Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

I was a little tired of store bought dressing and I had some leftover vinegar from the Chinese Cole Slaw
so I thought it was time to try making my own dressing. I found this recipe in the Joy Of Cooking.

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Makes 1/2 cup

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon coarse grain mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper. Add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly.

Cool Gadget: Demy Recipe Reader

So apparently cook books are passe. Meet the Demy recipe reader, courtesy of Engadget:

This device apparently does it all, "Crafted by Key Ingredient, this here device packs a sealed 7-inch display, storage for up to 2,500 recipes and USB connectivity for syncing with your PC. Furthermore, it provides three kitchen timers, a measurement conversion calculator and an ingredient substitution dictionary to get cooks out of a pinch if they are one special ingredient short."

Apparently this is shipping from Amazon "soon," which is good because the price listed is $299.99. Better start saving.

Banana Muffin Bread

I use this banana bread recipe to make giant banana muffins because I don't have a loaf pan. Yes, those pans are only $7, but whatever giant muffins are much more fun. To make the muffins I use ceramic bakeware. this is also a great use for ripe bananas.

Banana Muffin Bread
Makes 2 muffins or 1 8.5 x 4.5 loaf of bread

1.5 cups flour
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 stick of butter at room temperature
1 large egg
2 medium sized, ripe banans

Heat oven to 350. Grease the bakeware. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients slowly, mixing until well combined. If you are using muffin type bakeware, fill it up only half way.


Bake for about 45 minutes.

Macaroni Salad

So the title of this post is a bit of a misnomer, as I made this salad with rotini instead of macaroni. Other than the pasta change, the rest of the ingredients are from your standard macaroni salad. This is a great sandwich companion or it can be eaten as alone as a light lunch.

Macaroni Salad
Serves a lot

1 box of macaroni or rotini
1 diced red pepper
1 diced green pepper
1 diced small red onion
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1.5 tablespoons of sugar

Mix the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar until well blended. Toss the mayonnaise with the pasta and vegetables until coated.


This is one of the thriftiest meals, coming in under $10. If you're not making this for a crowd, this will feed you for a week.

The Weekend Meal: Chickpea Patties & Chinese Cole Slaw

I'm a recent convert to the cult of the chickpea. Cheap, full of protein-what else can you ask for in a food? The cole slaw part of this meal is also full of goodness, with almonds and sunflower seeds. I'm not quite sure what makes it Chinese, but it's delicious.

Cole Slaw
Serves: a ton

16 oz. package of cole slaw (I found them by the ready to eat salads)
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 packages chicken Ramen
1 cup sliced, toasted almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds

Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, and seasoning packets from the Ramen noodles. Crush Ramen noodles. Toss all the ingredients.

I find that this taste better when made a day before you plan on eating it.
Chickpea Patties
Makes about 8-10 patties

1 19 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 clove of garlic
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons olive oil

In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, garlic, salt and pepper until coarsely chopped.

Form into patties, using a tablespoon. Coat the patties in flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat the oil and cook the patties until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes a side.

Yum.

Total cost: less than $20, granted that you have olive oil, flour and garlic in stock

NYT: Eating Food That's Better for You, Organic or Not

Eating cheaply doesn't necessarily mean eating unhealthily. I came across a great article in the New York Times that emphasizes that eating organically is not synonymous with eating healthy. Click here for the article.

Just a thought!

Pasta with Mozzarella, Peppers, and Arugula

I'm on a pasta kick (read: feeling a little poor). But, with spring coming up, it's a good time to explore some lighter pastas with seasonal vegetables. This particular recipe uses a couple of my favorite vegetables, red peppers and arugula.

Pasta with Mozzarella, Peppers, and Arugula
Serves 4-6

1 box short pasta (ziti, penne etc)
8 oz. mozzarella cut into bite sized pieces
2 bunches of arugula, washed (you can also just buy an arugula salad)
1-2 red peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Cook the pasta. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large pan. Cook the peppers until tender. Add the arugula and cook until wilted. Add the pasta, cheese, salt & pepper. Ta da! Dinner.

All told, the meal costs between $12-$15, depending on how much you spend on the cheese.

How To Cook Pasta

So pasta is the fall back meal. Always good in a pinch and pretty cheap. But I discovered (late, as usual) that it really does matter how much water you use and that adding oil isn't really necessary.

I came across a pretty handy article in the March 2008 issue of Cooking Light that outlines the simple steps in making pasta.

For Dry Pasta:

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of water. Use one quart of water per two ounces of uncooked pasta, and choose a pot that larget enough to prevent crowding (keep this in mind when buying your one pot)
2. You can add salt to water if you think you'll need it for the taste, because ultimately, your sauce determines how much salt you'll need. You can also try adding a little bit of lemon juice to give the pasta a little flavor
   
3. Before you start boiling the water, make sure to have ready your colander ready so you can whisk the pasta off the stove when it's time
4. You should add the pasta when the water is at a rolling boil and cover the pot. Uncover the pot once the water returns to a boil. To make sure you make the pasta al dente, look at it closely and taste it; it will still have a white core and not be tender when you bite it
5. When draining the pasta, you can save some of the starchy water and can add it to the sauce later
6. Lastly, don't follow the time listed on the box too well, check the pasta about 3 minutes before the time listed
   

For Fresh/Frozen Pasta:

1. The above steps for fresh pasta, but keep in mind that fresh pasta will cook in as little as 3 minutes, and frozen pasta will take around 5-8 minutes
   

The Weekend Meal: Ravioli With Sauteed Zucchini

Being a vegetarian for a weekend isn't terrible, this meal, using cheese ravioli, should help ease the one day transition. Save the animals (for a day or two at least):

Serves 4

• 1 20 oz package of fresh cheese ravioli (you can also use frozen ravioli)
• 3 small zucchinis, thinly sliced into half circles
  
• 1 large sweet onion, sliced
  
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
  
• Some Parmesan
  
• Olive oil
  
• Salt

Cook the pasta according to the package. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil and add the zucchini, onion, and garlic. Cook until the zucchini is tender (about 8 minutes)


When the pasta is done, toss the pasta with the vegetable mixture:

And you're done! Serve with a little Parmesan sprinkled on top. Very yummy, very easy, very quick.

If you have leftovers, I suggest storing the ravioli and the vegetable mixture in different containers. To heat up, toss them quickly in a pan.

Ta da! You just saved a cow or chicken.

Just Desserts: Sugar Cookies

There's nothing like a sugar cookie. It can be really plain, or you can jazz it up with sprinkles or icing. Instead of butter, these cookies use vegetable oil.

Sugar Cookies (makes 30-40 2.5 inch cookies)

• 2.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Extra sugar for sprinkling

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and pre-heat the oven to 375.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

Combine and blend the sugar and vegetable oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add the vanilla.

Mix in the flour mixture with the sugar mixture, making sure they are well combined.

Form the dough into .5 inch drops with tablespoons and place them on the cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle the drops with sugar. You have the option here to make cinnamon sugar and use that instead of plain sugar. The brown cookies below are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.



Bake the cookies for about 11 minutes, until they are brown around the edges.

Once I ran out of vegetable oil and made these cookies with olive oil. They were like grown up sugar cookies and tasted great with coffee or tea. Give it a try.