Naan Takes the Cake

Home Made Naan

I made a spicy red lentil soup yesterday, and decided to try some home made naan bread.  Food processor needs parts, so I couldn't make the recipe I had picked out earlier.  Another recipe made 14 helpings and called for more flour than I had in the house.  Found this recipe on the food network: Naan Indian Flat Bread


I made it with poppy seeds, but next time (and there will be a next time) I'll do the garlic naan.  Pretty simple and the dough was not that difficult to work with.  Only one rising.  Also found a non-yeast recipe.  I didn't have any plain yogurt, so I substituted 1/2 sour cream, 1/2 low-fat buttermilk, and that seemed to work.  Tasted great.  You do need a cast iron skillet and make it on top of the stove.  No hot oven on a hot day. 


The lentils were red ones from Whole Foods.  Our supermarket only has the plain brown.  No French, no red.  
I served a salad and we were so full we didn't need dessert.    Enough of everything left for tonight, which is my writing group night, so I have to leave the house early. 


We're having soup week this week, always good for the loss of a couple pounds.  Also lost two during salad week two weeks ago.   I will post the soups later.  The lentil one is so old it may not be on the web.  Just the right amount of spice. You are basically making  your own curry powder.  


If you're eating on the cheap, paring that cheese, in other words, ethnic food rocks.  


Berries have been on sale and we've had good fruit salads, and they are soooo good on my morning Cherrios.  We try to eat whole grain cereal without much sugar.    Shredded wheat is the best and I have a coupon.                                                                    

The Best Tacos You Will Ever Eat

Chop up half an onion, a little less if huge.  Cook it over med. heat in a big cast iron skillet.  When the onion begins to soften, add a pound of good quality 85% lean ground beef.  I always buy mine at the butcher counter.  When the meat is almost cooked, add a chopped (seeded if you don't want it too hot) jalapeno pepper.  Continue to cook and stir.  Add a sprinkling of hot pepper flakes, some chili powder.  I also add another sprinkle of Penzey's Southwest Seasoning.  Oh, an don't forget a teaspoon or so of cumin.  Very important.  Salt and pepper well, and continue to simmer to blend the flavors.  Add a can of rinsed and drained black beans or your favorite kind of beans.  Pinto.  Kidney.  Whatever. 


Chop up the following and put in small bowls:  scallion, tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro and avocado.   Into other bowls put grated cheddar or Mexican cheese (a mixture), sour cream, wedges of lime.   Nine "condiments" in all. 


For each person, cook a couple or more corn tortillas in a vegetable oil until slightly browned but still pliable.  Keep warm in oven while cooking the rest.  




Put the condiments on the table along with the fried tortillas in a basket.  You may also put hot sauce on the table or salsa.  Bring the hot skillet to the table and serve.  Everyone creates his/her own tacos.  They are utterly delicious.  I fold mine in half and eat it messily.  My significant other dumps everything onto his plate and has at it.  This is good stuff.

I also serve orange wedges with the meal.   Refreshing. 


I usually keep corn tortillas and all the spices around, along with scallions, lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream, so we just have to buy the meat, the cilantro and the avocado.  Serves 4, and doesn't break the bank.  Dieters can go easy on the cheese and sour cream.  Corn tortillas are low in carbs and high in fiber.  Of course, grilled steak added instead of ground beef will also be tasty, as would chicken or a grilled pork chop or two.  Taste for seasoning as you go along.  A couple of these babies and you won't be hungry for hours.  


I have never tasted any tacos this good at a Mexican restaurant, although the fish tacos at the Border Cafe in Cambridge, MA are close.  Ole! 

Eat Ethnic!

One of the best ways to cut your grocery bill is to cook "ethnic" meals. Goulash soup, Puerto Rican rice and beans, stuffed cabbage, pasta with tomato sauce--the list of yummy, nourishing recipes imported from countries near and far is amazing. One of my favorites is to take the scraps from a chicken or a pork roast and make fried rice.

In the coming weeks, I'll feature some of my favorite cheap ethnic treats. In the meantime, here's more cheap living (grocery) tips from our friends in California:

Stretch your food budget! http://www.insidebayarea.com/food/ci_8622808