budget-friendly?

I'll get to that in a minute . . .

First, the weekly grocery haul:


CHEESE:
local chevre

FROZEN:
Amy's roasted veg no cheese pizza ($1.50 off!)

PACKAGED GROCERY:
Seventh Generation TP
organic chipotle lime salsa

PRODUCE:
organic carrot
organic mango
organic Minneolas
organic dino kale
local hydroponic romaine
organic green pepper
local, organic beets
organic pink lady apples
organic d'anjou pears

REFRIGERATED GROCERY:
organic flour tortillas

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So, let's get to that "budget-friendly" question. Like many these days, I've been forced to tighten my belt a little bit -- I've stopped working my weekly shift at the kitchenwares store for the time being, so between that and the crummy economy, my monthly budget has taken a little bit of a hit. Having my weekends back has been worth it, (although I miss my coworkers!!!), but for the first time in a long time, I've been on a grocery budget.

Now, I must be honest -- $350 seems like a LOT to be spending on food every month, but I'm not sure it really is, in the end. I try to buy organic and/or local and/or fair trade foods as much as possible, I feel like I eat reasonably healthfully (which includes a lot of fruits and veggies,) we hardly EVER eat out, and although I live alone, Dan does spend the majority of the weekends at my house, so I'm feeding a hungry guy 2 1/2 days per week.

I also have to remember that cooking is my hobby -- my passion, really. I think about how much money some people I know spend on their hobbies, and think choosing cooking was a bargain!

With all that said, I still went over my grocery budget this month by $32.32. So, here's the challenge: what are some of your best budget-friendly meals/recipes/grocery shopping ideas?? I do a lot of the basics already, like shop the bulk bins, make many things from scratch, and especially lately, we've been eating more dried beans and rice than I'd probably care to, if I had my choice. (Don't get me wrong . . . I love beans. I just miss tofu and tempeh!)

How am I going to shave that last $32 off my grocery spending?????

tuiles, vegan-style!

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

I don't know whether the cold weather made me feel lazy this month, or my tight budget made me feel less than willing to experiment, (i.e., potentially waste ingredients) in veganizing the challenge recipe, but I chose to use an "already vegan" recipe for tuiles. Fantastic veganlisa directed some of us to a recipe for lemon tuiles from the Millenium Cookbook. Here they are, shaped like little sorbet rafts, filled with coconut sorbet and drizzled with cherry jam:

I wasn't really wowwed by these -- they were good, just not spectacular. Dan, however, is in love with their lemony, crunchy goodness! I guess I'll make them again sometime?? :)

coooooooooookies!

I made cookies last night to take to work today:

"Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies" from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Believe it or not, I followed the recipe exactly as written! Containing mostly pantry staples, these cookies were a breeze to throw together and are minty-chocolatey, rich and delicious!

Note: these cookies didn't spread much for me, so I found they took on a more traditional cookie shape if I squashed them flat after I scooped them out with my cookie scooper.

I owe my boss big time . . . we pretty much ran out of diapers in our classroom yesterday, and she ran to Costco at the end of the day to replenish our supply. Let's hope these cookies ease the pain of having to go to Costco during rush hour!

(Her favorite candies are "Junior Mints," so I thought these cookies might be well-received.)

midwestern adventures

Dan and I took a 4-day road trip this past weekend to visit family and friends in Milwaukee, WI, and Madison, WI. We had good times catching up and eating too much. ;) We also had a couple of low-key midwestern adventures . . .

A trip to the Mitchell Park Domes, a humongous, three-room plant conservatory:










AND, a visit to the shoreline of Lake Michigan:





(Those are DUCKS swimming in the water! Why????? Crazy freezing little ducks!)

It was flippin' cold, but worth it! :)

Back to the grind tomorrow. Why are vacations always over too quickly??

Thursday night special

I decided to make spinach and tomato Dal, from Sundays at Moosewood, for dinner tonight:

I've been fiddling around with this recipe quite a bit, and may have it almost exactly where I want it -- it's still not spicy enough, but it is aromatic, flavorful, and deeeeeeeee-licious! (Brown rice hiding underneath.) Dan hasn't tried any of this yet, but we'll see what he thinks.

I love dal -- it's a relatively easy meal, utilizing mostly pantry staples with a handfull of fresh/frozen ingredients. It's only minimally time-consuming, most of the cooking time spent simmering away unattended on the stove. I'm glad I've put the effort (and ingredients) into figuring out this recipe, because it was totally worth it! Another go-to meal to add to my arsenal.

What are some of your favorite go-to meals??

FLOG break

I'm going to take a break from the daily FLOG. Honestly, I'm getting a little bored with it! Plus, I feel like I'm back on track with the healthy eating, at least for the time being.

I'll post next when I cook or bake something interesting . . . until then!

life IS uncertain . . .

BREAKFAST:

Kept things light this morning, with a piece of rye toast and some dried apricots, because I woke up kind of late and didn't want a big breakfast so close to lunchtime. Coffee assumed.

LUNCH:

Annie's "Whole Wheat Shells & White Cheddar" with a melange of frozen vegetables mixed in, and a minneola on the side. Vitamin not pictured.

TREAT:
I had a bubblegum-flavored "Dum-Dums" lollipop while I was waiting for Dan to have his hair cut. I also read "O" magazine, which was actually pretty good! I was pleasantly surprised.

SNACK:

Movie = popcorn, according to Dan. We shared this huge bowl while watching the independent film "Happy Endings." I love Netflix.

DINNER:
Vegan Key Lime Pie:

Yes. We ate dessert first. Why? Because our entree took longer to simmer than I expected, and I was afraid we weren't going to have time for pie before Dan had to leave for band practice. We agreed -- pie must come first. (At least tonight!)
For the entree, Seitan and Dumplings:

I've made something akin to this recipe before, and I made a few changes for the better this time! First, I doubled the recipe, but used only 8ish ounces of seitan. I like seitan, but not huge amounts of it. (I think it's too heavy for me.) Rather than double the dumplings, I tripled them, because Dan and I both agreed there weren't enough dumplings last time. :) I cooked the whole thing in my sautee pan to accomodate the extra dumplings.

SNACK:
An apple and two biscotti.

~~~~~~~~~~

Is anyone else shocked by how much food they go through in a given week? Because I'm starting to wonder whether there are elves or some other sorts of creatures visiting my fridge in the night. :)

Come to think of it, it's probably not elves -- more like a 6'3" boyfriend who can eat two to three helpings of any given entree in any one sitting?? :) Still, I wonder where all the food goes!

~~~~~~~~~~

I had a request for "recipes" for the greens and hashbrowns I make nearly every weekend. Erm . . . recipes? I'll do my best:

Sauteed/Steamed Greens:
INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch greens (kale and swiss chard are our favorites)
dribble of canola oil or small amount of margarine
minced garlic
seasoning(s) of choice -- I like plain ol' salt and pepper, and occasionally throw in a pinch of red pepper flakes or a splash of balsamic vinegar. Lately, I've been using "Northern Blend" from Wayzata Bay Spice Co. Adds a nice smokiness.
splash of water
DIRECTIONS:
1. Wash and chop the greens.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the garlic, and sautee for a few minutes.
3. Add the greens, whatever seasonings you choose to use, and the water. Cover, lower the heat, and steam 10 to 20 minutes.
4. Enjoy!

*** A note about salting the greens -- remember, the greens will cook down a TON. Add only a little bit of salt to them -- you can always add more later, but you can't take salt away once it's in the pot! (Can you tell I've oversalted greens a FEW times in my past??) :)

Hashbrowns:
INGREDIENTS:
yukon gold potato
safflower oil
salt
cast-iron frying pan
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the frying pan over medium-high heat.
2. Scrub and/or peel your potato(es). Grate on a box grater. Using your hands, squeeze out as much starchy moisture as you can from the potatoes.
3. Add some oil to the pan, and allow it to heat up for a couple of minutes. Add the potatoes, and sqush them as flat as you can with a flipper so as much potato touches the surface area of the pan as possible. (Crowding hashbrowns isn't a very good idea.) Sprinkle the hashbrowns with salt. (This allows the salt to "melt" into the hashbrowns while cooking.) Cook until the first side is golden brown, then flip and cook the second side. Serve up the crispy-deliciousness.

a mini-meal, and other good food

BRUNCH:

Standard Sunday brunch around here, (poached eggs, greens, hashbrowns,) with a minneola on the side. Coffee and vitamin, too.

TREAT:

I also had a couple of cookies at a lecture Dan and I went to this afternoon.

MINI-MEAL:

Leftover egg noodles from last night, with shredded parmesan, and a banana on the side. Very beige, but very good. I had the last Medjool date, too.

DINNER:

"Instant Tamale Pie" from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics, with a side salad of romaine, sliced tomato, and sliced avocado. I made up a pretty delicious creamy chipotle-lime salad dressing, too!

TREAT:
Rice pudding. It was delicious, but my camera refused to cooperate -- all of the pictures I took were horribly blurry. Regardless, the pudding was made with short-grain brown rice, almond milk, a bunch of spices, coconut, sugar, and raisins.

SNACK:
Half a dozen dried apricots.

EXERCISE:
25 minutes of yoga, and a 20-minute walk with Dan.

Until tomorrow.

I heart carbs!

(** I updated the FLOG below **)

Yeah, I have a t-shirt that says that. :)

Anyhow, I had a busy day of cooking and baking! FLOG to follow.

I started off my morning by making some applesauce:

I peeled and cut the apples into chunks, simmered them on low with a splash of water and a pinch of salt until they were nice and soft, and pureed the lot with my stick blender. After setting aside 6 tablespoons for a baking project (to follow,) I added a dash of cinnamon, and that was it. (The apples were plenty sweet enough on their own, but I had considered a squirt of agave before I tasted the sauce.)

Next, "Cleaning out the Cupboards" Granola:

Here's the recipe, in case you have a bunch of miscellaneous stuff laying around leftover from holiday baking like I did:
Combine in a medium bowl:
2 cups regular rolled oats
1 cup puffed wholegrain cereal (such as puffed brown rice, puffed millet, puffed kamut, etc.)
1 cup nuts, chopped or sliced (I used a combination of pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, and walnuts)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Melt together:
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup Earth Balance
Add the agave mixture to the oat mixture, and stir well. Transfer the granola to a parchment-lined roasting pan or cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for fifteen minutes. Stir the granola, and return it to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Cool.
Stir in:
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I used golden raisins, apples, and apricots), cut into small pieces if needed (I like to snip up dried fruit with a clean scissors.)
Enjoy!

I also got it in my head that I needed to make biscotti today:

Lemon and ginger sounded like a good combination to me, and I discovered this recipe, which looked great! I decided to cut the recipe in half, and still got about 16 cookies from the batch. Unfortunately, I did have some trouble with these guys -- the dough assembly was easy enough, but I had some baking problems. I think my oven rack was in a funny place, which lead to uneven/under baking. (That darn baking stone does get in the way sometimes!) I'll take full blame for my foibles this time -- but if this recipe craps out on me again, I'm going to have to go searching for a different biscotti recipe for sure!

Last, I haven't shown you a finished loaf of Artisan Bread yet:

Rye bread that I made to go with dinner tonight. I'm still in denial about how EASY breads from this book are! If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times . . . BUY THIS BOOK!

So here's what I ate to sustain myself while working on all of those cooking and baking projects:

BREAKFAST:

Dates, the last scone, and a small handfull of roasted, salted cashews. Coffee and vitamin, too.

LUNCH:

The last of the harira, with the last of the squash and some sriracha mixed in. I don't think I'll be making this soup again -- it didn't "wow" me at all. In fact, I was feeling really unenthusiastic about eating it for lunch today. So unenthusiastic, in fact, that I couldn't get myself to finish the bowl. Blah.

TREAT:
The heels from the loaf of biscotti, before their second baking.

DINNER:

"Cabbage and Noodles," from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics, topped with a dollop of light sour cream, and sides of Earth-Balance spread rye bread and homemade applesauce. This was a major hit with both Dan and I -- eastern-European comfort food at its simplest, and tastiest. (Must be my German and Polish roots coming out?) The cabbage mixture contained a whopping five ingredients, and simmered away practically ignored, getting tastier and tastier as the minutes ticked down on my timer. All I had to do to round out the meal was boil some egg noodles, slice the bread, and serve up the applesauce! This is one of those recipes that makes me think I need to buy this cookbook for this recipe alone! Yum, um, um! Check this cookbook out from your library, borrow it from a friend, or just hit a bookstore with a notebook and piece of paper in hand, because this is not to be missed! (P.S. Easily made vegan, too. Just switch the butter for Earth Balance (which I did) and the sour cream for Tofutti, or your favorite homemade cashew sour cream!)

TREAT:

"Hot Chocolate", from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Delicious, rich, creamy, and decadent -- according to Dan, the best hot chocolate he's ever had. My cup was so rich, I couldn't finish it -- Dan was happy to help out. :) (P.S. I used almond milk and organic, fair-trade, dark chocolate chips from the bulk bin at my co-op. Heavenly.) Would totally meet any chocoholic's craving, any time!

EXERCISE:
2 1/4 mile walk with Courtney, to and from the library. I was glad she was along, because I would have fallen on my butt at least twice, if I hadn't grabbed on to her arm! (The weather still stinks, although it's warmed up a little bit.) I returned movies and a few books from last weekend, and picked up a bunch of children's books for work. The kidlets will be glad to have some new read-alouds, since we haven't been to the library with them since before Christmas! (It's been WAY TOO COLD for WAY TOO LONG!) But that's Minnesota, so there. :)

yesterday

Delay in the FLOG from yesterday, since I got home around 2:30 AM last night! Dan had a gig -- it was very fun, but it made for a VERY long day. (The last thing I was going to do when we got home was post!) So, here's what I ate yesterday.

BREAKFAST:

Whole-wheat English muffin with peanut butter and banana slices. (I did finish the rest of the banana, too.) Always coffee.

LUNCH:
Taco salad with the kids. Don't be fooled by that word "salad" -- it's not very healthy. But it is delicious and fun!

TREAT:
Two organic caramel hard candies.

SNACK:
Sliced cara cara orange, two blueberry muffins, and a small glass of soy milk.

DINNER:
Dan and I had a bit of a rushed evening, what with all of that loading and unloading of gear, so we used a couple of free burrito coupons I had (thanks, Ann!) and went to Chipotle. I enjoyed crispy tacos filled with cilantro-lime rice, black beans, peppers & onions, pico de gallo, corn salsa, monterey jack cheese, and guacamole. I also had a few of Dan's chips with extra guac, and (gasp!) about 2/3 of a paper cup of Diet Coke.

VERY LATE NIGHT SNACK:
Two Medjool dates.

~~~~~~~~~~

I'll be better about pictures today, I promise!

needing to replenish the stash

By the end of the week, leftovers get old. But I still try not to waste food, so I eat leftovers. Pardon the dull repeats. I'm more tired of them than you, I promise!! :)

BREAKFAST:

Scone and pear. Coffee is a given at this point, right?? :)

LUNCH:

Leftover harira, with leftover squash and a squirt of sriracha mixed in. I added about five saltine crackers at work.

(Pretend the orange isn't there. I saved it for tomorrow.)

TREAT:
an organic hard candy and a small handfull of organic animal crackers.

SNACK:

Homemade granola, with soymilk added at work.

DINNER:

Tofu sloppy joe and cara cara orange.

TREAT:
the last vegan butterscotch pudding. Yum.

~~~~~~~~~~

Even though it is still extremely bitter cold out, I braved the temps and took the bus to the co-op tonight:


BULK:
local, organic rye flour
organic "gold & white" flour
local, organic cornmeal
locally-roasted, organic, fair-trade coffee

CHEESE:
sharp cheddar

FROZEN:
local, organic spinach

HERBS & SPICES:
local caraway seed
local dried chili peppers
local paprika
local tumeric

PACKAGED GROCERY:
organic whole-wheat mac and cheese
Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain Hot Cereal
organic diced tomatoes
organic chipotle-lime salsa
two packages organic egg noodles
organic porcini mushroom tomato sauce
Seventh Generation TP
Seventh Generation dish soap

PRODUCE:
organic apples
organic avocado
organic lemons
organic minneola tangelos
organic pears
organic green beans
organic cabbage
organic ginger root
organic dino kale
organic yellow onions
local, organic potato
local hydroponic lettuce
local hydroponic tomato
local carrot
medjool dates

REFRIGERATED GROCERY:
local light sour cream

I did have one unfortunate grocery tragedy this evening. Due to the stupid-cold temperatures, half of my lettuce froze while waiting for the bus. Sigh. I have a long job of salvage ahead of me this evening!!

wondering

BREAKFAST:

Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain Hot Cereal, made with almond milk, with a squirt of agave and a handfull each of walnuts and raisins.

LUNCH:

Crummiest picture on earth, but I wanted to try and emphasize the "layers" of my lunch today -- frozen spinach on the bottom, beans and brown rice in the middle, and a bit of shredded pepper Jack on top. It was DEEEEEEEE-LICIOUS.

TREAT:
An organic caramel hard candy, and a sugar cookie.

SNACK:

Scone and pear.

DINNER:

Lettuce with balsamic and olive oil, a cara cara orange, and the last of the potstickers, with tamari mixed with a little agave for dipping.

EXERCISE:
Walking to choir, which isn't very far, but when you consider it's negative gazillion degrees outside, that's about as good as it's going to get!

~~~~~~~~~~

You know, I've been wondering about things lately. Like, what exactly qualifies as a vegetable? (I know tomatoes and avocado are technically fruit, but I feel like they are vegetables because they aren't sweet. Are potatoes a vegetable, or a starch?) And, what does a "serving" of vegetables look like? I wonder how people can eat 7 to 9 servings of vegetables per day! I try to eat as healthy as I can, but I know I don't even come close to that goal. Hmm. Ideas? Helpful hints?

no fruit today?

BREAKFAST:
No picture, sorry. But I had coffee at home, and a bowl of (homemade) granola with soy milk at work. Then I took my vitamin, too. Having an early chiropractor appointment tends to throw things off a little bit!

LUNCH:

Beans and brown rice with shredded pepper-jack, and a side salad. I also had a piece of organic vanilla-caramel hard candy.

SNACK:
No picture again! But I snuck into the kitchen this afternoon and had a piece of coconut cake. Dense, moist cake, cream cheese frosting, all topped with coconut. It was delicious . . . and totally worth it!

DINNER:
I came home and did yoga right away tonight, which pushed dinner back a little farther than it probably should have been pushed. I was craving carbs and salt by the time I started cooking, so I did my best:

A whole-wheat English muffin with Earth Balance. Not pictured: slice of mozzarella cheese.
And . . .

Totally inauthentic, but still very tasty, dumpling soup. I threw some veggie broth, tamari, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, frozen spinach, and "fiesta blend" edamame into a pan, and brought the lot to a boil. I then tossed in six (homemade) frozen dumplings, let them cook, and then started slurping. Definitely satisfied the salt craving!

TREAT:

More pudding.

EXERCISE:
25 minutes of yoga, plus my usual chasing around of small children.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hmm . . . no fruit today. Weird. Must be the bitter cold temps, making me want to pack in the carbs??