Take Five Ripe Tomatoes . . .

In mid August, if you are growing your own or have access to a farm stand or farmer's market, the best recipes always begin with the phrase, "take five ripe tomatoes."


Here are some of the things we do with those tomatoes:
1)  Tomato Bread Salad - I'm serving tonight with fresh basil, fresh spinach, and fresh mozzarella.
2)  Homemade tortilla soup.
3)  Insalata Caprese  (tomatoes with basil, olive oil and fresh mozzarella)
4)  Tomato/vegetable soup
5)  A simple plate of sliced tomatoes with fresh herbs
6)  Gazpacho

Tortilla Soup

3 T. corn oil

4 corn tortillas, cut in strips

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium onions, chopped

4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped

1 T. ground cumin

1 jalapeno pepper

8 cups chicken broth

½ cup fresh cilantro 

Garnishes:  fried strips of tortilla, grated Cheddar, cooked chicken breast (in thin strips)

Diced avocado, chopped cilantro

Heat oil in 4 quart stockpot and fry strips of  tortilla until crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

Saute  garlic and onions and cook until onions are soft.  Add remaining ingredients, including tortilla strips,  bring to boil and simmer 20-25 minutes.  Add salt and paper.  Serve  in bowls with garnishes. 

What are some of YOUR faves?

Here is a tomato bread salad recipe from Epicurious

Away for the Weekend

Frog in the Lily Pond at our host's place in the Berkshires

Even a so-called cheap house party weekend can add up: gas, food for the group, wine for the group, entertainment, meals en route.  I figure the outlay for around $230.00 in total for  three days.  Not bad, actually if divided by day.  I took along some pecan pie bars, which are actually to die for, and an "antipasto salad," of pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, proscuitto and provlone and salami.  This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe and it serves ten and is really good, probably less than $1 a serving.  The pecan pie bars consist of a shortbread crust (with brown sugar), baked and a pecan mixture (more butter and brown sugar) poured over the hot crust.  It makes about 28 bars if you don't cut them too big.  Very rich, so nice little pieces are fine. 


Our host made a wonderful pork loin, part broiled, part baked and part smoked, with plenty of garlic cloves.  I took a head of my fresh organic garlic and some tomatoes, too.  We just have to stop in Stockbridge, MA at the Red Lion Inn every so often for lunch in the courtyard.  A beautiful warm day, and nice wine and food.   We like the Saturday morning rehearsal at Tanglewood, for only $17.00 a head.  We had a nice picnic with the antipasto salad, the bars and some leftover pork and tomato/cuke/onion salad from the night before.  Oh yes, and wine.  


We could easily have spent 3 times as much on lodging, Tanglewood tickets, and eating out.  I did buy a CD of the Silk Road Ensemble which I've enjoyed at home already.  This is our only vacation this summer, except for my two days in Georgia visiting relatives.  I went to a wonderful party in the country where the host served is own (Angus) beef, his corn, his tomatoes, his okra, his figs and his peppers.  It was a very special evening.  Somewhere miles east of Athens.  The evening before, I partook of homemade peach ice cream.  Life is good in the summertime.  
We had insalata Caprese for lunch.  Home grown basil and home grown tomatoes.  I suppose I could make my own mozzarella, but that sounds like work.  
Last night we grill chicken dressed in fines herbes and seven different veggies.  Enough for a second dinner.  I have one (1) cantaloupe from a plant that was supposed to be a cucumber.  Go figure. 

I hope you have a garden.  The frogs and bees and hummingbirds, the butterflies and even the cheeky chipmunks make it a living spot where flora and fauna and exist.  
Yesterday, a brown creeper came in the kitchen window and existed the living room.  I heard a commotion in the kitchen and one of the cats was most uncharacteristically on the counter.  Bird had enough sense to leave when we opened the door. 

Yours in sometime frugality

The Cheeseparer              

Soup From a Nail

I always loved the children's story about soup made from a nail.  We aren't quite THAT frugal, but we do buy the Select Harvest soups, either at Ocean State Job Lot or at Walmart.  They taste good, have minimal processing and are lower in sodium than many canned soups.  We have 
discovered that one can makes lunch for two. 


This week we had the Mexican chicken soup.  I added fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes and we ate it garnished with avocado and Mexican cheese, all ingredients from the pantry.  It was so good.  One day I made a chiffonade from a leftover corn tortilla and added that.  I had so many extra ingredients that I added a little chicken broth.  So tasty.  

Fresh Atlantic Salmon was on sale at one of the local markets, and I splurged and bought a pound.  We'll cook it on the grill, Thai style with green beans and corn, both fresh and on sale.  There's a peach pie (from scratch, even the crust) in the oven.  It looked to die for. 


No matter how cheeseparing you are, do take advantage of summer's produce.  Our green beans and cherry tomatoes are providing tasty bites from the garden, along with all the fresh herbs.  I made some quick Fajitas using a small frozen petite sirloin, a few frozen shrimp, a past prime green pepper and some onion.  I made a nice marinade with fresh garlic (from the garden) and heated up some corn tortillas from my economy package of fifty.  We used "found" ingredients, i.e. no trip to the store required.  I like to do this.  The larder is bare, but not quite, and what can you cook that's nourishing and tasty?  

You'd be surprised.  Go ye forth and scrounge from the pantry.  Remember:  potatoes fried with bacon, onion, tomatoes and eggs make a delicious dinner.  Scatter some fresh chives or a bit of grated cheese over the top.  Scallions?  Yup. 


I am so excited about my garlic harvest, that I'm planning to make Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic.  Yum!  What are you harvesting this summer? 


The Cheeseparer

Pizza! Pizza!

Last weekend I was in the Atlanta area visiting relatives.   We went to a party on a country property way the heck  east of Athens.  Our host feted us with his own beef, tomatoes, corn, okra, peppers and figs!  Yes figs!    In our local supermarkets, if you can find them, they cost $3.00 for 8, not a frugal price.  I was persuaded to bring home a small container.  
Recently someone in our tribe had a fancy pizza with figs and prosciutto, so guess what I made?  Yup.  I had riccotta and mozzarella, and fresh baby spinach.  I had figs!  We bought the dough and a few oz. of prosciutto, and we made a pizza. 
Because there were only two of us, we ate it for 2 dinner and one lunch in an outburst of frugality.  It was good.   Doesn't it look yummy?  Those figs had quite a ride. 


The Cheeseparer

Spicy Fried Basmati Rice

We grilled a cheap "petite sirloin" and chopped it up to eat over the rice.  This was really good, really surprisingly good.  I had  1/4 cup of leftover  sun-dried tomatoes in oil so that made the recipe cheap to make, esp. with the fresh herbs all from the garden.  The stir-frying went together in minutes.  Slicing and chopping always a chore, but so what?   I did cook the rice in the a.m. after breakfast while I read the paper.        Sometimes, multi-tasking is the way to go. 

Try this soon.  Grilled chicken, pork, or shrimp would also be dynamite. 

  Spicy refried rice

Save! Save! Save!

Yesterday, when the sun was hot, there was a bit of a breeze and no rain forecast, I washed a heavy wool blanket in cold water and put it on the deck to sun-dry, thereby saving at least $15.00 of dry cleaning fees.  After the blanket was dry (quicker than you could imagine), I air-fluffed it in the dryer and stuck it into the cedar closet for the summer. 

With house guests here for a month, we have been trying to keep grocery bills under control while catering to their needs:  one vegetarian, one picky eater.   My Significant Other and me are voracious and eat basically anything that's food.  So we have been buying cage-free eggs, organic whole milk, and a host of other pricey groceries.  You would think not buying much meat would be cheap, but you would be wrong.  Today, we're having farfalle with mascarpone, hazelnuts, and asparagus.  It's a delicious vegetarian dish, but the ingredients are expensive.  I'm hoping to get two meals or one meal and a lunch out of it.  

The day after, we're having re fried rice with some cheaper ingredients.  For the carnivores, I will grill a small cheap sirloin and chop it up for us to put over the rice.  Tasty and cheap.  Last night we had bratwurst, sauerkraut  and fried potatoes.   I "doctor" my sauerkraut with onion,  brown sugar, bacon, caraway seed, bay leaf and paprika.  Lots of white wine.  I buy a huge jar at Ocean State Job lot for $2.00.  Of course potatoes are cheap and I got some baby ones on sale.  The vegetarian ate Morningstar Farms Buffalo Nuggets ($4.99 for a box).  We had a HUGE fruit salad with 7 different fruits for dessert.  So tasty and nutritious.  Spell check hates this post.  WTF? 

We are also finding that shopping every three days, with some visits to the supermarket, Whole Foods and Walmart is helping.  We also do not bring the guests along to toss stuff into the shopping cart.   Ya do what ya can.   Just about anything is cheaper than taking four to dinner. 

It is amazing how much terminology a 10 year old doesn't know.  Greasy spoon?  Not playing with a full deck?  All sorts of expressions. 

I have to go up and iron the stuff I used to send to the cleaners.  Being cheap has become a way of life.

Cheers

Red, White and Blue Dessert

When berries, with their good fiber and antioxidants are in season, we can find lots of uses for them.  On cereal, in fruit salad, and in luscious desserts.  This tart is made with "Farmer" cheese, a low fat cheese that doesn't break the bank.  The berries were on sale.  The crust is easy to make in a food processor, and everything goes together nicely.  Your family and guests will approve.