Eating Well Cheaply |
| When I first started this blog, it was because I had just been laid off, and wanted my savings to last as long as possible. So I undertook this project, trying to stretch
leftovers in creative new ways. Just reheating was a cop-out. But now I'm re-employed, so it'll have to be a bit different. The cheap meals will more likely be lunches from now on, but
I still intend to keep up my old habits. More money for the expensive dinner parties we like to throw!
A note on costs: in general, I don't keep track of how much things like flour, sugar, salt, and so forth cost. When I list costs, it's usually just the items I had to buy specifically for that meal. Not always, though. If I buy a bunch of some type of fruit, and use a couple pieces here, a couple pieces there, I'll try and fill in the per-fruit cost or an estimate. Also, I usually just list costs for the first time I buy something. After that point, it counts as leftovers, since I've paid the price for it for some other dish, and the fact that I get to re-use it is a bonus. |
Microwave Steaming Thursday, January 30, 2003
I've never quite adapted to the idea of a microwave. I guess they're good at reheating, but
I'm always frustrated whenever I use ours.
Nonetheless, it's that or the toaster oven at work. And I decided to make steamed chard and baby carrots on a bed of rice for lunch, so I didn't think I wanted to steam the veggies at home and let them get sodden all day at work. Here was my idea: put a little water in the bottom of the plastic containers I had the veggies in, cover with plastic wrap, and put in the microwave for a few minutes. I guess it more or less worked: the veggies retained some crunch but still cooked through. I did have to bring the rice already cooked and reheat it. I also brought some turkey stock which I reduced that morning, as well as some mustard to mix into it.
Overall, it turned out pretty well, though it's far from the most exciting dish I've ever made.
I piled the rice in the middle of the plate, drizzled my sauce
over it, put on the chard stems, and then put the small carrots on top for color. But the best part?
Everything was left over from something else, except for the rice and the mustard. So lunch was
mostly free today. Chard Wednesday, January 29, 2003
I've certainly cooked with chard before, but I've been buying a lot more of it lately. As I've seen
it at the various farmer's markets, it's been grabbing my eyes with its lush colors and firm texture.
Odd, as this doesn't seem to be its season. In fact, it seems to be completely out of season. Even
in California, it's hard to put January into early spring or late fall, let alone any time in the middle.
Be that as it may, I'm loving chard at the moment. The other night, I made focaccia, using chard and salami from "The Salami Lady" who works the Jack London Square farmer's market. I made up the dough for the focaccia, shaped it, and brushed the whole thing with oil and a generous helping of fleur du sel. When the focaccia had been in the oven for most of its cooking time, I added the salami and chard. And here was my mistake. Do not put bare chard into a roasting hot oven and leave it there for more than a few minutes. I should have waited until the focaccia was almost done, and then put the chard on for almost no time at all, just enough to wilt it. Instead, I ended up with dried chard. Sigh. Life was a lot easier when I used more recipes. Still, I only used the chard leaves, and the stems will probably end up in some sort of soup for tomorrow's lunch. I have a lot of leftover turkey stock, still!
Costs: Drinking Wine Cheaply Sunday, January 26, 2003
I recently griped about
mediocre but cheap wines, which are obviously better than mediocre expensive wines, but somehow still
feel like a rip. Especially when there are good, inexpensive wines to be found.
Discouraged by our semi-random Trader Joe's selection, we tried another tack: K & L's Best Buy Wine Club. This way, we figured, at least we know the buyer is knowledgeable about wine. The club costs $17.95 a month, minus shipping and tax, and you get two value wines each month. Plus you get discounts if you want to buy larger volumes of the wines. Our first shipment (which also included a "welcome to the club" bottle) included a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which we eagerly opened last night (I was disappointed, though, by its lack of a screw cap; New Zealand is on the forefront of screw capping their bottles to prevent cork taint). There is no denying that 2002 Griffin Sauvignon Blanc is a complex wine. My tasting notes go on and on in my efforts to pin down the elusive flavors. I just looked at their tasting notes, and noticed some similarities: a distinct peachiness, with hints of melon and grapefruit and pineapple. But I also registered distinct herbal notes. Thyme? Rosemary? Grass? All of these show up on my notes, as does onion, straw, and even petrol. There was a metallic tang with just a hint of bitterness. A mild acidity, which surprised me (I expected a more acidic wine). The flavors were clean, even though difficult to describe. Clearly a good wine, though I'm still trying to decide if I like it. We served it with striped bass with mashed potatoes, sautéed chard, and a red onion-chard stem relish. It satisfied the minimum requirement you want out of a food-wine pairing: both the food and the wine were able to keep their identity in the face of the other, and yet blend together harmoniously.
So with one bottle down, we're already doing better than we did at Trader Joe's. And at $17.95/month,
the average cost per bottle is $9, not terribly more than Trader Joe's. I haven't found a price for this
bottle in the average store, though, so it could be more. But I can't imagine it's too much more, and
it's totally worth it. |
