Cooking on a Budget: Lesson 3- Make stuff with what you have

Ok, so now I've posted on getting stocked up on spices and other basic ingredients. But, what can you make? I'm going to list a bunch of stuff that I've posted on here before that use these basic things. For most of them, you would need to buy a couple extra ingredients, which I'll list below them. You can see that when you only have to buy a few things, it all seems a lot more do-able. So... here you go! They are in order of the least to most extra ingredients:

You need nothing else...
Mujadarrah
-nothin'. you've got it all!

Sauteed spinach, tomatoes, and chickpeas
-nothin'. you are good to go.
(this is pictured with the Samosa stuffed potatoes, which take more ingredients. good, easy ingredients, but not ones on the list).

Peanut butter cookies
-optional chocolate chips (the rest could be kept in freezer and used in muffins).


You need one more thing...
Pitas (still seriously probably the most fun thing I have ever cooked)
-1 little package yeast from the baking aisle at the store.

Flatbread (optional to go with Mujadarrah)
-sesame seeds (go to either the Kosher or Asian section)

Morning Muffins
-baking powder (not bad to have around anyways)
-optional anything you want to put in them. could just do cinnamon though.


You need two more things...
Balsamic Lentils
-chicken sausage (optional)
-fresh basil (get big container at TJs for like 2 bucks)

Squash soup
-a butternut squash (or, little pre-cut packages from Trader Joes)
-a granny smith apple


You need three more things...
Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry
-a head of cauliflower
-a lime
-1 hot chili pepper


You need four more things...
Rosemary Chick Pea Couscous Salad
(use whatever grain you have)
-jar of sundried tomatoes (these are fun to have on hand- they are AWESOME in scrambled eggs)
-a lemon
-rosemary
-a cucumber

Spinach, Sweet potato, Adzuki bean stew
-2 sweet potatoes
-1 carrot
-azuki beans (from Whole foods, probably)
-1 can coconut milk

African Peanut Stew
-a couple sweet potatoes
-a red pepper
-a jalapeno
-a can of pinto beans

I mean... look at these lists. What this means is, if you had a few basic items on hand, you could have any of these things for dinner tomorrow night and the most you'd have to do is buy 4 things (4! you don't even need a basket!), and you could probably get most of those extra things for a max of about five bucks.

Cooking on a Budget: Lesson 2- Basic Ingredients

Alright... last time, I covered one of the first steps in stocking up your kitchen to get ready to cook, which was getting your spice rack up to par. Now, that is a great first step, but unless you have a cast-iron stomach, you're probably not going to be able to live on spices alone. SO. What to do, what to do.

I went through the recipes I've posted, and have made a list of basic ingredients that appear over and over again- these are things I pretty much always have on hand. If you can just have really basic stuff around, you'll find that it seems less overwhelming to make things because you'll end up having most of the ingredients and just need to buy 2 or 3 things to make any one recipe. Also, because these are pretty simple, non-processed foods, they are all cheap and will keep in the cupboard.

Here is a list of things I am never without...
In the fridge:
--milk
--eggs
--bag of spinach (super cheap at Trader Joes. if you go to the grocery store, don't buy bags of it, buy bunches of it over by the lettuce for half the price)
--peanut butter (I only buy the kind that has only peanuts and salt. who wants all that other stuff?)
--soy sauce (apparently you do indeed have to keep this in the fridge)

In the cupboard:
--salt/pepper
--bag of lentils (not only diverse, but possibly the most budget friendly food ever at 99 cents for a bag with 13 servings in it)
--bag of brown rice
--bag of onions
--garlic cloves
--ginger root
--olive oil
--balsamic vinegar
--couscous or some grain of your choice (I also like bulgar, which I get in bulk at Whole Foods)
--flour
--sugar
--canned diced tomatoes
--canned garbanzo beans
--broth of your choice (chicken or veggie; Trades Joes also has some cool little concentrated liquid packets of broth so that you only use as much as you need and don't have something around that goes bad or need to mess with cans. I bet they have them other places. I also used powdered stuff from the regular store).

Optional items I also always have but that don't necessarily relate to the recipes:
--giant container of oatmeal. add some frozen fruit or a banana- best breakfast ever.
--bag of frozen chicken breasts (obviously only for the non-vegetarians)
--pasta
--canned black beans
--rice wine vinegar (great for salads and for a lot of Asian dishes)
--salsa. makes anything better.
--honey (btw- if you're interested, you can also make face scrub out of honey, salt, and sugar).
--these bags of frozen green beans from TJs that are actually good, and you can pull out a bit at a time for an emergency vegetable (you know, in case you are at imminent risk of scurvy)

And finally, the other thing you need-
--individually portion sized tupperwares. This is the best tip anyone ever gave me. Just because you made some giant pot of soup doesn't mean you have to eat it all week. Put individual portions in tupperwares and freeze for your own homemade frozen lunches.

Stay tuned, and I'll point out some of the recipes from this website that you could make if you had all of these ingredients.

Cooking on a Budget: Lesson 1- Spices!

Ok. I mentioned earlier that I was going to address the idea that you have to 1. spend a lot of money and 2. be a skilled cook to make interesting tasty food. Lets start with issue 1. One of the main things that throws people when they start to cook is that recipes call for all of these ingredients that they just assume you have sitting around in your pantry. If you have to buy those every time you cook something, it can seem expensive, even though really it is a one time purchase and you'll have it to use for many future recipes. It also makes cooking seem like more work when you don't have things on hand.

Some things that tend to fall into that category when you're first starting to cook are spices. Unfortunately, spices are the absolute most critical investment if you're going to cook on a budget- they are what enable you to take something like lentils, and make a vast array of types of meals. This is the thing that will keep your cooking from being boring. Spices are expensive if you buy the name brands in the main area of the grocery store. You could easily spend a ton of money stocking up if thats how you decide to do it. However, I'm here to tell you, that doing that is just plain silly. This is my best, #1, top tier, most fantastic grocery shopping tip. (you're pumped, I can tell!). There are a lot of sources for spices, if you go slightly (really only slightly) off the beaten path. In your own grocery store, leave the baking section and head to the ethnic section. In my personal store, there is an area near the Mexican food full of little packets of spices for 60 cents to a dollar. In the Kosher section, there are giant shakers of spices for much less than the price of one small bottle in the regular section. If you compare the unit prices (price per oz) of these, your mind will be blown. Blown! You can stock up on a vast array of things for very little money, and suddenly will waves of new found confidence when encountering new recipes and realizing you have ingredients in your cupboard already! Here are some examples of store brands I found. I also found cheap spices at Cost Plus. Observe:

If I were to take 10 bucks or so to stock up on some spices, so that I'd be able to make a decent variety of food, this is what I would get:
-ground coriander
-ground cumin
-curry powder
-cinnamon
-thyme
-bay leaves
-ground ginger
-basil
-oregano
-parsley flakes
-red chili powder

If I wanted to expand my horizons and bring my total to about 20 bucks, I'd add:
-garam masala
-turmeric
-cumin seeds
-coriander seeds
-paprika
-smoked paprika
-fennel
-cloves
-rosemary
-dill

Get either group 1 or both group 1 and 2, and you'll be ready for all kinds of food... Indian, Mexican, Italian, and on and on. Obviously there are always other crazy things in some recipes, but you'll be able to make most things if you have these on hand.

Rosemary Chickpea Couscous Salad

Ok, this is... really good. It is PERFECT for a hot day, and let me tell you, it is nothing if not boiling hot around here these days. I made it, as inspired by AllRecipes, but as you well know, I think sticking exactly to recipes is boring. So, here is my take on it in 4 easy steps:

1. Make some couscous. This could be any kind (regular, whole wheat, Israeli- which is what I used) or some other kind of grain. Just make it the way the box says, and let it sit out for a while cooling while you do everything else.

2. Make some dressing.
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
a whole bunch of fresh chopped rosemary (MUST be fresh).

3. Chop up some veggies.
half an English cucumber
some sundried tomatoes (I used the marinated kind from TJs)
a handful or 2 of fresh spinach

4. Stir everything up in a big bowl. Toss in some feta (I used fat free; leave it out to make it vegan), dump in a drained can of garbanzo beans, and add some salt and pepper. Chill for a while to let the flavors get to know each other.

This is good! Beware though, if you use the whole box of couscous like the original recipe says (and I did, because my box was 8oz not 10oz like theirs, so I thought it'd be ok), you will end up with a LOT. I will be eating this all week, apparently! (also, the rest of the things in the picture will appear in later posts, so keep your eye out!)


Now, the other thing I've been meaning to bring up (sit down, lets have a little chat), is that I've gotten a couple comments from different people I know who read this saying that they would love to make the things here except that they're either a. on a budget or b. don't know how to cook. I've decided to try to tackle both these things on this blog in general, but haven't figured out how yet. For this recipe, I'd like to report that it only involves 2 skills- boiling water, and chopping. You can do this. I promise. Really. Also, all of these ingredients (couscous, garbanzo beans, lemons, rosemary, vinegar, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, cucumber, spinach) are available at your local Trader Joes. It may sound like lots of ingredients, but I would estimate that when you break it down, its probably only about $1-2 per serving, which you really can't beat for something so fresh and healthy and homemade! Be brave, try it!

Something Old, Something New

Well, its been a little hectic and I haven't been posting much, but I'd like to bring you a few brief updates...

1. I know you were waiting on the edge of your seat, so I've got to report that I finally was able to make the Miso Glazed Saki Drenched marinade with fish (which is what I was going for in the first place- you can see the recipe at the old post). I didn't have cod, which is what I think would be best, but I got frozen Mahi Mahi from Trader Joes with met my 2 main criteria- 1. it was not break the bank expensive, and 2. it was one of the few varieties of fish I can actually stand. I think overall, it went pretty well, it definitely has delicious potential. The one thing I'd say is the fish seemed to soak up a lot more of the miso, which did make it seem a bit on the salty side. So, for fish, I think I'd up the amount of Mirin, and decrease the amount of Miso. But, it was tasty, and here is the glamour shot...


2. And, big news item #2 is that I made a new series of pendants that I'm kind of into... and, here one is! (you can see more info here)