Lentil Pumpkin Soup

1 cup of dried lentils

1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree

3-5 cups roasted vegetable stock

1 large onion

2 carrots

maple syrup to taste

curry powder

cumin

salt

pepper

olive oil

-simmer lentils in water or stock in a small saucepan, until tender (about 30 min)

-finely chop onions and carrot, saute in stock pot with a small amount of olive oil

-add cooked lentils and canned pumpkin to stock pot

-add spices to taste

-add vegetable stock to stock pot, add more or less depending on desired thickness

- remove 3-4 cups of soup from stock pot, cool, and pour into blender, blend until smooth

-add blended mixture back into stock pot

-stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until your whole apartment smells delicious

-may garnish with a swirl of coconut milk or cream

-serve with hearty bread or over rice or quinoa

And now for something completely different!

Sometimes it is important to step out of the kitchen, the studio, or wherever we have been cooped up for too long and look at something different. As an artist of many mediums, I have always had a special place in my heart for fiber artists. I can't help but post this amazing video on artist Mimi Kirchner for you all to see. Her fastidious way of collecting and reusing beautiful and unique fabrics in her dolls is part of the thrift lifestyle and indeed something we can all learn from!

Not thrift, but definetly worth it.

Since I usually focus on using ingredients that are "thrift," I thought I would write a post about when it is worth investing in luxury ingredients. There are a few foods that I think are really worth their weight and gold, and chocolate is one of them. The key is buying quality ingredients in small quantities and really savoring them. These luxury treats really can make a simple meal into something worthy of a special occasion. 

Recently I had the opportunity to sample some Amano chocolate from a Blake Makes contest. I was so excited when I got my package in the mail. This single-origin chocolate is handmade in small batches on vintage machinery. The packaging alone is worthy of going on the wall, and unwrapping this chocolate bar was a very special experience. The smell and color of this chocolate already spoke to the quality of the product before I had even tasted it. 

My fiance and I both tried this bar from the Jembrana Regency in Bali, and we both agree that it is some of the best chocolate we have ever had. It is incredibly rich with a spicy-sweet-bitter complexity that can only come from chocolate that has been carefully harvested and prepared. After trying this chocolate, I don't even think I could call anything else chocolate. It is just that good. 

The moral of the story is that if you're pinching pennies in your kitchen, you can make special meals and holidays a little more special by highlighting a dish with a small portion of something really luxurious. Think about serving artisian chocolate with an array of fresh berries for a special dessert, or shaving some raw milk artisian cheese on top of a homemade risotto.  I also think investing in some quality extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar can make dishes transcend into something really special. Remember that having a thrift kitchen isn't about eating cheap food but about getting the most nutrition and flavor out of what you stock your pantry with. I highly recommend investing in some quality ingredients for those special occasions, it will make everything just a little more spectacular. 

Going Bananas!

(source)

One of my favorite salads in the world has one of the strangest ingredients I've ever put in a salad: bananas. I know not everyone is a fan of fruit in their salad, but I see nothing wrong with mixing my fruits and veggies. I love pears, strawberries, cranberries, and figs in my salads. The idea of a banana in my salad had never crossed my mind, until I came across a version of this salad at a vegetarian cafe in Orlando. I was in love with their salad, but not the ten dollar price tag. 

After having a particularly strong craving for this salad one evening, I decided I was going to try recreate this gourmet salad in my own kitchen. After a few experiments, I came up with something just as delicious as the ten dollar salad I had been craving. In fact, I like it even better! My version is a marriage of bananas, bitter spring greens, carrots, raisins and walnuts all in an amazingly flavorful curry dressing. I think the balance of sweet and bitter works really nicely in this recipe; and it's pretty much loaded with cancer-fighting antioxidants. It's a win-win for those trying to get their five to seven servings of fruit and veggies. 

The dressing for this salad is absolutely divine. I never measure when I make salad dressing; I just taste and add more ingredients accordingly. I feel that the acid/oil ratio in dressings is a pretty personal thing, so feel free to play around with the measurements and trust your taste buds!

 

Curry Banana Salad

Serves 2 as a main course

4 cups of mesclun greens

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup whole walnuts

2 bananas, peeled and sliced

Curry Vinaigrette (recipe below)

 Toss first four ingredients together and plate. Arrange banana slices on top of salad. Pour vinaigrette over salad. Devour immediately. 

 

Curry Vinaigrette 

1/8 cup olive oil (or grape-seed oil)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/8 cup tahini paste

2 tbs maple syrup or honey

1-2 tbs curry powder

salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Adjust ingredients to taste. 

 

This is one of those foods I crave that I simply don't feel guilty about indulging in. It's packed with veggies, fruits, and healthy fats. It's vegan, it's easy to make, it looks pretty, and it's delicious.  Try it, tweak it, add grilled tofu... any way you toss it, this salad is seriously bananas. 

Roasted, Toasted, and Melted

Roasted Vegetable Tartlet With Gruyere

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of ready-prepared puff pastry

• 1 1/2  cups of thinly-sliced, roasted vegetables

  (I used onions, squash, and zucchini)

• 1/2 cup of Gruyere cheese, shredded

• dash of nutmeg

• dash of dried thyme

 

• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread out puff pastry onto lightly oiled baking sheet, or sheet lined with parchment paper. Arrange vegetables on top of pastry sheet so that they are attractively overlapping. Sprinkle with cheese, nutmeg, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving, if you can last that long. 

I like to keep my ingredients list pretty flexible. This recipe was made for a special occasion, so it is not a completely calorie-conscious recipe, but you could certainly  make it one. You could substitute puff pastry for a healthier choice, like whole wheat pizza dough or even a multigrain pita or flatbread. The gruyere could be replaced with  low- fat mozzarella, monterey jack, feta, or even soy cheese if you've got some on hand. The idea is to take a concept such as "dough/bread + veggies+cheese" and use whatever you have on hand to make it happen. 

By not feeling like you have to buy every ingredient on a very long recipe list, you can save money by using what you already have in your pantry. Craving pizza, but you only have peppers, onions, feta, and some french bread? Make a greek-style french bread "pizza!" You could even roast the peppers and pulse them through the food processor with a little olive oil and seasoning to make an interesting take on pizza sauce. You could also go mexican if you have some tortillas, monterey jack, and salsa. There are literally a thousand combinations to the "dough/bread+veggies+cheese" formula. It's a great way to make a fast, simple meal that tastes great and adds veggies into your diet. It's especially great for kids, since kids are notorious for loving anything you can call "pizza," and it's cheaper, healthier, and probably even faster than waiting for the delivery guy to deliver your thousand-calorie-plus dinner. 

Next time you are craving something warm and cheesy and are tempted to just go out for pizza, look in your pantry first. Chances are you have most of the ingredients for something delicious!

Five Minute Meals

Rachel Ray's Thirty Minute Meals have got nothin' on my Five Minute Meals! I personally believe that everyone should have a few meals in their repertoire that take less than 15 minutes to prepare. These meals should also require ingredients you stock regularly, and should also be somewhat flexible about what ingredients can be included or left out. 

A few of my favorites include hummus with whole wheat pita and crudites. Another favorite in our house are baked corn tortilla chips with shredded 2% cheese (melted in the broiler), salsa and black beans. Spinach salads with feta and balsamic vinaigrette are also one of my favorites. Don't forget to toss in strawberries, pears, walnuts, carmelized onions, or anything else your little heart desires. The nachos and salad are pretty much self-explanatory, but the hummus recipe is really worth trying, and you will save so much money by no longer buying prepared hummus, plus you can flavor it however you like, and create your own little Baskin Robbins of hummus flavors. Oh yeah.

Fresh Hummus

In your food processor, process together: 

• 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained (reserve liquid)
  
• 3 tbs. lemon juice
• 1-3 cloves of garlic 
• 1 1/2 tbs. Tahini (can be increased or decreased, depending on potency of tahini)

Once your hummus has formed a paste, slowly drizzle in 3-5 tbs. of the reserved chickpea liquid, as well as a teaspoon of olive oil. This will give your hummus a smoother texture. 

Hummus mixture may be garnished with olive oil, paprika, and parsley, but I have been known to eat it directly out of the food processor.  Can also be blended with roasted red pepper, pitted kalamata olives, roasted garlic, oregano, dill, pine nuts, leftover roasted eggplant, bottled artichoke hearts, or dark chocolate. Just kidding about the dark chocolate. Some things are just too delicious to ever meet each other. 

These five minute meal ideas are meant to inspire. Many find the idea of making homemade hummus too daunting, or the idea of strawberries and spinach in the same dish repulsive. The point is, it is incredibly important to have a few standby meals that are quick to prepare ready at all times. Doing this will significantly reduce the number of times you go out to eat, which will put more money in your wallet, which will give you more money to spend in your thrift kitchen. Case closed. 

 

Thrift Tips

I've been on a tight budget lately, and have come up with a few tips that have helped me save some cash on my groceries:

1. Buy fresh produce that is in season; it will be more affordable and will taste better!

2, Frozen veggies and fruit can be a healthy and more affordable way to bulk up on your veggies without over-spending. My favorites are frozen broccoli, spinach, peas, red and yellow bell pepper, strawberries, blueberries, and mango. 

3. Buy organic when you can afford it, but don't stop eating veggies just because you can't afford organic. Eating a non-organic apple is still healthier than eating an entire bag of organic cookies (although you know you'd like to convince yourself that those cookies are healthier...)  I always buy organic eggs and milk, but I can't afford to go 100% organic right now. I do what I can. 

4. Beans and rice are nice. Beans and rice are cheap, healthy (especially brown rice) and can be mixed with a variety of different veggies and even fruit. You can stock up on a a variety of different beans and rices and switch out the veggies to get a completely different meal. Some of my favorites are black beans and brown rice with mango and cilantro, garbanzo beans and basmati rice with curried spinach and  carrots, and white beans and rice with tomato and basil. See? It doesn't have to be boring. 

5. Grow your own herbs. Fresh herbs make me happy. I seriously thought I would kill all of them, but I haven't yet. In fact, I have more oregano that I know what to do with! Fresh herbs are a great way to dress up a thrifty meal, and by growing them yourself you can do it the thrifty way!

6. Don't buy the pre-packaged or pre-chopped food unless you are really crunched for time. Although pre-chopped onions are really appealing, chopping an onion takes, at most, 30 seconds. However, making homemade vegetarian 'meat'balls from scratch can take 30 minutes to an hour. Buying the prepackaged version costs a bit more, but if I am really short on time, it can  be worth it. Really think about the amount of time you are saving when you're tempted to get those easy quick fix solutions.

I hope these ideas are inspirational! I leave you 

with some whole wheat blueberry pancakes to salivate over. Mmmm.