Good and Cheap Eats

Although this isn't a food blog, we here at the House of Nod do love our eats.

That's why I'm excited about this link my brother shared with me called Good and Cheap: a SNAP Cookbook by Leanne Brown. She compiled this wonderful little booklet as a final project for a master's degree in food studies at New York University.

Although it is aimed at those who might be on public assistance, this humdinger of a collection will work just as well for those of us with large families who need to stretch a dollar. Or just anybody who loves great tasting food.

This is an example of someone taking a thing they love and sharing it with those who most need it. I don't know Leanne, her politics, her religion, or her motivation. But it is certainly a praiseworthy thing and one that deserves to be shared.

Leanne writes:

Cooking skill, not budget is the key to unlocking great

food. Everyone has the right to good cooking, regardless

of income. 

The recipes in this collection are lovingly

designed and paired with tantalizing photos that show

the plethora of exciting and inspiring food that can be

prepared for little.

For too long discussions surrounding people of lower

socioeconomic status have centered around nutrition

and making do. This isn’t a typical budget cookbook,

nor is it a nutritional guide, it’s a collection of recipes

that happen to be inexpensive.

If you want a better life, filled with daily pleasures;

learn to cook. If you want to get control over a small

food budget; learn to cook. If you want a healthy body

and mind for yourself and your family; learn to cook.

The recipes are made with simple and inexpensive ingredients (pennies per serving), but the variety is a thing of beauty and substitutions are encouraged. There are ideas in here that I've just dying to try -- and I think you should too!

It's 126 pages of cheap but nutritious eats for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dessert, soup, salad, handhelds, drinks, big batch, and sauces and flavors.

Sampling the breakfast: Banana pancakes, cheddar jalapeno scones, Oatmeal (coconut and lime, berry, pumpkin, apple cinnamon, savory, baklava!).

A bit of small bites includes: polenta fries, spicy green beans, poutine, and mexican street corn.

Perhaps for dinner you might try the Creamy Zucchini Fettuccine, Shrimp and Grits, perogies, or Chana Masala?

Wash it down with some Agua Fresca and a refreshing homemade melon sorbet for dessert.

Mmm, that's the stuff. Whatcha waiting for?

Overruled By Taste (Buds)

Sometimes I think there is something wrong with my brain. 

Mrs. Nod said we were going to have a cookout for Nib's birthday this weekend. That traditionally means hotdogs and hamburgers.  I immediately thought, aw, man, that sounds like work over a hot grill. I don't wanna do that.

So what did I do instead? Spent 4 hours in the kitchen making fruit kebabs with Blynken out of melon, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, mango, and watermelon. 

Heck, as long as I'm standing here doing kebabs, we might as well have chicken kebabs with mushrooms, tomatoes, red onion, and peppers. That chicken looks good, but it needs some kind of marinade. Oh, but Grandpa is diabetic so he can't have anything with sugar in it. Or salt. Or garlic.

Better make two kinds: rosemary-lime and rosemary-balsamic vinaigrette with shallots. Oh, and another with Old Bay. Hey, this other experiment with honey-lime-sriracha peppers is dynamite, let's make that too.

http://www.onceuponachef.com/

Of course the little kids are just going to want hot dogs. So we'll throw those on the grill anyway. Hmm. And bratwurst. Gotta have brats. Oh, and those pulled pork sandwiches that need to be eaten.

So ... I didn't avoid cooking over the grill on one of the hottest days of the year and I went to 3 times as much effort. 

Shrug.

Overruled by taste buds. Yum.

Monster Aparagus Growth Spurt

It is hot. hot. hot. out there. So hot that nothing much is growing. My grass is a brown patch in a sea of brown-ness.

Earlier, in spring, things were a lot more green. I planted asparagus late in the season last year, and it's been coming up great as of this year. Next year will be the first harvest. Asparagus takes a long time to establish, but will keep coming up for about 10 years.

The rate of growth on an asparagus fern (yes, they are ferns) is phenomenal. On week 1 I noticed a beautiful purple spear sticking out of the ground (I got a special purple asparagus breed). Isn't she pretty?

At this point this spear was 6-8 inches in length. I came back two weeks later and it was over 3 feet tall and putting out fern branches. It had also lost most of its purple color and was now more the traditional green.

That's an amazing growth rate! In the warm season, asparagus can grow up to 1 cm per hour. That's right, I said per hour.  My asparagus ferns are now around 5 feet tall, but it's so hot that nothing much is growing right now. In the fall, the ferns will die and turn golden in color and I'll mulch them into the soil.

Next spring is harvest time, and I plan on having lots of well-established and yummy asparagus from my own back yard.

Making Pasta

This is my first time making pasta (at midnight, why not?).

I used white flour, spelt flour (because I saw it in the store and was curious), eggs and a bit of olive oil. Rolled it out (would have been MUCH easier with a pasta machine) and cut it with a knife. Here it is hanging on a plastic hangar to dry.

I blame too much cooking channel. We'll see what happens when I cook it tomorrow.

Fun With Fruit

We're prepping for a Blynken and Dab joint birthday bash and we thought we'd have a little fun with the fruit. Blynken spent a couple of hours helping me put this together.

Cookie cutters from the kids' playdoh set (washed of course) make funky shapes which we stuck on skewers. Melon gingerbread men, ducks, and butterflies; watermelon balls; and pineapple spears (literally!)

Kinda looks like a winter luau, doesn't it?  It's 50 degrees today, tomorrow it will snow. Maybe I'll complete the effect by putting a tiki torch in the snow.

If that doesn't grab you, maybe you'd like to try the grapes which I dipped in a honey-lemon cream cheese torta and covered with crushed buttered rum walnuts?  Sounds odd, but tastes yum! yum!

We haven't even had the party yet and she (Blynken) said it was the best birthday ever. So worth the time.

Not sure what it is, but it tasted good ...

Had some stuff in the kitchen that needed eating before it went bad, so I whipped this up for dinner.

A chicken sandwich with melted Swiss, asparagus, dill, and Alfredo sauce on a croissant. Sounds weird, tastes goooood. Washed it all down with a Samuel Adams Double Bock.

Hey, I do all my own stunts.

Chestnut Soup

I have recently fallen in love with a new comfort food.

Mrs. Nod and I had an unexpected treat at a snazzy little restaurant called Villa Mozart a month ago, when we ordered the Creamy Mushroom Chestnut Soup. It was a robust soup, full of creamy and earthy goodness, and with multiple taste accents dancing on the palate. It included a couple of whole chestnuts marinated in red wine at the bottom.

Ever since then I've been on the lookout for something similar to make at home. I think I've found it. It features a backbone of earthy mushrooms, chestnuts, and red bliss potatoes to which I added tender shallots and young parsnips.

Since I didn't have any "mushroom broth" I used organic chicken stock, half a cup of Merlot, and increased the cream to two full cups. I was lucky enough to have a neighbor give me fresh whole nutmeg which I grated into this heavenly dish along with fresh rosemary and sage. Fresh sage is in a word -- amazing.  I marinated some halved chestnuts in Merlot and put them in when serving.

Mrs. Nod smelled me cooking this and stayed up late just to have a bowl. It's that good.

Shamelessly ripped off from Food Blogga:

This Creamy Mushroom Chestnut Soup Is Like a Best Friend

Mushroom soup should be like a good friend-- there for you when you need it, full of understanding and comfort, and spicy enough to make you laugh. Consider this Creamy Mushroom Chestnut Soup a best friend. We met rather informally last fall in my kitchen while I was entertaining a number of other friends including tender red bliss potatoes, earthy chestnuts, and aromatic sage. We liked each other instantly, and our friendship has continued to grow.

I'm not a possessive person, so I'd like to introduce you to her.  She'll be one of the truest friends you've ever had. 

Creamy Mushroom Chestnut Soup
Serves 4
Print recipe only here.

Meaty, smoky chestnuts and savory fresh herbs add depth to an otherwise ordinary, creamy mushroom soup. Use bottled, dried, or -- if you're up for the challenge -- freshly roasted chestnuts. For a richer soup, I suggest using cream; 2% milk is best if you're looking to save calories.


3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced shallots
1 cup diced celery
2 1/2 cups peeled, diced red bliss potatoes (about 3)
8 cups mixed mushrooms, cremini and white button (about 2 1/2 pounds)
4 cups mushroom broth
8 ounces cooked chestnuts (about 20)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup cream
fresh sage, rosemary, and chopped chestnuts for optional garnish

1. Warm 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, deep pot over medium heat. Add shallots and celery, and sauté 3-5 minutes. Add potatoes and mushrooms, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until mushrooms have released most of their liquid. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce to low, and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes. Add chestnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, and cream. Turn off heat, and let cool for 10 minutes before pureeing.

2. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth; return to the pot over low heat. Stir occasionally until the soup is thoroughly heated, about 10 minutes. Just prior to serving, stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter for added creaminess and depth of flavor. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Garnish individual bowls with fresh herbs and chopped chestnuts, if desired.

Denatured

Denatured. Sounds rather ominous.

But it's just a fancy term for what happens when you cook food.

[WP] The normally twisted and folded protein molecules are unraveled or unfolded into less convoluted shapes, and the shapes of molecules, especially proteins, are responsible for most of their physical and chemical properties. In other words, they have lost their original natures: They have been denatured.

You can also do this denaturing to seafood or meat with a strong acid like lime juice, high concentrations of salt, and weirdly -- air and alkalis (opposite of acid) under certain conditions.

Me, I just like to eat. I love a good spicy beef salad, so I made my own by marinading beef strips in lime juice, lemon juice, water, crushed garlic, onion, green onion, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and a touch of cooking sherry (hey, it was there!).

I cooked it up (I know I denatured it already with the lime, but I like my food warm) with some sliced carrots and a tablespoon of fish sauce and served it over sticky rice and sliced tomatoes. Sweet and spicy with that lime tang! I made jasmine rice with a dolop of blue agave nectar, a low glycemic sweetener (ok, it's cactus juice!) in order to make it slightly sweet to balance out the spiciness for the kids.

It looked a little like this picture, but it didn't last long enough on my plate to take photos. I must have been thinking about yam nuea (spicy beef salad) when I made it, only I rarely use a recipe.

The Sheep and the Goats

The Sheep and the Goats. Lest you think this is a reflection on Matthew 25:31-46, worthy though that be, let me assure you this is about cuisine.

I've eaten many sheep: mutton, lamb chops, doner kebab, rogan josh and so on. Lamb is scrumptiously delicious with garlic, curry, or even mint jelly. Sheep may be dumb, but they are tasty, tasty.


This weekend I ate goat curry. Yup, you read that right: goat. The sole reason for eating it was simply because I could. I've also tried deer, elk, rattlesnake, buffalo, pheasant, and foie gras, just to name a few.

Goats will eat anything, including tin cans and have a reputation for being rather ornery. The meat is darker and tougher than lamb (I hesitate to call it stringy), slightly gamy but not bad. I had it in a stewed curry dish from an Indian restaurant. The curry was nice and spicy.  My chief complaint was that the goat meat was stewed bone-in, so there are a number of small bones that you have to eat around and pick out.


I'm glad I tried it, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to order it again. However, to be fair, I do like goat cheese quite a bit.


So to sum up: lamb is king; goat is second rate.

Digital Soda Jerk

I stopped off at 5 Guys Burgers for an infusion of artery hardening bacon topped goodness. The drink machine was something I've not seen before -- a kind of futuristic-yet-slightly-retro-looking soda fountain from Coca-Cola.

I am enraptured. It's got a touch screen interface with pop-top symbols of each flavor of soda. Touch Coca-Cola, for example, and the screen changes to show all the different kinds of Coke: Diet, Cherry, Zero, Classic, etc.

Apparently, these machines have up to 100 drink choices by using concentrated flavor cartridges (similar to printer ink cartridges) and carbonated water. How cool is that?

It reminds me of when I was in third grade; we lived in an American hotel for a couple of weeks in Turkey while we waited to move into our apartment.  The dining room had a real-life soda jerk fountain against one wall -- the kind where you pumped syrup into a glass and then fizzed it up with the carbonated water gun.

It was also where the ice cream sundaes got made. It was completely self-serve. We spent all our available free time at the soda fountain making up drinks and eating ice cream. Heaven!

Ever since then, I've always had a fondness for real soda fountains. The chance to be a modern soda jerk is just too much to pass up. I'm going back to play with the machine.

Below is my cell phone camera close up:

The Great Catholic Steak Out

Lest you think I suffer from a grammar deficit, I don't mean stake out, I mean steak out.  As in, get the steak out, it's time to eat!

Friday, March 25 is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. That ain't no minor thing, that's a Big Deal (tm).  The Church wants us to Celebrate -- not celebrate, I said Celebrate.

Can.  1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Being obedient sons and daughters of the Church, the same filial duty that makes us fast and abstain from meat impels us not to fast and abstain on a Solemnity even during Lent.  This has nothing to do with being weak, not being able to "tough it out", being legalistic, trying to be more Catholic than the Pope, or any such nonsense. This is about love -- love is obedient.

So we do what we're supposed to do when we're supposed to do it. Kneel when we kneel, stand when we stand, fast when we fast, abstain when we abstain, and don't when we don't.

So fire up the barbecue, roast the brats, smother the chicken, fry the burger or whatever you like and raise a glass to the Queen of Heaven -- she said yes! -- and her glorious Son, Our Lord.

Shake It Up

We have all been staring at the same four walls for about 3 weeks now due to illness. On Saturday, I threw everybody outside whether they wanted to go or not. Everybody.

Mrs. Nod confided to me: "I'm mad at you". Join the club, signups are over there. (But then she took a nap and felt much better.) In fact, everybody felt better just to be soaking up some Vitamin D and running and playing. One thing is for certain: nobody in this family will be signing up for a 5-year trip to Mars in a tiny capsule.

Dab made his long awaited debut at Mass this weekend, despite the rain. It always amuses me to see the people that we barely know or don't know at all come out of the woodwork to congratulate us on the baby. Not that I'm complaining about it -- I'm pleasantly flattered.  I guess we're just that visible, even when we're doing nothing and sitting quietly in the back.

I decided to shake things up a little more on Sunday afternoon by declaring that we would be making our own pizza from scratch. My mom used to do this when I was growing up, and it's not that hard especially if you own a pizza stone -- which I do.

Now the Nodlings are that kind of crew that historically turn their noses up at anything but cheese pizza. I don't listen to those mewlings and force them to eat all kinds of crazy dishes that I make up -- and they love.  I won't force Blynken to eat mushrooms unless they're really well mixed into something, because she looks like a cat horking on a furball, but other than that I generally don't make exceptions.

But today was Pizza Day. We made French bread style for lunch as a warm-up, and then we got out the rolling pin and made pizza dough for dinner.

I asked them to pick pizza-like toppings and they could put in on the pie themselves.  Well! This cheese-only crowd put on pepperoni, black olives, green pepper, garlic, minced onions, mushrooms, and oregano.

Nib was hilarious! Every time I'd shift the pie to the left or right to work on the next part, she would jump down, move her step stool to my other side, and clamber back up so that her nose was level with the pizza. "Daddy, I help you?"

For our second pie we made deep dish which included ham, pineapple, green and red bell pepper on half. My half was more exotic: pepperoni, olives, feta cheese, mushroom, diced tomatoes, garlic.

They ate it all up with relish! Um, no, not relish-relish, they just liked it a lot. I had five kids hovering around my elbow as we mixed and rolled pizza dough and clamoring to be allowed to put on the next topping.

Hmmm, I wonder if that would work for other kinds of dinners? Hmmm.

Coming Attractions

Sometimes we ask questions that we're afraid to know the answers to. It's an exercise that -- like sausage -- you're better off sometimes not knowing how it's made.

But if we fail to ask ourselves the Big Questions, what we don't know can hurt us.  For weeks I've been freaking out in slow motion over a rumor. I forced myself to do the research before reacting though.

I typically react quickly with credulousness (I'm a sucker -- I'll believe it), stop myself, disbelieve it, demand proof, adopt a wait-and-see attitude, bounce the idea off people I respect, think about it, and then draw conclusions. I'm trained to be suspicious.

So what's got me fretting?

This question: Is Senomyx the new Soylent Green?

I think I'm ready to answer that question ... coming soon.

7 Forbidden Foods

I'm relatively open to trying new foods and taste combinations, but I'm not adventurous for adventure's sake. I have no need to try the world's deadliest hot sauce or to try to squeeze water out of elephant dung for survival.

I simply like food and am willing to try new things. But there is a short list of foods I hate and will avoid with a passion. In no particular order, the 7 forbidden foods:

1. Liquid Smoke (sorry aka the Mom)
2. Liver (makes me want to hurl, but strangely liverwurst is OK)
3. Organs of any kind (brains, eyeballs, tendons, tongue -- yes, it's been offered)
4. Non-Kraft macaroni & cheese (powdered orange cheese rocks! Velveeta sux!)
5. Eggplant (tried it baked, fried, boiled, etc. It's just yucky.)
6. Marinated artichoke hearts in chicken salad (bad experience, yo.)
7. Mussels, spiny urchin, and some rather exotic seafood (regular sushi/sashimi is OK)

There may be other stuff that I don't care for, or may merely tolerate, but this is the list that makes me turn green and bolt the other way. What does it for you?

Bayou Benedict

For family brunch this week I decided to try out a new dish: Eggs Benedict - bayou style. I had something similar once at a restaurant called Eggspectation and thought I'd recreate it in my own image. Ok, this isn't my picture, but it kind of tasted like it.

Plus I had some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving (who doesn't!) that I wanted to re-purpose. 

First I baked some bacon in a stoneware dish and set aside. I re-used the bacon grease to bake medallions of red potatoes in the oven. I used those as my "base" on the plate.

Then I diced up the leftover turkey and heated it up on my griddle and laid it over the potatoes. This is the unusual part: I cooked polenta on my griddle (3 minutes a side) and layered it on the plate.

Finally, I added the poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce and served with a side of toast and an orange garnish. Yum!

I've never cooked polenta before, but it's apparently made out of cornmeal. I had no idea it was so tasty, especially with a hot runny egg yolk mixed in.

Filling and pleasing and novel to boot. What's not to like?

Corn Time

If you've never been to Indiana and Ohio, let me save you a trip: it looks like corn. Lots and lots and lots of corn.

We pulled off the highway looking for gas somewhere along Rte 90 and it looked like this.  Our GPS took us to the middle of a cornfield and then said "Now turn right and go off road". We opted not to do this.

But corn is good and corn is plentiful. Every year I attempt to plant 4 rows of it in my garden. This year was no exception. Only 2 1/2 rows came up properly, but I planted late and had general problems with the Nodlings knocking my seedlings off the deck before I could transfer them. Even with all that travail, I still got corn and it still tastes every bit as sweet as the stuff at the grocery store.

Since I don't use chemicals, I have to compete with corn earworms, but that's what knives were invented for - I just lop off the tips if the caterpillars got there first. Don't you wish every problem could be solved so easily?

Stingray On Crushed Ice

Blynken and I popped over to our local grocer's (Wegman's!) to pick up some of their awesome Basting Oil. If you haven't tasted it, you're really missing out. (Grapeseed Oil, Canola Oil, Dried Thyme, Dried Parsley, Natural Garlic Flavor). It really makes seafood dazzle.

We were in the fish section and we came upon this fine specimen of a Sting Ray. I'm not sure, but we may need a second bottle.

What's Cookin' Mama? Doner Kebab

Doner Kebab is possibly my family's favorite dish. Doner Kebab means "rotating roast" and is a Turkish dish. There are a number of different ways to prepare it, from a full course meal to a street side snack like a gyro. We typically prepare it using a boneless leg of lamb (keep the fat on!), garlic, tomato sauce, onion, thyme, melted butter, and a side of plain yogurt.

It is by no means a "light" dish, but rather a rich and sumptuous one. You'll love it or hate it - lightweights need not apply. If you love bold flavors, this is the dish for you.  All measurements are via the pinch and dash method, so YMMV.

Cut and peel several pieces of garlic clove and distribute it throughout a boneless leg of lamb by making shallow incisions with a knife (go on, stab it!). Roast the leg of lamb at 325 degrees in the oven for half an hour per pound.

Cut up a medium sized onion and saute in a medium saucepan. Add several cans of tomato sauce, and a couple dashes of thyme. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for several hours, stirring occasionally. The longer the simmer, the more the onion and thyme flavor will permeate the tomato sauce.

Meanwhile, get some flat bread and cube into bite size pieces. You can use pita, pide, or similar, but cubed french bread works just as well. Melt a stick of butter in a small saucepan and keep warm. Use real butter, it's worth it.

When the lamb is done, remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes. Carve the lamb as thinly as possible into one or two bite chunks.

Cover the bottom of a plate with the flat bread, layer on the shaved lamb, and ladle your sumptuous tomato sauce over the meat. Drizzle melted butter over the same, and serve with a side of plain yogurt for dipping.

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Get more great recipes over at Shoved To Them hosted by aka the Mom!

Hot Salsa

Summer means hot and hot house food. Nothing tastier or simpler than making salsa. There are a bazillion ways to do it, it's just a matter of taste. Freshness is the key - as long as it's fresh, it's gonna be good.

Today's experiment involved some beefy yet flavorful tomatoes my sister gave me (variety unknown), home grown banana peppers, green peppers, Carmen peppers, jalapeno peppers, Vadalia onion, garlic powder (sorry, no real garlic), kosher salt, cumin, fresh chopped cilantro, and a long squirt of ketchup for a touch of vinegar and sugar.

No proportions, just chop and eat when it tastes good!

What's Cookin' Mama? Chicken Curry

I love to cook, because I love to eat. Mrs. Nod cooks from necessity, because the Nodlings will starve otherwise.

We got a crockpot when we first got married and it served us well. It has since been replaced which is a testament to its usefulness. Our is a Rival brand and it came with a cookbook of sample recipes. Mrs. Nod is the saving kind, so she actually refers back to it now and again in search of new recipes.

One of the crowd pleasers is Chicken Curry (we use a mild/medium curry so there are no complaints). In fact, Mrs. Nod figured out how to convert this dish into a stove top recipe for when we're in more of a hurry, so you know it's pretty yummy.  Everybody we've introduced to the dish has come away happy. Now, you try!

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

21 1/2 ounces cream of chicken soup, canned

1/2 cup dry sherry

1/4 cup butter

4 green onions, chopped

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 teaspoons salt

dash pepper

rice, cooked

 

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into small pieces; place in slow cooker.
2. Add remaining ingredients except for rice.
3. Cover; cook on High 2½-4 hours or Low 6-8 hours.
4. Serve over rice.

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Get more great recipes over at Shoved To Them hosted by aka the Mom!