Queercents

Do you ever feel like you’re uninspired in the kitchen? I’ve written about getting into a food rut before, but this is a constant challenge that all home cooks face from time to time. Food ruts can be dangerous, because it’s easy to start relying on convenience foods and restaurants to fill the void – and there goes the food budget.

One of my goals for 2010 is to try at least one new recipe each week. So far, I’ve been exceeding my goals. I’m so excited about trying new recipes that I’ve been making 2-3 new things each week. I’m still in the honeymoon phase of my New Year’s resolutions, but I think this one’s going to stick.

I think that one of the biggest hurdles that people face when they start cooking for themselves is the overwhelming fear that you’re going to fail. Don’t worry if a recipe doesn’t come out great – you don’t have to be perfect. Even experienced cooks make mistakes. Last week I made bowtie pasta with pesto and peas. Not the best thing I’ve ever eaten, but at least I tried something new. If you make a dish that doesn’t turn out the way you anticipated, just move on – it’s not the end of the world! Read the rest of this entry »

As the New Year approaches, many of us are reevaluating our budgets, looking at our goals from the past year, and setting resolutions for the year to come. Maybe you stuck to all of your goals, and maybe you fell off the wagon near the end of the year. Either way, January is a great time to recommit to fiscal responsibility.

Setting a food budget is an important part of your overall budget. Unlike your rent, insurance, or cell phone bill, your food budget is unlikely to be a fixed amount each month. You have more flexibility with this spending category, but that can be both a pro, and a con. How do you decide what a realistic number is for your household’s food budget?

Each year the USDA compiles statistics about the average cost of food in the US, and it offers guidelines for families to help them set a realistic food budget. In 2009, the average household of two probably spent $350 – $450 a month if they were on a thrifty or low-cost eating plan. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re in a rush to get some last minute gifts together, either for a friend or a coworker, or you just want to get down with your bad self in the kitchen, fudge is an awesome holiday present. Although the fudge is easy to prepare, you do want to budget enough time for the candy to cool before you cut it and package it up. I would plan to make the fudge the night before you plan to give it away.

Here’s a recipe for grown up fudge. Just a few tips before you get started. For starters, use a larger saucepan than you think you will actually need. Think twice as big. The first time I made fudge, I ended up with hot chocolate lava all over the stove, counter, and kitchen floor because I didn’t use a big enough pan.

Second, you’re going to need a kitchen thermometer that reads up to 236°. (This is not the same kind of thermometer that you use to take your temperature.) You should really consider keeping one in your kitchen, anyway, so that you can ensure that you’re cooking meat to the proper temperature. Maybe you already have one with your BBQ grill. If you’re got a digital thermometer, you won’t need to calibrate the thermometer before you get started. The easiest way to calibrate your thermometer is to stick it into a glass of ice water and set the needle to 32° when the needle stops moving on its own. And always make sure you sanitize your thermometer before and after each use.

OK, now for the good part: the fudge! Oh, did I mention that this recipe is vegan? Read the rest of this entry »

Fall is officially here, and not just because it’s the end of September and the calendar says so.  I know it’s Fall because winter squash is starting to show up at the grocery store. Winter squash is a great way to stretch your food dollar because it will keep on the shelf for quit some time, thanks to the thick skin that most winter varieties, like butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squash, have.

This week my favorite grocery store had acorn squash on sale for 37 cents a pound! The easiest way to prepare acorn squash is to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, place it face down on a cookie sheet that has an inch of water in it, then roast it in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. You have two options at this point.

Stuffed Squash
Make a stuffing with cooked rice, chopped celery, carrots, and onions, and some vegan sausage. Season it with sage and paprika, salt and pepper. If you really wanted to be fancy you could add some chopped pecans to the stuffing. Put the stuffing in the hallowed-out center of the acorn squash, then put it back in the oven for about 5 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

OK, so that was a cheap shot at the members of Congress who are spinning their wills on the health care reform debate. I don’t know why we can bail out the banks and the auto executives, but we can’t ensure that Americans have health insurance . . . but that’s not the point of this post.

I’m actually going to talk about pork today – you know, dead pigs. My local supermarket was advertising pork chops at 67 cents a pound this week, and pork tenderloin was only $1.79 a pound. Maybe it’s the swine flu that’s caused pork prices to plummet. Who knows? Regardless of the reason, pork is apparently an excellent way to stretch your meat lovin’ food dollar these days. So here are two recipes to make use of those cheap cuts of meat. (But when you look at this little guy’s face, do you really want to eat him?)

Grilled Pork Chops
pork chops (1 per person)
paprika
ground coriander
salt and pepper Read the rest of this entry »

Remember a while back when I lamented about my brown bananas? It never fails – no matter how many bananas I buy (whether it’s 3 or 10), I always end up with brown bananas. I’m not one to throw away good food, so I’m a big fan of banana bread. But after reading some tips from our faithful readers about putting bananas in the freezer until you’re ready to use them in baked goods or smoothies, I’ve really been stretching my food dollar by putting my bananas to work. Here are 2 recipes that I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Frosted Banana Cookies
(Makes 3-4 dozen cookies)

Cookies
½ cup butter
½ cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 bananas)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup buttermilk (or ½ cup milk + 1 tsp lemon juice)
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3¼ cups flour Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks ago in my rant about bottled water, I mentioned that access to potable drinking water will become one of the key national security issues in the coming decades. This week an article in the Utne Reader has really gotten me thinking about the issue from a different point of view. The article tells the story of Midwestern dairy farmers who are turning cow manure into drinking water.

What? That’s right – the farmers use a filtration process that turns manure into fertilizer and drinking water. The farmers claim that the filtration process is up to the same standards as all bottled water, and that the process could increase the supply of potable drinking water. The biggest downside, according to the farmer, is that the filtration process consumes a lot of fossil fuels, which makes it very expensive. If an alternative source of fuel were discovered, I suppose this could make the product cost effective. But is manure water marketable?

I’ve gotta be honest. The idea of drinking cow poop is absolutely revolting to me. I don’t care how “clean” it is – I’ll always know where the water came from. I could be dying of thirst and I still wouldn’t drink it. But that’s easy for me to say. I can turn on my tap and clean water comes out. What would my opinion be if I didn’t take my drinking water for granted? Read the rest of this entry »

It’s back to school in many parts of the country. That means the disbursement of financial aid and that big spending spree that’s typical of the beginning of a new school year. Don’t go blowing your wad all in one fell swoop, or you’ll be eating ramen noodles all semester.

The first step to making your financial aid check last is to set a monthly budget for yourself. To figure out how much money you need to allocate for food, check out this helpful worksheet from the USDA. The next step is to stock your dorm room or apartment with healthy pantry staples, like dried pastas, beans, rice, and canned vegetables. You don’t have to have a lot of space to be able to keep a month’s worth of groceries on hand. Just be creative about where you stash things – like under the bed or in a cute trunk that you can decorate.

If you don’t have a lot of experience shopping and cooking for yourself, I recommend the book Everyday Pasta by Food Network’s Giada Di Laurentiis. The recipes are simple and delicious, and she has lots of great advice for keeping your pantry stocked with healthy, everyday items. You’ll probably be able to find a copy at your local library. Just be sure to cut the recipes in half if you’re only cooking for one or for two, because most of the recipes feed 4-6 people. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a confession to make – I love ice cream. Maybe a little too much. I’ve been enjoying ice cream and popsicles almost every day this summer to beat the heat, and now my jeans are a little too tight. There’s only so much you can blame on the dryer, so I’m taking responsibility. I need to drop the ice cream pudge and get in shape. But I think joining Weight Watchers and other weight loss programs is a waste of money, so my partner and I have put together our own program to lose the weight and stretch our food dollar at the same time. Here’s our weight loss program, which is all totally free except for the cost of the food we already eat.

1. Calorie Planner
I was doing an online food journal earlier this year, but that ultimately stopped because of the lack of convenience. If I was traveling, I couldn’t take it with me. Well, Apple has a free application for the iPod and iPhone that you can download on iTunes called FitNow. You can enter the food you eat as well as how much exercise you’re doing and it will tell you how many calories you’ve consumed and burned.

In iTunes, go to App Store. Under categories, click on Healthcare & Fitness. In the right hand column it will list the top application downloads. FitNow should be the #1 application listed.

2. Points
My partner and I are both very competitive, so we’ve turned our exercise routine into a game. We get 1 point for every 15 minutes of exercise we do. That can be walking the dog, playing the Wii Fit, biking to school, etc. We’re also weighing in each Friday on the Wii Fit (because it will keep track of our weight for us over the long haul). We get one point per pound lost. Each week the person with the most points wins a date and the “loser” has to pay for date night. Read the rest of this entry »

I do love a headline that includes “breast” and “three way,” but this post isn’t that sexy. It’s just your weekly installment of Stretch Your Food Dollar. If you’ve been following along on a regular basis, you know that I’m a vegetarian. But, far be it from me to withhold cooking tips that could help you carnivores out there get the most out of your monthly food budget.

There was another recall announced on beef last week. E coli, ya’ll, it’s what’s for dinner. Since beef is so risky and just downright unhealthy, how about chicken? A recent article in the New York Times suggests that by poaching and shredding chicken, you can get much more mileage out of a single chicken breast than if you serve the breast whole. I agree. So here are three easy recipes that you can make with a single chicken breast.

Remember my tips for packing a sack lunch? I had a recipe for a turkey salad sandwich, but you could easily make that recipe with chicken. You don’t need to bother with dicing the chicken if you’ve got a nice batch of shredded meat. Read the rest of this entry »