Cooking on a Small Budget...

One of my favourite things is getting a new cookbook (or borrowing one from the library) and getting to try a new recipe.

I would love to be able to cook from my cookbooks trying new things every week.

But, what usually happens is I write up a weekly menu and grocery list and then realize that my budget doesn't even begin to cover the cost of the ingredients - Halibut for six...not too cheap - sushi grade tuna...likewise - filet steak, lobster, ten different types of cheese...sigh. I only wish my cart looked like that. I usually need to stick to the more basic - read: less expensive - recipes.

But, even with those I am often left lacking ingredients. It may have been awhile since I have shopped or I may be busy and cooking at the last minute - running to the store often takes as long as whipping up something with what you have. I have a pretty well stocked pantry but...like I often tell my kids...you can't have everything. And so I substitute.

One of the things I love about cooking is the ability to improvise and change things to make something your own. I love looking in my fridge and seeing it nearly empty, hearing the whining all around me that there is nothing to eat and then being able to make something really good out of what is there. I don't really love the emptiness or the whining but I love the creative process it inspires! Sometimes - the ingredients I have are so different that I end up with a completely new and often delicious recipe.

I have heard so many people complain that you can't eat well on a tight budget. I have found that I may not be able to eat as well as I like but, we still eat pretty good. I also hear complaints that they just aren't creative... I've never really been the creative type either - but, I have learned that building creativity is like building muscle - you have to use it! And I have learned some tricks. My favourite is swapping out.

(Now that I think about this - I think I learned this from my mom. She is famous for her: "You think it's chilli but it's not". My mom really doesn't like anything spicy so she would make chilli - minus the chillies. Now, I don't think anyone would mistake it for real chilli - but, she liked it and that is really what's important).

For example: I made the pioneer woman's beef and bean burritos (from "Food From My Frontier"). I love the pioneer woman - her recipes (when I follow them) always turn out exactly the way they look in her books or on her blog.

But anyway - I wanted to make burritos. I did not have any tortillas. My spices were left behind on my move and I haven't replaced most of them yet and so I did not have cumin, oregano or chili powder. I did not have cans of mexican tomato sauce or enchilada sauce, I did not have refried beans. Basically, I did not have over half of the ingredients and the really important ones no less. I had ground beef, an onion, salt and cheddar cheese. My husband thought they couldn't be made...

I looked up a tortilla recipe on the pioneer woman's blog and found a recipe for homemade flour tortillas. I didn't have any lard. I would gladly use lard - I just didn't have any.

This is what I did:

I took her tortilla recipe and changed the flours up a bit - just for flavour. I had some Masa in the pantry and so substituted half the all-purpose flour with masa making a cross between a corn and a flour tortilla to give a bit of extra flavour. I used butter instead of lard. Not authentic I know - but it's butter, how bad could it be. I started by mixing the tortilla batter and then let it rest.

I then pulled out a large pan and cooked up the ground beef. While it was cooking I added the chopped onion and I also happened to have a poblano pepper in my fridge (not something I usually have - but I picked one up a week before because it looked so pretty...it was still in the fridge and I was happy to have an opportunity to use it). I opened a large can of whole tomatoes (I usually have some in the pantry) and squeezed them into the pan with my hands...how I would imagine an Italian grandma breaking up tomatoes into a sauce. Spices were hard...I added a clove of garlic minced, salt, pepper, crushed red chilli, and I had some dried chipotle chillies in the pantry (they keep for a really long time, have a lot of flavour, and come in handy once in awhile). They were really hot - so I added two chopped up. I added a small amount of italian seasoning that I had that made up for the missing oregano (about a tsp). I was upset about the cumin but there wasn't much I could do there. I also had a spicy crab seasoning that smelled like it would work so I added a small amount of that (about 1/2 tsp).

I let the sauce simmer for a bit and then added a large can of kidney beans. Not refried beans - but, still beans. What I had was something that resembled a chilli. While it simmered I rolled out and cooked the tortillas. They smelled amazing. When they were ready and after all the liquid had simmered out of the beef and bean mixture I put about two tablespoons of the filling in the centre of each tortilla, added a large pinch of grated cheddar and rolled them up. I didn't have any sauce to cover them with - and my kids don't like a lot of sauce anyway - so I just sprinkled cheese on top.

I let them bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese melted and we had dinner. Start to finish was just over an hour. (I only let the tortilla dough rest for about half an hour instead of an hour and they turned out fine. I think the corn reduced the gluten content so they didn't need as long of a resting period).

Everyone loved them. I served them with a bit of sour cream (if I had salsa or guacamole they would have been used too - but I didn't have any and they weren't really missed). The chilli taste was prominent... I was a little worried about the spices... but it was really good. Totally different than the pioneer woman's recipe. Not completely authentic - but really yummy. The kids gobbled them up. Not only did I have dinner... but I also made a new recipe! 

I do this all the time and it is an easy way to make something delicious with what you have without having to be overly creative. Pick a recipe from a cookbook and substitute each ingredient you don't have for something similar that you do. Things won't always turn out as good as the original but sometimes they are even better or just something different and what is wrong with that?

I get to experiment, learn something new, and develop my creativity... if I had money I wouldn't be forced to do those things. So - I also get to see the bright side of having a small budget! 

It's all good.

off my bookshelf April 2011

I am finally reconnected!

and just in case you were wondering what I have been reading...

here is what came off my bookshelf in April.

Quite possibly my favourite book of all time. I never tire of reading about Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. I have now completed all six Jane Austen novels this year. I think I may make reading all six a yearly tradition...

I will be taking a senior creative writing class (two actually) this semester and the professor advised reading more contemporary novels (most of the fiction I read are classics). So, I thought this would be a good time to read this. I wasn't too impressed and found myself wishing Jane Austen had written more and contemplating reading all of Dickens. I didn't really relate even though the book was about homemakers. I actually thought that the author didn't look too highly upon people who chose to stay at home. I didn't think it was really bad; I just didn't think it was very good and wouldn't read it again.

A book for beginner runners. I tried doing the "no program" program, but that did not really work for me. So I thought I would try this one. I have a strange relationship with running. I really enjoy running while I am doing it, I just have a difficult time trying to get myself out there to actually do it. I think I am always waiting for the "perfect" time which of course never comes. This is a pretty good program. Now to somehow get myself out there...

I splurged and bought a new cookbook...I really like it. There are a lot of usable recipes in here. Some of the easy recipes are things I already make myself and I was a little disappointed to learn that some of my great ideas are not so original. Apparently, Gwyneth Paltrow has some of the same ideas. My husband found it amusing as I read off a few of her recipes and tips that were nearly identical to mine. Aside from the lack of red meat (which my carnivorous family adores) this is how I eat (or would eat if I could afford tuna steaks and duck bacon).

I love the slow food movement. I really do. I read a quote once ( I have no idea who said it or where I found it). "If we are what we eat who wants to be fast, cheap and easy?" I keep it on my fridge along with a magnet of a snail (the slow food symbol). A great book with some really great looking recipes from chefs like Alice Waters, Rick Bayless and Daniel Boulud. I do understand that we don't always have time for really slow food but advanced planning helps and even cooking this way a few days a week helps. I am aiming for seven days a week...I am not there yet but I am working on it.

A lot of cookbooks were off the shelf this month (or actually being added to the shelf). I think it is the change in weather and the excitement I have over the farmer's markets opening and fresh, local, organic food being once again available. Also, there have been some great sales on and I have a very hard time passing up cookbooks on sale...especially when they cost less than the price of a magazine as these two french cookbooks did.

These two William's Sonoma cookbooks were deeply discounted as well and I am so glad I got them. The family meals cookbook is written to encourage those who don't spend a lot of time in the kitchen with family to get in there...which put me off a little (I'm already in there and thought the book wouldn't be for me) until I discovered the great "beginner" recipes like how to smoke your own salmon, cure your own bacon, make your own ricotta and create your own marshmallows. There are lots of really great family friendly recipes that are not only good for beginners but for those who already spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

And to finish off the month...

my favourite magazine...the British Edition of Country Living. I haven't seen an issue that I didn't love. This is my fantasy life.

bagels and pretzels

In 1998 while working as a travel agent I was invited to visit New Brunswick by New Brunswick Tourism. I had an amazing three days touring the fundy coast and fell in love with that area of Canada.

While there I visited the Inn on the Cove which was a small inn that served breakfast and dinner (by appointment). I was able to tour the Inn and the Inn keepers Ross and Willa Mavis made a delicious dinner. At that time they had a small local cooking show and a cookbook.

I loved the dinner. I had been married less than a year and I was trying to learn to cook. Ross Mavis (the main cook) was so friendly and easy going and was happy to admit to being a self taught cook that I bought one of the cookbooks.

The pink scribble is an added embellishment by one of my kids. "Tide's Table" was the first cookbook I bought without pictures and was the start of my cookbook collection. I have made many of the recipes in this book and have since bought additional copies to give away. From this book I learned how to make my own granola and from the Raspberry-lemon muffins I learned to LOVE making muffins. One of the other recipes that I love and don't make often enough is their recipe for...

Fresh homemade bagels are unlike anything you can buy in the store (excepting maybe Montreal here in Canada). They are very easy to make as well...

you start with 4 1/2 cups bread flour (although I usually use all-purpose and sometimes use a mix of 3 cups white and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour)

Make a well with the flour and in the well place 2 Tbsp sugar (although I think you could get away with less) and 2 1/4 tsp yeast. Add 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water.

 Here in the interior of BC I have had to add a bit more water as I mix the dough - not as much humidity here.  Wait five to ten minutes for the yeast mixture to foam up...

When it is all foamy sprinkle 1 Tbsp salt around the flour (I actually only use half that) and stir the flour into the yeast mixture. Mix until combined and then move dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes...

or a little longer if you have help...

When the dough is nice and smooth and stretchy (and you can press a finger into the dough and the dough bounces back up) place the dough into a greased bowl. Cover and rest for about 15 minutes.

Divide dough into 16 equal parts for bagels or 32 parts for pretzels (or do what I did and make 16 pretzels and 8 bagels). Roll each piece into a snake like shape about 8 or 9 inches long for bagels and 12 inches long for pretzels. Shape the bagels into a circle and press to seal. For the pretzels, cross the dough at the end and press to seal. Place shaped dough on lightly floured surface and let rest for approximately 20 minutes.

When the dough is resting place a pot of water on to boil. Larger pots work better as they hold more bagels/pretzels; I actually use two just to make things go faster. When the water is boiling turn it down to a simmer. Gently place bagels/pretzels in simmering water (leave room for a little expansion).

Simmer the dough for about six minutes, flipping them over once.  After the six minutes remove the simmered dough to a dry tea towel and sprinkle bagels with your choice of toppings. I just used maldon salt on these ones but you can use sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds, fennel seeds...use your imagination! Move to lined baking trays and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake pretzels for 15 minutes and bagels for 35 minutes.
 

apparently my camera and my camera skills do not like the hot oven...or a very steamy 5x10 kitchen!
 
When baked - cool on cooling racks. They are SO good straight out of the oven that I did not even get a picture of the pretzels...there was a line up and they were gobbled up too fast!
 

 
Yours may look better than mine did...when you make them with a three year old you have to make certain sacrifices. The bagels are excellent served with cream cheese for breakfast the next morning. I have never had them around for more than 24 hours so I am not sure how long they will last...I assume they would freeze well.
 
That is about all that is new in my corner of the world...we are just enjoying spring break with my sister and her family and the sunshine that is melting the snow...at this rate it should FINALLY be gone by April!
 
Happy Spring!

Genoise with strawberry cream

The Canadian Living Cookbook edited by Carol Ferguson in 1987 was my first cookbook. (I now own well over 300). As you can see this book is well used...

For many years, this was the only cookbook I owned and I used it to teach myself how to cook. I still use it often. I have a few of the recipes memorized and some of the recipes in this book have found a permanent position in my cooking repertoire.

One of my favourite cake recipes is the Genoise. I love it. It is very versatile, light, moist, delicious and easy. Although, you really have to have an electric mixer for this.

You start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees F and by greasing two 9" round cake pans. Grease pans, cut two rounds of parchment to fit in bottoms and then grease and flour parchment and pans.

The recipe from the book is:

6  large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm

"Eggs should be at warm room temperature (or put them in bowl of warm water for a few minutes). Rinse mixer bowl in hot water and wipe dry. Beat eggs with sugar at high speed for about 10 minutes

or until thick, very pale yellow in colour, or batter falls in ribbons when beaters are lifted from bowl. Beat in Vanilla."

In a seperate bowl "sift flour with baking powder. Sift one-third of flour mixture over egg mixture"

This is what the ribbon stage looks like

 "using a rubber spatula, fold until uniformly blended. Repeat with remaining flour mixture. Add butter; fold until thoroughly blended in."

I have done this and it works. I have also used the mixer on its lowest speed to mix in the flour and butter. I have found that this works a little better. As long as the mixer is on the lowest speed and you allow it to whisk only until the flour and then the butter is JUST mixed in - do not overmix! I find that this deflates the batter less than the folding does and it is faster and easier. Your choice. "Pour into prepared cake pans.

Bake in preheated 325 degree F (160 degrees C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Loosen edges; turn cakes out onto rack, remove paper and cool."

This cake can easily be made into a chocolate cake by replacing half of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder...also very good.

There are so many things you can do with this cake...one of our favourites is to replace the vanilla with orange juice and add the zest of one or two oranges (depending on size) Mixing the zest in by hand as it tends to stick to the mixer's whisk. When the cake is cooled, spread orange curd between layers and ice with a mixture combining half orange curd and half whipping cream...yum. Lemons can be used instead of the orange.

We love meringue buttercream and I often make it for birthdays, but, when I am pressed for time or dollars I usually resort to using whipped cream. It is easy, cheap and so good. Making a Chantilly Cream (cream whipped with vanilla and sugar) is the standard of course but I like to mix it up a bit. Maple syrup is a really good substitute for the vanilla and sugar as is a good quality jam.

Today I used strawberry...

In the summer I highly recommend making your own (it really is easy). But if you don't have your own use any really good quality store bought jam. I love Bonne Maman. It is imported from France (I know...millions of food miles...) but I have yet to find a more local brand that is as good.

While the cakes were still warm I spread a thin layer of jam between the layers.

When cool I whipped cream with a few spoonfuls of strawberry jam and iced the cake. The jam gives the cake a subtle strawberry flavour and the cream a delicate pink colour.

 cut, serve and yum!

Happy Monday!



off my bookshelf Jan 2011

In 2011 I decided that I wanted to read more. I already read a lot but over the past few years much of what I have been reading has been decided by university professors rather than by myself. So for 2011 I decided that I wanted to read a minimum of 52 books, at least one per week. In order to help me keep track of what I have been reading I have decided to post a monthly log of my progress. So, here is what has been off my bookshelf this month...

I love Jane Austen. I decided that I would like to read all six of her novels back to back this year. I am just finishing Emma. If I had to choose a place and time where I could have been born this would have been it, late 18th - early 19th century England. As a teen I was very nearly obsessed with all things English. I am definately an Anglophile. While most blogs I look at seem to have a fascination with France and all things vintage French (and I do love these things as well); my heart really is in England...

Continuing with the English theme... Monarchy gives a great general overview of the British monarchy (obviously) from the Tudors to the Windsors. It's a good easy read...as is Bryson's book. Bryson decides to travel through England by public transit and describes some of the changes that have taken place since his first trip in the 70s. While I enjoyed this book I did get a little upset by some of the descriptions of the "americanization" that is happening in some places (such as replacing small quaint high street shops with outside of town malls). When I finished it I had to switch back to Austen to replenish my pastoral, romantic notions.

I usually like to read more than one book at a time, just to satisfy my many moods. So while I love getting my British fix, sometimes I need a change...

I also love food writing or as Anthony Bourdain calls it: food porn. I love reading Anthony Bourdain and I hadn't read this one yet (I have previously read Kitchen Confidential and Medium Raw). I don't know why I love reading Bourdain I guess it is because he is very informal, direct and he doesn't try to be politically correct; I love that. (While I personally love reading his works I would give a warning to anyone sensitive to swearing and/or people saying what they think and I don't really think any subject is taboo with Bourdain).

I got this for Christmas and have been reading it from cover to cover...

My boys recieved some "ologies" for Christmas and we have been reading through them this month.

My eight year old REALLY loves them, especially Monsterology. We have had to have a few discussions about how they are just stories as they are written like old scientific journals...very cool.

I have also been reading these with my eight year old. He is studying the Canadian Provinces in school for Social Studies and was learning about food that is produced in different regions...I thought it would be a good time to introduce him to reading cook books...and he actually enjoyed them. I am determined to have all my children in love with good food and knowing what to do with it before they leave home.

and as I mentioned in the original "off my bookshelf" last April...I have a bit of a magazine fetish. These are a few of my favourites. I have collected a large stack of the British Edition of Country Living magazine and I often encourage my husband to take a look at them so he can visualize what I would like my life to look like...

What have you been reading this month?

off my bookshelf

I read a lot. I always have. Some of my earliest memories are exploring the kids section of the White Rock library. I remember looking at shelves and pulling off book after book and thinking "I've read that, read that, read that". It was always a challenge to find something that I hadn't already read. Although, I did have favourites that made it back to my bedroom over and over again.

When I moved across the country with my family we had to get rid of a lot of stuff. We had a trailer that we towed across with us that contained all of our worldly possessions. About half of that trailer was filled with books. Every week I usually read (or read from) a number of books and  I thought I would share what has come off my bookshelf this week.

I've been wanting to read Walden for a long time and since I had to read sections of it for an American Literature class I am taking I thought I had a good excuse to buy it and read the whole thing...it's for school.

I love Michael Smith and his great no knead bread recipe. I think I have made at least fifty loaves since I got this book last fall. So easy and so good...I don't even buy bread anymore.

This is my 2 1/2 year olds "book of the week". He always seems to have a weekly favourite that I read to him over and over and over and over...I think I have read this book about 20 times this week. It is not the most polite of children's books, but it is pretty funny. My kids have all liked it anyway and it does help get rid of the grumps.

I LOVE the British Edition of Country Living magazine. I will drive long distances to get a copy. I have a fairly large collection that moved across the country with me. I have copies from the 90's that are still in style. I have been feeling kind of flowery this week, so I have been looking at a few appropriate copies. Did I say that I love this magazine?

It is my favourite.

As I said, I've been feeling flowery this week.

The other magazine I have been reading this week. I have a bit of a magazine addiction. I found after I had kids that I just didn't have time during the day to read books and I hate going through the day without reading something. I am getting better and I am cutting down. Only two this month...so far. 

My ten year old and I have been reading the Harry Potter series together. We read the first five and then took a long break to read some girly books ( the first three Anne of Green Gables, Black Beauty and A Little Princess) but decided we wanted to read the seventh book before seeing the movie (we've seen all the movies before reading the books) the sixth movie got us interested again so we are back at Hogwarts.

My 5 year old pulled this one off the shelf; he likes chickens. I often look at organic/farming books with the kids. They are always full of animals and food which entertain the kids (and me) and I get a break from the 21st reading of "What are you so grumpy about". It's a win/win really.

Another book I have been reading with my two year old; we both like it.

A couple books I have been rereading for my literature course. I'm just finishing off an essay on justice and have been rereading the books for quotes.

My current favourite cookbook. I love cookbooks. I read them from cover to cover. I always have a couple of cookbooks I am reading. This one is really making me want fresh food. Spring is SO SLOW in coming to Nova Scotia; it is coming but I want some fresh food now! I do hear that fresh food is available in Halifax...so maybe it's time for a trip. I am REALLY missing the organic CSA I belonged to before I moved...it's starting up again soon...aahh..fresh greens...rhubarb...radishes...I miss you.

My seven year olds pick...he loves dinosaurs. We have been working our way through this series...he is really enjoying them...we've been trying to imagine where we could go to find this place...first we need to find an ammonite fossil...we are looking.

So, that is what has come off my bookshelf this week. What have you taken off yours?