One Frugal Foodie

At last, the temperatures have risen just enough for me to enjoy a cool and creamy smoothie for my healthy mid-morning treat.  One of my favorite indulgences, yet oh so nutritious, most of my smoothies are made with not an ounce of added sugars.  Rather, ripe fruit takes center stage for a naturally sweet treat.

Unfortunately, my fruit stocks were a bit low, with berry and stone fruit season not yet in full swing (and frozen blueberries at astronomical prices) … but buried deep in my freezer I discovered a baggie filled with melon balls.  A month or two ago I had a rapidly aging cantaloupe on my hands.  Instead of tossing it to the fruit flies, I scooped out the flesh and froze it in the hopes that one day it might serve some purpose.  Well, today was that day. 

Basic Bananaloupe Smoothie

• 1/2 to 1 cup unsweetened almond or rice milk
• 1 ripe banana, small to medium in size
• 1 cup ripe cantaloupe chunks, frozen
• 1/2 cup ice (optional)

Combine 1/2 cup of milk alternative, the banana, and cantaloup chunks into your blender and blend until smooth.  If too thick, add milk alternative to your desired consistency.  Blend in the ice if you desire a frostier consistency.

Makes 1 big serving or 2 modest ones

Optional add-ins:

• If you don’t mind the color, toss in 1/2 to 1 cup of fresh spinach leaves.  Spinach doesn’t touch the wonderful smoothie flavor, yet adds a good dose of nutrition.
• Ground flaxseeds, a tablespoon or two, for some of those great Omega-3’s and a little protein.
• Ground coconut, a tablespoon or two, for flavor and if you are a coconut for health fanatic like myself. (Adds a bit of fat too if you are concerned about the little ones not getting enough)

This recipe is vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free (if using rice milk instead of almond milk), gluten-free (keep an eye on your milk alternative brand), soy-free (watch for soy lecithin in your milk alternative).

Honestly, I am not a chocolate cookie fan, so I have no idea how I became obsessed with trying to create this cookie.  I think perhaps it was the initial draw of a chocolate covered cherry cookie.  I do love chocolate covered cherries … yet, as it turns out, this flavor combination in a cookie just didn’t work for my taste buds.  So, then the recipe twisted itself around heading toward an impersonation of my favorite coconut brownies … but vegan.

 Well, these Cocoa-Nut Cookies as I like to call them still aren’t hitting the mark.  They came out a bit too crunchy.  I tried lowering the temp, but then they are too flat.  If you would like to take whirl at these, I welcome your enthusiasm and suggestions!

Chewy Cocoa-nut Cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
¼ cup neutral oil (coconut in liquid form, grapeseed, extra-light olive, vegetable, etc.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup regular (full fat) coconut milk
(I added 1 T of ground flaxseed to the coconut milk, but I don’t think this was necessary)
¼ cup unsweetened coconut, ground in a spice grinder
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate mixing bowl, blend together the sugar, oil, vanilla, and coconut milk.  Beat in roughly 2/3 of the flour mixture.  Fold in the coconut and chocolate chips, and add the remaining flour mixture.  The dough will become relatively firm.

Roll into small balls, approximately 1” in diameter.  Place the cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets, allowing some room to spread.  Bake for 10 minutes. Allow them to cool completely on wire racks.

Yield 30 cookies

Nicole over at Pinch my Salt reminded me of Barilla’s free cookbook, which I had almost forgotten to download.  Download The Celebrity Italian Table Cookbook between now and March 31st, and Barilla will donate $1.00 to America’s Second Harvest for every cookbook downloaded, up to 100,000 downloads.

While it certainly isn’t 100% dairy-free friendly, I am quite excited by a few of the recipes, and a few others look easy to alter.  The Chocolate Hazelnut Fritters and the Spicy Penne Pasta with Capers and Olives are two that have certainly  captured my attention.  Plus, it is for a good cause!

The cookbook download is focused on celebrity recipe favorites that have been recreated by Mario Batali.  It is wonderfully written and illustrated with ambiance and table setting suggestions.  Anywho, check it out since it is free!

I looove veggie burgers.  Not really the faux meat ones made with soy, but rather the ones that taste like what they are, veggies and grains.  Well, at long last, thanks to the inspirational Chicago Diner recipe from The Non-Dairy Queen, I made my first attempt at homemade veggie burgers.  Though totally grain and veg, they did turn out a bit meaty, and overall excellent in flavor.  I would definitely add a bit more salt and possibly a little crushed red pepper for a kick on the next round though.  We did have some problem with the oat and mushroom base, as it was a bit soft on the inside, I just couldn’t get it to totally set up.  But, really, don’t they look good?

We had no buns, so I improvised with Roti, hence the odd presentation.  I am definitely motivated to continue on the homemade veggie burger path, so you can expect to see more … thanks to the Queen.

Transitioning to dessert, I receive requests quite often for a good dairy-free white cake.  Well, I went for the gusto and attempted to create fluffy white cupcakes that are both dairy-free and egg-free.  The good news is, I succeeded!  Perfect fluffy texture.  But alas, they were still in need of some sweetness.  You may be thinking, just use more sugar.  However, more sugar may weigh down my perfect little cakes … so more experimenation is necessary.  But don’t these look good too?

I am happy to report that both recipes were insanely inexpensive also, using pantry items and fridge items that I readily had on hand (ie mushrooms).  Plus, the cupcakes were so easy to make (this snail paced chef had them in the oven in 15 minutes flat, no joke) that I see no reason to ever pick up a boxed mix!

Ah, how do I love Trader Joe’s, let me count the ways … a side note from food, but it seems that their mini floral department is donning some spectactular rose specials, to help avoid buying the $10 marked up to $50 dozen red roses. 

They have a “14 Stem Rose Spectacular” ~ for $9.99, these are Orange roses for “passion, desire.”

But wait, before you red rose lovers click away with disappointment, they are also offering that traditional one dozen red roses for $16.99.  Really, quite the deal for this time of year.

Of course, if you are as frugal as my family (or perhaps you live no where near a wonderful TJ’s), you do not expect the rose spectacular from your husband, but rather bake up a dessert!  This insanely frugal Strawberry Love Muffin recipe from My Sweet Vegan is too good (and easy) to pass up!  I am either going for this one, or the Chocolate Cherry Truffles in MSV.  Both are just so simple and tasty sounding.  Now, I just need to get my hands on some heart-shaped muffin tins!

We are Asian food fanatics in our household.  Whether authentic or Americanized … Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, or Japanese … we love it all.  I think my favories are sushi and thai food (lemongrass, flavorful curry, pad thai, peanut sauce, oh I could go on), but I must confess that having a basic Chinese-style stir fry recipe on hand can be a lifesaver for using up whatever you have on hand and quickly putting food on the table at an affordable price.

Years ago I found a very basic recipe that used three of the basic stir fry components, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and mirin (rice wine).  All of these ingredients can easily be found in the Asian section of most any major grocer … though they will be cheaper if you can locate an Asian market.  Now this recipe isn’t what I would call the best stir fry I have ever made, but it is solid, and really, when I use it, I am not in a tinkering around kind of mood.

But, you can feel free to alter it to your own taste buds.  For example, I never add sugar, but I think just a touch of brown sugar might mellow some of the sharper notes.  Also, meat is not required in this dish, feel free to sub in tofu, or go all veggie.  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Your Basic Go-To Stir-Fry

• 1/4 cup soy sauce (I use wheat-free tamari, which is also gluten-free)
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons mirin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder or cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons peanut or other oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 - 1 1/2 lbs sliced chicken or pork, or cut into bite sized pieces
• 4 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 8 ounces broccoli crowns / florets
• 4-8 ounces other veggies of choice ~ cabbage, bok choy, carrots, bell peppers, snow peas, etc.
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• brown or white rice

Set that rice to cook while you prepare the stir fry!

Combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, ginger, and arrowroot/cornstarch in a bowl until the ginger and starch have dissolved.  Set aside.

In a large skillet (with high sides), heat the peanut oil.  Add the garlic and saute for just a minute.  Add the chicken/pork and saute until cooked through, 5-10 minutes.  I like to add a little bit of the sauce to the chicken to infuse more flavor.  I cover the pan for a few minutes of the cook time to ensure that it is cooked through but remains tender.  Remove the meat to a bowl, and drain the juices from the pan.

Add your veggies to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, until the veggies are crisp-tender.  Return the chicken to the pan, add the sauce, and stir to coat and heat the sauce for just a minute.  Turn off the heat, stir in the sesame oil, and allow the sauce to thicken slightly.  Serve atop the cooked rice.

Yields about 4 servings

Right now, they are very rapidly dotting the southwest, popping up with new stores every month in California, Nevada, and Arizona, but I am pretty sure they have national expansion plans, so keep your eye out.  They have just taken over all Rite-Aid stores that are closing and will be converting them to their own.

This great store is following a Trader Joe’s kind of concept, but more efficient and a more pleasant shopping experience.  I don’t know about you, but every Trader Joe’s I have ever been too is like navigating a narrow field of land mines. 

Anyway, they are not completely “natural food” but do boast a ton of great organic options (even organic sugar, flour, and tortilla chips - yeah no GMO’s!) and many of the natural food brands that we purchase.  We were extremely happy with their prices and quality, except the produce … that is until today. 

We discovered that every morning they mark down expiring produce by 50%.  At 3:30pm every day, they mark any leftover down by 75%.  They do this with meat and seafood also.  They prepack produce like Trader Joe’s so an expiration date certainly doesn’t mean bad.  I picked up two extra-meaty portobello mushrooms today that looked better than at Whole Foods for just $1.49 - for two HUGE ones.  We also picked up fresh organic baby spinach, 5 ounces for $1.49, perfect for freezing, and really, they looked great.  Others that made our cart included a giant bunch of organic bananas for $1, organic baby carrots for $1, organic salad mix (5oz) for $1… really I could go on, we really stocked up, no eating out this weekend.  With the mark downs, even their produce fits our frugal bill. 

We won’t be abandoning TJ’s as they still offer a few items that we are really happy with, but do keep an eye out as I am pretty confident that Fresh & Easy will be in your neighborhood soon!

Oh yes, side note … they have insanely attentive staff, but use mostly super efficient self-checkouts (with eager attendents).  I love this, as I am able to use reusable bags without any hassle or without any checkers accidentally bagging my groceries in plastic (and then attempting to throw away the bags when I tell them I have my own!).

Disclaimer: I promise that despite the overzealous post, I am not affiliated with Fresh & Easy, beyond satisfied shopper.  Just a tad excited.  Can you tell?

Several years ago, when I returned to a dairy-free diet, I discovered how many baked goods had milk in some form lingering within them.  Even that innocuous looking French bread often had whey on the ingredient statement.  So, I took up baking.  It turned out to be an excellent cost-saving endeavor as well … shopping in bulk foods to stock up on pantry items rather than buying pre-packaged. 

Anyway, my baking prowess has turned me into a bit of a test kitchen for baked goodies as well.  Rather than writing diligently on my blog and website as I should have been, for the past couple of weeks I have been churning out …

Pomegranate Ginger Cupcakes from My Sweet Vegan (heaven!)

Pumpkin Pie Muffins (virtuosity meets indulgence)

Banana Crumb Coffee Cake (my husband raved that this was Starbucks worthy)

Pizza (and lots of it!) …. this one with White Sauce

Nut Case Cookies from My Sweet Vegan (a new personal favorite from this cookie monster)

Maple Spice Pumpkin Cookies (can we say yum!)

Butterscotch Blondies from My Sweet Vegan (oooh, fudgy)

Namaste Gluten-Free Bread (from a mix and amazingly impressive)

Of course, with all of this baking and amateur photography, I couldn’t help but start up a flickr account ~ http://www.flickr.com/photos/21365075@N04/ ~ a long shot from professional, but fun nonetheless!

You see, I ran into a bit of a dilemma regarding garbage bags for the first time ever.  our little kitchen trash perfectly fits those evil grocery store bags.  But with my committed switch to reusable bags, which I have become so diligent about, we actually ran out of bags for the trash!  Not wanting to go out and buy more plastic bags, my grandma gave me her grocery store bags to use (rather than trash empty). 

But, I just came across these today … http://www.biobagusa.com/catering.htm

How cool!