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Garden Couscous Salad

July 19, 2010 by 5 Comments

So.  Is the room spinning or is it just me? I keep waiting for the opportunity to arise where I can kick off my shoes, lay on my back in the sand, find Bugs Bunny as Brunhilde hidden in the clouds, swim in a clear blue lake, and turn to a cooler fully stocked with everything I love to eat before winding up the evening singing songs and making s’mores around a campfire.

*This view of what summer should be is based largely on how I spent every summer day of my youth. Thanks so much, Mom and Dad for a spectacular childhood .  I blame you. In the nicest possible way.

Instead, I’ve been running my children to play practice*, manning the fort while The Evil Genius is off doing highly technical things in scary technical places with frighteningly technical people, preserving every bit of produce that stands still long enough to be pickled or frozen or canned, steadfastly ignoring my ever-growing pile of laundry, and ensuring that my children at least are laying on their backs in the grass trying to discern Elmer Fudd as Siegfried. It’s a tradition, you see.

*For the last week, three of my five sons have performed the parts of the cutest orphans you’ve ever seen in ‘The Sound of Music’.  Is it just me or does anyone else out there fail to remember orphans being in ‘The Sound of Music’?  Whatever.  They were cute.  And orphany.  Well, except for the fact that I still had to make three meals a day and ferry these ‘faux orphans’ to and from rehearsals and performances.  I coached them to come up with their back stories as orphans to help them be convincing.  (Old Theater Majors don’t die.  They just become stage moms.) “Think about how you got to the convent.  Do you know each other?  Are you brothers? How did you become orphans?  Did both of your parents die?  Did your mother drop you off here because she could no longer afford to feed you then run over and join the convent in a very specifically non-childcare capacity?”  I jest.  I didn’t ask them if both of their parents died.

The weather is hot, the garden is producin’ and there is very little time to spend in the kitchen. Couscous to the rescue.  While all couscous is good, I’m especially partial to Israeli couscous; the small, round, toasted pearls of couscous also known as ptitim.  Israeli couscous, unlike the ‘standard’ couscous, is toasted rather than dried.  The toasting imparts a subtle nutty flavor that is well-suited to both warm and cold dishes.  Hot weather requires cold food.  (You’ve heard this theory from me before, right?) A cold couscous salad is a surprisingly effective delivery vehicle for big, fresh, garden flavors. Toasty, nutty couscous tossed with the light flavors of a vinaigrette and all sorts of bounty from the garden; zucchini, broccoli, onions, and more.  Briny olives and salty feta give the salad some body.  Before you all think I’ve jumped the shark; yes.  I actually did mean to put those pickles in there.  The olive/broccoli/pickle combination is one of my mom’s most genius food combinations and it’s not as far out as you might think.  Think of pickles as a shortcut to adding cucumber and dill to this salad.  And when you put together cucumber, dill, olives and feta?  Well you could hardly object to that, right?  (Unless you’re an inveterate feta hater, then you’re off the boat already.  Substitute with extra sharp cheddar if you must. It’ll still taste great.)

As for what to serve this alongside, the possibilities are many; grilled or broiled fish, chicken or pork are all at home on a plate with a big serving of Garden Couscous Salad.  Pack it in picnic baskets.  Eat it alone as a light and healthy lunch.  Sneak it for guilt-free midnight snacks.  I’ve been known to tuck into a bowl for breakfast now and again, and that’s saying something because I’m not normally a breakfast kind of gal.

Don’t flip out and write this off when you see the length of the ingredient list; this is all readily available stuff (even in my little corner of East-of-Nowhere) and it is a very simple preparation.  The only semi-exotic ingredient is the Israeli couscous.  If you can’t find it locally, try Amazon. Prefer whole wheat? They have that, too!

I have a favor to ask.  Could you pop your head out the window and look upward for just a moment?  Look a little closer.  See that?  That’s life and Porky Pig and Bugs and Elmer and Sylvester and Tweety and Foghorn Leghorn and Brunhilde and Siegfried and summer passing us by.  Let’s make a pact.  I’ll lay down and admire the clouds a little if you do.  Do we have a deal?

Want a photo-free, printer-friendly version of this recipe minus my yadda yadda?  Click here!

Garden Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Israeli couscous
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 onion end (You are saving them right?  If not, cut off about 2 inches of the root end of an onion, peel and use that.)
  • 2 parsley stems from the freezer (Also saving these in a freezer bag, right? If not, toss a couple fresh stems of parsley into the pot.)
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher or coarse sea salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 broccoli crown, cut into small florets (Chop up and save the stem in a freezer bag for your next batch of broccoli soup!)
  • 1 cup black or Kalamata olives, sliced in half
  • 4 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled or diced very small
  • 1 medium sized zucchini, washed and diced
  • 2 medium carrots, scrubbed and diced very small
  • 2 dill pickles, diced
  • 1/2 a sweet onion, peeled and diced very small
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (or 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic)
  • 3 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2-3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar, to taste
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, to taste

Heat 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid.  When the oil is hot, add the dry couscous and stir well to coat.  Toast the couscous in the oil for about 1-2 minutes or just until a couple couscous grains begin to take on a light golden brown color but most of them remain pale.  Carefully add the water all at once along with the onion end, parsley stems and 1 teaspoon of the Kosher salt.  The water will boil up quickly and may spit a little, so be cautious.  Add the lid and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, until the couscous is cooked through, but not mushy.  Pour the couscous into a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water.

Transfer the couscous into a large mixing bowl.  Add the remaining 3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, red wine vinegar, minced garlic (or granulated garlic) and minced onion to the couscous and toss to distribute evenly.

Add remaining ingredients and toss until evenly combined.  This is best if covered tightly and refrigerated for an hour or more prior to serving, but it can be eaten immediately.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Pasta, Rebecca, Recipes, Salads, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Bacon, Gorgonzola, Avocado and Basil Pasta

June 30, 2010 by 14 Comments

Warning: The following post and recipe make liberal and unabashed use of strong smelling blue cheese, smoky bacon and bacon fat, pungent onions, highly aromatic basil, odiferous garlic and creamy avocado. If you are at all adverse to stanky foods, you may want to look at the pretty pictures and skip the verbiage.

This is a blueprint on how to make me happy.  Just in case you were wondering.

The formula is simple and scientific:

Pasta + (Crispy Bacon + (Bacon Fat/Onions) + Gorgonzola + Avocado + Basil + Garlic) = Infinite Goodness

By way of proof, I offer this photographic evidence.

Just try to break down my theory now.  I dare you.

Still not convinced?  I’ll expound.  Perfectly ripe avocado, crispy bacon, onions cooked in a hint of bacon fat, Gorgonzola cheese, garlic and freshly snipped basil stirred into freshly cooked, hot al dente pasta with a splash of red wine vinegar; the avocado melts around the pasta forming a delicate creamy sauce.  Oh yes.  It’s true.  It forms its own sauce.  Contented sigh.

This is my new favorite pasta dish. We’re talking flavor -big flavor- with very little effort.  In heat and humidity like this everyone needs a spectacular meal that delivers with very little at-the-stove time; this is that dish.

If you’re not in the blue-cheese lovers’ camp, there is probably nothing I can say to you at this point to make you want this (unless the word ‘bacon’ trumps everything else, in which case I bid you welcome.) But if you, like me, salivate at the mention of Gorgonzola then you might just be sitting there yelling, “Quit the yackety and get on with the recipe.  I want my fix!”*

*I may have actually yelled that at the computer once when someone got rather verbose about a blue cheese popover that I was desperate to try.

I’ll quit the yackety in a moment, but I just have to remind you that I have five little boys and my conversations ‘with’ them go something like this.

Me: “Hey guys!  Could you please come empty the dishwasher for me? I could use a little help before dinner.”

Guys: “Which was your favorite assistant on Dr. Who?”

Me: “Um, Amy, I guess.  Now can you get the dishwasher?”

Guys: “Did you know I can do this with my eyelids?”

Me: “Stop it.”

Guys: “Can we go run around the house naked?”

Me: “Dishwasher.”

Guys: “Have you seen that snake I brought in the house?  I can’t believe I lost him. He was huge!”

Me: “Eep!”

Guys: “I’m hungry. And I think I can sing The Star Spangled Banner like a robot in Pig Latin.”

Me: (Whimper)

Begrudging me the yackety will result in me having very little sane, adult conversation in the course of the day.  You wouldn’t want me to regress would you? *

*There might be some who would argue that it is already too late since I’m employing the terms ‘yackety’ and ‘stanky’ and ‘I dare you’ in a food piece.  To them, I stick my thumb firmly on my nose, wiggle my fingers and blow a giant raspberry in their general direction.

So, since you’re indulging me, can I show you a couple pictures of some of my basil plants?  They’re growing like crazy plants out there.

We have the Genovese Basil.  Lovely classic basil.

And two of the four funky varieties given to me by my friend, Deb; Ararat Basil… (Look at how gorgeous it is with the purple stems and veins.)

This pretty little thing is Sweet Dani Basil.  This particular plant came from a clipping Deb kept alive in a pot on her windowsill all winter long.  Hearty stuff for such delicate flavor.

Basil is a star in this dish, and this dish came about largely because I put in, ahem, 18 basil plants.  I was desperate for fresh basil after that long basil-free winter.  Does it show? But now I have basil coming out of my ears and I’m trying to make meals that make ample use of my new-found herbal wealth. Multi-tasking.  It’s what’s for dinner.

One more thing.  Avocados, once they are cut, age about as gracefully as Lindsay Lohan.  The day it’s made, it’s both pretty and delicious.  So for the best looks, eat this the day it’s made.  As leftovers, it will still taste fabulous; it just won’t look great.

For a photo-free, printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here with wild abandon.

Bacon, Gorgonzola, Avocado and Basil Pasta

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound uncooked small shaped pasta (fusilli, farfalle, penne, wagon wheels, etc…)
  • 1 pound bacon, sliced into 1/2″ strips
  • 2 small cooking onions, peeled, cut in half and sliced into half-moons
  • 1 very ripe avocado, peel and pit removed and discarded
  • 1/2 cup lightly packed basil leaves, snipped or very thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced, or 1 teaspoon garlic paste
  • 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring a gallon of water to a full rolling boil in a large stockpot.  Salt the water and pour in the pasta.  Cook to al dente according to package directions.

Add the bacon strips to a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.  Stir the bacon and cook until crispy.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.  Pour all but about 2 teaspoons of the bacon fat into a jar*.

*You know what I’m going to say right?  Go on, say it with me, “SAVE THAT BACON FAT!”  Pop a lid on that jar of bacon fat and stash it in the refrigerator.  You never know when it might come in handy.

Return the pan to the burner over medium heat and add the onions to the pan with a pinch of salt.  Stirring frequently, cook until the onions are crisp tender (about 5 minutes) and golden in color. Transfer the onions to a large mixing bowl.

Pour the lemon juice over the two halves of avocado.  Coarsely chop the avocado and add to the bowl with the onions.  Stir to combine. Add the red wine vinegar, garlic, and all but 2 tablespoons each of the crispy bacon, snipped basil and the Gorgonzola cheese and stir well again.

Drain the pasta and add to the avocado mixture.  Stir in gently but thoroughly to distribute the sauce.  Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and black pepper. Top the pasta with the reserved basil, bacon and Gorgonzola cheese and serve warm or room temperature.

Shoot yeah.  Keep on growing, basil…

Filed Under: Main Dish, Pasta, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Corn Dog Bread

June 19, 2010 by 9 Comments

Summer and corn dogs are like winter and hot cider; you just hafta.

What is is about corn dogs that is so appealing?  Is it as simple as the whole “food on a stick” universal truth*? Or is it more complicated?  Maybe it comes down to the crazy appeal of the hot dog itself.  Perhaps it’s the hint of honey in the crispy-exterior, moist-interior cornbread.  Could it be the cultural association of fairs and festivals and carnivals and summer fun in sultry heat? The vinegar bite of yellow mustard dripping down the corn dog?  I don’t know.  All I know is that when you say ‘corn dog’ I make like Pavlov’s loyal companions and drool.

Alas, having chosen to live in the middle of nowhere as I have done, I don’t often stumble across carnivals and their vittles.  And I won’t settle for satisfying my corn dog cravings with an uninteresting box of frozen mystery hot dogs covered in cloyingly sweet cornbread batter*. The only solution is to take matters into my own hands.

*I know that fairs and carnivals probably aren’t serving up Zweigle’s or Nathan’s or Hebrew Nationals in their corn dogs, but somehow the ambiance of a fair makes up for it. I just don’t have the carnival barkers, brightly colored tents or enough tattoos to compensate at home.

Corn Dog Bread is the quickest, easiest, tastiest way to fill that corn dog shaped void in my psyche.  Of course, being unable to restrain myself, I added a few flourishes to the corn dog bread that bring it more into my wheelhouse; stoneground cornmeal, candied jalapenos and chopped onions.  But friends?  If you want the real deal, the most honest representation of corn dogs without a stick that you can possibly get, just go au naturel; use good old yellow cornmeal from the round canister and ix-nay the jalapenos and onions.  I won’t be hurt.

It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that this is the ultimate in kid-of-all-age-friendly food.  Cut up into squares, it’s easily tucked into a bag to take with you to baseball practice, on a picnic, at the drive-in theater or just out on the front porch enjoying that sweet summer breeze.  And this is easily turned into a vegetarian-friendly entrée by swapping out the hot dogs for veggie dogs.  Please ‘em all, I say!

Whichever way you make it, spicy or plain, serve with a plate piled with barbecue beans and coleslaw for the ultimate summer meal.

Corn Dog Bread

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (4.25 ounces by weight)  all purpose flour
  • 3 cups stoneground cornmeal (15 ounces by weight) (You can use regular yellow cornmeal, but be sure not to use self-rising cornmeal here!)
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 Tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic (garlic powder)
  • 1/4 teaspoon granulated onion (onion powder)
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 6 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 2-1/2 cups buttermilk (Don’t forget how easy it is to make your own real buttermilk!)
  • 8 hot dogs, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (You can use leftover grilled hot dogs or fresh hot dogs; either is fine!)

Optional, but tasty:

  • 1/2 a cooking onion, peeled and chopped finely
  • 2 Tablespoons Candied Jalapeno or pickled jalapeno rings ~or~ 1 fresh jalapeno, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, soda, powder, salt and sugar with a whisk.  In a medium sized bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, melted butter and buttermilk.  Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir lightly until the batter has mostly come together but still has some small lumps (Grandma’s notes specify to use a whisk.  I do what Grandma says.  It’s always for the best.)

Fold the sliced hot dogs and onions (if using) into the batter gently just until combined.  Scrape the batter into the greased baking dish and level the top.  If using the jalapeno rings, arrange evenly over the top of the batter.  Slide the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and it tests done*.

*A toothpick or cake tester stuck into the center of the bread will come out clean.


Slice into squares and serve warm or room temperature with the usual corn dog accompaniments -mustard, ketchup, and hot sauce- or not.

…Whatever you do, and however you make it, don’t forget those Barbecue Beans and coleslaw!

 

Print
Corn Dog Bread
Author: 
Recipe type: Main, Side
Serves: 8
 

Everything you love about corn dogs minus the stick. This is the taste of summer and fairs and perpetual youth.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (4.25 ounces by weight) all purpose flour
  • 3 cups stoneground cornmeal (15 ounces by weight) (You can use regular yellow cornmeal, but be sure not to use self-rising cornmeal here!)
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 Tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic (garlic powder)
  • ¼ teaspoon granulated onion (onion powder)
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 6 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 2-1/2 cups buttermilk (Don’t forget how easy it is to make your own real buttermilk!)
  • 8 hot dogs, sliced into ¼-inch rounds (You can use leftover grilled hot dogs or fresh ones; either is fine!
  • Optional, but tasty:
  • ½ a cooking onion, peeled and chopped finely
  • 2 Tablespoons Candied Jalapeno or pickled jalapeno rings ~or~ 1 fresh jalapeno, sliced into ⅛-inch rounds

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, soda, powder, and salt with a whisk. In a medium sized bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, honey and buttermilk. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir lightly until the batter has mostly come together but still has some small lumps (Grandma’s notes specify to use a whisk. I do what Grandma says. It’s always for the best.)
  3. Fold the sliced hot dogs and onions (if using) into the batter gently just until combined. Scrape the batter into the greased baking dish and level the top. If using the jalapeno rings, arrange evenly over the top of the batter. Slide the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and it tests done*.

Notes
*A toothpick or cake tester stuck into the center of the bread will come out clean.

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Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast Foods, kid food, Main Dish, Meat, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Cream of Broccoli Soup and DIY Crème Fraîche

April 25, 2010 by 12 Comments

Did you know there’s a fan page for Foodie With Family on Facebook?  Do you have any idea how lame I feel saying that?  Seriously.  But one exists, and it’s *blush* pretty fun for me.  I love talking with all of you.  Thank you all for weighing in on the ‘what do I post next’ poll.  Taking into account the previous requests and promises, the winner is Homemade Grand Marnier, followed by Tres Leches Cake and Cream of Broccoli Soup. So what am I doing leading off with Cream of Broccoli Soup?  It’s raining here.  And when it rains I like to do three things; sit on the couch with a blanket and book, drink tea, and make soup.  Thus, soup wins.  Tres Leches and Grand Marnier will make their long promised appearances this week!

So you have a loaf of One-Hour Sandwich Bread in the oven…  What do you serve with it?  Candidate #1: Cream of Broccoli Soup.

Thick, smooth, and vibrant in both color and taste, this soup spotlights the bright flavor of fresh broccoli. And let me tell you something. I adore broccoli;  Always have and always will. I guarantee that this is the Cream of Broccoli soup for serious broccoli lovers.

My soup is a little different than most broccoli soups out there (similar to this soup made by my good friend, but different than most ‘cream of broccoli’ recipes.) Why?  Because I don’t put any cream or milk in it.  I usually stir a bit of ye olde crème fraîche* in at the end to provide just a little tang, but I find that adding milk or cream in the whole pot of soup ends up muting the broccoli too much for my taste. Isn’t the point of a ‘broccoli’ soup to taste the aforementioned broccoli?

*Nerd alert: Check out my Richard the Lionhearted moment; Old English + French.  Am I the only one laughing? Le sigh. But more practically, have you made your own crème fraîche yet?  This couldn’t be simpler!  Stir 2 Tablespoons of cultured buttermilk (NOT lemon or vinegar soured milk!) into 2 cups of heavy cream.  Cover and leave at room temperature for 24 hours before refrigerating.  Ta da!  You made crème fraîche!  And you didn’t pay an arm and a leg for it at the grocery store!  And I’m using a lot of exclamation marks!  It’s so exciting! I’ll stop now! I mean to say, “I’ll stop now.” Calmly.

There are a couple fringe benefits to preparing Cream of Broccoli soup this way (aside from the taste-bud tantalizing flavor.)

  1. It’s quicker! Chop, sweat, stir, simmer, blend, serve.  That’s it; no melting butter, stirring in flour, forming the roux, simmering, blending, returning to pot, adding dairy and re-heating.
  2. It’s cheaper! Heavy cream is pricey, folks!  By adding it as an accent rather than a major player, you cut down on the overall cost of the meal.  Every little penny helps, right?
  3. It’s healthier!  We thicken this pot of soup with a vitamin-rich, low-maintenance potato rather than a fussy, fatty roux and heavy cream. (Don’t get me wrong.  I love the fussy, fatty roux and heavy cream in other contexts, but this soup simply doesn’t need it for flavor or for texture!)  More details on the health properties of broccoli?  Why sure!  I thought you’d never ask.

Broccoli alone is considered a super-food.  It’s rich in vitamins C, K, A and dietary fiber.  As if that wasn’t good enough, it’s been linked to boosting immunities, preventing cancer and the slowing or halting the aggressive spread of cancer.  This is one recipe where eating healthily is no chore, it’s a delight.

For a printer-friendly, photo-free version of this recipe, minus the broccoli-prosthelytizing, click here!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups fresh or frozen cut-up broccoli (Use the stems as well as the florets! It tastes amazing and it’s economical!)
  • 4 cups stock (homemade chicken or vegetable, preferably) or water
  • 1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 small cooking onion, peeled and diced
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste (You can use black pepper if white pepper is not available.)
  • Optional, crème fraîche for drizzling before serving (see below for instructions on making your own!)

Melt the butter in a stockpot or large soup pot over medium heat.  Add onions and lower heat to medium-low.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the onions and sweat, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened.  Lower the heat if necessary to avoid browning the onions.  This should take about 5 minutes.

Add the broccoli, stock, and potato to the soup pot and raise the heat to medium-high.  Bring the soup to a simmer.  Partially cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes, or until all the vegetables are soft.

Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Puree the soup, in batches, in a blender or food processor or use an immersion (stick) blender in the pot to puree the soup to your desired consistency.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.

If garnishing first loosen the crème fraîche in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.  Use a spoon to drizzle or dollop the crème fraîche over the soup and then swirl with a toothpick to create pretty patterns throughout.

You can freeze the uneaten, un-garnished soup in tightly covered containers for up to three months.

DIY Crème Fraîche

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons cultured buttermilk (NOT lemon juice or vinegar soured milk)
  • 2 cups heavy cream (while it’s preferable to use cream that hasn’t been ULTRA-pasteurized, you can use the ULTRA-pasteurized versions, it just may take longer to thicken properly.)

Use a whisk to combine the buttermilk with heavy cream.  Cover lightly and leave at room temperature (between 65°F and 75°F) for 24 hours or until thickened (but no more than 48 hours.)  This is good for two weeks (but I’ve used it longer than that…) in the refrigerator. Chilling it prior to use will thicken it further.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Instructional, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Soups & Stews, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,

One Hour Sandwich Bread

April 17, 2010 by 23 Comments

Can you think of any scent more bewitching than that of fresh bread baking in the oven?  It is nearly impossible to concentrate when I smell it. While the bread bakes my brain rummages through its box of all my favorite ways to eat a loaf hot from the oven; Should it be blueberry jam? Cold butter? Ginger marmalade? Or maybe a fried egg? A paper thin slice of salty ham? What sweet agony narrowing down those options.  And what a marvelous way to pass part of a Saturday morning; luxuriating in the brown yeasty aroma of dough transforming into the staff of life and contemplating that new loaf’s upcoming rapid demise.

If talk of bread fires up your salivary glands the way it does mine, you are in luck today, my friends.  I have a recipe for an astonishingly flavorful yeast bread that is ready to be loaded up with whatever makes your fancy take flight in one hour flat.

From start to finish, from its Alpha to its Omega, from the time you dip that first scoop of flour to the time it is removed from the oven you will have spent sixty minutes; and most of that will have been baking time.  There’s no crazy trick to it, it’s simply simple.

And this is a sandwich bread that is the stuff on which dreams are built; mouthwatering flavor, magnificently chewy crust, fine crumb interior, able to be sliced Texas toast thick or whisper thin and capable of holding anything you want to pile or slather on it.   Just take a look at it.

Want to look closer?

Well, sure! zoom on in…

If you have any fears about making yeast breads abandon them long enough to give this a try.  Kiss those yeast-bread bogey monsters goodbye, because this is the bread that will change your life.  You don’t need special equipment, or mad bread skills, or anything other than a big bowl and a spoon and a little counter space and the counter space is negotiable.  I’ll give instructions for preparing this with a stand mixer, food processor and by hand. And please note that it is just as easy as can be in all three methods.  I do believe it’s time to revamp that old cliché, “It’s as easy as pie.”  From now on I’m going to say, “It’s as easy as One Hour Sandwich Bread!”

Remember, too, that a last minute loaf of bread can make the meal.  It can be the difference between a lonely bowl of soup and a feast.  And more than that, this bread turns humble pantry staples into a reason to look forward to dinner.  And while the taste and ease are enough, there is also the low price tag to recommend it.  A few cups of flour, salt, sugar, yeast, water and it’s bread! And let me tell you something else, a loaf of this wrapped in a new tea towel makes a fantastic hostess gift.  Who doesn’t like a loaf of warm bread?

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe minus the photos and rhapsodic waxing about bread, click here!

One Hour Sandwich Bread

Adapted from ‘The Tightwad Gazette’.

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour (1 pound, 9.5 ounces by weight)
  • 2 Tablespoons instant yeast (also known as Bread Machine Yeast)
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt (if using table salt, reduce to 1 ½ teaspoons)
  • 2 cups very warm water (about 120°F)
  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Mixing the dough by Stand Mixer (my preferred method):

Combine flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer that has been fitted with a dough hook.  Mix on low speed for 30 seconds.

With mixer running, slowly pour in the water and olive oil at the same time.  Continue mixing on low until the dough comes together and becomes smooth, about 4 minutes.  Remove bowl from the stand mixer, scraping any dough that remains on the dough hook into the bowl.  Pull dough from bowl with your hands and form a smooth dough ball.  Replace in bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Mixing the dough by Food Processor:

Combine flour, instant yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor that has been fitted with a blade or dough blade.  Pulse 10 times.  With the food processer running, pour the water and olive oil into the feed chute.  Continue processing until the dough forms a cohesive ball.  Spin the dough ball 20 times and shut off the food processor.  Remove the dough, form a smooth dough ball and place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl.  Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Mixing the dough by Hand:

Combine flour, instant yeast, sugar and salt with a whisk or fork in a large mixing bowl.  Pour the warm water and olive oil into the flour mixture and use a sturdy spoon to combine into a shaggy dough.  Use your hands to knead for 8 minutes*.  After kneading for 8 minutes, cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.

*If you find it difficult to knead in the bowl, you can turn the dough out onto a clean surface to knead it.  After kneading, just return the dough to the bowl and allow it to rise as instructed above.

Turn dough out onto a clean surface and divide in half.  Form each half into a ball and place 5-6 inches apart on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a silpat, or has been lightly greased.  Use a sharp knife to slash the top of the loaf about ¼ of an inch deep.  This allows the steam to escape the baking loaf.

To bake the loaves:

Arrange the racks in your cold oven so that one rack is on the very bottom and one is positioned in the center of the oven.  Place the baking sheet with the loaves on the center rack and a bread or cake pan that is full of very hot tap water on the bottom rack.   Close the oven and turn your oven on to 400°F.  It is imperative that you start this in a cold oven!  Set your timer for 40 minutes.  That 40 minutes is all that stands between you and fresh bread.

The crust should be a deep brown and quite firm when you remove the loaves from the oven.  Transfer the loaves to a rack to cool completely if you wish to slice them, or you can do like I normally do and cool one loaf while tearing the second one into pieces and slathering with cold sweet cream butter.

Filed Under: Bread, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Instructional, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,

Risotto

February 14, 2010 by 3 Comments

We’ve been enjoying a lot of the foods that go along with this season, hot teas and cocoa, soups, homemade breads and muffins, and I’ve been coming up with some interesting combinations as I work through my pantry.  In one of my ‘what will I find in here today’ searches, I found a lonely cup or so of arborio rice. For those of you who are familiar with this rice, you know it is THE rice to use to make risotto, a creamy, flavorful and often cheesy Italian dish. It’s comparatively easy to make, but does take some time and patience since it requires close to continual stirring for about 20 minutes, but while it is often served as a side dish, it can serve as the main part of your meal–add a little salad or some grapes or sliced fruit, a little glass of wine, and you’re good to go.

Some basic risotto ingredients

I was going to try a crockpot risotto recipe, but I decided to stick with the tried and true–it had been so long since I’d made this, I wanted to be sure we would enjoy the end product, especially since it was going to be the main course.

As mentioned earlier, the main essential to a good risotto is good arborio rice; you can usually find it in most good grocery stores, or through a whole foods co-op, or (gasp!) Amazon!

I’ve been checking out alternate sources for certain grocery items, and sometimes Amazon has the best price, and with free shipping, there are no additional costs.  They also offer ‘subscription’ service which means you set up an automatic order for 1, 3 or 6 month terms, which entitles you to an additional 15% off the regular price. I ordered an 11 pound bag of rice today that normally cost $22.00, but came to 18.70 after the discount, coming to $1.70 per pound, much cheaper than at the grocery store, and 35 cents per pound cheaper than what my co-op could offer, and to get their best price I would have had to order 50 pounds at once.  I can just see my husband’s face as I ask him to carry that bag to the basement!

Good olive oil, butter, and savories such as onion, shallots, leeks, garlic, herbs–there’s a lot of room for some variety there. White wine is usually one of the ingredients, and I definitely prefer the version with wine than without–it helps cut some of the richness, adding a bit of a sharp note against the cheese that is added later. Broth is the main liquid; I’ve most often seen chicken broth used, but a light beef broth would probably work, or a good flavorful veggie broth.

Freshly shredded parmesan is best if you have it; if not, I get shredded parmesan in 2 lb. bags from our local restaurant supply, and keep it in the freezer to use in dishes like this. The per pound price is cheaper than most of the grated parmesan products in regular stores, and the flavor much better. Regular grated parm can be used, but try to find a brand that is as close to 100% cheese as possible.  Cream and extra butter is often stirred in at the end, but we no longer do that–we like the risotto just a little lighter.  Final touch for me is grated lemon rind and a good squeeze or three of lemon juice. Like the wine, it helps balance out the cheese in the dish.

Adding veggies to the dish? No problem. I really enjoy peas or mushrooms in risotto, and I usually prepare them separately and add the last couple of minutes before serving, so they just heat through but don’t have time to really cook any more. Mushrooms I sautee until browned, peas are simply cooked in a little salted water till just done. (If using the petite peas, I often just let them thaw, heating them through in the end–I like them to have a bit of a bite.)

As I mentioned earlier, this is an easy dish, but does take some attention. It’s a good time for listening to your favorite music, or just enjoying some quiet time at the stove (quiet time at the stove is probably something we empty nesters enjoy more often than some!).  Without further ado, here is the recipe I made last night.

Risotto with Parmesan and Lemon

1 cup arborio rice

4 cups chicken or veggie broth, kept hot in saucepan

1 small onion, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine or pressed

2 T. olive oil

2 T. butter

1 t. dried thyme

1/4 t. nutmeg, freshly grated

1/2 cup dry white wine

2/3 c. shredded parmesan

Ground black pepper to taste

Grated rind of one lemon

juice of 1/2 large lemon, or whole small lemon

Heat broth in a separate pan, and keep warm while you prepare the risotto.

Heat olive oil and butter in a larger flat-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Toss in onion and garlic, and sautee until transparent. Stir in rice, and mix until the rice is all coated, then add thyme and nutmeg, stirring till well mixed.

Add the 1/2 cup of wine, and stir for a few minutes until the wine is absorbed and your spoon leaves a clear path on the bottom of the pan; at this point add about a half cup of broth, again stirring until it is absorbed. Keep repeating this a few times more.  If the broth seems to absorb to quickly, you should turn down your heat a bit so you won’t run out of broth before your rice is cooked.

After about 20 minutes or so have elapsed, taste a grain of rice to check for doneness. It should be firm, but not at all crunchy. If more time is needed, continue to add the broth and testing the rice every couple of minutes. Once the rice is fully cooked, and you have a nice creamy sauce holding it together, it’s time to add the cheese and lemon. I add the cheese and lemon rind together, making sure it is well incorporated, then squeeze in the lemon juice. I usually have to taste a couple of times before I’m satisfied with the balance–I definitely want the lemon to come through, but not to overpower the dish.

This is also the point where you would stir in a little heavy cream, a little extra butter, and any veggies you would like to add.

And that’s it. Serve it up in some nice bowls, sprinkle with a little extra parmesan (I had a tiny bit of extra nutmeg on mine),  have a nice plate of freshly sliced kiwi fruit nearby, and pour yourself a glass of that nice dry white wine.  I have to say, that is as close to a perfect meal as I’ve had in a while!

Filed Under: Main Dish, Recipes, Side Dishes, Stretching your dollars, Uncategorized, Valerie Tagged With: , , ,

Sausage Baked Beans and Grandpa’s Baked Bean Sandwiches

January 24, 2010 by 8 Comments

I’ve talked a great deal about frugal foods and menu planning in my last few posts.  There’s no doubt about it, one of the most budget-friendly foods you can make is beans!  But that’s not why I’m posting this recipe today.  I’m posting it because it’s STINKIN’ AWESOME!  And because it’s cheap.  I thought you should know…

I also thought you should know that I successfully resisted the temptation to indulge in two cheap and easy beans-and-gas jokes just now.  But I digress…

My Grandpa was a man who knew his food.  He was also a very accomplished man; a former construction worker, professional musician and ordained Methodist minister. And among all of his achievements, this sandwich stands as one of his best.

At first glance, a sandwich composed of baked beans, onions and mustard may not sound like it’s going to rock your world but take a closer look.  The homemade baked beans are saucy and just a little sweet with a pronounced molasses flavor.  The onion rings are sliced paper thin and add just the right amount of pungency.  The tang, salt and vinegar bite of the yellow mustard acts as a perfect foil to the slight sweetness of the beans.  And on lightly buttered homemade rye?  Oh my.  It makes an extraordinarily balanced sandwich full of umami.  Yes!  A sandwich that for all intents and purposes should be anything but refined ends up effortlessly tickling the taste buds in a way that cooks over the globe strive for when they create much fussier food.  And there is a very good reason behind it…

Much of the greatest and most comforting food in the world is the direct result of poverty, hardship and privation.  Pho, stock made from chicken feet, fried rice, dumplings, pasties, coq au vin, cassoulet, marrow bones, beef jerky* and haggis* all sprang from a desire to use every single possible edible part of the animal and avoid all waste.

*I’ll take on anyone who claims beef jerky isn’t great food.  Me and beef jerky?  We’re like this.   I could easily eat my way through a pound all by myself. I accept donations of beef jerky.

Now haggis?  Haggis has its origins in poverty to be sure.  But I’ve heard it said that people’s enthusiasm for haggis is directly inverse to the amount of hand they’ve had in preparing it. The truth is that  I just threw that in because tomorrow is Robert Burns’ birthday. So for the most part, haggis is relegated to being stabbed annually on Burns’ Nicht.  I, for one, am a-okay with this.  Moving back on to tastier things…

It’s probably not too far a stretch to say that our country was built on baked beans.  The native population ate beans, the settlers practically survived on beans,  (That is to say that those who did survive did so with the material assistance of their bean-rich diet.) and nearly every single immigrant population who has joined us since has brought another version of beans or their preparation with them.  Baked beans are the original All-American Food.

And -cough, cough- I do believe that mine are out of this world.  They are the basis for the aforementioned Grandpa’s Bean Sandwiches.  Now you could throw canned baked beans on a piece of bread and I’m sure it’d be decent.  But to have the sandwich that -in my Grandpa’s words- would make your tongue slap your brain silly, you want to make my beans.  Oh yes you do.  Because it all starts with this.

My baked beans have a little something extra that turns them into something good enough to make your grandpa cry.  I bake little bits of spicy sausage into the beans as they bubble away in the oven.  At least it would’ve made my Grandpa cry.  He liked sausage.

You can easily turn these baked beans into a delicious vegetarian dish simply by omitting the sausage and replacing it with two tablespoons of olive oil and a handful of chopped mushrooms.

And boy howdy are these ever inexpensive!  Including sausage, the whole dish should run you no more than five dollars and it can feed you for days!

For a photo-free, printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Sausage Baked Beans

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound dried Navy beans, rinsed and picked over to remove stones or dirt clumps
  • 12 cups fresh water for soaking plus additional boiling water for cooking
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 large cooking onion, peeled
  • 1/4 pound spicy link sausage, cut into 1/2″ chunks
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder (or 1 Tablespoon prepared yellow mustard)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Place Navy beans in a dutch oven or other stove-top and oven safe deep-sided heavy pan with a tight fitting cover.  Pour 12 cups of fresh water over the beans, cover, and place over high heat.  Bring to a boil and allow to cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to sit at room temperature overnight, still covered.

In the morning, remove the cover, add the bay leaf, stir the beans and return to a boil over high heat.  Lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 30 minutes or until beans are just beginning to become tender, adding more boiling water if necessary.  You’re not looking to get the beans totally tender, you just want them to be starting to get tender. They’ll finish cooking as they bake! Remove the beans from heat again and pour into a colander in the sink.  Fish out and discard the bay leaves.

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Evenly scatter the chunks of link sausage over the bottom of the pan you used to soak and cook the beans.  (Rinsing the pan between steps is unnecessary!) Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the molasses, brown sugar and mustard powder and then pour the hot beans over top.

Gently fold the beans and molasses mixture together.  Don’t beat the tar out of ‘em.  Be gentle about it.  Just fold…

Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to scrape the molasses coated beans into the pan over the sausage pieces.  Pour additional boiling water over the beans to cover them by about an inch.  Place pan, uncovered, in the oven and bake for about three hours.  Check the beans periodically to make sure they’re not becoming dry.  As soon as the beans are tender (This could be less than three hours or more depending on the age of the beans.  Just check them every now and again!) stir them so that you’re transferring the beans that were on bottom to the top and vice versa.  Raise the oven’s heat to 400°F and cook, still uncovered, until the sauce around the beans is thick and bubbly.  This should take about an hour.  Remove from oven, add salt and pepper to taste, cover, and allow to cool until they are a comfortable temperature to eat.

These beans are great hot, warm, room temperature or cold.  In short, eat them with dinner and then sneak them from the refrigerator at midnight.  I won’t tell.

Store leftovers, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.  They freeze and reheat well, too!

So what do you serve this alongside?  Roasts, sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, toast, eggs, you name it.  But I do believe the best thing you could possibly do with these beans is whip up a couple of Grandpa’s Baked Bean Sandwiches.

For a printer friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Grandpa’s Baked Bean Sandwiches

Ingredients:

  • 2 slices hearty bread (I prefer rye.)
  • 1 cup slightly reheated baked beans
  • thinly sliced sweet onions
  • prepared yellow mustard
  • softened butter

This sandwich is as easy -and as good- as it gets!  Butter one side each of two slices of bread.  Spread the baked beans over the butter on one slice of bread, top with paper thin slices of sweet onion and a drizzle of prepared yellow mustard.  Lay the other slice of bread, butter side down, over the beans.  Slice in half and serve with pickles and a handful of chips, if life is good enough to you that you have them.  Sit back,  enjoy and remember that just because you don’t have money doesn’t mean you have to eat like it!

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Beans, Breakfast Foods, Component Foods, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Instructional, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

5-Minute Homemade Creamy Tomato Soup

January 19, 2010 by 7 Comments

Today’s post is Part IV of the “Saving Money in the Kitchen” series that began Tuesday.  You can read Part I here ,  Part II here and Part III here.

Wowza!  Who knew the response to being frugal would be so excellent?  I’m thrilled that so many of you are excited about stretching your food dollars to the max.  I feel like we’re all part of a super secret savings club.  I am fully aware how dorky that makes me sound, but really.  I love knowing I’m not the only one who gets a little shiver of joy when I save a few bucks.

I promised this post yesterday and I’m oh so sorry I didn’t get the chance, but I hope you find it was worth the wait.  To make it up to you I’ll share my recipe for my 5-Minute Homemade Creamy Tomato Soup.  No, it is not ketchup soup. *  Yes, it is done in about 5 mintutes.  It is so much better -and better for you- than any of that stuff that comes in the red, white and gold cans or their imitators.  And guess what.  It’s less expensive than that aforementioned national brand is when it’s on sale!  I kid you not.  Homemade, from-scratch soup that tastes superior to, is better for you than and is cheaper than the stuff in the store.

creamytomatosoup2

But first we talk savings…

*Ketchup soup is the enfant terrible of the frugal foods movement.  Let’s be real.  It tastes like what it is; watered down ketchup.  And honestly?  Unless you’re stealing the ketchup packets from a fast food restaurant (What are you doing in there anyway?  Those places aren’t really all that cheap!) it’s not going to end up being any cheaper than generic label or my homemade tomato soup.  And it’s wrong to steal.  So there.

Remember the list we’ve been talking about? The list I like to call “The Better Living List”?  I call it this mainly because I haven’t come up with a wittier name just yet.  I’m open for suggestions. To jog your memory, here’s the list again.

  1. Know your preferences.
  2. Keep staples on hand.
  3. Know what you have on hand.
  4. Plan your potential meals and make the most of what you already have available before you shop.
  5. Know what you need beyond what you have to make those meals.
  6. Build flexibility into your plan.
  7. Build change into your plan.
  8. Have a back-up plan.
  9. Relax, dangit!  It’s food!

We talked about points one through five previously (You can read Part I here ,  Part II here and Part III here.) Today I’m devoting to points six through nine (and soup, but that comes later.)

Build flexibility into your plan.

This is, believe it or not, one of the most important things you can do to save money.  And it is a darned good reason to have that list of food likes and dislikes for your family. (Remember our list from Part II?) Here’s a scenario that has happened to me that shows why flexibility is important: I knew what was in my refrigerator and pantry and I had  planned my meals.  Most of my dinners meals for that week were fashioned around making a huge batch of taco meat at the beginning of the week; Tacos, taco soup, cheeseburger pizza, ground beef quesadillas with leftover soup, and spaghetti,  as well as a fish meal and a roast chicken for Sunday.  I arrived at the store armed with my menu plan and grocery list.  At the meat counter, I saw the ground beef was $2.99 per pound.  According to my plan and list I was going to purchase eight pounds.  Eight pounds at $2.99 per pound was $24.00.  Right next to the ground beef was a manager’s special of pork shoulder for $0.69 per pound.  Because I was flexible, I bought an eight pound porkshoulder roast for $5.52 and got the equivalent number of meals (shredded pork tacos, pork tortilla soup, barbecue pork pizza, pulled pork quesadillas and pulled pork nachos)  at a savings of $18.48.  That was almost $20 off the grocery bill right there.

So how do you build flexibility into your plan?  I tell you it’s all in the list.  The list of likes and dislikes and potential meals, that is.  When you run across those killer sales you can take a quick glance at your list to tell you whether it’s worth bringing home.  ‘Cause let me tell you something, no matter HOW cheap monkey brains were offered at my local store it wouldn’t do me a lick of good to bring them home since I would refuse to cook them let alone eat them.  (Okay, monkey brains?  Not so big a market for them here in Amish country, but you get my point.)  And my example above was a pretty straightforward one.  You can substitute slow-cooker braised shredded pork pretty easily for ground beef in most cases.  The trick is in teaching yourself to recognize substitutions when they’re on sale.  But  you should be ready to overhaul your menu plan in a more drastic way if you see something that you all like that is on mega-sale.  Having your list of potential meals handy helps you to see what you could replace on your meal plan to take advantage of sale items.  Be sure to write it down if you do change meals.  I have been known to forget the meals I dreamed up in the grocery store between the checkout and my car.  I know.  It’s sad.  Maybe I should eat more fish.

Build change into your plan

Make sure you add new meals occasionally.  Nothing will put me off a plan faster than getting bored.  If I’ve mentioned my fickleness once I’ve mentioned it a thousand times.  I need to have new, exciting foods semi-regularly.  Even if it’s just Beef Sukiyaki instead of Beef Stew one week it helps keep your love of food fresh.  When I was a kid, my mom had different ethnic foods for different nights of the week; Italian foods on Mondays, Filipino foods on Wednesdays, Mexican foods on Fridays, etc…  I love this memory.

Have a back-up plan

I’m not much of a ‘convenience food’ gal.  Truth be known, I don’t find convenience foods all that convenient.  I prefer the taste and nutritional value of simple home-crafted, home-cooked food.  But I’d be lying to myself and you if I didn’t say that you need to have something around to feed you all on those nights.  You know just as well as I do which nights those are.  They’re the nights that cap off the days where your alarm clock didn’t sound, you got the kids to school an hour late without a note, got a traffic ticket you couldn’t afford on the way to the office which also made you an hour and a half late.  Then you got home to find out the dog had gotten sick on your wool sweater that was unaccountably in the middle of the floor , your kids were ‘starving’ and you had forgotten to take the ground beef out of the freezer to make dinner.  Those nights you need sanity more than you need food snobbery or a guilt complex.  For those occasions you need a jar or two of prepared pasta sauce, some dried pasta or frozen ravioli and a frozen loaf of garlic bread.  Just do yourself a favor and have them on hand.  Trust me.  It would be nice to live in a land where fairy godmothers dropped off locally-grown, grass-fed meat and organic vegetable laden care-packages on nights where you could barely drag yourself to bed, but we don’t.  And unless Alice Waters is your godmother, neither do you. So keep it real and make sure you have a back-up plan.

The back-up plan is the safety net that keeps you from chucking the overall plan altogether on those horrid nights.  Which brings us, finally, to…

Relax dangit!  It’s food!

I am totally serious.  I love good food.  I love it enough to spend a good deal of time thinking, talking and writing about it, cooking it, teaching people to cook it, and eating it but I don’t love it enough to make it a god.  What I mean by that is that my main goal is simply to keep my family well-nourished.  The ideal is locally and organically grown produce and grains, ethically raised poultry, seafood and grass-fed beef.  Reality for us often falls well short of that and I will not sacrifice my family’s mental or fiscal well-being to attain that ideal.  When allocating my food money, I choose the hills I’m going to die on (organic carrots, high fructose corn syrup, lettuce and celery) and the hills where I’ll execute a strategic withdrawal (potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and corn.) This is what works for us with the amount of money we have to spend.  You may have more or less than we do, so do what works best within the resources you have available and don’t feel guilty about it;  I’ve found my happy medium and I encourage you all to do the same.  Once you have decided on your priorities, just relax and enjoy the food.  Unless we’re talking about real food allergies or major health problems I really think we all need to take a deep breath and chill.  In other words, no ritual suicides if you fail to attain locavore* sainthood.

*Sidebar: This has been a growing topic of discussion lately.  There have been politicians, celebrity chefs and food bloggers all weighing in the subject and I’m really interested in getting your thoughts. Does ‘eating local’ matter to you?  I’d love to know why it does or doesn’t.

Tomorrow, I’ll cover the “No-no List” from Part II in greater detail.  (And I’ll name the winner of the Korintje Cinnamon giveaway!) But for now?  Let’s talk about soup!

This isn’t just any old soup.  This is magical soup recipe;  It takes five minutes, costs $1.50, and yields eight cups of creamy, silky, delicious, intensely tomatoey soup.  (Are you ready for my broken record routine?) There are no funky preservatives or additives and you can control the sodium without paying premium prices for low-sodium soup. That’s something I never understood.  How do you charge me more when you leave things out?  Hmmm…

Here’s the price breakdown (Just so’s  you know I’m not funning you.)

  • $0.59 for a 48 ounce can of tomato puree
  • $0.00 for 3-3/4 cups tap water (provided your tap water is potable!)
  • $0.04 for 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch from a 1 pound box that cost $1.00
  • $0.75 for 1 cup of Half and Half from a pint carton that cost $1.50
  • $0.01 for 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt from a 1 pound box that cost $2.99
  • $0.11 for 1/2 teaspoon of celery salt and a pinch of Italian seasonings from larger bulk containers.  (I love you, but I’m not determining how many 1/2 teaspoon servings of celery salt came in that 2 pound bag I got from the Amish bulk foods place. I’m making an educated estimation here.)
  • That brings our grand total to $1.50 for the whole batch of soup.

To recap: eight cups of amazing tomato bisque made from scratch in five minutes for a buck-fifty.  Try it on for size tonight.  It’s cold out there, honey!

For a photo-free, I-go-on-and-on-free, printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here!

5-Minute Homemade Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 (48 ounce) can Tomato Puree (You can substitute crushed tomatoes if you prefer more robust texture in your soup.)
  • 3-3/4 cups plus 1/4 cup fresh water, divided
  • 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon Granulated Garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon Celery Salt
  • a pinch of Italian Seasonings
  • 1 cup Half and Half

Stir together the tomato puree, 3-3/4 cups water, Kosher salt, granulated garlic, celery salt and Italian seasonings in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.  When the soup is simmering, use a fork to combine the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl or cup.  Stir the cornstarch until no lumps remain.  While stirring the soup vigorously, pour the cornstarch and water mixture into the pan.  Return to a simmer and continue cooking until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.  When thickened, remove from the heat and stir in Half and Half.  Serve immediately or refrigerate, tightly covered, for up to a week.

We like ours with grilled cheese sandwiches made on homemade rye bread, but it’s equally good with a handful of oyster crackers or as a meal starter.  Every now and then, when I’ve been extra good, I swirl a little heavy cream into my soup when I serve it.  Okay.  I really do it most of the time.  And I’m not necessarily really good when I do it.  But it’s cream!  Do I really need a reason?

creamytomatosoup1

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Household Hints, Instructional, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Rebecca, Recipes, Soups & Stews, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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