New year, new post!

I hope none of you watched the season premier of the new Biggest Loser, because they keep puking! Anyway, despite the really crappy tiny cell phone photo (my camera charger was a NYE casualty), I wanted to share with you a really delicious way to ring in the new year. It starts with a full belly of resolution-friendly dinner. My boymate and I have embarked upon a new eating leaf. I know that's so cliche, but you gotta start somewhere (thanks Bob and Jillian!). Tonight I made something that almost blew my own mind. It is as follows:

Artichoke: Clip off the outer leaves, chop off the top pointed inch, shave off the outer skin from the good leaves all the way down to the stem. Pry that point open and ferociously scoop out all of the furry bits and the dots those furry bits came from. Have a halved lemon handy and rub the lemon over all surfaces of the artichoke so it doesn't turn brown and yucky. Do that to a few artichokes and place them in a sauce pan, tops down. Add half of that lemon and a smashed clove of garlic. boil for 30ish minutes until you can pull one of the outer leaves out and have it taste yummy. For a dipping sauce mix a T of lowfat or vegan mayo, a tsp of dijon or spicy mustard and a squeeze of lemon. YUM TOWN AND Z BOYS.

Tomato Pepper Soup: Chop a whole onion and a yellow pepper (in retrospect, maybe roasted pepper?), 2 cloves of garlic, add some salt & a bunch of red pepper flakes and saute in a good sized sauce pan until soft and flavory. Add a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes with their juice and a couple of cups of stock (I used chicken). Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. When everything is heated through and incorporated, blend until smooth. Return it to the pan and simmer for a few mins with the lid on. DONE and DONE.

Seafood: Go to Trader Joes and purchase a frozen bag of calamari, shrimp and scallops. It all comes together and is approximately $5. For two of us, we just needed about 2/3 of the bag (the other 1/3 can be used for the leftover soup you'll surely have!). I sauteed it without bells or whistles for about 45 seconds in a hot pan. They release a ton of water. Strain off that water by quickly dumping the seafood into a colander. Meantime, add olive oil, garlic and some thyme (my plants have provided me with lots). Return seafood to pan and cook for another minute or so. Squeeze in some more lemon and viola, DEEEELISSSHH.

Questions? Concerns?

DIY food stuff.

I am obsessed with food blogs, cooking and attempting to save dough by making different, well, doughy items at home. I have been reading Serious Eats for some time and think it's just about the best round-up of recipe, book and restaurant reservations along with a healthy dose of food news. Anyway, they recently posted an article wherein the writer weighed the pros and cons of making certain items at home vs. purchasing them. She tackled bagels, jam, yogurt, cream cheese, crackers and granola. I don't have a mouth that enjoys yogurt or granola, but there is little I love more than brown food (carbos) with fats on top of them. I have no real need for bagels purchased or otherwise, but this article did get me thinking that I would like to create a large batch of pizza dough that I can divide into self servings and freeze for rather spur of the moment uses. I am dying to make a breakfast pizza. 

I have tried to freeze soup before and while I hear people do this a lot, I am never too excited about the thawed product. I am now freezing ginger and am about to start doing herb "cubes." What else can we make at home and keep for future inexpensive meal yummies?

Cheap yummy times.

This post has been entirely hijacked from other sources. Thanks, pals, tablehopper and San Francisco. There are TONS of amazing entrepreneurial food makers popping up all over the city and this is happening because (a) people don't have jobs so they have time to pursue "passions" (not the soap opera, thanks), (b) other people have time to search out places to have fun despite their lack of money and (c) the internet is getting hyphy and people can take things from zero to crazy popular in 4 seconds. Here is a list of cheap places to scour for grub in the fine city of San Francisco. If you happen to live in Portland, check out their recent recap of all of the great food carts. Good stuff. 

kitchenette sf 

It's in Dogpatch and is run by chefs from the city's most notorious restaurants. They serve fresh, organic, spontaneous and handmade food from scratch based on what they're able to come up with the day before. It's first come first serve (11:30am-1:30pm) and located at 985 Illinois Street. Twitter: kitchenettesf

sneaky's bbq

BBQ on delivery!!!

magic curry kart (copied below from Tablehopper)

It feels like a Burning Man project that was released on city streets. Brian The Magic Curry Man will cook your Thai curry to order, but since the word is out, the line can be long (one man, two burners, you do the math). Twitter: MagicCurryKart

creme brulee kart (from tablehopper)

Who knew the Magic Curry Man has a brother, Curtis! And he's here to ply you with little creme brulee treats, with flavors like vanilla bean, chocolate Grand Marnier, and Bailey's Irish Creme. For just $3, yo. And here's a man who knows his audience: look for the Big Lebowski-inspired White Russian brulee on 4/20. Twitter: CremeBruleeCart. 

amuse bouche 

Delicious breakfast goodies everyday between 7:30 and 10:30am. Most everything is $1.

mission street food

It tastes good and is pretty inexpensive. My favorite part was having beverages at the Beauty Bar first. I have issues with dirty restaurants no matter how delicious. Just sayin...

A cornucopia of gifts.

Because you're very popular and have tons of friends, you probably have a lot of birthdays and other reasons to give gifts. Since you're trying to be frugal while remaining a good pal, you'll need to come up with some fiscally responsible gift ideas. I have a few ideas that will help you:

1. Just send cards. Rather than sending emails or weird e-cards or simply saying "happy bday" on Facebook, make a cute card. Remember construction paper and glue sticks? Or maybe you have a fun box of cards stashed in your desk. Use them! Stamps are getting spendy, but it's not so bad. Everyone loves to get mail. 

2. Photos. Do you have some great pictures that you can print and insert into a cute/cheap photo frame that you bought at a thrift store? Good gift!

3. Books. Do you have a stack of books by your favorite author that you've already read? And perhaps you have a sweet friend who also likes to read. Perhaps they would like an assortment of reading materials along with a friendly note explaining why you thought they'd like them.

4. Foods. Cook your friend dinner (and cupcakes!) Because you have all of this free time to learn how to cook you can cheaply replicate your recipe box and cook them some of your favorites. 

Here are just a few kinda obvious ideas. I think you can come up with more ideas on your own. Can you sew? Paint? Draw? Provide any kind of service? Go for it!

Herb dealer.

     

For about 15 years I have wanted to create my own herb garden. I have started cooking up a storm in order to save some money (does it really save money? I feel like I am spending my non-fortune on groceries), so I have positioned myself to set upon this glorious journey. I recently moved into an apartment with a small back porch that receives TONS of sunlight, that is when the sun shows it's face in this dysweathered city. It also came with a cute plant box which contains small succulents. While I'm all for cacti, they're not adding anything to my soup. Today I journeyed to Whole Foods because they have little starter plants for $2.50.  I also procured some of these HerbBallz (best name!) which will occupy the box. Over the next few days I will be embarking on a full court herbaceous press. I will fill this planter and three or four small pots with parsley, chives, thyme, rosemary, basil and tarragon. This makes me infinitely happy. I am happy to share assuming I know you in real life and you're willing to barter. 

For some inspiration here are some websites that may help you figure out the best way to handle this project:

From Apartment Therapy, DIY, About and EHow. 

Hi, mom.

Despite the fact that the job-free may not have much dough at their disposal, free time is aplenty. It's a perfect time to go visit your mommy! Flights are pretty cheap right now and if you go see them they will know that you are hanging in there despite economic woes. Usually, they will make you food, give you spare toothbrushes and let you watch their cable tv. It's perfect. Anyway, if you happen to notice a dearth of posts for the next few days, it's because I am off visiting my own mommy. 

Black eyed peas sans Fergie.

This delicious mess is AMAZING and like I said, delicious. I found the recipe here and it's CHEAP. Sorry for all of the caps, it was just that yummy and SOO easy and again, delicious. Here goes:

CREAMY BLACK EYED PEA SOUP

2 T olive oil

1 tsp whole cumin seeds (my corner store had none, so I used corriander seeds and it was YUM)

salt and pepper

red pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 T tomato paste (though I added 2 because I like it)

1 T chopped fresh thyme

1 can black eyed peas, drained

1 c water (I would probably add 1 and a 1/2 or 2 next time)

1/4 c sour cream

You HAVE to get everything together and ready next to the stove because it comes together in a hurry. Coat the bottom of a pan with the olive oil until it's hot. Add seeds and pepper flakes, stir 30 seconds. Add garlic until golden, but don't burn those lil nuggets. Add tomato paste and keep mixing and stirring. Add thyme until wilted, keep stirring for another 30 seconds. Add peas and fry all together for 2 minutes. Add water and bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 5 mins. Add sour cream, reduce to super low heat, don't bring to a boil again. Season and serve! 

It only serves 2 people for a meal, not one of those 4 day soups. I cooked a veggie sundried tomato sausage in lil pieces and put that in the soup. YUUUMMY.

Toot toot beep beep.

This is one of my favorite soups, however I hear many people have a fear of soup made with broccoli due to the fact that...let's just say...it gives them a tummy ache. If you either have an iron gut like myself or live alone and are jobless so if your "tummy hurts" no one is there to notice. This one involves a lot of "riffing," if you will. You can really add anything you want when it comes to spices and veggies. I will italicize things that I got creative with. Word?

BROCCOFLOWER SOUP

5 c Stock (any kind you like)

5 c chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower in any ration you prefer

2 c chopped carrot

1/2 c chopped onion

spices (I used salt, pepper, dried basil, chili flakes, and this 21 flavor seasoning crap I have from Trader Joes)

1 T tomato paste

Dice veggies and add to stock. Simmer for 20 minutes and puree. It is super delicious and is relatively cheap. Yummy, right?

Kari's Carrot Ginger Soup

Another pureed soup of magic comin' atcha. For a few months I would periodically notice an (ex) coworker who would transport a vibrant container of food to the kitchen for microwaving. I would often wonder what was providing my eyes with such colorful stimulation. Then, one day she brought me the recipe! I was overjoyed the first time I made it. For one, I love finely dicing things and you get to do a lot of that with this recipe. I also like zingy bowls of healthy food that makes you full. Again, done! Here's the recipe. 

KARI'S CARROT GINGER SOUP

6 tsp salted butter

1 large yellow onion, chopped finely

1/4 c ginger, chopped finely

3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

4 cups stock of your choice

1 c dry white wine

1 1/2 lb carrots, chopped roughly

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

sour cream on top, if you'd like

Melt butter, add onion, garlic and ginger and saute for 15 to 20 minutes until it is soft and smelling delicious. add stock, wine, lemon juice and chopped carrots. Heat to boil and cook for 45 minutes or so. Leave uncovered so it has a chance to reduce a bit. Puree the soup in your blender according to the no lid stopper/towel rule. 

There is a lot of leeway here. You can add more ginger, less ginger, add some curry powder, eat it all in one batch or share it with friends.

A woman's work.

Food is expensive! Going out to eat is fun, though. Mainly because you don't have to deal with messes or think too much about it. Good news! If you don't have a job, you have plenty of time to think about it and to make your kitchen into an Eden-like haven for food mastery. I am a firm believer that you want to spend time in rooms that are organized and well assembled. A well armed and labeled kitchen will save you money in the long run and once you're well educated and armed for culinary battle your time spent watching Top Chef (darn it, Carla) can be spent admiring their mise-en-place rather than simply talking crap on Leah's baby talk and Hosea's goatee. Here are some thoughts on how to both economize and organize your food space:

• Recipe box: I recently organized my recipes which had been printed onto various scraps of paper, reproduced from the internet and made up from my brain. They went on index cards and into a plastic box that cost me a whopping $2.25. My cards came with 5 dividers (they were $4 something) so I made sections for sweets, bevs, dinners, sides/salads and soups. I also color coded the name of the recipe so I would have easy access to my vegetarian recipes. Handy and cute!
• Pot rack: I have meagerly kitchen storage space. It's pathetic. Therefore, I have 2 racks for pot and pan storage. It looks "restaurant kitchen-chic" and I don't have to stack them awkwardly at ankle height only to fold myself in half each time I need to use one. I also recommend those stacky bowls from Crate and Barrel. I have never used anything more, except for that little tiny one. 
• Pantry power: I am obsessed with storage containers that hold food that people actually eat. Not just weird spaghetti canisters whose contents are older than...well, me. I mean functional containers for things like lentils, quinoa, cous cous and other assorted items. These things are usually very inexpensive and can turn themselves (with your help) into magic dinner. Stock up and force yourself to be a slave to your pantry. 
• Potlucks!: Now that your kitchen is organized, well stocked and you are smart in the ways of a host of recipes, you can have a potluck. I was told recently that the potluck is BACK, so look into it, people! They're cheap, you can insist that everyone bring copies of the recipe for their dish and if people get too drunk they can sleep on your couch. 
• Dishwasher: Remember the person you got to rub your feet? Ask them to do the dishes!

Neat, huh?