Bill’s Spaghetti

Neither Bill nor I have an ounce of Italian blood in us but we think his pasta sauce is pretty darn good. It’s something he’s been working on and perfecting for a long time.

It started out as doctored-up jar sauce. Using Muir Glen Organic Tomato and Basil sauce, (which is pretty good as jarred sauce goes), he’d add onion and meat to it and it was good. Then one time he used tomato puree instead because that’s  what we happened to have on hand. Getting the herb/spice/tomato ratio down is the tough part but I like his method. Then we had an aha, or maybe more of a “duh”: tomato puree is simply tomato paste and water! We always have tomato paste on hand so now the recipe has evolved to this:

Bill’s Spaghetti Sauce

Serves 2.

Pinch of fennel seeds
1 T. (or more) olive oil
1/2 a large onion
Optional: 2 cloves garlic
1/2 lb. grassfed ground beef
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch crushed red pepper
2 T. tomato paste
One cup (or more) water
1 T. sugar
Optional: Splash of dry red wine

In a skillet, heat the fennel in olive oil over medium heat until toasted. Discard fennel.

Add meat to the pan and brown, stirring occasionally. (For vegetarians, you can certainly eliminate the meat and continue with the rest of the recipe.)

Create a space in the center of the pan and add the onion. Saute until tender.

If you like garlic, you could add a couple of chopped cloves at this point and saute with the onion. Then add the dried herbs, salt, and ground black pepper. Saute for about a minute.

Add a little water to deglaze the pan and scrape up the bits of beef. Clear a spot in the center to add the crushed red pepper. Stir and simmer about a minute.

Add the tomato paste, stirring it into the mixture. Then add water, a little at a time, stirring, to create the sauce. Add more or less water depending on the desired consistency. Add sugar and mix well.

Add a splash of red wine, if desired, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water or wine to thin sauce if necessary.

Serve with pasta of your choice. We use Pasta Joy brown rice spaghetti because of Bill’s allergies. Top with grated cheese, if desired.

How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day: Day 4

Day 4 of “How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day” was somewhat labor intensive and I don’t recommend this combination of meals in a single day. I prefer to make soups, stews, and roasts on weekends—sometimes multiple dishes at the same time—and then use portions of them throughout the week. Each of today’s meals included more cooking than I would usually do and it’s only because I work at home that I could get away with it.

Here’s what we ate today:

Kale Chips

Curly kale is one of those vegetables that seems to be available from fall through winter in the northern Midwest. An excellent source of nutrients, Bill and I like to throw it all kinds of dishes. But if you have kale leftover, a great way to use it up is by making kale chips.

Simply wash about a quarter pound of kale.

Dry the kale on a towel or with a salad spinner.

Pull the leaves off the stems and chop into about one-inch pieces. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy with a sandwich instead of potato chips!

Mark Bittman’s Potato and Leek Soup

Bill and I wanted grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch on Day 4 of our challenge, “How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day.” So I was trying to think of an easy soup to make as an accompaniment. I knew some of last summer’s leeks (one of my favorite veggies) were in the freezer.

And we had some potatoes that Bill picked up at the Fulton Street winter farmers market last weekend.

Since my favorite recipe for leek and potato soup has several ingredients, which would complicate the process and add to cost, I decided to look in my trusty Mark Bittman cookbook, How to Cook Everything. There it was: a simple recipe for  Potato and Leek Soup.

That’s what I love about Bittman. If you want to learn–or relearn–how to cook, get this book. You won’t regret it.

An avid home cook, Bittman has filled his book with easy recipes and many variations, suggestions, and techniques for simple, healthy cooking.

His book may even be a replacement for the standard cook’s “bible” in my kitchen, The Joy of Cooking.

Anyway, here’s how  you make the soup:

Saute the potatoes and leeks in olive oil until slightly tender. Add stock or water, bring to boil, and simmer 20 minutes. When I made it I used water since the goal is to reduce costs. And it was still very tasty–a great soup for vegetarians. Normally, I’d use fresh leeks from the farmers market but that’s just not an option in Michigan in February!

How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day: Day 3

I love eggs. They’re versatile, portable, and they keep hunger at bay. If you boil up a batch ahead of time, you’ve got quick snacks on hand, or a protein source to add to salads, lentil dishes or rice. Sometimes Bill and I simply have a frittata for lunch or dinner, featuring seasonal vegetables or garnished with nitrite-free bacon. But one of my favorite standbys is the ol’ fried egg sandwich. It’s filling and warm, offering protein to get your day started. That’s what I had for breakfast today.

Check out the rest of the menu for Day 3 of “How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day,” the experiment Bill and I are conducting for five days this week.

Quinoa Wrap with Olives, Chick Peas, and Sprouts

Here’s an easy lunch idea if you have leftover quinoa or a quinoa dish such as the one I made on Day 1 of my food challenge this week, How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day. Based on a quinoa pilaf recipe that includes lacinato kale, my version omits the goat cheese, walnut oil, or pine nuts since the whole point of Bill’s and my experiment is to spend less money.

Flour tortillas make great vehicles, but you could use any other kind of malleable flat bread for a wrap. Simply place some olives, halved, along the center, reserving some for another layer in the wrap. (I used a half-ounce of black cured and kalamata olives.) These really add a punch of flavor in this recipe.

Add about a half-cup of quinoa, then top with an ounce of chick peas and the rest of the olives.

Pile on about an ounce of sprouts, roll, and enjoy. To avoid spilling the chick peas and olives onto your plate when you eat, you could either use larger tortillas or divide the ingredients between two. This wrap would also keep well if you brought it to work or on the road. Just roll up tightly in aluminum foil or wax paper and keep cool until you’re ready to eat!

Note: I realized after I published this post that “chickpea” is one word, not two! But I can’t change the title or I’ll have broken links. Still, as a writer, I feel obligated to state that I do know better!

How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day: Day 2

It’s Day 2 of Bill’s and my experiment for this week: How to eat healthy on $5.00 a day. And I admit: I’m hungry. I couldn’t wait until tonight’s dinner, pictured above. This experience has been an interesting process so far in a number of ways:

1. Calculating quantities and prices per ounce really creates awareness for the food we’re buying and eating. Who knew our local CSA lettuce would be so expensive and that cumin from India would be so cheap?
2. It makes you think about how much you eat during the day just from habit. I’m not even talking about someone who has a bad day and binges on food, but just the idea that, oh, there’s a banana that’s ripe so I’d better eat it.
3. Sometimes it really does cost more to eat healthy, but sometimes it doesn’t. For example, check out the juxtaposition between today’s lunch and yesterday’s lunch.

Shourba Ads (Red Lentil Soup)

This is one of Bill’s and my favorite soups, which we often have for lunch. Besides being delicious, it’s filling, it’s easy, and it’s cheap (as we learned during Day 2 of our experiment, “How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day.” The recipe comes from our friends Fadi and Carolyn, who have a Mid-Eastern cookbook they loaned me once. (If I had the name I would cite it here!) Called Shourba Ads in Arabic, it only has seven ingredients. I often make it with chicken stock but to keep costs down I used water and it was equally as good.

Shourba Ads 

1 1/2 cups red lentils (9 oz.)
6 cups chicken stock or water
1 medium onion, grated
1 tsp. cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T. lemon juice
Optional: olive oil for drizzling

Place lentils in a sieve and wash under running water.

Bring stock or water to a boil in a large pot and add lentils and onion. (If you’re lazy like I am, you can chop the onion instead of grating it, but the flavor is definitely better if you grate it.)

Return to a slow boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for 45-60 minutes until lentils are tender. Do not stir during cooking.

The mixture will be a puree; for a finer texture pass through a sieve or puree in a blender.

Add cumin and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. For thinner consistency, add water. Stir in lemon juice and heat until gently bubbling.

Serve with lemons and drizzle with olive oil if desired.

Serves 6,

We added chopped fresh spinach to our soup to get our greens and legumes in a one-dish meal.

How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day: Day 1

[Note to reader: If you haven't read why I'm writing this five-day blog series, please refer to my first post, "How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day," which explains my intent.]

I marvel at the choices of oatmeal available to us in this country. In Bill‘s and my house alone, we have three: rolled oats, quick rolled oats, and instant oatmeal (all organic).

You can also choose from conventionally-grown oats, and instant oatmeal with a variety of flavors, such as maple and brown sugar, apple-cinnamon, etc. So it was interesting to see how the prices vary on just the three types we have in our house.

Of course, instant is most expensive because you’re paying for the convenience. But couldn’t you also say you’re saving energy since you don’t have to wash a pot? That’s my favorite part about instant oatmeal. Today I opted for quick rolled oats, cooked in a pot for about two minutes, which actually seemed faster than heating water for instant oatmeal and then waiting for it to set. Oh, the choices we have!

Check out the menus and the tallies for today’s experiment at trying to eat healthy on five bucks.

Veggie Wrap with Garbanzo Bean Schmear

As part of my “How to Eat Healthy on $5.00 a Day” experiment, I made a veggie wrap for lunch on Day 1. This could be done in a number of ways: Use lavash instead of tortillas. Take advantage of vegetables in season. Add olives, pickles, or cheese….whatever’s in your budget. These wraps could be made ahead of time to bring for lunch or a snack. They would pack well for a road trip, too. Here’s the recipe I came up with for my lunch:

Veggie Wrap with Garbanzo Bean Schmear

2 tortillas
2 oz. garbanzo beans
1/2 tsp. olive oil
Juice from a quick squeeze of a fresh lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 oz. sunflower seeds
1 carrot, grated
2 oz. lettuce greens

Smash garbanzo beans in a bowl, add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix together. Meanwhile, warm tortillas briefly either on a griddle or in microwave. (I nuked them for 15 seconds.)

Divide and schmear the bean mixture in the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

Grate the carrot, and divide between the two tortillas.

Add lettuce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roll tortillas into a wrap. Portable!