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The Kitchen Recessionista

So, here we are, in a recession. Let's eat!

Get Out of The Kitchen: The Spring Farmer’s Market.

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I know, I know – I’ve waxed poetic about spring’s arrival in practically every blog post so far this, um, spring.  But we had a WINTER, y’all – a winter filled with snow and ice and sleet and bone-chilling wind and brisk mornings that made my ears burn while on my morning run.  So I hope you will forgive me for celebrating the change of season a little more than I usually do!

Now that the asparagus and my beloved ramps are back on sale in Market Square each Saturday, I know the new farmer’s market season has begun.  Spring greens, fresh honey, even a few strawberries grown in greenhouses all around the region – some of my favorite fruits and veggies in the world are available right now, ripe for the picking and ready to be used in the week’s meals.
I love returning to the market after a winter away.  Every autumn, I swear that I’m going to attend faithfully throughout the holidays, but I confess I never do.  I may pop in once or twice during the winter months, but I never seem to keep up with the market the way I can during the other three seasons of the year.  Somehow, coming back in April and May, seeing the market teeming with vendors and customers alike, makes my pulse quicken a little, gives me a little burst of energy.  There’s something about watching the community come together as they have for the last 200-or-so years that is just an incredible sight to behold, and I’m so pleased to take part in the ritual.
This time of year, I buy as many rail-thin asparagus stalks as I can, using them any old place – to roast, on the grill, in a sauté pan, boiled, cooked with pasta, and so on.  The same goes for the aforementioned ramps – they’re incredibly easy to use in place of (or in tandem with) onions or garlic in nearly any recipe you can think of.  (I also love a good old ramp biscuit!)
If you’ve got a nearby farmer’s market, now is the time to get out there to scope out what’s in season!  Do you have a favorite market or spring veggie?  Tell me in the comments!

:)

Other Ways to Save: Mending Clothes.

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We usually talk about food around these parts, but this is also a blog about frugality (or at least a valiant attempt at frugality!).  And in that vain, I wanted to step out of the kitchen for a minute, as I do sometimes (like when I fixed my doorbell awhile back), and talk about other ways LeeLee and I save money by repairing things ourselves.  Today’s tip?  Mending clothes!
It wasn’t until recently that I really felt comfortable enough to mend my own clothes – and I admit, I’m still not a skilled seamstress at it.  But I can do enough to get by, and if my handiwork makes my clothing last a while longer, then so be it!
For instance, recently one of my favorite pairs of jeans developed a hole in a most inappropriate spot – on the inside of my thigh!  I noticed it while I was out birdwatching, of all places, and realized I was receiving a bit more ventilation than was normal from a pair of jeans.  Once I got back to the car, I realized what had happened – my favorite birdwatching jeans had finally given way.  This simply would not do!  And I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on what was otherwise a perfectly good pair of pants.  So out came the patches!
When I was little, I was mortifiedat the thought of my mother patching up my clothes.  Oh, how I fought against having to wear jeans with any sort of additional attention drawn to them!  Now that it’s on my own dime, though, I see where Mom was coming from.  So out came my sewing kit and my packet of $1.99 patches – that’s less than two dollars for about 10 small iron-ons! – and out came the iron, as well.
At least Youthful Hope wouldn’t have been too terribly embarrassed by this patch job – it was, after all, in a spot on the fabric where (I would hope!) the general public wouldn’t be looking anyway.  :)  After pressing the patch down firmly onto the hole for 45 seconds or so, I carefully removed the jeans from the ironing board and laid them on the bed to cool down.  The patch was firmly secure as soon as the fabric was cool, and voila!  My jeans were good as new.
I was so emboldened by this little feat that, while I had my sewing kit out, I decided to secure some buttons on several of my other pairs of jeans – buttons that were either hanging by a thread or were completely ripped off.  One button never did turn up, so I simply ripped a similar button off of another pair of (sadly, too-small) jeans and sewed it onto a pair I was interested in wearing.  By the end of the day’s mending adventures, I had repaired four pairs of jeans in some way, shape, or form – including adding a patch to another pair of jeans, just because.
As I said above, I’m hardly a skilled seamstress – some (many!) repairs are still way outside my proficiency level.  But for today, I’ll be content with some patches and some needles and thread.  And I’ll keep learning more advanced techniques – they’ll certainly come in handy!

:)

Tex-Mex Chili.

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The Crock-Pot is not synonymous with the warmer months, but chili is good any time of the year!  And tonight I tried a recipe from one of my very first living-on-my-own cookbooks, the Better Homes and Gardens Crockery Cookbook (or, as my friend Stuart used to call it, the “Crockery Cookery”).  I’ve had this cookbook for 15 years, but still I keep finding new recipes to try!  They’re a wonderful thing, cookbooks.
At any rate, before leaving for work this morning I put all of the chili ingredients – your usual ground “beef,” chili powder, diced tomatoes, onions, beans, and peppers, plus some other ingredients, like V8, Rotel, and tomato paste – in the slow cooker, flipped it on, and headed out on my bike.  The prep on this took all of five minutes, which is always a winner in my book!
Furthermore, I noticed the pre-chopped onions and peppers were on sale at the grocery store this week, so I allowed myself to buy them (usually I eschew conveniences like that if they’re going to affect the bottom line).  What a luxury, to just dump a carton of pre-diced veggies into the pot!  I’d better not get used to that.
By the time I got home, the house smelled great – nothing beats a home-cooked meal moonlighting as specialty potpourri.  But would the chili hold up to the hype?
Yes!  This was a more tomato-based chili than I typically make, but I found the change refreshing.  The blend of tomato products with the hearty veggie “beef” and beans added a layer of complexity in every bite, and the Daiya cheese we put on top cooled off the top layer of the meal’s spicy heat.  Paired with a nice white wine, it was a great dinner indeed!  We’ll definitely make it again.
Hooray for new recipes in old cookbooks!

:)

New Recipe! Field-Pea Tostadas With Rice.

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A few weeks ago, while LeeLee and I were perusing the aisles of our local international grocery store for sushi ingredients, we spent some additional time on the Latin-foods aisle in order to stock the pantry with all sorts of goodies we’d either wanted to try or had already tried and knew we loved.  While we were there, we picked up some cans of various beans and vegetable combinations that we’d never enjoyed before, knowing we’d be able to do something with them later.
For the field peas, tonight was the night!
I’m a huge fan of all things Mexican, and lately I’ve had tostadas on the brain.  Sometimes, I purchase ready-made tostada shells, but it’s not necessary – I always keep a package of corn tortillas in the freezer, and they come in handy for all sorts of meals, from enchiladas to tofu rancheros to, of course, tostadas.  Which is how four of these tortillas were called into service tonight!
To my knowledge, I’d never had field peas (in this case, they were mixed with a handful of sliced green beans) before.  To my palate, they tasted like a smaller, zestier version of black-eyed peas – not quite so buttery mild as black-eyed peas can be, and certainly more compact.  They also had a bit more of a bite to them, texture-wise, than black-eyed peas.  But the taste wasn’t unfamiliar to me, and I was pleased to learn that I liked them quite a lot.
And so I got to cooking.  First, I put my rice in the rice cooker and flipped the switch to let it steam for half an hour, and while that was cooking, I heated the field peas and prepared the vegetables to be served tableside.  When I had 10 or so minutes left in the rice’s cooking time, I heated four corn tortillas, one after the next, in a nonstick pan (my omelet pan, if you must know), and once each one was golden brown on both sides, I laid them to rest on our dinner plates.
Once the rice was ready, the peas were, too, and I spooned everything atop the waiting tortillas, reserving some rice for a side dish.  Served with some Tabasco and (for me) some nutritional yeast, it was a perfectly complete meal that left us filled and happy – and gave us leftovers for tomorrow, too!
FIELD-PEA TOSTADAS WITH RICE
(serves two, plus leftovers)
What you’ll need:
1 cup white rice
2 cups water
1 packet rice seasoning (we used Goya tonight)
1 can field peas
4 corn tortillas
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado, sliced
2 cups of lettuce leaves
1 can sliced olives
1 can sliced jalapeños
1 cup pepperjack cheese (we used Daiya)
Hot sauce, salsa, or both to taste
First, cook your rice according to the package directions, adding your seasoning packet to the pot or rice cooker before you begin.
While the rice cooks, heat the can of field peas in a saucepan, tasting it to ensure the spices are to your liking.  If they aren’t, add whatever you have on hand – we’re fond of adobo seasoning, but chipotle powder, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne, or cumin would do nicely.
As the beans and rice cook in their separate pots, warm up four corn tortillas by spraying a nonstick pan with cooking oil and setting the heat to medium-high.  Heat each of the tortillas for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until each tortilla is golden-brown, then set on two dinner plates.
When the rice is fully cooked and the peas are heated up, it’s time to get everything plated up!  Spoon the peas on top of each of the tortillas (feel free to add some rice to the tortillas as well if you like), then top each tostada with the tomato, avocado, lettuce, olives, jalapeños, cheese, and sauces.  Add some rice to the side of the plate to accompany the tostadas, and you’re off to the races!
Enjoy!

:)

Rotini With Roasted Asparagus and Sundried Tomatoes.

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The rain started as LeeLee and I drove home tonight, first in little dribs and drabs, then harder in big fat drops that hit the windshield with a splat.  As the temperature dipped back into the 50s, I reconsidered the springy meal that was on the menu for tonight, but then I decided: Who cares?  It’s nearly May!  Let’s eat some asparagus and be happy.
And with that, I began work on my version of Robin Robertson’s “Fusilli With Roasted Asparagus, Sundried Tomatoes, and Pine Nuts” from her glorious book Vegan Planet.  A quick comparison of her recipe title and my blog post shows what I did differently – I changed the fusilli to rotini and removed the pine nuts.  (Incidentally, I was hoping to use said pine nuts, but the ones I thought I had in my cupboard were nonexistent there at the last.  So much for that one!)
It looks like her book is now on Google books, so feel free to venture on over there to grab the recipe if you like – I don’t want to reprint it here because I revere this book so very much that I want to be sure to give Ms. Robertson her due!  But suffice it to say, I roasted the asparagus and then sautéed it with garlic and sundried tomatoes while the pasta cooked, adding some salt and pepper for flavor.  Once the pasta was ready, I drained the rotini and tossed everything together in a big glass bowl, adding some chopped basil and parsley from the garden for good measure!  (This marks our first use of the herb garden for this season – hooray!)
We hadn’t tried this recipe before, so I was hopeful but nervous about how it’d come out.  I needn’t have been worried – this dinner was fantastic!  Sometimes sundried tomatoes, particularly the ones packed in oil (as these were), can be a bit strong – sometimes a little too strong for my taste, if you must know the truth.  But tonight, the flavors mingled just perfectly, and the tomatoes gave the dish the perfect amount of tang, balancing the spring asparagus beautifully. We topped our meals with some nutritional yeast for garnish and mowed down two plates full of pasta apiece.  And in true Recessionista fashion, there’s plenty left for both of us to take for lunch tomorrow – hooray!
:)

Red Beans and Rice With Vegetarian Chorizo.

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Tonight, LeeLee and I were in a bit of a time crunch – he had to rush off to a meeting about 40 minutes after we arrived home, and I had a laundry list (which included real laundry!) of things to accomplish before my head hit the pillow (which still has not happened).  With that in mind, red beans and rice came to the rescue with rapid speed!
Within three minutes after arriving home, I’d managed to feed the cat, put the rice into the rice cooker (using an oversized shot glass as a measuring cup, I might add, because all of my other measuring cups were in the dishwasher and I was too lazy to hand-wash them – I know, I know), and open a can of red beans into a saucepan.  As everything cooked, I knocked off a couple of chores, and when the rice cooker turned off, I heated up a package of Lightlife chorizo in the microwave.  No, I didn’t use a sauté pan, because who had the time?  We were on a deadline, people!
And the end result was as tasty as usual.  Red beans and rice is our Other Old Faithful, our go-to when schedules are tight.  It’s filling, it’s hearty, it’s tasty, it’s healthy – what’s not to love?
No leftovers, but that’s OK.  We’ve still got some Easter dishes to finish!

:)

Lemon-Basil Pasta.

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Could it be? Is spring finally here?
I’m afraid to say that too loudly, in case there’s another snowstorm just waiting to blow in from wherever.  But I think maybe, possibly, we’ve turned the corner – maybe, possibly, we’re homing in on spring!
And what better way to celebrate the change of the season (if not in calendar, then in weather) than a hearty bowl of lemon-basil pasta?  This is one of those dishes we find ourselves turning to quite often in the spring and summer months – but the first tasting of the season is always the most special!
Now, when I added this dinner to the menu plan, I confess I’d expected to have a hearty crop of basil from which to harvest at this point.  Ma Nature had other plans, so a harvest from the Safeway had to suffice.  No matter – the taste was spot-on regardless!
This dinner couldn’t be easier to make.  Boil a pot of penne pasta (or ziti, or rigatoni, or whatever you like – we always tend to gravitate toward penne in this meal for some reason).  While it’s heating up, in a large serving bowl mix one-quarter cup of olive oil with two tablespoons of white wine vinegar, then add salt and pepper to taste (but add more pepper than you think you’ll need).  Then add the juice of two to three lemons (we always like a little extra lemon juice in ours, so we go with three), and then add a container’s worth of halved cherry or grape tomatoes.  Tonight, we actually used a container and a half, because we had half a container left over from another meal and what’s the use in that?
Finally, I pulled out the aforementioned package of basil from the refrigerator and washed it, then chopped the whole handful up, down to the stems.  I added the chopped leaves to the serving bowl, mixed everything together, and waited for the penne to be ready.
Once it was al dente (actually, we like ours a little softer than al dente – I know, I know, such commoners we are), LeeLee helped me drain the big pot full of water and then I poured the penne into the serving bowl, stirring throughout to mix everything together.  Once we’d spooned hearty helpings onto our plates, we sprinkled some Daiya mozzarella on top of the penne, added a little extra pepper (for old time’s sake), and voila!  Dinner in a matter of minutes.
And in true Recessionista fashion, we’ve got plenty of leftovers to last us for several lunches.  But the pasta will have to wait its turn – we’ve still got the remainder of our Easter feast to get through first!

:)

Vegan Pad Thai.

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On the heels of my adventures in Pad Thai Soup a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try out the more traditional version of the dish tonight.  And so, armed with a recipe from the great Robin Robertson’s Vegan Planet, I got home and went straight to work in the kitchen.
Thai and Asian dishes are always very daunting for me – they have a ton of preparation steps – but once you get right down to the cooking, they’re really not difficult at all.  The same was true for this Pad Thai recipe!  Once I got through the prep work, I was home-free.
As the rice noodles cooked, I sautéed the tofu in peanut oil, and then stir-fried some bell pepper, garlic, and scallion.  Then I added a diced tomato along with some seasonings – soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and the like – and tossed the tofu back in.  By this point, the rice noodles were also finished, so I added them in and tossed everything around, dousing the pan with a little more peanut oil for good measure.
The end result was good, but “just” good – it lacked a bit of the peanutty taste I’ve come to know and love about restaurant-style Pad Thai.  I’m certain I read the directions properly and followed suit in my cooking; the peanut oil just didn’t add enough of that nutty flavor for my liking.  But LeeLee and I solved that tableside!  We just went into the cabinet, pulled out a jar of peanut butter, and added a spoonful to each of our plates, blending it in with the hot noodles.  Voila!  Extra peanut flavor in no time.
Even with our dinnertime hack, though, this wasn’t the best dish I’ve ever made.  I was glad to try it – and I love Robin Robertson! – but this just wasn’t my favorite.  It was edible, it was even enjoyable, but it wasn’t quite up to par.  Oh, well.  Not every recipe can win the Michelin Five Stars! ;)

:)

Old Faithful.

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Tonight was Animal Shelter Night, and by the time I got home, LeeLee and I were both hungry and had neither the time nor the taste for tomfoolery.  The ingredients for black beans and rice – or, as longtime readers of this blog know it, Old Faithful – were close at hand, and a half-hour later the finished product was sitting on the table, ready for consumption.
I think one of the things I love most about Old Faithful – other than the taste, of course – is the versatility of the dish.  For instance, tonight we had some leftover lettuce, onion, and tomato on hand from Sunday night’s cookout, and so I diced everything up to add as garnish (or, perhaps more accurately, as a side dish – we tend to be a bit heavy-handed with the garnish around here!).  I pulled out a new bag of Daiya pepperjack cheese to add atop the meal, and we still had a wonderful jarred salsa from last week’s tostadas, plus some little spicy pickled peppers from a cocktail party this weekend.  And last but not least, I always keep several cans of black olives on hand for salads and suchlike – they fit in just beautifully with tonight’s dinner, as ever.
I’ve gone over and over the actual making of black beans and rice, so I won’t go into a long dissertation again here.  Suffice it to say, the rice blended nicely with a packet of Goya seasoning during its stint in the rice cooker, and I spruced up a plain can of black beans with some adobo seasoning during the cooking process.  We were both in need of a little extra protein, so I added a chik’n patty to each plate – instead of baking them, I microwaved them, because again, who had the time for tomfoolery?
And the final result was, as ever, delicious and spicy.  The salsa and pickled peppers added a little extra kick, which we both really enjoyed, and the vegetables gave us some much-needed greenery in today’s diet.  :)  Once again, Old Faithful came through for us – it always does in a pinch!

:)