December 2011
15 posts
2 tags
Fresh Vegi Salad-Chemical,Preservative Free and...
Fresh Vegi Salad (no lettuce)
cut up and toss together fresh yellow squash, cucumber, onion, toss with sweet oil and vinegar marinade. Let set in refrigerator about an hour or overnight to chill.
Serve cold along side
fresh chicken salad Grilled skinless steroid free chicken breast cubed mixed with chopped onion, chopped apple, crushed basil, crushed dill weed, mayo (homemade is better)
Total...
2 tags
Spanish Rice
brown one pound of ground meat with chopped onion and green pepper. cook 2 cups white rice while browning the meat. drain the grease and mix with the rice and 2 cans of tomato soup and a can of diced tomatoes. bake at 350 for 30 minutes or 5 minutes on high in the microwave. serves 4 to 6 people for less than 10 dollars.
I submitted this recipe to the post gazette years ago for the under 30...
3 tags
Soup: the most perfect food?
Soup is ridiculously easy. Easier by far than most people think. There are two essentials to remember when making soup: always use good, fresh ingredients, and don’t forget to season the broth!
Others have mentioned roasting whole chickens, but I find bone-in, skin-on parts to be cheaper. My new favorite cut? Thighs with legs attached, bone-in, skin on. As a bonus, it comes with extra fat...
3 tags
Use these ingredients and you can get a meal for under $5. Main course chicken, eggs or pasta. Example a potato egg torta from Catalonia or a roasted whole chicken with fennel seed. Buy and steam some fresh vegetables.
My budget busters are cheese and wine.
2 tags
Slow Food Katy Trail Menu for $5 Challenge
Slow Food Katy Trail and Centro Latino, Columbia, Missouri are co-sponsoring a meal in a local cafe for the $5 Challenge on Sunday, Sept. 18. Volunteers from both organizations will be cooking and serving.
The cost of the meal comes out to about $4 per person.
(Cost for items is based upon farmers-market and retail-store prices). If you grow your own produce, you can save even more!
MENU
Hot...
3 tags
My friend Annie's blog
My friend Annie has a wonderful blog where she shares recipes, local restaurants, and ideas for living well and eating local/seasonal/organic food on a limited income. It’s focused on Western New York, but the ideas and recipes should translate well to other areas. Here’s the address: http://www.peapodriot.blogspot.com/
2 tags
TheLunchBox.org's take on the $5 Challenge!
Check out our blog at TheLunchBox.org http://www.thelunchbox.org/community/lunchbox/2011/9/9/take-slow-food-usas-5-challenge-saturday
for families!
3 tags
Add zing to your $5 challenge menu!
Getting ready for the $5 meal challenge? Be sure to check your pantry and take inventory of your household staples to add a little zing to your $5 dishes. Try incorporating that honey-ginger hot sauce you bought on an island vacation ages ago, or sprinkle the fleur de sel you paid a premium for but doesn’t cost a dime toward your $5 meal! Get creative and use up your pantry goodies when...
2 tags
Keep it handy!
My problem with eating well is running out of time…all the sudden we are starving and there’s nothing ready to eat! To make sure there is always something ready for grumbling tummies, I buy an assortment of seasonal vegetables and slice or dice them immediately. I have a reusable container especially designed for storage (it has a raised rack in it so air can flow) which house them. ...
Making the most of your free-range chicken
Yes, that free-range organic chicken costs more than its sad, factory-raised sister. Make it go further. Buy the larger roasters, which are usually less per pound than the fryers. Thaw if purchased frozen. Clean and rinse well, and put in a large stock pot. Add chopped celery ribs and leaves, and a chopped onion and carrot or two, and a few mashed cloves of garlic. If you have fresh herbs,...
3 tags
Recyle your scraps before you compost them
To make sure I get the most out of our leftovers, I save bones, stems, and ends of carrots and onions in a freezer bag. When I’m ready to make a delicous, mineral rich broth, I throw everything in the scarp bag into a large stock pot with water, bay leaves and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Twenty-four hours later, we have nutritious broth for soup (also good for rice).
Because we...
2 tags
one bird, many meals with help from the garden
we buy whole (organically raised) chickens. The whole chicken gets roasted as a beer-can chicken with herbs from the garden tucked under the skin. Meal one is the meat from the bird with veggies from the garden, usually roasted along side on the grill.
The left-over meat gets pulled off the bone and are ‘chicken bits’ on top of greens from the garden along with a poached egg for a...
2 tags
Mass Appeal
When I have time to cook - I make it a session. Cook LOTS of stuff so it’s in the fridge and freezer to eat. Also, I make myself use the food in the fridge… I don’t let it go bad and it’s not a financial waste.
Sometimes, I throw raw veggies in the freezer as is. The okra is in the cardboard carton purchased from the farmers market, waiting ‘til I have time to use...
2 tags
Black Bean & Rice for a week!
I will often roast a chicken or a pork shoulder, then soak some black beans & cook them. By buying a whole chicken, I can serve it with beans & rice one night, tacos or enchiladas the next night, & a soup made from stock the following night. With the pork shoulder, variations on stew, enchiladas, tacos, etc can be stretched for 4 or 5 dinners. My kids love these meals & they are...
2 tags
Cook once, eat twice or more!
Every time I make something, I try to make extra - especially if it can be frozen. In this way I get a huge stock in the freezer for those busy times: gumbo, chili, soups, meat or veggie loaves, falafel, quick & yeast breads, tomato sauce - you name it.
Too many potatoes? Make mashed potatoes & freeze them to use as a side dish, to top shepherd’s pie, colcannon, etc. If someone...
November 2011
54 posts
3 tags
Why does SF buckle under to McGiant?
Re:SF Upstate Chapter Leader Janette Wesley proving that ANYONE can take the $5 Challenge - Ronald McDonald stands for EVERYTHING that slow food is not: expensive, highly processed, highly salted, high fat, unhealthy, mass produced, factory farmed, etc I’m appalled that you chose to display this picture which is simply free advrtisement for the chain, AND the concept of FAST FOOD. Shame on...
2 tags
Lentils for supper; way less than $5. each
Lentils for supper- get out a big heavy covered pan.
In 2Tbsp olive oil saute a chopped onion for 2 mins. Add 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp ginger, 1tbsp cumin, 1 tsp salt (optional), saute till fragrant. Add 1 cup lentils, 1 cup rice (brown or white), 1 can chopped tomatoes, 4 cups water or broth, and 1 can drained rinsed garbanzo beans (or cook your own). Cover and cook till rice is tender. serve...
2 tags
Seasonal cooking !
I have always slow cooked, using our local farmer’s markets for in season foods to cook for now and freeze for later. We joined a CSA three years ago and now I process our share for the two days after we receive it; enjoying fresh produce when it is in season and freezing the extra to use for the rest of the year. I use the Farmer’s market all year to fill in what I can with fresh...
4 tags
Oatmeal for All!
I love oatmeal! it is cheap and easy to cook~ I buy rolled oats for
.99 /pound, or steel cut oats for a slightly higher price and they take longer to cook.
For 1/2 Cup of Oats, I add 1 Cup water cook until it is the consistency that I like and then I add a teaspoon of butter or coconut oil, 1/4 Cup milk, a teaspoon of cinnamon, and a tablespoon of honey.
This costs less than $2 to make!
...
2 tags
Hearty healthy breakfast
Heat cooked black beans and barley (or rice) with a low saturated fat oil in pan with lid on. Then scramble one egg with additional water and pour over the hot beans and barley. Continue heating until egg is firm. Season to taste. I use a little Mrs Dash because I like the taste and I like getting the additional herbs into my diet but anything or nothing is fine.
Serve with salsa, or honey, or...
4 tags
Infinite Varieties and a $5 Challenge
Cross-posted from my blog.
I organized another installment of “Shop Like a Pro at a Farmers’ Market” today. After leading the group through the Union Square Greenmarket, I began my hunt for the best end-of-summer produce. A wonderful thing about a farmers’ market is the seemingly infinite varieties of many vegetables and fruits. From S & So Produce Farms, I grabbed a...
3 tags
The $5 challenge, vegetarian style.
Beet chips, zucchini and scallion fritters, and nectarine granitas—a simple late summer vegetarian meal that was affordable and delicious in equal measures.
Read more about it here: http://www.amblingartichoke.com/2011/09/up-for-a-challenge/
4 tags
The $5 meal challenge: Artichoke Risotto
Food and price have an interesting relationship. For something we value so importantly as our nutrition, you find that supermarkets mostly sell and market their products on a cost basis. I read an interesting passage in the ‘Omnivore’s Dilemma’ by the pastoralist farmer Joel Salatin who once told a customer that clean, ethical and/or sustainable food is actually the cheapest food you can buy. He...
3 tags
Hearty Land-locked Jamabalaya
At first glance, the $5 challenge seemed daunting. After hearing so many jingles for Dollar Menu ads, you start believing that fast food is in fact the cheaper, more logical, answer to today’s nutritional and health issues.
Recently, I met the challenge unknowingly. After making dinner for a group of friends and checking the receipt the next day, I realized we had eaten a hearty,...
3 tags
Easy Peasy Pasta Carbonara
This is cheap, easy, and kids love it. Even if you use supermarket bacon and frozen peas, this is a nutritious, delicious meal.
You’ll need:
Enough dry pasta to serve 4. Any shape is fine—you can use whole grain or regular.
1/4 onion
6-8 strips bacon (or some diced ham)
Grated parmesan to taste
1C frozen peas
Fresh chopped parsley—-or not
Some kind of pasta lubricant....
Lunch for the Everyone
Every few months, a couple of workers chemical plant where I work will propose cooking lunch for anyone that wants it. They will collect names during the week and cook on Thursday, the end of the work week for the daylight shift. The meal is always filling, if not always balanced. Most recently we had chili and chili dogs. The cost was reduced because someone contributed ground venison, but...
2 tags
Lentil Soup
Bring 1-1/3 cup lentils and 4 cups of water (in a large pot) to a rapid boil. Then turn off the heat, cover the pot and wait for 1 hour. (This method is good for all bean soups and eliminates the “soak overnight” step.)
Next add one medium onion, one rib of celery, one large or two small carrots, one leak, one large or two small potatoes — all diced to approximately mimic the...
4 tags
$5 Slow Food Challenge: Jambalaya and Community
The concept of community is relatively new for me, but I’m learning to embrace the idea. I’m lucky, because my neighbors are warm and welcoming - something that I’ve not always been completely familiar or comfortable with. I’m getting there, though - more and more every day. I signed on with Slow Food USA about a month ago to take their $5 challenge. I had these grandiose...
2 tags
Tip
I can always find meat marked down at HT or SuperTarget or offered free with purchase at stores like EarthFare with a coupon printed from their website or stock up when it is a super buy. I don’t EVER buy meat at regular price or anything else for that matter. You can also find the rotisserie chickens marked down when they have been out for a certain length of time at HT, late afternoons...
4 tags
FRESH AND EASY
For me, the easiest way to go is to keep it fresh and simple. A visit to the local produce store is the first stop for reasonable local produce. I’ll decide on my menu as I shop. Being creative is essential. At home, we have an herb garden, lemongrass and a kafir lime tree for the flavorful leaves. Other staples inlclude a good olive oil, various hot sauces, ponzu sauce, various vinegars,...
3 tags
Use CSAs or Farmers Markets' Organic Produce and...
I cook fresh daily by using seasonal, organic, local produce either from CSAs or Farmers Markets and by following the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Department’s Healthy Eating Pyramid (available online) guidelines. That means less meat and more fruits and veggies. One pan is frequently all I use to first saute in olive oil the aromatic veggies, then add the main veggies. I...
3 tags
slow food challenge
I buy a whole free range chicken, roast and debone, while it is cooking i make homemade pasta and boil. Take cooked, deboned chicken and cut or shred to bit size pieces. Put cut chicken in pan (wok is better) and stir fry with olive oil. drain pasta and add to chicken. then add what veggies from garden you like (onion, pepper, squash, chard’s, spinach, ect…..) cook till greens are...
2 tags
Delicious lunches from leftovers
My husband cooks all our suppers from scratch, using mostly low cost ingredients, excellent use of spices, and fresh herbs from our garden during the growing season. He’ll usually make a batch of something that will last the two of us for two days. Often there is a delicious broth left, or maybe even some of the main ingredients like a bit of cooked rice.
My husband is a pbj fan for...
3 tags
Retired Cooks Weekly Dinners
Myself along with several friends have weekly dinners. The cast changes by the week. Three of us are former restaurant line cooks. We are the most consistent attendees. Generally 6-8 people attend the dinners. We devise a menu and assign people a course/ingredient to bring to the meal. It keeps it interesting, since the meals have a bit of a surprise factor. Be it that either the meal, dessert, or...
2 tags
Cooking from Scratch
I grew up in Australia before fast food eating delicious home cooking which included fruit and veggies from our backyard garden. We are a family of 8 so eating out is not in our budget and home cooked food is so much more delicious and nutritious. My favorite cooking utensils are my wok, rice cooker, my cast iron pans and my oven. These enable me to prepare food quickly. We love brown rice and...
2 tags
Plan-(Stick to it), and save...
New to cooking for yourself/Family? First plan your meals for the week, shop accordingly (at one time if possible-daily trips add to food bills with those “extras) and stick to the plan. I cannot stress how important it is to stick to the plan. That means if you plan Mac’n’Cheese for monday with a salad, make it, don’t decide you’d rather have pizza (and don’t...
2 tags
Plan out a week of Menus
One trick I use personally and teach clients is taking a few minutes to plan out a week’s worth of menu’s - breakfast, lunch, dinners, snacks as well as any special items needed (ex. bake sale at school or guests for dinner). Write down all ingredients needed for a shopping list, working with the sales that week if possible - don’t forget to work with what might already be in the...
Is $5 per person supposed to be some kind of good...
We have 4 people in my family, and yes, we cook almost every meal. However, I consider $2.50 per person for a dinner a good deal. Once in a blue moon for a special occasion we may cook something really pricy like good seafood that might come out to $5.00 per person. That is not a realistic goal for daily dinners though. For someone like me who cooks day after day, if I am going to splurge and...
2 tags
We live the $5 challenge every. It’s as easy as 1,2,3. 1. Start at farmers market, or your closest farm stand and buy what looks good. 2. Make a menu from your purchases (factor in your busy schedule). 3. Prep as much as you can as far in advanced as you can. 4.(Bonus) If it’s in season buy extra and put it up for winter. Right now I’m freezing whole cherry tomatoes for...
buying in bulk
If you have access to a good food co-op, they usually have bulk bins for dry goods like beans and oats that are much cheaper. In addition, my local co-op has a member sale once a month and I stock up on items that I use a lot of like beans, grains, rice. We eat mostly vegan and I am a huge fan of one pot meals like stews and chillis in the colder months, and stir fry or grilling with my summer...
Under $5? Easy!
we have a large vegetable garden. This time of year, between that and our local Farmers’ Market, i always have more than enough food for dinner for just $2 or 3. Per person. Tonight I made brown rice & black bean burgers, served on good organic rye bread, with tomatoes and lettuce from our garden.
We usually have corn on the cob and new baby potatoes several times a week in August &...
4 tags
It's that good!
Indian Dahl and rice. It’s the cheapest most delicious most healthful way I’ve found to eat. Simply cook yellow or orange lentils, fry up some onions, add curry seasoning and mix together. Top it over brown rice (really yummy with more sauteed onions added to it). This is less $$ than a cheeseburger costs.
Slow food on a budget - how about just food on a...
1980-1998 We didn’t have money for extras. No one was talking about slow food and we didn’t have money for fast food.
A large bag of potatoes, large bag of onions, large bag of rice, you get the picture. Add the tiniest amounts of beef or bacon fat or ham hocks for flavor. Lots of cabbage, canned tomatoes and greens for veggies.
There wasn’t any discussion about whether or...
3 tags
Use every part of the plant, animal you grow, get...
Most of the veggies we grow or purchase come with stems, stalks, leaves that I use to toss in the compost, until I learned how great they taste. Now I use the chard stems for a separate dish (bite sized pieces, steamed until tender, plunged in cold water, drained, add a small amount (tablespoon for the stems in a bunch) of vinaigrette, cool for several others then serve at room temperature.) I...
How we do it,
First we buy dried goods in bulk, thus reducing the cost and the waste in volved in smaller packaging.
Next I make large batches of soups and stews that are frozen in single servings for lunch at the office.
We cook larger amounts of rices, pastas, potatoes, etc. and have left over nights 2 days a week. This saves energy and time on busy nights.
All in all we eat for less than fast food more...
2 tags
Potluck Challenge with Four Friends
Four friends took the $5 challenge and had a feast - Ginger Miso Wraps, Bean and Escarole Soup, Egg and Zucchini Puff and Poached Pears with Dark Chocolate. Each of the dishes cost $5 or less. Five of us shared the food and had some left over.
3 tags
Bella Cucina Maria takes the challenge!
I recently started a blog for college students who just moved in to an apartment and need a little help with cooking. I focused this week’s blog entry on the Slow Food Challenge. Over the last weekend I headed up to the University of VT to my step-daughters kitchen and cooked for 7 of her friends, showing how easy it was to get to a healthy and tasty $5.00 dinner. You can read the full blog...
3 tags
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
1/2 whole chicken $2.50
Green beans, onions, carrots and garlic from the garden $1.50
Rice, 1 Cup, $0.30
Three eggs $0.50
Two lemons $1.20
Bread $2.00
Total for four people: $8.00
Cut the chicken away from the bones. Put bones in a pot and cover with water. Make chicken broth, using onions and carrots from the garden. Cook for 1 1/5 to 2 hours, skim fat and remove veggies. Cook the...
2 tags
A Provençal Picnic in Manhattan - $3.97 per...
I made some delicious Ratatouille from a recipe by Melissa Clark. My friends and I made a picnic out of it and headed to a park by my house for dinner. This is an inexpensive, satisfying meal! It just happens to be vegetarian and can be made vegan simply by omitting the goat cheese at the end.
http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2011/09/5-challenge-and-melissa-clarks-genius.html
4 tags
Natural Farmacy Takes On The Slow Food USA $5...
The challenge: host a dinner party based around locally sourced ingredients that support the slow food vision. The philosophy of the slow food movement—“food that is good for those who eat it, good for farmers and workers, and good for the planet”. My vegetarian dinner party for 6 was created for less than $5 a person and was inspired by seasonal produce from my farmers market or what I could...
