try out new things.

6. Join a CSA ( Community Supported Agriculture, otherwise known as your neighborhood farm). Buy a share in your farm and go on weekly trips to pick up the bounty! Your kids will be able to breathe fresh air, get to pet chickens, goats and other animals, and maybe help you harvest. Just a couple of weeks ago, I saw, at my local CSA, a little boy who helped his mom pick sugar snap peas and announced loudly and with conviction that these were way better than candy - there is a lifelong enthusiastic veggie eater for you. Find your local CSA here.

7. Mono eating: some kids want to eat only one type of food at a time - and that’s fine! Some adults embrace mono eating much later in life, when they realize that it is actually much easier on your digestion. Of course, the quality of these exclusive foods matters greatly, and most doctors agree that eventually kids will grow out of that habit and embrace greater variety. One should keep in mind that nutrition is the sum of its parts, and what is consumed over the course of a week many be more important than any one particular day. Imagine for lunch one day you set up your child with a gigantic bowl of baby carrots and a hummus dip. You’d be amazed at how quickly you’ll see the bottom of that bowl. You might be thinking that your child needs more to eat - but think about it you’re child is full, he or she is smiling, and they’ve just consumed a load of fiber, vitamins, protein, fat and a lot of carrots! It’s great!

8. Smoothies - although I am not one to embrace hiding vegetables - Smoothies do pack a nutritional punch - the basis of smoothies can be milk, tofu, soy milk, rice milk, coconut milk, etc. So, this can become a very valuable addition to a picky eater’s menu. Add unusual smoothie ingredients such as: lettuce, cucumbers, carrot juice, tomatoes, cooked butternut squash, cooked pumpkin, zucchini, beets (cooked or raw), or cooked sweet potatoes, and of course your fruits of choice. Try not to make your smoothies too sweet. Have fun experimenting wildly! Most blenders are safe for kids to operate, under adult supervision of course - and working the blender makes smoothies twice as fun for them!

9. Over at the Vegan Lunch Box blog, Jennifer McCann presented a great idea. Her observation was that sometimes vegetables just aren’t as accessible as cookies or crackers. So, the solution here is to buy a condiment box with an ice compartment (available at Linen’s n Things or Bed Bath & Beyond). These plastic boxes have five compartments to hold about two cups each of your soon to be favorite veggies - you put ice underneath to keep the veggies fresh and crispy all day long. This way the box can go straight on the counter in everybody’s view. Check out a picture here:
The options of what to put in the box are endless and open for discussion, of course. Suggestions are cucumber slices, carrots, snap peas, fruit spears, lettuce leaves, apple slices etc - you get the point. Now all you need is a little dressing, hummus, nut butter or any other dip, and you are all set - all day long for a veggie feast.
Whatever is leftover at the end of the day - becomes either pre-diced dinner ingredients or can be used for the next soup, smoothie or crock pot meal.

10. Speaking of crock pots - even small children can help decide what goes into a crock pot - and because it is not hot when you put the meal together, there’s no danger of getting burned - and again you have that involvement that gets children interested, and helps you avoid the power struggle.

11. You should respect that your children might want to eat at a different time than you would. The very first time you try to force your kid to eat, you have lost the battle. You are actually teaching them, that the more he or she resists eating, the more attention you will lavish on them trying to make them eat. This becomes their favorite game really fast. It is much better to wait until they are hungry and ready to eat.

12. Never use food as a bribe or reward or punish a kid for not eating. This creates a no-win situation and could lead to lifelong struggles with food. Especially the perception sweet is good (mostly a reaction they learn from you) is really a hard one to shake.

13. Play with your food! - touch it, make it into silly shapes, dye it with naturals dyes etc. the whole idea of the Japanese Bento Boxes is very intriguing. Check out some of the craziness and steal some of the ideas. Scroll all the way down - it is worth it! Did you see the tomato lobster - crazy! Some of these are extremely elaborate and some probably use artificial food dyes, which I would not recommend, but the general idea is wonderful. You will be amazed what kids will eat, if food is presented this way. Just think about how they are willing to embrace cereals just because some cartoon character is on the box - imagine if the same cartoon character actually is the food they are about to eat.

14. Tell stories that feature your kids, the veggies they are about to eat and the wild adventures they are going to have. This one is not only a lot of fun but really works. Don’t fret if you are not much of a story teller - borrow heavily form the classics - go ahead - whichever story you remember will do - just change the main character to become your child and weave vegetables into the story. This is another one from my grandmother, who was an awesome and fearless story teller. I remember hundreds of stories that featured me and the very lunch I was eating that day! It was so much fun and I remember being completely captivated, making sure I would eat every last bite.

15. Play the ABC Vegetable game. Vow to eat at least one vegetable for every letter of the alphabet with your kids. There is research, choosing, and cooking involved - and it should be fun! Some letters obviously will be harder than others. One mom tried this with her kids and writes a blog about her experiences in “The Great Big Vegetable Challenge” which you can read here
You will find inspirational stories, recipes and tips at this awesome blog.

Well, that’s it! I hope some tips here are useful to you. If you have any more that worked for you, let me know I’d be happy to expand this list.

Insane and unheard-of: Make your own Toothpaste!

2008-10-08T09:50:00.000-04:00

Another weird mission - Danger! - If you chose to accept this mission - you might never go back to regular toothpaste.
I don’t know why I did not think about this earlier - but lately I have been quite upset about how much toothpaste actually costs.
Granted, I buy one of the most expensive ones out there - I have gotten hooked on Weleda’s Salt Toothpaste, which retails for anywhere from $3.75 to $5.00 for 3.3 ounces! I have also been buying Tom’s of Maine, which is a bit less expensive at around $5.00 for 5.5 ounces.
If we look at the ingredients, the first one listed for Weleda is:

“Sodium Bicarbonate” which is of course a fancy name for “Baking Soda” - so have I been buying Baking Soda for $5.00 per 3 ounces? It almost seems to be!

Water - could be free out of my faucet!

Glycerin - which is basically a fancy name for vegetable oil - (again - that costs close to nothing)

a list of herby sounding things - but on their website even Weleda admits, that those are present only in highly diluted forms - Translate: miniscule trace amounts

And Sodium Chloride - which - you guessed it, is salt. Again not terrible expensive.

So here is my recipe for home made toothpaste - it is so good, it is almost addictive.
Try your own variations - as always, have fun and experiment wildly!

Ingredients:

* Baking Soda - the same kind you hopefully use for cleaning everything else in your house - so why not your teeth? Cost: can be as low as $0.50 for 2 pounds! Buy store brand - no need to go fancy here.

* Salt - whichever you use - it is really good for your gums - Cost: cents

* Glycerin - or any other vegetable oil - no real medicinal use - just used as a binder
It is available in any pharmacy or health food store and costs about $2.00 for 4 fluid ounces - but will last you probably a year! Or you could also use any other oil, that you already have.

* essential oil flavorings: you can use the traditional peppermint, spearmint or go more exotic and use fennel, cinnamon or vanilla. All of these are just meant to add taste, so even though we are conditioned to have minty fresh breath, there are options here. The essential oils will set you back around $5.00 per miniscule 5 mili liter bottle, but they are worth it! First of all, one of these will again last you for years, and second you can use the oils to flavor lots of other things , from cleaning vinegar to perfume.

Instructions:

1. Mix two to three drops of the essential oil of your choice with 3 tablespoons of baking soda. Add one tablespoon salt and two teaspoons glycerin to bind. Mix well and add additional flavors such as fennel or vanilla and you could also add one or two drops tea tree oil.

2. Store in an airtight container - or go to an art supply store and buy tubes to fill yourself, which are meant for paint - but you should be able to use them for your homemade toothpaste. I don’t remember off hand how much those go for, but it can’t be too much!   Anyway - Let me know how you did - I am really curious to see what you think!

Another CSA pickup - #17

2008-10-08T09:06:00.001-04:00

Pickups are getting more manageable again, which is a nice thing. It has been quite a lot of work processing all this food. Many people, after seeing how much I really pick up every week, have asked me - “Well, how much of this do you have to throw out each week?” which is a question that almost makes me gasp. What do you mean throw out? Okay, I admit it every now and then - something does go bad on me. Which drives me nuts. The occasional lettuce that commits suicide in my fridge, before I have a chance to use it, almost makes me cry. I know, I am looking into counseling, there just isn’t much support out there for looney veggie lovers. Generally, I could be considered obsessive - compulsive in my drive to use every last bit of my share. This has endeared me to friends, who I have given little teaser baskets full of produce (when I just couldn’t handle the overflowing counters any longer) and has also prompted me to invest in a new freezer, after I almost killed our refrigerator filling it to the gills with pesto, tomato sauce and green beans. I feel like a squirrel at times, trying to make sure I can rescue some of this produce over into the winter, where I know it will hurt to pay $3 per pound of not even remotely organic green beans.
I know some people really embrace pickling and canning, I just does not seem to be my thing. Somehow I still struggle with the thought of giving up so much of the nutritional value and adding either tons of sugar or salt. I know some pickling actually enhances certain aspects of the veggies - I guess it is something to be learned in the future.

2 heads Lettuce $3.38
2 pounds onions $2.60
4 heads bok choy $6.00

1 pound kale $1.86
8 pounds tomatoes $31.92
4 pounds peppers $7.36
1 ½ pounds rainbow chard $3.28
2 eggplants $3.00
unlimited green beans (15 pounds @1.99) $29.85
6 stems flowers $5.00
1 handful raspberries $2.00
unlimited cherry tomatoes (hard time pricing that) $15
1 bunch parsley curly $1.99
1 bunch parsley flat $1.99
1 bunch edible flowers $1.99
1 bunch hot peppers $1.00
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 bunch dill $1.99
1 handful okra $1.00

Total this week: $123.20
Added to our season’s total so far of $1407.37 - our new total is: $ 1530.57.
So, if we had bought the produce we received in stores tallying up average prices form chain supermarkets to health food stores we would have had to pay $1500 for veggies we prebought for $ 860 - not a bad deal!

How I converted to Seitan!

2008-09-24T13:27:00.001-04:00

In our protein series I want to start with - it pains me to write this - a “meat stand in” that is not only often overlooked - because the first thing new vegetarians always think of is - quick - yep “tofu”, but is also really cost effective and mimics meat in texture, taste and appearance. All these things cannot be said about tofu. Even the most enthusiastic tofu fan would have to admit it to be a bit of an acquired taste. Not so with seitan.

Apart from the unfortunate name - we really should come up with a better one - this is an unmeat, that will not easily be detected, even by the suspicious carnivore. As a matter of fact, we used to be quite freaked out by a dish in our local Thai restaurant back in Greenpoint. “Vegetarian duck” was so close to the real thing - it was almost off putting. To this day I don’t know what they did to their wheat gluten - but it was impressive. We actually sent it back many times because we would not believe it was not duck. I should state here that I don’t miss any meat - honestly zero cravings, and when I thought I missed hot dogs - I found out I actually craved mustard!
So, this wonder can also be really cheap - but, and here comes the caveat - you should make it yourself.
By the way - the lovely image of the seitan stew is from one of my favorite blogs: What the Hell does a Vegan eat anyway. Thank you guys for letting me use your pic!

If you buy it prefab - often found in the freezer section - one brand “Ray’s Wheat meat” which is really good - it will cost you. One tub of Ray’s which contains 12 oz of ready made seitan retails for about $4.49. Using one whole tub to feed three hungry vegetarians usually had us fight for every little bit of seitan. If you made your seitan yourself - you can save more than a third!

Let me demonstrate. Now keep in mind that I am not willing to spend my life in the kitchen and I abhor anything that has to be kneaded, stirred or in any other way nurtured for more than 5 minutes. I am sorry I just do not have that much patience. So I had pegged making seitan as something completely out of my reach, since I was not going to devote my life to it - well, last week I thought I give another try - and, what a surprise. It is easy - efficient and fast. Why did I not try this earlier?
Ok - here is how I did it. Confession - there are other, probably more complex ways - I just usually bring it down to the simplest form. But experiment yourselves!

Simplest instructions how to make seitan:

Ingredients:
1 box vital wheat gluten ( I like Arrowhead Mills) $2.99
2 cups warm water
4 tablespoons soy sauce $0.50

1.Mix wheat gluten with water in a big bowl. Stir until well mixed.

2.Start kneading the dough. Instructions will tell you everything from 5 to 15 minutes. I did it for two minutes tops - and it came out great. This would be something even little kids could do - since it is basically like play dough!

3.Add two tablespoons of soy sauce and let the dough rest for at least 5 minutes.

4.Meanwhile prepare a big pot with hot water - add the rest of the soy sauce.

5. Cut the dough into pieces and put into the lightly simmering broth. Cover and let simmer for about an hour. You could also add other seasoning at this time - either soup cubes or chicken seasoning would work well. Seitan will absorb any flavor you expose it too - so be creative!

To store you can either transfer the seitan - broth and all to the refrigerator or freeze it for later use - without the broth in that case.

Cost: For 28 oz of Seitan you spent $3.49. So your homemade seitan costs you about 12 cents per ounce, compared to 37 cents for the store bought one. That is a saving of 68%! for about 5 minutes of real work!

So make your seitan - plug it into any recipe, even Grandma’s Beef Bourguinon will work with seitan!
The lovely picture for this post came from one of my favorite blogs: What the Hell does a Vegan eat anyway. Check them out they are awesome!

Chat away and get your veggies 50% off!

2008-09-23T14:54:00.000-04:00

One aspect of the CSA experience is often overlooked. You get to meet so many cool people! I have met artists, teachers, bankers, musicians, college students, 70 year olds, who look not a day over 50, people helping out at food banks and many more colorful characters, over picking veggies. Just like at every party, where people always gather in the kitchen - where the food is - people also get chatty while picking their food. Everyone can talk to everyone else easily. Often the conversations go to the phenomenal quality of the food we all share. Some of the produce is new to us - some really takes getting used to. I can proudly say, I have finally found a way to embrace Okra.
Where did I find out what to do with it - and how to pick out the best Okra - on the farm, of course - talking to one of the farm interns, all of whom are an impressive source of information.
So talking to your friends and neighbors and the wonderful souls, who work day after day growing our food - what a wonderful side benefit. One that will be missed after the season is over!

Here is our list for this week:

2 bunches scallions $3.98

4 heads lettuce $6.76
2 pounds onions $2.60
1 ⅓ pounds collard greens $2.60
10 pounds tomatoes $39.90
4 heads bok choy $6.00
1 pound summer squash $1.89
1 pound cucumbers $4.49
2 big winter-squash $3.00
2 handfuls raspberries $3.00
unlimited flowers $5.00
unlimited cherry tomatoes (5 pounds - worth for me) $15.96
1 bunch flat parsley $1.99
1 bunch curly parsley $1.99
1 bunch dill $1.99
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 handful hot peppers $1.00
1 handful okra $1.00

Total this week: $105.14
Added to the grand total for the season of $1302.59 equals: $1407.73 or in other words, you would have had to spend $1407.73 to purchase the produce in local stores, we pre purchased through the farm for $855 back in February. We will get to a point where our farm produce was not only more nutritious more varied and more ecologically sound, but on top of all that 50% off! Wow what a deal!

Pick your Veggies!

2008-09-21T14:28:00.000-04:00

Back after a bit of a break. The amounts of produce picked up now really require work and planning so that nothing spoils.
When I promise people that it is possible to eat really well and for not too much money, and then they complain to me that they don’t want to spend any time cooking or picking free produce - I am perplexed.

I understand it may be difficult to pick when you have little kids with you or you are elderly and bending over hurts, but for the rest of us it should not be such a big deal.
What I have seen in my CSA, is moms alternating watching the kids. One mom stays with a bunch of children playing in the sandbox or looking at the chickens so the other moms can get a break and pick. And for elderly members I would like to propose to my CSA that we start a pick up service. Every time one of us goes picking we would just pick a little extra and give that to our members who are not able to pick for themselves. I know other CSA’s have done away with picking altogether, but I feel it is an essential part of the CSA experience. Picking your own food is a lovely way to spend time outdoors, enjoying the farm while doing something useful. That’s what always bugs me about going to the gym. All this energy expenditure without any tangible reward. I know going to the gym is reward in itself - but bringing home 15 pounds of green beans seems so much more of a gain.

Anyway - here is the list. We are slightly past peak now:

2 bunches scallions $3.98
4 heads lettuce $6.76
1 pound kale $1.86
10 pounds tomatoes $39.90
3 pounds peppers $5.52
4 cucumbers $4.49
2 pounds squash $3.98
2 handfuls raspberries $3.00
4 quarts green beans $7.96
unlimited cherry tomatoes $15.96 ( I picked 5 pounds worth)
1 bunch edible flowers $1.99
1 bunch rosemary $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch sorrel $1.99
1 bunch apple mint $1.99
1 bunch lemon verbena $1.99
1 bunch hot peppers $1.00
1 bunch tomatillos $1.99
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 handful okra $1.00
1 bunch dill $1.99
1 bunch parsley $1.99

Total this week: $115.31 added to our proud total of $1187.28 our new total reads: $1302.59! Bravo!

Just resign yourself and give in! The tomatoes have taken over your life!

2008-09-09T15:11:00.001-04:00

Another phenomenal pick-up - and another 20 pounds worth of tomatoes! Remember back in pick up #9 , when I compared them to those creatures in Star Trek that keep multiplying - well that is what it looks like in everyone’s kitchen right now, where every square inch of counter space is covered with tomatoes!
I have sundried, frozen, salsaed and gazpachoed them and they are still everywhere!
But we will have lovely tomato sauce all winter long.
Also, they have inspired me to run a new feature on my blog called “Food Crimes” - which is all about silly things we do with food, simply because we are told to do so! Check it out here.

Here is the list for this week: Another 50 pounds worth!

4 leeks $5.56
4 pounds potatoes $3.99
1 ⅓ pounds swiss chard $3.28

½ pound mesclun mix $3.00
20 pounds tomatoes $79.80
1 pound peppers $1.84
1 ½ pounds kale $2.79
1 pound cucumbers $2.99
2 pounds squash $3.98
2 heads garlic $1.00
unlimited cherry tomatoes ( I picked 5 pounds) $15.96
unlimited green beans ( I picked 15 pounds) $29.85
unlimited flowers $5.00
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch parsley flat $1.99
1 bunch parsley curly $1.99
1 bunch basil $1.99
1 bunch thai basil $1.99
1 handful okra $1.99
1 bunch edible flowers $1.99
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 bunch mint $1.99
1 handful tomatillos $1.99
1 handful hot peppers $1.00

Total this week: $160.04
Added to the overall total for the 2008 season of $1027.24 we have a new grand total of $1187.28.
So I have picked up $1187.28 worth of produce form my farm share for which I paid
$855 in February.

But where will you get your protein from ?

2008-09-09T15:01:00.000-04:00

If I had a dollar for every time if have been asked this question in the last twenty years I would be, not rich but at least have enough to open a savings account. There is the myth, that will not die, that protein is the ever elusive ingredient, that we constantly have to be on the look out for.
In reality, you will have to try really hard to find any food that does not contain protein, and yes, even vegetarian foods have protein in abundance. Also the proteins from vegetarian sources are of the same (some say superior) quality as those from meat sources, and let’s not forget, they come without cholesterol and saturated fats, although I personally do not worry about those either.
So, in this climate, where one’s diet is discussed and defended in crusade style rants on so many forums in the internet - it is quite hard to take a stand. Especially when one is very non-confrontational, as I am. You somehow always end up offending one or the other camp - either the protein worshippers a la Atkins or the protein negaters a la Raw Fooders - all of them believe only their doctrine, and are ready to defend it at the drop of a comment. So here are my two cents.

I believe protein is one of the necessary ingredients in everyone’s diet.

I believe it to be rather easily obtainable - unless you are a junkfoodie, and then protein deficiency is probably still not your biggest problem.

I actually like all vegetarian protein sources - such as tempeh, seitan, tofu, beans, lentils and the various soy and nut milks.

I would hope that it was finally universally accepted, that amino acids do not have to be combined - our wonderful bodies can do that without our supervision.

I think that overindulgence in any food will lead to problems, therefore over consumption of carbohydrates is just as idiotic as over consumption of protein. Moderation is always the key.

You can never eat too many vegetables. Period. So make them the star player on your team and add carbs and proteins as sides. Done! No worrying!

I don’t fear soy - it goes through cycles of acceptance and damnation. Again the mantra always is: Dont overdo it! I for one, am not a friend of over processed meat substitutes, and enjoy using tempeh, seitan and tofu in more unusual ways other than as a stand in for steak.
And that’s where it becomes interesting for me - so in the next couple of weeks I will post - “Protein recipes” - for fun and to debunk the myth...

New Feature: FOOD CRIMES

2008-09-08T17:58:00.000-04:00

Sometimes we do things to food that just aren’t right and I do not mean cooking greens until they turn grey.
The over abundance of tomatoes the last couple of weeks has let me to research what to do with them.
And here was the problem: Every single recipe for making tomato sauce describes in painstaking detail how to get rid of the tomato skin. Boil and blanch, and this and that. Nauseating! Why?
Because 90% of the nutritional value of the tomatoes is in that skin you are told to throw away, or else your sauce will be rubbery. One word - Rubbish!
Why would you waste the beautiful skin of these lovely, heirloom, ORGANIC tomatoes to make sauce? Actually it really helps in making sauce, and here is why.
Yes, there is fiber in the skin, but that is A - good for you and B - makes an awesome natural thickener for the sauce. I would skim off the extra water the tomatoes release, and save it for the next soup or add it to any recipe, that asks for water and just use the tomato water instead.
The way to naturally thicken the sauce is to ladle out the skin parts of the sauce and puree them in the blender. Your sauce will have a beautiful consistency and you do not have to fidget around endlessly to get the skin off, nature intended to stay on!

CSA pick-up: The lucky 13!

2008-09-08T16:46:00.000-04:00

This is truly half-time at the CSA - and not only money wise. The pick ups are starting to be so immense that even three hungry vegetarians cannot keep up. So let the freezing begin!
This pick-up was close to 50 pounds worth of produce - and that is not a typo.
And of course let’s not forget the quality of the produce is unparalleled.

The list:

1 bunch scallions $1.99
1 head radicchio $2.69
4 stems leeks $5.56

5 pounds potatoes $4.99
1 ⅓ pounds swiss chard $3.28
½ pound mesclun lettuce $3.00
20 pounds heirloom tomatoes $79.80 ( After much deliberation I priced the heirlooms at $3.99 per pound - I have seen them both cheaper and more expensive - even non organic ones! - but thought this to be a fair average)
1 ½ pounds peppers $2.76
2 pounds eggplant $3.69
1 ½ pounds cucumber $4.49
2 pounds summer squash $3.98
4 pints cherry tomatoes $7.98
unlimited green beans ( I picked 10 pounds) $19.90
unlimited flowers $5.00
1 bunch parsley $1.99
1 bunch edible flowers $1.99
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 bunch chives $1.99
1 bunch thai basil $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch peppermint $1.99
1 handful jalapenos $1.00
1 bunch thyme $1.99

Total this week: $166.03 which is of course a record for a single pick-up!
If we add this to our season’s total so far of $861.21 - we have a new grand total of $1027.24! Woohooo!

Observations while shopping

2008-09-03T16:05:00.001-04:00

While shopping late at night at my local supermarket I noticed several traps that even the experienced shopper can fall for. If you consider yourself a novice read up on my shopping 101 tutorial. All you pros out there read on.

Trap #1: Five for $3
Trying to buy one tiny can of tomato paste - to process all these tomatoes from the farm share, I almost fell for this one. I nearly stacked five cans of tomato paste into my cart even though I only needed two. Why do we do this? They tell us to buy five, and we automatically do! I think partially it is guilt - a la - they are giving me a break on this so I will buy as much as they are telling me - and partially it is, that we are secretly afraid the deal is only valid if we buy as many as we are told. This also works in the produce section - Five plantains for a dollar! And we go ahead and buy five even though we only needed one. Very few deals fall apart if you don’t buy as many as you are being told. Usually it has to say - MUST BUY FIVE - but it very rarely does. So let’s pay attention.

Trap #2: The Bigger the Better?
We have been trained to believe that the bigger a package, the better the per ounce deal we should get. This works most of the time.

For some items, however - amaranth in my case - different producers offer vastly different prices per ounce. I always feel inclined to reach for the bigger package, but usually catch myself and whip out my handy calculator to make sure that, in this case at least, the smaller package is the BETTER deal. This is so counterintuitive for me, I actually have to use the calculator every time! Lesson learned - clip one little calculator to your purse and do the math. Those tiny calculators are one dollar and worth their weight in gold. Alternately, your cell phone might have a calculator function - so use it!

Trap #3: The item on sale has to be the cheapest one, right?
I almost stumbled on this one in the cheese section. Brie on sale for $9.99 per pound - not much of sale - but the sign was huge. So I reached for it, when I saw in the corner of my eye mixed in with the imported brie, that was not for sale at $12.99 per pound, the regular domestic brie - not on sale but only $8.99 per pound. Not that much of a difference, but the principle holds. The on sale item is NOT necessarily the cheapest - keep looking and comparing!

Trap #4: I would recommend to you, my advanced shopper to keep a sharpie marker in your purse and write the price of an item on the item, or if you are more timid write it on your shopping list. There will be no more wrong prices and nasty surprises at the checkout. When it is your turn at the checkout - TAKE YOUR TIME. That is why it is good to shop at off hours, or alternatively use the self check out. I like the self check out, because it gives me a chance to double check the price on every single item and reevaluate the purchase. Some times I feel cashiers rush you way too much. While you are bagging, it is impossible to keep an eye on the bill, as the products are rushed through the scanner. I know it is not the cashier’s fault - they have to rush, but the problem is, that once the item is bought and paid for, the likelihood that you would spot a price difference or return that item is getting ever closer to zero.
Ideally don’t bag, and watch the checkout process like a hawk, to spot differences. I still prefer self check out - I often change the language into Spanish and brush up on my language skills as well. I know I am crazy!

Trap #5: Forget sliced or diced.
It is basically impossible to buy fruit or cheese - any other way than whole, because the moment any kind of peeling, slicing or dicing took place the per pound price of the item quadruples. I know that meat eaters know no shame and walk to the deli department to have their lunch meats sliced - I think we should be able to do the same with cheese or bread and not have to buy the pre sliced older stuff only to pay four times the money.

Those were just a few observations on a recent shopping trip. Of course, as always, don’t shop when you are tired or highly caffeinated - you need a calm inner peace to not screw up.

Ideas for Leftovers: Spring Rolls!

2008-08-27T15:32:00.000-04:00

For any kind of leftover veggies - stir fry works best for me - “the spring roll” is like a secret agent’s trench coat - giving your veggies a new identity.
If there is a lot of sauce - I would drain it first - although it could make for an interesting variation. Let me remind you, any kind of veggie dish should work - almost anything can be made into stuffing!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

*1 packet Naysoya Egg Roll Wraps - $2.69 (these can be found in your health food store in the refrigerator, or in the supermarket they usually place them with the tofu and the fake meats)
*about 4 cups leftover veggies - $2.00
*oil of your choice: $0.40

1. Chop your veggies finely - if you don’t have quite 4 cups I would suggest to stretch your veggies either by adding slightly sauteed cabbage - purple cabbage is one of my favorite “cheap” veggies - so much goodness in there, or, steamed broccoli or cauliflower would work too. Chop everything really finely.
2. Open your package of spring roll wrappers and fill each with about two tablespoons of veggie mix. Fold according to package direction. It’s really easy - don’t worry and the wrappers are very forgiving.
3. Gently heat two tablespoons of coconut oil - or whichever oil you use in stir fries.
4. Transfer you rolls into the pan - you will need to make several batches. Watch them like a hawk, since they brown very fast.
Enjoy - the are great in lunch boxes for kids or grownups. And make an excellent snack when you have to run. Also they are insanely popular at any party - they literally disappear in minutes.

Yield: 20 spring rolls - at about (depends on the veggies you used) 25 cents each.

WE HAVE A WINNER! CSA pick-up #12

2008-08-27T13:27:00.002-04:00

We made it. We have broken even, and then some.
When I first set out to document my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) experience the goal was to prove to skeptics that joining a CSA is not only a great way to do something for your local economy, getting to spend time outdoors in a beautiful environment and eating a ton of veggies, but it also SAVES money. And the last point was a bit hard to prove since nobody I talked to could accurately tell me how much money they did save. Even I, who had been a member in different CSA’s over the last decade, never really knew how much produce I got for my share - all I knew was, that is was a truckload.
Starting to write every bit of veggie or herb or berry down, made me realize, what a huge economic impact the CSA really has. Ours has about 100 share holders and each of them has made a choice, with a tremendous effect. Voting with our dollars is the most power any of us have, and boy did we show them.
So, I give you now - the winning edition of this week’s CSA pickup. Don’t worry I will not stop counting - we have another 11 pick-ups to go!

2 pints cherry tomatoes $3.99
4 heads lettuce $8.16

4 bulbs fennel $7.47
2 heads radicchio $5.38
1 ½pounds Swiss chard $3.28
10 pounds heirloom tomatoes $29.99
2 eggplants $3.69
1 ⅓pound cucumbers $4.49
3 pounds summer squash $5.97
1 bunch parsley $1.99
1 bunch lemon thyme $1.99
1 bunch hot peppers $0.90
1 bunch Thai Basil $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 bunch tomatillos $1.99
1 bunch thyme
1 bunch okra $1.99
1 bunch oregano $1.99
unlimited flowers $5.00
unlimited green beans - 8 pounds - $15.92

Total this week: $112.15
Added to the season’s total of: $749.06 - our new total is: drumroll please: $861.21
So, in twelve weeks we have picked up $861.21 worth of great veggies, berries and herbs. My initial cost back in February was $855 so, now I made my money back and we still have 11 weeks worth of pick-ups to go. I think this is turning into a two for one special. I’ll keep you posted.

Cook your Clothes - Insane and Unheard of?

2008-08-27T11:45:00.000-04:00

In Europe Bleach is unheard of. How do Europeans get their whites white? They cook their laundry. And you can too. Here is how.
First of all, I would like to point out that Bleach is one of the most toxic substances any of us come across in our whole lives. So, stop using it. If you would like to know more about the toxic effects of bleach read more here.

Alternatives to Bleach: of course bleach is not that expensive, just bad for you - but these are all better.

1.Hydrogen peroxide
2.Salt
3.Borax
4.Vinegar
5.Lemon Juice
6.Sunshine

Two Choices:
1. Add one of the first five to your regular white wash. Wash in the highest temperature available. Hang in the sun to dry.
or for the slightly more daring:
2. Take out your biggest spaghetti pot, add your whites - go ahead no one is looking - and now add water. Chose ONE of these Either 1 cup hydrogen peroxide, OR ½ cup of salt, or ½ cup borax (do not inhale) or 1 cup vinegar or 1 cup lemon juice and boil! Just like the spaghetti. Turn off after about 3 minutes of a rolling boil and let it cool down. Rinse with fresh water. Done.
For even whiter whites hang your boiled clothes into the sun and let sunshine do the rest. I know this is another goofy idea - but it works!

Of course the types of fabric you can boil are limited - please don’t do this with wool or you will turn your wardrobe into elves couture. Try it, let me know what you think.

Hey all, I have been Moonlighting!

2008-08-21T14:33:00.000-04:00

I have been invited to guest blog - at the Green Parent!
It has been a lot of fun. My first article entitled: Your children and the Earth: Five Ways to Benefit Both. went up last Tuesday - and there are two more to come.
Also they did an interview with me, which made me reflect and was quite fun to answer. And here is the rest of it.

Still Life with CSA pick up!

2008-08-21T13:11:00.000-04:00

If a picture speaks a thousand words - then, enough said.
I’ll just quietly shuffle away and let you enjoy the visual document of this week’s pick-up.
By the way - I could not fit everything on the table!
The list:
4 heads lettuce $8.16
1 pound rainbow chard $2.19
2 pounds carrots $2.58
⅔ pound basil $6.87
4 pounds tomatoes $11.96
2 heads radicchio $5.38
2 fruit eggplant $3.69
2 pounds cucumber $5.98
3 pounds summer squash or zucchini $5.97
2 pints cherry tomatoes $3.99
2 pounds green beans $3.98
2 pints blackberries $7.00
2 hot peppers $0.90
1 bunch chives $1.99
1 bunch winter savory $1.99
1 bunch thyme $1.99
1 bunch thai basil $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 bunch lavender $1.99
1 bunch parsley $1.99
1 bunch mint $1.99
1 bunch okra $1.99
1 bunch flowers $3.00

Total this week: $91.55
So, I if I had bought all this produce this week at the supermarket or health food store I would have spent $91.55.
If we add this week’s take to our total for the season ( $657.51), our new total is: $749.06
In other words, in eleven weeks of picking up our shares at the CSA we picked up $749.06 worth of produce. Quite something!
We are getting awfully close to break even - remember in February I spent $855 for a full share plus an optional berry share. You wanna bet - we’ll reach that in week 12?

Vegetarian on the Cheap - A Beginner's Guide

2008-08-17T13:42:00.000-04:00

If you are a first time visitor - welcome, and I hope these
10 steps will get you going. Don’t worry if you are only a part time vegetarian or not a vegetarian at all and simply curious - all are welcome!
If you are wondering whether this way of eating can save you money - it absolutely can!
Make changes to your diet - gradually - nobody expects you to change you entire diet over night. You will feel a difference in your overall well being and in your wallet!
Vegetarians are far from weak and anemic - only the ones that are actually junkatarians would fall prey to malnutrition.
I won’t pitch you on the health benefits - there are numerous doctors, who can do that with much more authority than me, check out Dr. Weill or Dr. Mercola or Dr. Ornish for that. I am also not going to assault you with animal rights fanfare - you know how to find sites that will do that. What I am concerned with, is the health of your pocket book. The fact that this change will also lead to better health and a greener life style, is just the absolute icing on the cake when it also saves you money!

So let’s get you started.

1. Analyze where your money is going right now - which meals are your biggest money drain? Fancy dinners? Expensive lunches? Too many recipes from magazine articles by food editors, who obviously do not worry about budget (Martha are you there?).

2. Find a store with a bulk food section. This cannot be overemphasized - read up on it in my entry The Bulk Food Section = your place of worship.

3. If you want to incorporate vegetarian eating into your lifestyle or just want to eat less expensively - you will need a plan! Plan out the whole week - make a chart with the days of the week, and columns for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Line out where your family is going to be for all these meals - be as accurate as possible. What are you going to eat for dinner four days from now? What about lunch tomorrow ? Plan in all events you're going to attend (from your daughter’s soccer match to your son’s ballet lesson). Count eating out as well - and then make a shopping list. Leave some spaces blank - there will be leftovers and you will have to use them. Check out this shopping tutorial.

4. Figure out how much of your diet you want to change - just a couple of meals or the whole shebang. It is up to you - but remember #3 - you have to have a plan!

5. For starters find two recipes with beans or lentils and two with a grain product in them. That will get you out of a budget crisis rather fast.
Then plan the rest of your week around those 4 meals - and between the main dishes and the left overs you are on your way.

 For example: Let’s say we picked lentils, black beans, quinoa and rice for our staples. Mind you, all these staples will cost us about 1.50 per pound - which is not a lot and goes a long way.
So if we bought two pounds of beans, lentils, rice and quinoa each, we would have enough staples to feed a family of four for a week, making vegetarian chili, black bean burgers, fried rice with tofu, quinoa pilaf, quinoa breakfast, lentil soup, black bean soup, rice pudding and much more (I will post recipes for all of these in the next couple of weeks, so check back!).
This would cover most of the meals that week and would get everybody well fed.
So after you spent about $12 on your staples you would just have to buy the veggies, fruit and milk and you would be on your way. You see why you will need a plan? You cannot let anything go to waste!

6. Rethink breakfast!
I always found it rather infuriating that I would buy a $5.00 box of cereal, expecting it to last for the whole week, only to find out that there is so little actual cereal in there - the bag is pumped full of air and the amount of real cereal would easily fit into a box half the size. So after three breakfasts you are out.
On top of that, these cereals, although they charm you with all their “whole grainy goodness”, are in fact very far from whole grains - remember, if only 1% of a product is actual “whole grain” the manufacturer is able to call the product “whole grain”. What you won’t find written on cereal boxes is “100% whole grain” - but that is where we are headed.
 Make your breakfast cheaper and more nutritious at the same time!
Make a pot of steel cut oats cooked on a Sunday - maybe about $5 worth - and it will get you through the working week easily!
Every morning you can serve yourself or your loved ones a cup of cooked steel cut oats, with some dried or fresh fruit and half a cup of your favorite milk - and you are set to go for the whole week. Also, after a breakfast that is so nutritious, you will not want to eat for a couple of hours. No snacking.
The rule here is, the better your breakfast, the less you will be tempted to reach for empty and expensive calories for lunch.

  7. Find good inexpensive sources for vegetables. Your supermarket and even some health food stores will be really hard on your budget. Alternatives include

  + a CSA farm share - CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture - you can find some in your zip code here. 
+ a farmer’s market or farm stand, check here
 + a buying Co-Op - find one in your area here 
+ if none of these are available to you - check out online grocery services - but keep in mind shipping is involved 
+explore frozen veggies - they usually harvested when they are in season, since they are cheapest then - so they should be nutritionally at peak

  8. Always buy in season!
Give up the notion that strawberries, cucumbers, even celery are year round options.
See what is on sale and flex your diet to embrace different veggies every month.
When something is in season buy as much as you can afford, and freeze the rest, for when it's out of season.

9. Learn your spices and herbs. They are cheap, bring a zing to your recipes and are also good for you! What more can you ask? Check out the spice mixes at the end! Tres sophisticated! Learn more here.  

10. Go easy on yourself and your loved ones. Take it one step at a time. Realize you are in great company. Check out the list of famous vegetarians here.

Change happens a step at a time. Take the first step, and the others will follow. Have fun!

The Bulk Food Section - Your Place of Worship!

2008-08-14T00:07:00.000-04:00

Since I truly believe that understanding how to shop in the bulk section is a key to being able to save money and feed yourself and your family well at the same time, I thought it might be a good idea to take a closer look.
The reasons to shop in bulk are several:

- unparalleled bargains - you will find the cheapest and most nutrient dense foods there
- No - packaging means no waste and no dyes used to print unnecessary cartons - less polluted waters
- No advertising ever - when is the last time you saw a catchy commercial advertising black beans - never? - bingo! There is no advertising for bulk food items - that means less cost to you, because we, as the consumers on top of everything else pay for our own brainwashing!

So - this is bargain central - if you shop the right way. How could you possibly go wrong? Well, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

Let’s look at the different items featured. You can easily tell the quality of your local health food store by the size of their bulk food section. Believe me, in this instance - size matters! Some stores try to work around having people help themselves, by prepackaging everything for them - for instance Whole Foods operates this way. I personally feel nothing beats the control you have measuring your own quantities and checking on the freshness. Also you can bring your own containers to fill -just pre-weigh your containers and then you don’t have to waste another plastic bag or tub.

Let’s break it down - the different sections will contain:

Nuts - plain and sugar, chocolate or yogurt-covered
Trail Mixes - conglomerates of nuts dried fruits and sometimes candy
Dried Fruits- all kinds sulfured and unsulfured, sweetened and unsweetened
Flours
Granolas
Candy
Pretzels
Tea & Coffee
Seeds - sunflower, pumpkin roasted or not
Grains - form the familiar - oats to the exotic - amaranth and quinoa
Beans and Lentils
Pasta
Rice

I don’t know about you, but I have no problem separating the food from the junk, but of course it is tricky.

Let’s go one item at a time:

NUTS: 

BUY: Nuts - especially the unroasted ones - see if you can afford organic - but do buy the nonorganic ones if you can’t
DON'T BUY: Yogurt covered, tamari or cinnamon roasted ones - a waste of money and so highly processed that their nutritional benefits become insignificant - because of excessive sugar or salt
also note: broken nuts seem to be a bargain, but are actually more likely to be rancid - to check, see what color the broken edges of the nuts are: yellow=rancid, white=fresh, but eat them soon

TRAIL MIXES:

DON’T BUY: They are a "no buy" - because they are usually full of cheap fillers - and if you look around - you can create your own mix with fresh ingredients of your choosing - also did you really think I would let you get away with sneaking M&M’s into your diet?

DRIED FRUITS:

BUY: Unsulphured raisins, apricots, mangos. Everything dried and unsweetened is fine. Especially nutritious dried apricots, figs and prunes.

FLOURS:

BUY: All Whole grain Flours, there will be some interesting choices such as soy flour or rice flour - but all are good buys.

GRANOLAS:

BUY: They should all be good buys, some may be a bit sugary, but they are still light years ahead of the crap they sell as cereals. Make it fun for the kids and organize a granola tasting - they may discover favorites

CANDY AND COOKIES:

DON'T BUY: Chocolate covered raisins, blueberries,cranberries, ginger etc
Yogurt covered raisins, sundrops (fake M&M’s), Chinese ginger candies - you get the idea. Unfortunately there are many candy choices in the bulk food section. Are they a bargain? Well, since I believe you generally should try not to waste your money on sugary stuff - I would have to say - NO. However, if you can’t live without the occasional indulgence and you are the master of self control - I guess you could say that some of these candies are better than others. Be careful that your kids don't overindulge and, who are we kidding here, don’t overindulge yourself! Enough said!

PRETZELS:

BUY: Pretzels and Sesame Sticks are salty little treats and as long as you don’t overdo it they should be fine to add a little crunch in lunch boxes or as a snack. I think they are definitely better than goldfish or cheetos. at least they are whole grain and do not have artificial colors or flavors.

TEA & COFFEE:

BUY: You can find some bargains here. TEA: When buying tea keep in mind that whole leaf tea is the premium kind and what goes in tea bags is the dust that falls off the table, when the premium tea gets processed. What makes it premium - is the flavor, and the fact that premium tea gives you several infusions - meaning you flush the same leaves again and again and you get pot after pot, just without caffeine. With premium green teas you may be able to get anywhere between three and five infusions from the same leaves. So in that sense lose leaf tea can be a bargain.
COFFEE: You will find fair trade, swiss water decaf and other premium varities here. My experience has been, that coffees in the health food store are usually of the highest quality and quite competitive in price.

SEEDS:

  BUY: One of the greatest health bargains period. They are cheap, easily carried around and full of vitamins, minerals, monounsaturated fats. essential fatty acids and phytonutrients.
They are best eaten raw and should ideally be refrigerated. If you find a health food store that keeps their nuts and seeds in the refrigerator, you know you are in good hands. Otherwise, make sure there is a high turnover - so the nuts and seeds are not exposed to light and room temperatures for long.
Roasted and salted seeds and nuts often go rancid a lot faster than whole, raw ones. The healthy oils can quickly get damaged in the roasting process, becoming more harmful than helpful.

Super seeds: Sunflower seeds (raw and unroasted), flaxseeds ( a big inexpensive way to keep colon cancer at bay),sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds

DONT BUY: roasted, sugar coated seeds

GRAINS:

  BUY: oats, rye, quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat(wheat berries), buckwheat, amaranth. bulgur wheat, cous-cous, barley, millet.
There are virtually no bad buys when it comes to grains. Store them airtight and away from light and have fun experimenting.
As long as we stick to “Whole Grains” we should be fine - remember a whole grain is just that - there have to be individual intact whole grains in there. Unfortunately food can be sold as “whole grain” even if 99% of it is actually not whole at all - always go for 100% whole grain or whole wheat. Also be careful “Unbleached flour” on a bread label means absolutely nothing - it just means the refined flour just wasn’t bleached on top of it!

BEANS AND LENTILS:

BINGO - you just hit the jackpot - there is no single food a frugal vegetarian should embrace more than beans and lentils. Just look at the cuisine of some of the poorest countries in the world - India - has wonderful dals - lentil stews - Central American countries embrace their bean dishes. Every single bean you will come across in the bulk food section is a jewel. They are a bit fickle to prepare - I know some of us get gassy - we will get to that in the weeks to come - there are inexpensive and easy ways to avert the gas - but once you crack the code - you will be able to feed yourself well and inexpensively.

BUY: Lentils, brown red or green, kidney, pinto, black, garbanzo, adzuki beans.

PASTA:

BUY: You may be able to get whole wheat pasta in bulk which is almost always a good deal - stay clear of the non-whole wheat variety and also avoid the pasta with vegetable dye - just because the past is green and contains a negligible amount of spinach juice does not make it healthy

RICE:  

BUY: Whole brown rice -short grain, medium grain or long grain, that is up to you - do not buy any white rice - it is a waste of money (you were robbed of 90% of the nutritional value of that rice), try to buy organic, it is not that much more expensive.

So to wrap things up:

When in the bulk food section of your health food store

BUY:

+ Unprocessed, unroasted nuts

+ Unsulpured dried fruits

+ Whole grain flours

+ Granolas

+ Pretzels and Sesame sticks

+ Tea & Coffee

+ Unroasted Seeds

+ all grains

+ all beans or lentils

+ whole wheat pasta

+ brown rice

The 10th pick up at the CSA! Reasons to celebrate!

2008-08-11T13:02:00.000-04:00

Another amazing pick up at the CSA - of course I was right about the tomatoes - the amounts are ever increasing and there is no end in sight. The heirloom tomatoes are especially pretty. Something happened to the green pepper crop - they have big brown spots but are otherwise really tasty. So they are mostly on the exchange table and only a few really make it into the shares. Bummer - but it is part of the CSA experience. The red currants although I remember eating them as a kid - make your mouth pucker, so I decided to make a red currant chutney. Which is so simple and delicious.
Also to celebrate our 10th pickup - we are crossing into the $600 territory now - I just cannot believe it. Deep in my heart I knew that a CSA was a good deal, mainly because of all the benefits you can’t really peg a price on - but this is simply awesome - better veggies, doing something for the local economy, going green and saving a ton of money! We can already answer the question - Is a CSA worth it? - Look at the numbers - I’d say that’s a big YES!

List:
2 heads lettuce $4.78
1 ½ pounds chard $3.28

2 pounds carrots $2.40
2 pounds tomatoes $3.00
2 fruits eggplant or pepper $6.00 (stop&shop price for organic peppers!)
2 pounds cucumbers $6.98
3 zucchini or summer squash $5.97
2 pints cherry tomatoes $7.98
4 quarts green beans $3.98
flowers big bunch, $5.00
2 pints red currants $5.00
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch parsley $1.99
1 bunch basil $1.99
1 bunch winter savory $1.99
1 bunch thyme $1.99
1 bunch edible flowers $1.99
1 bunch lavender $1.99
1 bunch garlic chives $1.99
1 bunch mint $1.99
1 bunch catnip $1.99

Total this week: $74.27 plus the season’s total of $583.24
New total for this season: $657.51!

CSA pickup - #9: You say tomayto, I say tomahto!

2008-08-03T23:07:00.000-04:00

Awesome pick up this week - eggplants, peppers, tomatoes - oh my! Duck and cover the tomatoes are coming, and once tomatomania starts it's unstoppable! No wonder tomatoes are the only vegetable featured in a horror movie. I know from past years, that even in a so-so year the amount of tomatoes in your share would make any macrobiotic faint on site seeing the harvest rooms. They are like the tribbles in the Star Trek series - they seem to be multiplying by the second! So let’s buckle up for the tomato craze!
Weather was a bit gloomy on pick up day - but the plants can really use the rain.

List:
4 heads lettuce $2.39 each
2 pounds carrots $2.58
1 ½ pounds eggplants,peppers or tomatoes mix and match $3.00
2 heads escarole $3.38

4 pounds cucumbers $10.36
4 pounds summer squash $7.96
2 pints green beans $5.98
2 pints raspberries $15.95
pick your own flowers - 10 stems - $5.00
1 bunch thai basil $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch thyme $1.99
1 bunch winter savory $1.99
1 handful hot peppers $1.99
1 bunch mint $1.99
1 bunch parsley $1.99
Total: $ 77.7 for this week
Added to our season’s total: $ 505.54 New total for the season: $583.24!

Root canal recipes:

2008-08-03T23:00:00.001-04:00

Gory title - but oh so true. Don’t worry we are not going to the dentist.
Here is the situation: You have just come home and you have - and now insert whichever applies to you -

* been working all day and you can barely stand up
* been sick all day and all you want to do is sleep
* had oral surgery and A - you cannot eat -therefore nobody eats or
B - you are seeing stars because the Novocain is wearing off.

Anyway you get the idea. This is a potential problem for your budget. You could hope that your significant other will follow your mumbled directions and discover his inner chef, but let’s face it - the word on your husband's and your children’s lips will be: “TAKE OUT!”
So, how can we avoid this: by having two or three emergency recipes, that you can make even if you are half dead or very out of time. So, they have to be easy, always on hand - therefore based on ingredients that do not spoil, and let’s not forget CHEAP!

Everyone will have their own favorites - tastes are so different anyway and one person’s nightmare recipe is another ones zinch! Think about yours, here are my root canal recipes.

Pasta with Sauce a la Maison
Ingredients: for about 4 servings

1 package pasta - anywhere from 20 cents to 3$
1 can crushed tomatoes - around 50 cents if you go with organic store brand
1 onion 30 cents
1 bunch green leafy vegetable - anything will do spinach, kale, chard etc could be frozen or fresh and does not have to be in prime condition - so this works as a recipe for using up wilted produce cost anywhere from 50 cents to 3$
2 tablespoons oil of your choice, 75 cents
additionally anything else that lurks in your fridge and would go well in a pasta sauce: for example - olives, artichoke hearts, leftover phony meats, cheeses, herbs, salsa, leftover veggie burger…...

1. Bring water to a boil in a big pot. Add pasta.

2. In a sauté pan, heat up oil, add your onions to brown, add green leafy vegetable, which you may chop coarsely or leave whole. Reduce heat and saute until the leafy vegetable wilts. Note: at the beginning your greens may look like they would be too much, but they will reduce to a quarter of their volume once they wilt.

3. Last, add the can of crushed tomatoes and whatever else you found in your fridge. Cook for another five minutes - in the meantime check on your pasta - it should be done. Drain and serve with your simple pasta sauce, either mixed in or on the side. Mixed in is always more economical - but on the side means, you are serving more veggies, so it is your call. Enjoy - or let your family eat and faint into bed.

Cost: 4 servings from $2.25 to $4.55 - depending on type of pasta and type of green, leafy vegetable

Red Lentil Dal -
Another staple for me - although a lot of people believe that a whole lot of work went into this, when they taste it.

Ingredients: for about 4 servings
1 ½ cups brown rice, around $1.10
1 ½ cups red lentils, about $1.20
1 onion, 30 cents
1 head of garlic, $1.00
1 tablespoon curry powder - 10 cents
1 tablespoon garam masala - 10 cents
1 teaspoon cloves - 10 cents
1 small can crushed tomatoes 50 cents
⅓ cup oil of your choice - I prefer coconut 75 cents
a pinch of cinnamon or cardamon

1.In a pot wash the rice thoroughly - then use about 4 cups of water with your 1 ½ cups rice - and bring to a gentle boil. Once it has boiled for a minute - reduce heat to a simmer and add half of the cloves.

2.In a pan - heat your oil - reserve some - add the roughly chopped onion - brown gently and add the garlic. Make sure it does not stick. When the onion is translucent and the garlic lightly toasted add the rest of the cloves and both spice mixes.

3.Wash your lentils and add the drained but wet lentils to the pan. Move things around a bit and add about 1 cup of water. When you see the cup of water disappearing (about five minutes over medium heat) add the crushed tomatoes.

4.Check on the rice - add more water if necessary.
Both the rice and the lentils will be done at the same time - roughly another 10 minutes. Drain the rice - add the rest of the oil and some cinnamon or cardamon and serve with the dal.

Cost: 4 large servings about $5.00

Ditch the bags! or More insane solutions to the money crunch!

2008-07-25T10:21:00.000-04:00

On to another mission.
Have you ever wondered why it is that we insist on making little time capsules out of our trash for generations to come to remember us by. You know “time capsules” that elementary school classes create, when they stuff a bunch of things they consider important into a little airtight capsule, which gets hidden or buried somewhere.
Well, guess what – you have been doing that all along too! Every time you take out the trash you have made sure that it was sealed in an almost indestructible layer of plastic - the trash bag. Extra strong, double layered, power flex and especially important for the future generations that will have to deal with it “vanilla scented”.
Now, guess what - we don’t need them!
If you are still reeling from giving up paper towels, or if you live in an apartment this one might not be right for you. However, still give it a moment’s thought.
What would happen if you stop lining all the wastebaskets in your house, almost all of which are cleanable plastic by the way? Nothing would happen. You would take that plastic container and dump its contents into the plastic curbside container, which would dump it into the big, bad garbage truck. End of story. No - plastic trash bag!

Another item off your shopping list - and all of a sudden that garbage of yours actually has a more than miniscule chance of biodegrading some day.
If you live in an apartment or you have a neurotic superintendent, this might not work for you. Also it helps if you separate all your food wastes and compost them, because they are actually the only smelly part of your garbage. That means a huge reduction in overall trash by the way. So, to compost helps. There are some very dedicated individuals, who compost even living in an apartment. But I admit it might be harder to do.
I have not bought garbage bags in months - I don’t miss the expense and it actually feels really good to rinse off my plastic garbage containers with a little peppermint Dr.Bronner’s Soap and they smell fresh and clean.
Try it and tell me what you think….

Food, glorious food!

2008-07-23T18:14:00.000-04:00

CSA pick up #8

It has been a great year so far - we could use more rain, but the weather really has been good for the farmers, I think.
The pick-up today was less eventful - no unhappy sheep this time. So let’s get straight to the list:

2 Sweet Peppers $1.49
4 bulbs fennel ( 2 in share - 2 from extras table) $7.47
Lettuce - 2 large, 2 baby (melts in your mouth!) $5.00
1½ pounds rainbow swiss chard $8.97
2 pounds beets $3.98
2 heads escarole $3.38
4 pounds cucumbers $ 10.36
2 pounds summer squash - yellow and green $3.98
2 pounds carrots $2.58
1 pound kale $2.19
2 pints raspberries $15.95
¼ pound basil $ 2.20
10 stems pick-your-own flowers $3.00 (I know it could be more - but I thought this was fair, since it is not food)

1 bunch sorrel $1.99
1 bunch lemon balm $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch parsley $1.99
1 bunch thyme $1.99
1 bunch dandelion greens $1.99
1 bunch basil $1.99
1 bunch oregano $1.99

Total this week: $ 86.47 which is a new record for weekly intake I believe! Total veggies from the farm this season $ 505.54!
By the way. I measured the raspberries again at $15 - and before you protest and comment that you can find them cheaper - I would have to point out that this quality is hard to come by and worth every penny. Also, I only wrote up only $1.86 per fennel - when the actual glorious fennel that we received at the farm was going for $3.00 a head at the health food store. So hopefully it averages out somehow.

Aargh! What to do with all this FENNEL!

2008-07-21T15:33:00.001-04:00

Treatise on Fennel

What can you do with fennel? Well, like with just about any other vegetable out there - you can slice it, dice it, cook it, mash it, puree, grill, sautee…. but honestly. Fennel is an interesting vegetable, it is related to the seed we know as anise and that is its very powerful flavor tone.
To prepare trim off the stalks - chop and freeze for some other time - or use finely minced in salads, soups or sauces. Carefully wash the bulb and then slice thinly. It can than be baked, grilled, creamed or as a simple side dish sauteed in oil of choice until it is tender and then served with a topping of fresh parmesan cheese. Read on for two simple recipes.

Fennel Salad Nicoise: Serves 6

2 bulbs fennel
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoons sugar or agave nectar
½ teaspoon freshly, chopped basil
2 tablespoons freshly, chopped scallions
1 tomato seeded and coarsely chopped
⅓ cup pitted olives

1. Thinly slice fennel bulbs. Put in saucepan with just enough water to cover. Boil until tender.

2.In a bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, sugar and basil. Add fennel and scallions and toss. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. As you are ready to serve add tomatoes and olives.

Fennel Parmesan: Serves 6

2 bulbs fennel
2 cups water
3 vegetarian soup cubes
3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
½ cup whole wheat bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh herbs, finely minced - whatever you have on hand ( oregano, thyme, basil, sage etc)
pinch fresh pepper
3 tablespoons guar gum or cornstarch
3 tablespoons parmesan real or vegan substitute
½ cup milk - any kind cow or other
pinch paprika
1 cup white wine

1.Pour yourself the white wine - drink, enjoy and start your cooking. No - just kidding just seeing if you are paying attention. Actually you only need ¼ cup white wine so you could drink the remaining ¾ cup!

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim the fennel stalks off the bulbs and freeze for later use - see above. Trim bottom off fennel bulbs and discard. Quarter each bulb.

3.In a medium size saucepan mix water and soup cubes and add fennel. Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4.Melt butter or coconut oil in a skillet - add bread crumbs, herbs and pepper and stir until the bread crumbs are browned. Add parmesan and put aside.

5.Drain fennel - reserve liquid and place in a baking dish. Combine ½ cup of the reserved liquid, milk, paprika and guar gum. Cook and stir until thickened - about 2 minutes.

6.Stir in the wine and spoon mixture over fennel. Top with toasted crumbs and bake for 12 minutes. Garnish with fennel fronds. Enjoy! (with more wine!).

10 Beauty Tips that are close to free!

2008-07-21T15:11:00.000-04:00

Ten budget eco beauty tips:

1. The first thing that comes to mind is of course to eat as much raw food as possible. The more water the food contains the better. A lot of highly paid models switch into raw food mode when they have an important shoot coming up. When I say raw food, I mean raw fruits and vegetables. Some people swear raw eggs give them glowing complexions but personally I would be too afraid of food borne illnesses to even consider that.

2. As you use these raw foods - two stand out in particular. Avocados and Papaya. While you prepare your yummy avocado or papaya dishes DO NOT throw out the peels. Rubbing the insides of either of these two all over your face makes a completely free super effective mask, that when left on for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes nourishes the face and leaves your skin re-hydrated and smooth. Of course do not forget to rinse off after 15 minutes especially if you are expecting guests! Cost: free!

3. For oily skin and acne an egg white mask is particularly good. It draws out impurities and absorbs oil. Directions: beat an egg white until it is frothy - apply to face - let it dry and set - you will want to lie down - after all you have egg on your face! - leave on for 15 to 20 minutes - rinse with water. Your skin will be tight and balanced. Cost: cents

4. Everybody knows the "old tea bags on the eyes trick". Again you are using something you would otherwise toss out. The tannin in the tea acts as an astringent that helps to shrink puffy tissue. Cost: free

5. Dandruff solution: Dissolve two or three aspirins in a warm glass of water - pour on scalp and let it sit for 5 minutes, then rinse with cool water. The salicylic acid in the aspirin is often an active ingredient in over the counter expensive dandruff remedies. Cost: cents

6. Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps promise on their labels 18 different uses and indeed you can be very creative with these little treasures. They come in several different scented versions, everything from rose to lavender to peppermint. Even somebody who does not like the idea of mixing and combining different ingredients will love these.
All you have to do is dilute, dilute, dilute. For about 3$ you will get a 4 oz bottle that is a little powerhouse. Dilute ½ tablespoon in one cup and you will have an extremely affordable, mild shampoo, hand soap, body wash and shaving soap. The beauty applications are almost endless while at the same time you can use the same product in a stronger dilution to clean floors, pets, dishes, laundry, cars, countertops, baths and toilets!
Dr. Bronner’s only uses 100% recycled bottles, the soaps are 100% fair trade, organic, vegetable based and biodegradable and the company prides itself never to have paid for advertising. It has grown for over 100 years strictly on word of mouth! Cost: about 3$ for 4 oz of concentrate that will produce a gallon of soap.

7. Deodorants are easy to be made at home. You will want to avoid the over the counter ones because they contain aluminum which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, and the aluminum free ones do cost a lot of money.
Natural alternatives include using orange or lemon peel - just rub under your arm. You could also use freshly cut slices of lemon or orange, just not right after shaving or if you have sensitive skin. Aloe vera juice is also refreshing and soothes sensitive skin. Just pinch a leaf and use the gel.
A recipe for a spray deodorant would have to include equal parts alcohol - clear vodka works well - water - and a couple of drops of essential oils -pretty much your choice - rose, lavender, citrus comes to mind. Mix, put in a spray bottle - ready. Cost: Depends on the kind of vodka. Lol, no seriously - definitely under five dollars.

8. For a free hand treatment make it a habit every time you cook to use a little oil on the back of your hands. Any oil will work fine, favorites include olive oil and coconut oil.
As you measure and pour the oil into the pan for stir-fry or bowl for salad dressing, simply tap the cap of your oil container on the back of your hands, rub the two backs of your hands together and leave on during cooking. Afterwards you could rinse off the excess oil, but often you will find that the oil has absorbed completely! Cost: free

9. Several fruits make excellent masks not only for your face but also for the hair. You can mash bananas, melons,berries, avocados and mix with a little olive or coconut oil. Apply to hair, wrap head in warm, moist towel and wait half hour, then wash as per usual. Cost: around one dollar, depending on fruit used.

10. Salt Glow: you can bring this spa treatment home by simply mixing two tablespoons sea salt and two tablespoons oil of your choice. Just rub on any part of you skin that needs softening such as elbows, knees or heels. Cost: under one dollar.

When the sheep are not happy - nobody’s happy! CSA Pickup #7

2008-07-14T21:43:00.001-04:00

Today’s pickup at the CSA was funny in the sense that there was no talking! Well there could have been - but nobody would have heard it since the sheep were loudly baahing. They were not happy and everybody had to hear about it.
The reason was that there was some fixing being done to their enclosure and they had to spend part of their precious afternoon inside, next to the harvest room where the distribution was in full swing.
It was funny seeing the reaction to the ongoing protest cries from next door. Most people thought it was really quite amusing and decided to share the greens of their carrot bunches with the sheep, who were only partially consoled by that.
But hearing the sheep bah and seeing the reaction of little kids, who may never have heard a herd of sheep nag before, while picking up the most delicious and nutritious foods available, that is just one of the many benefits of belonging to this wonderful group that can absolutely not be measured in dollars and cents. Picking your peas under a beautiful blue sky with a magnificent view that you know your very being at that spot helps protect, is another one of those intangibles. There is no tallying these things because they are - priceless.

Anyway here is the list

List:
4 heads lettuce $5.96
4 bulbs fennel $7.47
2 bulbs kohlrabi $2.50
1 bunch scallions $2.19
1 ½ pounds chard $8.97
1 pound kale $2.19
1 ½ pounds cucumber $2.68
1 ½ pounds zucchini/ summer squash $2.99
2 bunches carrots $3.58
1 pint peas $2.99
5 stems flowers $3.00
2 pints raspberries $15.95 see note at end
1 bunch chamomile $1.99
1 bunch mint $1.99
1 bunch winter savory $1.99
1 bunch oregano $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
1 bunch basil $1.99
1 bunch thyme $1.99
1 bunch parsley $1.99
1 bunch thai basil $1.99
Total this week $ 78.38. that is our strongest week yet!

Added to this season’s total so far of $340.69 gives us our new grand total of $419.07!
Which means I am $8 shy of half time. I paid $775 for my full share plus $80 for my optional berry share, and in seven weeks I have basically recovered half of my money. Since this CSA usually runs for 24 weeks we are so on track here!

Note: I was trying really hard to be fair with the pricing, as always. I found organic raspberries at $3.19 for 6 oz! And those were the cheapest ones. I measured the dry pint as 16 oz versus the standard 18 - and rounded the figures down and still the result was almost $16!

How to turn $4.39 into $70.24! or How to buy Dish Liquid only once a Year!

2008-07-14T21:01:00.000-04:00

Again with those titles - but it got your attention.
Turns out I only buy dishwashing detergent once or twice a year. I buy the best there is, in my opinion that honor befalls on Seventh Generation free & clear Natural Dish Liquid, which costs $4.39. Ouch - that is not cheap - but it is not petroleum based so it saves oil, and it is safe for the environment and your health. In dishwashing detergent that means a lot to me because let’s face it we basically eat this stuff. Everybody with an even rudimentary understanding of chemistry knows that the dishes we eat from are basically coated in the soap they are washed with. It is also cruelty free and comes in a recyclable plastic container that was manufactured with 25% post consumer recycled plastic. Not a whole lot - but at least it’s a start.
So now to the math part. I made a couple of assumptions - let’s hope I don’t make an ass out of myself!

I dilute my dishwashing detergent to about 1 tablespoon per cup of water. I have a rather nice looking bamboo hand soap dispenser at my sink - I was never a friend of having the dishwashing bottle right at the sink - somehow not a great look.
So I go through about 1 cup of diluted dishwashing detergent per week. The bottle with its 739 ml lasts about 50 weeks!
If I filled up the dispenser with straight up undiluted dish detergent it would last three weeks. I know that some of you might say you would use less if it was not diluted, but I doubt that. I just think you would wash it down your drain. Even if my math is slightly off - you will definitely be miles ahead budget-wise if you choose to dilute! The soap dispenser can be found at a dollar store or a discounter for under a buck and there are thousand of designs to choose from.
Anyway - I think this boils down to another item eliminated from your grocery list - except once a year - I guess we can all swing that!

Invasion of the Killer Kohlrabi!

2008-07-07T23:18:00.000-04:00

Yep, the Kohlrabi are here. I personally love them because they are the one native veggie from my hometown Vienna, and they are a great childhood memory. My grandma used to make them into a soup. Or you can just eat them raw sliced into really thin slices and put on a dark bread with a thick coating of fresh butter or vegan margarine and a bit of salt. Yum!

Here is the list for my sixth Pickup: And for all you just tuning in, you can see the history of pick ups from my CSA here , and just a quick recap. I post my weekly CSA pickups and list the prices I find for comparable items in the health food store or supermarket.
I try to be as fair as possible in my comparisons and count everything I pick up.

4 heads lettuce $5.96
1 ½ pounds rainbow chard $8.97
1 pound kale $2.19
1 pound lacinato kale $2.19
¼ pound basil $1.99
2 summer squash $2.99
2 zucchini $2.99
2 bunches scallions $5.98
1 bunch turnips $2.35
2 kohlrabi $2.50
1 bunch garlic chives $1.99
1 bunch winter savory $1.99
1 bunch lavender $1.99
1 bunch lemon balm $1.99
1 bunch mint $1.99
1 bunch chamomile $1.99
1 bunch oregano thyme $1.99
1 bunch sorrell $1.99
1 bunch sage $1.99
Total this week: $56.02

Adding to my previous total of $284.67 I get $340.69 as a new grand total. Yippee!