This truly has to be one of the most frugal recipes we have ever shared. It wasn’t long ago that I posted a simple lentil salad using little more than caramelized onions and balsamic vinegar – and then I find out about this delicious staple dish, also using lentils and caramelized onions as the foundation, along with rice; omitting the balsamic and adding a bit of spice completes the flavor profile. Mujaddara is a Middle Eastern vegetarian/vegan dish which relies on pantry ingredients, with the exception of onions (which are quite economical anyway) and the optional fresh parsley. Perfect for a Meatless Monday.Read the rest of this entry →
June Cleaver made meatloaf, as did all women who dared to call themselves housewives in the 1950s. Each woman’s meatloaf was a yardstick to measure her skill as a home cook. Meatloaf has been made in various versions for centuries, but it was the Americans during the Great Depression who added bread and eggs to the dish to stretch their pennies and added ketchup as a topping.
Like almost everyone growing up in America in the 50′s, 60′s or 70′s, I ate my weight in meatloaf as a child. To this day, when anyone says “meatloaf,” the smell, taste and texture of this comfort food fills my senses.
So, we said to ourselves, “Could we remake this comfort food classic without meat but with as much flavor and comfort as the original hamburger dish?” Our answer: “Absolutely.”
I made about a dozen versions of this dish and there are two secrets to our final fabulous dish. First, add diced cooked dates. The dates add a rich taste and sticky texture that are necessary to replace hamburger. Second, use the American classic A-1 steak sauce. When I made previous versions of this, everyone wanted A-1 to drizzle on top of their slices. So == light bulb goes on == why not add this raisin-y, flavor-packed sauce right in with the loaf mixture?!
The combination of ingredients and flavors in this final version are astounding. The texture is rich, moist and firm and holds together while cooking and slicing. This is one of my favorite veggie makeover dishes of all time. Truly remarkable. Please try it – with or without your June Cleaver apron on!
I literally bought some pomegranates on impulse the other day as I was stocking up on squash from the glorious display at Wegman’s. I had no specific plans for them, but decided I wanted to experiment with adding them into a savory dish – preferably one involving one of the squashes I just procured (I’m gripped by something of a fixation at the moment).
As it turns out, they’re a wonderful accompaniment in this stuffed squash recipe, like juicy little jewels, adding tart little bursts of flavor that pairs nicely with the mellow, sweet spice of the stuffing. Read the rest of this entry →
This is a choose-your-own-adventure recipe, price-wise. I may do this from time to time if you like the idea: take a base recipe (i.e. the curry) and offer different levels of frugality, shall we say; typically reflected in the protein choice. Read the rest of this entry →
Every once in awhile, the vegetable drawer in my fridge fills up and things start to get a little wilty looking. You know the sight:Â the middle stalks of celery that you always thought you would use, the leftover mushrooms that are getting shriveled, the bits of herbs that are left because you only needed a pinch out of the whole bunch for the last recipe.
When this epidemic hits my veggie bin, I bust out the stockpot and make a “Clean out the Fridge Soup.” When my kids were little, one of our favorite bedtime stories was “Stone Soup,” so I let them each choose a veggie out of the bin and “help” (hahahahahaha)Â me prep it and then I let them add it to the pot. The kids loved to tell all their friends we were having “Stone Soup” for dinner!
SPRING CLEANING SOUP, a.k.a. CLEANÂ OUT THE FRIDGE SOUP, a.k.a. STONE SOUP
12 cups diced vegetables
2 tablespoons butter or oil
Water to cover vegetables in pot (about 8 cups)
A few bouillon cubes, to taste
One 6 ounce can tomato paste*
Herbs to taste
A little Worcestershire sauce or cayenne pepper sauce, if desired
Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
Saute the vegetables that will need the most cooking (i.e. potatoes, celery root, etc.) first in the oil for a few minutes. Add in onions, garlic and any other aromatics. Saute until everything is slightly softened.
Add in rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer until all veggies are softened. (I usually simmer for about an hour.)
*You can substitute leftover marinara sauce here, if you have some left in your fridge, about 1 cup.
It doesn’t sound very sexy, but I thought it was just delicious. I adapted this from a Top Chef recipe, in fact! I saw current contestant (kind of the villain of the show at the moment, but undeniably talented) Stefan make this and was intrigued by the concept. So I snagged Stefan’s original recipe from the Bravo site, did a little tinkering, omitting more expensive ingredients like rendered duck fat, and simplifying it a bit, and voila.
1/4 cup butter (or olive oil, if vegan)
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium red cabbage or half of one very large head, shredded
2 tart apples, diced
2 sticks cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup red currant jelly
salt and pepper to taste
I shredded the cabbage in my Cuisinart – it was enough to fill the work bowl completely.
Melt butter or heat oil in a large, deep, heavy pan or dutch oven. Add onion and sweat for about 5 minutes, until softened and getting a little color. Add sugar, vinegar, red wine, and salt; bring to a boil.
Add cabbage and toss to coat. Once cabbage begins to soften, stir in apples, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and cloves. Lower heat to medium-low and let simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Stir in currant jelly. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
One thing to note: I found that this actually does NOT hold up very well overnight in the refrigerator. It’s not terrible, but it’s not as good as it was fresh and certainly doesn’t gain anything. I do recommend serving & eating it immediately.
I admit it, I’ve been cooking rather heavy stuff of late, even if they are healthy – lots of soups and stews and hearty fare. I can’t help it, it’s the hibernation impulse. And since I try to avoid driving in the snow whenever possible, I rely heavily on bulk items in the pantry – which is also a very economical way to go. This particular stew is a great one for cleaning out the pantry & tossing in whatever extra root veggies you like. Today I added a sweet potato and a celery root (celeriac), the latter of which added a nice, sweetish, clean taste into the mix. A parsnip would have been nice if I had one, too. Go crazy!
SPICY LENTIL STEW
5 cups vegetable broth
1 pound lentils, rinsed and sorted
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato, diced*
1 celery root, peeled and diced*
1 tablespoon chili powder
t teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
coarse black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Bring broth to a boil in a stockpot. Add lentils, return to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add tomatoes, vegetables, spices, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered and stirring frequently (you want it to reduce a bit and thicken up) for 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning and vegetable tenderness – cook longer if needed for vegetables (adding water if it becomes too thick).
Finish with the balsamic vinegar. Top each bowl with sour cream if desired.
*Or any other root vegetable you have on hand and like!
Fresh is not always superior. Just take spinach, for example.
One 10-ounce box of spinach costs about $.99 or less, and the same amount of fresh spinach could be four times that much. If you are making a spinach salad, of course fresh is the only way to go. But, if you need to put spinach in a cooked recipe, frozen spinach is a fraction of the cost and performs just as well as fresh. You must thaw the spinach and then squeeze it dry with a smooth kitchen towel before using in your recipe. The extra step is well worth it in price and taste, too.
Sorry to invoke everyone’s least favorite commercial appropriation of a pop hit, but it’ll all make sense in a minute.
We here at FFF do strive to cook seasonally, especially since doing so is usually a very frugal way to cook as well. In the next few months you’re going to see a lot of stews, soups, and other nourishing foods, including comfort foods. But what’s more in season right now, in January, than focusing on health and, of course, trimming down a little?
I myself have the extra task this year of finally knuckling down to shed the rest of my baby weight (my daughter was born in April – it’s high time, don’t you think?), so I find myself turning to a classic that I’ve revamped a little – the well-known “Zero Soup”. It was originated by Weight Watchers (and counts for zero points, hence the title), but is really suitable for just about any diet plan, save perhaps for the most die-hard Atkins devotee. I just added a few extra vegetables, really, and you should feel free to do the same.
ZERO POINT VEGETABLE SOUP, a la FFF
nonstick cooking spray OR 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups vegetable broth + 1-2 cups water
3 cups cabbage, shredded
1 leek, chopped (make sure to clean it well)
1 large parsnip, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped ( I sometimes use orange or yellow for the color)
1/2 pound frozen green beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or more to taste
1 large zucchini, sliced into half-moons (this is definitely the biggest fudge seasonally, can be omitted)
Spray a large stockpot with cooking spray or add olive oil and heat on medium high. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until they just start to sweat. Add broth and all the remaining vegetables and spices EXCEPT the vinegar and zucchini, if using, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar and zucchini and cook until zucchini is tender.
*****
As it stands, it’s hyperbolically healthy and naturally versatile. Add any combination of veggies you like, with the exception of high-starch items like corn or beans – tread carefully there. Those will up both the calorie and carb content (though if you’re not as concerned about those, feel free). If you have some fresh basil, by all means substitute it for the dried. If you like more of a kick than this very simply seasoned soup gives, add some crushed red pepper or even a few dashes of sriracha.
As a bonus for you, I’ve calculated the calories per VERY LARGE serving. If you divide this into four hearty helpings, each bowl comes to 205 calories. But you could probably just as easily get 8 bowls out of it, bringing it down to a measly 102.5 calories. So chow down and feel virtuous!
June Cleaver made
