Benefits of BroccoliHere’s the sixth installment in our series about keeping within your food budget.

This week’s headlines have been dominated by news about the Olympics and the tensions in Georgia. But the financial news has been filled with different analysts’ takes on the latest consumer price index report. Last week I mentioned that the recent government stimulus checks had little impact on forestalling inflation because of the dramatic rise in food prices. This week analysts at the Wall Street Journal are saying that even though oil prices have started to go down, there’s no predicting how long food prices will remain elevated.

One of the easiest things you can do to stretch that food dollar is eat produce that’s in season. You’ll get a better deal at your local grocery store to be sure. But you can also stretch those saving even further by shopping at your local farmer’s market, or buying a share in community supported agriculture. The only challenge is finding new and creative ways of preparing these veggies so that your pallet doesn’t get bored.

For instance, we’ve been getting a lot of broccoli and okra this summer in our weekly CSA boxes. I love broccoli because it has a lot of nutritional benefits. For starters, it’s 40% protein by weight. It isn’t a complete protein, like some of the grains we talked about last week, but 40% is pretty good start. Broccoli is the hip, new “super food.” And new research is showing that it can help decrease your risk for cancer. One tip to cooking broccoli is that you want to cook it (and all green veggies for that matter) with the lid off of the pot. Don’t over cook your green vegetables. Just cook them until they’re a bright shade of green. You still want them to feel crisp when you bite into them.

Okra might be a little foreign to you if you’re not from the South. Okra is native to Africa and was brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans. In fact, dried okra pods were once used as a form of intrauterine birth control by African women. There are a lot of nutritional benefits to okra, including a high fiber content, which makes it an ideal food if you’re trying to loose weight. Okra is a common ingredient in gumbo, but is is also really delicious by itself. To prepare it, wash the pods, then cut off the caps and the tips, and slice the pods into bite-sized pieces. If you find the “slimy” texture of okra off-putting, try to find the red variety of okra. It’s less slimy, but it tastes just as great!

Here are two recipes that I think you’ll really enjoy. You can also use cauliflower for the pasta recipe, and I’m a huge fan of adding tomatoes for some added color, along with the vitamin C.

Mustard Butter Pasta with Broccoli
1/2 cup soy butter
4 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp parsley, finely minced
2 Tbsp chives, finely sliced
salt & pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups broccoli, cut into small flowerettes
3/4 pound pasta, fettucine or linguine

1. Set out the butter early to soften up. When it’s soft, blend in the mustard.

2. Finely mince the garlic. Blend it into the butter, along with parsley and chives. Add pepper.

3. Use a large pot to boil generous amount of water. Add some salt and the olive oil. Boil the pasta. A few minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli and continue to cook uncovered until broccoli is fork tender. Drain in a colander.

4. In a large skillet, saute the pasta and broccoli in the butter mixture. Do not allow the butter to fry or bubble, as it will change the flavor. Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper.

**This recipe is from the Tassajara Recipe Book. It makes 6 servings.

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes
4 slices soy bacon
1 onion, saute cut
1 Tbsp soy butter
3 cups sliced okra
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a heavy bottomed saute pan over medium-high heat, add the bacon. Render the bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and reserve. Add the butter and onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the okra and tomatoes, making sure to add the reserved juice from the tomatoes to the saute pan. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Garnish the dish with crumbled bacon and serve.

**This recipe was modified from the Food Network’s website. It makes 4 servings. You can use fresh tomatoes in this recipe if you want to. Just add some vegetable broth to the okra and tomatoes to help them stew.

Photo credit: stock.xchng.