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!

Some of the other new recipes I have tried include vegan mac and cheese, cranberry and walnut cookies, and chocolate chocolate chip cookies with bacon (don’t knock it until you try it). I have been sitting down once a week to look through my cookbooks, pick out recipes, write out a meal plan for the week, then make my shopping list. I literally write the meal plan on my kitchen calendar so that I don’t forget what’s happening, and it really helps me stay on course.

Tonight’s new recipe is called “neat loaf.” It’s a vegan substitute for meatloaf that has mushrooms and walnuts instead of meat. I modified this recipe from The Peaceful Palate, by Jennifer Raymond. It’s gluten free, and if you omit the soy sauce, it’s also soy allergy friendly. I served it with mashed potatoes and lima beans, and boy, was it tasty!

Neat Loaf
Makes 8-10 servings

2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 carrots, shredded or finely chopped
1 cup quick rolled oats
1/2 tsp each: thyme, marjoram, sage
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp mustard
BBQ sauce or ketchup

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine all of the ingredients except the BBQ sauce/ketchup. Mix until well combined. Pat into a lightly-greased loaf pan. Top with BBQ sauce/ketchup. Bake for 60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe was so easy to make. I just put my ingredients in the food processor to chop them all up, and the rice was leftover from a previous meal. If you don’t have leftovers that you need to use, why not throw this in the rice cooker while you prep all the other ingredients? And speaking of leftovers, you could use leftovers to make a tasty neat loaf sandwich to take in your lunch the next day. Double bonus!

Enjoy!

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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.

My partner and I set a goal of spending $350 a month on food, and we did pretty good until October. Then life got pretty hectic. I got a job working outside of the house, and my partner had classes two nights a week. Eating a home-cooked meal every night was a big challenge. Even with the best of intentions, we went over budget several times due to eating out once a week. I’m looking forward to regrouping and recommitting in January. When I actually take time to plan the week’s meals, taking the week’s schedule into account, it makes it much easier to plan for late nights.

If you’re in the same boat as me, how about recommitting to track your expenses? Using an Excel spreadsheet is a simple and free way to track all of your expenses – you just need to remember to get a receipt for everything you buy. If a receipt isn’t available – because you bought something from the vending machine, or from the taco vendor off of the street – then keep a little notebook in your purse so that you can make a receipt for yourself. Enter all your receipts into the spreadsheet on a regular basis – like on Sundays over coffee and the Sunday paper – and it’s easy to see if you’re staying on track with your spending goals.

Here are a few simple tips from previous Queercents articles to help you stretch your food dollar and stay on target with your family’s food budget.

1. Never grocery shop when you’re hungry – you end up buying more.
2. Always shop with a list, and stick to the list.
3. Scout the weekly food ads to find out which store has the best deals.
4. Pay attention to coupons and see if your grocery store offers double coupon days or will honor competitors’ coupons.
5. Avoid buying products on the end caps, as well as pre-prepared convenience foods. The best deals are going to be found in the produce, meat, and dairy sections. Cooking whole foods isn’t just cheaper – it’s healthier, too.

Here’s to your financial health in 2010!

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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?

Grown Up Fudge
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup liquor
1/2 cup soy milk
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut up
1 tsp light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp soy butter

1. Line a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan with foil or wax paper, extending it over the edges of the pan. Spray with nonstick pan spray and set aside.

2. Spray the sides of a 2-quart (or larger) heavy saucepan. In the saucepan, combine the sugar, soy milk, liquor, chocolate, corn syrup, and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to stir while cooking.

3. Place your thermometer in the chocolate mixture and keep cooking until the mixture reaches 236°, stirring constantly.

4. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the soy butter, but do not stir. Cool, without stirring, to 110°.

5. Beat the mixture vigorously until the chocolate begins to thicken, and the chocolate begins to lose its gloss.

6. Immediately spread fudge evenly in the prepared loaf pan. Score into squares while the chocolate is still warm. When the fudge is firm, use the foil/wax paper to lift it out of the pan. Cut the fudge into squares following your score lines.

You can use any liquor that you think would mix well with chocolate. Kahlua or coffee-flavored brandy is an obvious choice. Butterscotch or strawberry schnaps, raspberry-flavored vodka, and Grand Marnier also mingle well with chocolate. If you really wanted to splurge, you could go for some Chambord, but that would really be going overboard on the holiday spending. Maybe it’s best to wait for that until Valentine’s Day.

Try garnishing each piece of fudge with something that clues the recipient into your secret ingredient. You could use a whole coffee bean for the Kahlua fudge. For Grand Marnier, a few shavings of orange zest would do. It’s best to garnish the fudge before the chocolate is totally cooled, because then the garnish sticks to the candy.

This recipe will make 24 pieces of fudge. You can package it up several ways. One cute idea is to put it in a coffee mug, but you could also put it in little tins that are available in the dollar bin at your local craft store. Another simple idea is to put it in a sandwich bag (not the zipping kind – the kind you fold over), then tie it shut with curling ribbon or some raffia.

I hope you enjoy your grown up fudge, and that the special someone you give it to does, too. Happy holidays!

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.

Pureed Squash
After the squash comes out of the oven, scoop out the flesh with a spoon and put it in the food processor. Add some butter and a little milk (or vegetable stock). Puree the squash until it’s nice and smooth. You can season this with brown sugar, nutmeg, and ginger. Or you could go for a more savory flavor combination like rosemary and sage.

Both of these preparation methods would work for butternut squash. And pureed pumpkin and turban squash are both delicious. Incidentally, we’ve discovered that our dog prefers vegetables to meaty dog food, and he is a big fan of the pureed squash. Lucky us, since it’s cheaper than canned dog food.

Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash can be a bit of a mystery if you’re not used to preparing it. The easiest way to do this is to cut it in half and seed it, just like the acorn squash. Roast it on a cookie sheet with an inch of water for 30-40 minutes. When you take it out of the oven, scoop out the flesh and set it aside. I like to saute some portobello mushrooms, then add fresh basil and chopped tomatoes (you can use canned or fresh). Hit this with a little red wine, season it with salt and pepper, then add the squash to the pan. Toss everything together, top it off with some Parmesan cheese and you’ve got a low-carb, low-fat main dish.

I’ll save the pumpkin recipes for my next post. (When Starbucks rolls out the pumpkin lattes, you really know it’s Fall!) So stay tuned for my favorite pumpkin recipes. Until then – bon apetit!

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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

1. Season each of the pork chops to taste and let the seasonings absorb while you heat up the grill.
2. Put the chops on the grill over a medium-high heat. Sear each side for just a minute, then turn the heat down to medium.
3. Depending on the thickness of the chops, you will only need to grill the meat for 2-3 minutes on each side. It’s OK for pork to be a little pink on the inside. The only real risk of food-borne illness for pork is trichinosis, and that really hasn’t been an issue in the US for a couple of decades.
4. Let the meat rest for a few minutes before you actually cut into it and eat it.

Honey Sesame Pork Tenderloin
(Makes 4-6 servings)

½ cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground ginger, or 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 to 1½ lb pork tenderloin
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
¼ cup sesame seeds

1. Combine the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil in a plastic bag. Add the tenderloin. Marinate for at least 2 hours.
2. Combine the honey and brown sugar in a shallow bowl. Put the sesame seeds in a separate shallow bowl.
3. Remove the tenderloin from the marinade, pat dry with a paper towel, then roll it in the honey mixture, and then the sesame seeds.
4. Roast in a shallow roasting pan at 375 for 20-30 minutes, or until the meat thermometer registers 145-160.

Pork pairs nicely with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. You might find a great end-of-summer deal on peaches or strawberries, which would make an awesome, simple dessert. And as Meryl Streep would say in her best Julia Child voice, “Bon apetit!”

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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

1. Cream the butter and shortening. Add the sugar, then the bananas. Mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Then add the buttermilk.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. (Do not over mix. This will be a sticky batter.)
3. Drop dough by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
½ cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
2. Before you spread the frosting on the cookies, lay a paper bag or some paper towels underneath the cooling rack to make clean up easier.
3. Spread the frosting on the completely cooled cookies.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Makes 2 dozen cookies)

2/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2½ cups flour
¼ tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips
½ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla

1. Combine all of the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients. Mix well.

2. Spoon onto cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

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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?

Feminist author bell hooks has an interesting argument about drinking water in her book Teaching to Trangress. hooks is specifically addressing feminist criticisms of the Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire. Many feminists have rejected Freire’s theories about liberatory education because he is unapologetically sexist. hooks argues that it is easy for First World feminists to reject Freire because they have access to education. However, Freire’s model of education is meant to liberate the economically oppressed, who don’t have the luxury of education.

hooks then makes the comparison to drinking water. In hooks’ view, it would be unlikely for someone with economic privilege to drink water that had even the tiniest bit of silt or dirt in it. Those of us who are used to carrying bottled water around like a pacifier don’t know what it’s like to haul water from a community well or a river. We go to the tap and water comes out – or we buy designer water in bottles so that our water is “pure.” hooks argues that for people who live on the economic margins, the idea of purity is a luxury.

We are quickly approaching a world where the luxury of bottled water, and even tap water, is going to vanish, even in the world’s wealthiest nations. Water rights and access to clean drinking water will be one of the fundamental issues that people have to face. So I wonder – how will I feel about manure water then?

What about you? Do you feel grossed out by the idea of “purified” manure water? Or do you think that you could get beyond the “ick factor” and chug it like it’s . . . well, water? I’d love to get your take on the subject.

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.

Food storage containers are are really good investment at the beginning of the school year. The ones they sell at Target or the grocery store usually come in a multi-pack, and they make storing leftovers really convenient. You can split things up into individual portions and then stick one or two in the freezer if you don’t want to eat the same thing multiple nights in a row.

A crock pot is another great investment, because you can put on a pot of beans, stew, or a casserole before you head out to class. There are entire cookbooks devoted to crock pot cooking – so look for them at your local library.

I also like cooking with my Foreman grill, because it doesn’t heat up the kitchen the way that the oven does. I’ve made stir fried veggies on the Foreman by cutting up vegetables like peppers, onions, and mushrooms in one-inch slices, marinating them in the terriyaki sauce that you can get at most grocery stores, and then cooking them on the grill until they are nice and tender. You could add some tofu or chicken for protein and serve this with rice. It’s such a simple thing to make – and you don’t even need a stove if you have a rice cooker.

The key to stretching your food dollar is to cook for yourself and plan ahead. Make a weekly meal plan, then do your shopping around the meal plan. Take into account your class schedule, when you work, and when you have a big assignment due or a test to take. By planning ahead, you can avoid that late night rush to the Taco Bell because you don’t feel like cooking. Pop one of your leftover containers in the microwave and you’re ready to eat.

Best of luck making your financial aid dollar last until the end of December, and good luck with all of your courses this semester!

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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.

3. Suped Up Salads
We’ve been getting really serious about our salads. Instead of a side dish, this has become the main event. On Sunday I chopped up two heads of lettuce and put them in a bowl with a paper towel. I also chopped up celery, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, and a cucumber, then put everything in individuals containers. Now it’s really easy to make a big salad for lunch, because all I have to do is grab a handful of each vegetable and I’m ready to go.

But where’s the protein? Trader Joe’s has containers of pre-cooked strips of chicken for $5. You could do this for yourself a lot cheaper, but I caved on the convenience level and bought 2 of these. A handful of strips on the salad, along with a hard boiled egg that we split between the two of us, and the protein is covered. (For those who know me as a vegetarian, I recently found out that I have a soy allergy, so I am having to completely revamp my diet.) You could also put nuts on the salad for protein and a little crunch.

4. Fruity Snacks
Instead of reaching for a popsicle in the afternoon, we’ve been reaching for chopped up melon or peaches. It’s all pre-cut and nice and cold in the fridge. I chopped all this up on Sunday when I was prepping my veggies for the week.

I’ve already lost 5 pounds this week, and I’m really excited for our first “official weigh in” on Friday. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. And if anyone wants to join in our little competition, the more the merrier. I won’t promise to pay for your weekly date nights. But maybe we could figure out a prize for the Queercents reader/writer who has the most points at the end of the year. You don’t have to tell us your starting weight, or how many pounds you lose each week, but you could say “I got 15 points this week.”

What do you think? Can you lose weight and save money at the same time? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks in the comments.

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.

How about tacos? I’m a little lazy, so I like to use the prepared taco shells so that I don’t have to fry them myself. But if you use taco-sized flour tortillas, you could have soft tacos, which are just as easy to make, and probably a little cheaper. Use shredded chicken, chiffonade some lettuce, dice up onions and tomatoes, sprinkle on a little shredded cheese, and you’re set. Add a little salsa verde on top, and oh, man! That’s lovin’.

You could also make chicken and rice, or chicken noodle soup. Save the broth that you made by poaching your chicken. Save it in a mason jar in the fridge. Then use the broth to boil some rice or noodles, add your shredded chicken and some frozen (or fresh) vegetables just before the rice/noodles are finished. That’s it. This would be great for dinner, as well as a brown bag lunch.

A little bit can go a long way if you rethink meat and take it out of the center of your dinner plate. Think of meat more like a side dish, and you’ll have no problem stretching your food dollar.