Ask the Internet: How Much Do You Spend on Food?

Today, a CHG-related question I can’t believe we’ve never asked before.

Q: How much do you spend on food?

A: Husband-Elect and I live in a not-upscale 'hood in Brooklyn, New York. For groceries, we usually blow somewhere between $50 and $60 per week, all meals included, except for maybe one office lunch and one night of takeout/restaurant dinner.

Sweet readers, how about you? If you could include your general location, the number of people you feed, and your average weekly/monthly food bill, it would be fab. I’d love to get a general idea of what kind of expenditures others are looking at. Thank you!

Want to ask the interweb a question? Post one in the comment section, or write to Cheaphealthygood@gmail.com. Then, tune in next Tuesday for an answer/several answers from the good people of the World Wide Net.

Mango, Blueberry, and Raspberry Cobbler: An August Miracle

Today on Serious Eats: Jicama and Watermelon Salad. So refreshing, you may never drink ice water again.

I want to hate August. I really do.

The mosquitoes. The sunburns. The blistering heat. The choking humidity, like you’re constantly walking in a wet sponge. The distinct summertime odor of Brooklyn, which can best be described somewhere between Underarm Sweat and Putrefied Corpse. The pervasive bad moods of citizens, confined to their steamy, claustrophobic apartments, where ancient window fans provide the only respite from triple-digit temperatures.

Blarf.

But then. Then there’s the produce. And August is forgiven.

Even in New York City, vegetables are wildly inexpensive and fruit is gobsmackingly plentiful. You can survive on nothing but zucchini and berries for weeks, and still be upset when it’s over.

To get an idea, here are the results of last week’s supermarket trip. This just doesn’t happen in November:

 2 pints blueberries
1 lb strawberries
6 ounces raspberries
1 clamshell organic baby greens
3 red peppers
1 cucumber
2 yellow squash
3 zucchini
3 mangoes
1 green pepper
1 avocado
10 ounces cremini mushrooms
1 lb mozzarella
5 vine tomatoes
1 lb carrots
2 pluots
6 nectarines
8 plums
1 onion
1 dozen humanely-raised eggs
1 box Kraft mac and cheese
1 box Domino dark brown sugar
1 jar Ragu Garden Style tomato sauce
1 liquid Coffeemate
1 bag Stacy’s pita chips
1 14.5-ounce can chickpeas
1 14.5-ounce can black beans
1 tub Friendship cottage cheese w/pineapple
3 chicken thighs
6 slices prosciutto
2 artisanal baguettes
KEY FOOD: $33.78
ASSOCIATED SUPERMARKET: $25.16

Okay, the Coffeemate and mac-n-cheese might happen in November. But you gotta forgive a girl her indulgences, right?

As there was so much fantastic produce available, I overbought. It left little space in the fridge, and some doubts as to whether or not we could finish everything before it went bad. Consequently, we needed a dish that would A) use up mad fruits, yo, and B) y’know … taste good.

Enter Smitten Kitchen’s cobbler recipe.

Though the original instructions call for peach and blueberries, a commenter mentioned mangoes and blueberries would work just as well. I was worried the abundance of brown sugar and very-sweet fruits would make it a little cloying, so a cup of raspberries was added for tartness and balance.

And oh, man. IT WAS SO GOOD. It was all the wonderful things about summer, topped by awesome cornmeal biscuits. If you should make it yourself, know the following:

1) Choose ripe mangoes that give slightly to the touch. You don’t want under- or overripe fruit, or everything will be a mess to slice.

2) SK calls for buttermilk in the original recipe. I didn’t have it, and used a skim milk/lemon juice substitution I found online. It worked beautifully, and is included below.

3) The dish is a little liquidy. Go with it anyway.

So, August. We still have three more weeks of each other. Keep giving me food like this, though, and we just might make it to September.

~~~

If you enjoy this, you’ll surely flip your lid for:

• Grilled Peaches
• Peach-Blueberry Cobbler
• Wild Berry Betty

~~~

Mango, Blueberry, and Raspberry Cobbler
Serves 8.
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

For fruit
3 cups mango, cut into 1-inch slices
2 cups blueberries
1 cup raspberries
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

For topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fine stone-ground cornmeal (yellow or white)
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
7-1/2 tablespoons skim milk

1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Get out an 8x8 (2-quart) baking dish.

2) In a medium bowl, gently mix the ingredients for the fruit mixture: mango, blueberries, raspberries, dark brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Pour into 8x8 dish.

3) In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, dark brown sugar, and baking powder. Add butter. With a fork or pastry blender, smush butter into flour mixture until it looks like small crumbs.

4) Pour 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice in a measuring cup. Add milk until you get to the 1/2 cup line. Stir. Add to flour mixture and combine until everything is just wet.

5) Using a teaspoon, drop glops of flour mixture on top of fruit. (You should get ten or eleven glops.)

6) Bake 20-25 minutes, or until cobbler part is baked and fruit is all bubbly.

7) Remove from oven and let it cool a few minutes, lest you cauterize your taste buds.

8) Enjoy!

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
256 calories, 4.8 g fat, 3.8 g fiber, 3.1 g protein, $0.98

Calculations
3 cups mango, sliced: 322 calories, 1.5 g fat, 8.9 g fiber, 2.5 g protein, $3.00
2 cups blueberries: 165 calories, 0.9 g fat, 7 g fiber, 2.1 g protein, $1.67
1 cup raspberries: 64 calories, 0.9 g fat, 8 g fiber, 1.5 g protein, $1.67
41 teaspoons dark brown sugar: 615 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.50
14 tablespoons flour: 398 calories, 1.1 g fat, 3 g fiber, 11.3 g protein, $0.09
2-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice: 10 calories, 0 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, 0.1 g protein, $0.40
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon: 2 calories, 0 g fat, 0.3 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.01
1/2 teaspoon salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.01
1/4 cup fine stone-ground cornmeal (yellow or white): 126 calories, 0.6 g fat, 2.6 g fiber, 2.9 g protein, $0.11
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder: 4 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.06
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces: 305 calories, 34.5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0.4 g protein, $0.17
7-1/2 T skim milk: 42 calories, 0.3 g fat, 0 g fiber, 4.1 g protein, $0.12
TOTALS: 2053 calories, 38.6 g fat, 30 g fiber, 24.9 g protein, $7.81
PER SERVING (TOTALS/8): 256 calories, 4.8 g fat, 3.8 g fiber, 3.1 g protein, $0.98

Saturday Throwback: Free Cooking Lessons II - A Beginner's Guide to TV Chefs

Each and every Saturday, we post a piece from the CHG archives. This baby's from March 2008, and man, I'm kind of shocked by how much of a difference two years makes, at least on TV.

(Rejected titles for this post: “Free Cooking Lessons Part II: Electric Cookaloo,” “Free Cooking Lessons Part II: The Cookening”)

Months ago, CHG featured two pieces about finding cooking lessons for free on the internet. One was cleverly called Free Cooking Lessons, while the other, a rundown of web-based slicing and carving techniques, was titled Chop ‘til You Drop. Today’s article is a sequel to those posts, focusing on television instead of the web.

See, while many might of us not have access to high speed internet, many of us get some form of basic cable or cable TV. This means that morning, noon, and night, we’re exposed to some of the best chefs and cooks on Earth, from flame-haired, Dionysian Italians to entrancingly mom-esque Hampton doyennes. These folks can teach us TONS, as long as we’re patient, observant, and know how to navigate through the programming. That last part is where CHG comes in.

What follows is a basic guide to 21 instructional cooking shows, including brief descriptions and links. It’s designed to give beginners an idea of where to start, and to direct more advanced cooks to series that might interest them. It focuses mostly on the Food Network, though several PBS shows and a few Martha Stewart ventures are included. Air times should be included in the links.

Before getting started, a word: while I usually try to avoid injecting my opinion into Wednesday articles, it’s not the case here. This post is 99% personal opinion (1% bad jokes), with my favorite shows marked as “suggested viewing.” That said, I urge readers to chime in with brilliant suggestions, supportive comments, terrible insults, and threats to turn me into a tablescape.

Let's get this thing started...

BEGINNER

America’s Test Kitchen with Christopher Kimball (PBS)
Good for: anyone
Bad for: N/A
America’s Test Kitchen is PBS in a nutshell: calm, informative, and most excellent. The sister show to Cook’s Illustrated magazine, it’s chock full of equipment tests, product tastings, and painstakingly researched recipes. The cuisine is mostly traditional American, though international dishes do make frequent appearances. Suggested viewing.

Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger (Food Network)
Good for: healthy eaters, dieters
Bad for: sumo wrestlers
Oh, I like Ellie a lot. Her measured, sweet demeanor is a soothing oasis in a land of yappers. As FN’s resident healthy chef, she creates sane, lo-cal dishes with a dollop of nice flavor. I’ve prepared several of her recipes, and their success/failure rate is about 3 to 1. Suggested viewing.

Everyday Food with the Everyday Food Crew (PBS)
Good for: folks on the go, simplicity enthusiasts, fans of Thoreau’s “Walden”
Bad for: N/A
Martha Stewart is the Executive Producer here, and it shows. Simply presented and gorgeously shot, EF’s a solid reference for casual cooks and beginners, both. It covers the basics of preparation quite well, and has some fine-looking recipes to boot. The show’s one downfall? The 14,000 hosts, who switch off every segment. They're a tad tough to identify.

Everyday Italian with Giada DeLaurentiis (Food Network)
Good for: anyone, but especially Italian food lovers
Bad for: N/A
Dubbed "Little Big Head" by the denizens of Television Without Pity, the quality of Giada’s food is in direct proportion to the fabulousness of her cleavage. In other words, the lady can cook. By employing fresh ingredients and simple techniques, she creates some seriously good-looking Italian food that’s easy enough for most kitchen novices. GD takes a lot of flack for being an abnormally attractive, thin chef (well, that and the claw hand), but the haters need to back off.

Good Deal with Dave Lieberman
Good for: college kids, first-time apartment owners, anyone
Bad for: N/A
Cute! Smart! A good cook! The eminently date-able Lieberman centers his show on simple, lower (but not low) cost food – the kind most people can procure at the local supermarket. I haven’t made many of his dishes, but the Braised Hoisin Beer Short Ribs are TO DIE FOR. Worth checking out, especially for younger viewers.

Good Eats with Alton Brown (Food Network)
Good for: anyone
Bad for: N/A
Food Historian, Science Geek, Gastronomic Innovator, Guy You Wish Was Related Somehow: Alton Brown is all of these and then some. It’s really, really hard to find detractors of his show, Good Eats, because I don’t think there are any. Alton pretty much breaks down where meals originate, how they come together on a chemical level, and which ways they’re best prepared. I CAN NOT recommend it (or his cookbooks) highly enough. Suggested viewing.

Guy’s Big Bite with Guy Fieri (Food Network)
Good for: dudes
Bad for: people concerned about their health
Are you a dude? Are you a large dude? Are you a large dude who’ll eat 87 wings in a single sitting and then take enormous pride in farting on your girlfriend? Big Bite is the show for you. Guy’s a spike-haired skater who specializes in Man Food, and his series is a solid resource for Super Bowl Sunday and/or any impending tailgate parties.

Jacques Pepin’s various shows (PBS)
Good for: almost anyone
Bad for: people who don’t understand thick Bourg-en-Bresse accents
Initially, I thought Jacques’ shows consisted entirely of upscale French chef-ery. Alas, I’m dumb. While he does specialize in la cuisine de Paris, he’s also a technique guy, who carefully and methodically demonstrates the proper ways to make a plethora of dishes. Jacques, vous êtes trés bon.

Paula’s Home Cooking with Paula Deen (Food Network)
Good for: southern cooking enthusiasts, comfort food lovers
Bad for: weight watchers, people allergic to “Y’ALL!!!!!!!”
Years ago, PauDain was a relaxed, sweet middle-aged lady who serenely prepared all sorts of indulgent, down-home goodies. Today she cooks the same food, but the personality volume is constantly jacked up to 11. I still harbor happy feelings about Paula and her wonderfully extravagant “27 sticks of butter!” meals, but others may shy away from the loud.

30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray (Food Network)
Good for: people who love Rachael Ray
Bad for: people who hate Rachael Ray
The objective view: Rachael Ray shows viewers how to prepare a diversity of filling meals in under 30 minutes with easily attainable ingredients. Her recipes are do-able for almost anyone, and she’s inspired more home chefs than possibly even Julia Child. Also, she has dogs.
The subjective view: Anyone who uses the word “yummo” in regular conversation deserves ... well, a food empire, apparently.

Sara’s Secrets with Sara Moulton (Food Network)
Good for: Anyone
Bad for: N/A
Repeat episodes of this show are becoming ever so rare, and that’s a big, fat bummer. If you have the good fortune to catch Sara Moulton on anything, you’ll quickly find she’s a lot like my friend K – quiet, competent, and blonde. It’s really a pleasure to watch her cook, and like Alton or the America’s Test Kitchen crew, she’s a great teacher of the basics. Suggested viewing.

Simply Ming with Ming Tsai (PBS)
Good for: anyone, but especially Chinese food lovers
Bad for: people with ginger allergies
America’s most famous Chinese chef, Ming Tsai makes a wonderful case for eating the cuisine exclusively. Also? He’s super-hot. Suggested viewing. (Especially for all the ladies out there.)

Food 911 or Tyler's Ultimate with Tyler Florence
Good for: anyone
Bad for: N/A
Tyler specializes in meals fundamental to American menus, but branches out from time to time with positive results. Provided Good Eats and America’s Test Kitchen aren’t broadcasting at the same time, those searching for the end-all-be-all macaroni and cheese recipe could do worse than starting here.

BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE

Barefoot Contessa (Food Network)
Good for: anyone - especially if you own a beach house
Bad for: N/A
I put Ina in the intermediate section for two reasons: 1) she tends to use some expensive ingredients, which beginner cooks may not want to experiment with yet, and 2) that Kitchen-Aid standup mixer makes an appearance in 50% of her recipes, and it’s kind of an advanced tool. If neither of these apply to you, please tune in to Barefoot Contessa RIGHT NOW. Ina rules, and her recipes simply do not fail. Even if you don’t give a flying crap about braising, icing, or frying, it’s worth a gander for the soothingness of her voice. Suggested viewing.

Boy Meets Grill with Bobby Flay (Food Network)
Good for: dudes, chile pepper lovers, people with grills
Bad for: people who hate mango
The Flayster. Flayorama. The Flayonator. Food Network built part of their empire on this man’s back, and it’s kind of easy to see why. His food is fun, gorgeous, and unifying, in that it marries a lot of fruit and spiciness to great effect. Like Ina, Flay’s tools and ingredients can be a tad expensive (he works with a bunch of seafood), which is why he’s not in the beginner’s category. Nonetheless, Boy Meets Grill is a great resource for recipe ideas, particularly if you’re planning a backyard shindig.

Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello (Food Network)
Good for: easy entertainers
Bad for: difficult entertainers
For those who need to wow a crowd, Michael Chiarello is the man with the plan. Based in Napa Valley, Easy Entertaining concentrates on classy, crowd-friendly dishes, often created with neato wine pairings in mind. The ingredients could run a buck or two, but otherwise, Chiarello’s fun to watch.

Essence of Emeril or Emeril Live with Emeril Lagasse (Food Network)
Good for: anyone, especially Louisiana food lovers
Bad for: Emeril’s nemesis - Evil Emeril
There’s not much to say about Emeril that hasn’t already been covered by every food blog, ever. Yet, in spite of his tiny-bit-hammy onstage persona - dude can cook like the dickens. Watch and learn.

Lidia’s Italy with Lidia Bastianich (PBS)
Good for: anyone, especially Italian food lovers
Bad for: N/A
Lidia is my secret Italian grandma – the one who whipped up massive Istrian feasts every Sunday without breaking a sweat. Her elegant show is a gentle wonder, and her children’s occasional appearances are always good for comic relief. The abundance of handmade pasta may be a bit complex for newbies, but otherwise, Lidia’s Italy is aces. Suggested viewing.

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED

Lessons with Master Chefs with Julia Child (PBS)
Good for: the cult of Julia, anyone
Bad for: people who believe this is actually Julia Child
From what I’ve seen of this older show, it’s lovely and not as slick as today's cooking series. There aren’t many beauty shots (of the food) and the techniques seem to fly by fairly quickly, which makes them a tiny bit harder to follow. That said, it’s Julia fargin’ Child. The woman didn’t become the first lady of American cooking for nothing. Plus? Apparently, Meryl Streep signed on to play Julia in the upcoming Julie & Julia movie, so that’s fun.

The Martha Stewart Show with Martha Stewart (NBC)
Good for: moms, organized people, fans of Real Simple, anyone
Bad for: frat guys
Do you spatchcock? Would you like to know how? Martha knows. In fact, Martha knows everything, except possibly how to project enthusiasm loudly (though she can be dryly hilarious, and isn’t above poking fun at herself). Her show is faboo for creative meal ideas, from flavor combinations to placemat patterns to cupcakes that look like toadstools. And while Martha’s recipes can occasionally seem very Sunday Dinner in Cape Cod, those who look past her image will discover a treasure trove of kitchen brilliance.

Molto Mario with Mario Batali (Food Network)
Good for: anyone, especially Italian food lovers
Bad for: N/A
Look, this guy is a GREAT chef (I’ve eaten at two of his restaurants), but preparing his food on my own scares the crud out of me. Those not totally intimidated by Mario’s awesomeness should DVR this show at every possible opportunity. He’s not just a wonder to behold, but a veritable fountain of culinary knowledge as well.

UNCLASSIFIABLE

Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee (Food Network)
Good for: people who hate food
Bad for: everyone else
Two words: Kwanzaa Cake.

UNKNOWN (Input welcomed)

Daisy Cooks! with Daisy Martinez (PBS)
Down Home with the Neelys (Food Network
The Hot Australian Guy That Cooks for People in Their Homes (?)
Jamie at Home with Jamie Oliver (Food Network)
Kathleen Daelemans (Food Network)
Mark Bittman (PBS)
Nigella Feasts with Nigella Lawson (Food Network)
Party Line with the Hearty Boys (Food Network
Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller (Food Network)
Simply Delicioso with Ingrid Hoffman (Food Network)

Comments are open and I’d love to hear your input. Thanks!

(Photos courtesy of CelebChefs.net, newasiancuisine.com, and circlealine.com.)

Top Ten Links of the Week: 7/31/10 – 8/5/10

Today, it's lots of righteous indignation, a little Homer Simpson, and a kitteh who vastly overestimates his jumping skills.

1) Consumerist: This is What You Eat
Neatorama: Average Daily Food Intake of Homer Simpson
Ever wonder what your normal, everyday American eats in a full year? This colorful, easy-to-read graphic breaks it down. Somewhat sadly, we consume almost as much dairy as we do produce. Somewhat happily, we scarf much less floor pie than Homer Simpson.

2) Salon: Why is America So Fixed on Food Fads?
Fantastic exploration of the links between U.S. food fads (Cakeballs! Bahn Mi! Pork belly!) and our “frontier mentality,” a mix of breaking immigrant traditions and embracing scientific developments. Another great piece by Riddhi Shah, who is quickly becoming a favorite around here.

3) Washington Post: Michelle Obama – A Food Bill We Need
MObama argues for the passage of the Child Nutrition Bill, a major step in addressing the obesity problem amongst kids. How can anyone can be opposed to this? (I’m looking at you, Laura Ingraham.) Healthier kids = good thing.

4) stonesoup: The Minimalist Guide to Cooking With Herbs
Ooo! It’s Herbs 101, including a guide to common varieties, substitutes, preparation, and storage. Very handy for rosemary lovers. (And, coincidentally, Rosemary Clooney lovers.)

5) Salon: Does High Fructose Corn Syrup Cause Cancer?
In which Francis Lam argues (with Marion Nestle’s backup) that it’s not necessarily the kinds of sugar we consume, but the quantities in which we consume them. Empty calories are empty calories the world over, it turns out.

6) The Atlantic Food: The Combo Meal Mindset
Lest we forget the restaurant industry is, in fact, a luxury business (so to speak), Hank Cardello reminds us: “[It] cannot be expected to lead the charge to slim down America.”

7) Wall Street Journal: Michael Pollan Explains the Math of Buying $8 Eggs
Yeah, it’s another Pollan interview. But this one’s worth the read! I promise! The Big Man of Berkeley lays out his own eating and shopping habits, highlighting some good buying strategies along the way. Peaches!

8) Chicago Tribune: Grains make gains - Wheat surpasses white in sliced bread sales
Yay! Whole wheat products are great! Right?

9) Consumerist: Whole Grain Wheat Things Are No Healthier Than Regular Ones
Oh, wait. Nope.

10) Daily Mail UK: Junk food starts allergies - Western high-fat diets are blamed for surge in illnesses
Hey! Scientists “found evidence that 'industrialised' Western diets high in red meat, sugar and fat lowered the numbers of healthy bacteria in our guts,” and contributed to the skyrocketing allergy rate among first-world countries. Cue sad trombone.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Kitchn: 13 Ways to Use Cucumbers
They’re here! They’re on sale! They’re meant for more than salads!

Money Saving Mom: Credit Cards Hurt More Than Just Your Own Personal Finances
I had no idea a small charge cost businesses money to process. Interesting stuff.

Slashfood: Lunch Ladies Go to Summer School
Your kids’ cafeteria food is about to get way better, with pro chefs staging lunch lady boot camps all over the country. Hairnets, unite!

Village Voice: What I Eat - Around the World in 80 Diets
A few years ago, Time Magazine had a fantastic slideshow called What the World Eats, based on a book by the same name. Now, the authors are coming out with another book, called Around the World in 80 Diets, and it looks like it will be just as neato. The Voice piece is a solid summary of the contents therein.

AND ALSO

Youtube: Funny Kitten Can’t Jump
Oh no! Also: hee.



Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

Veggie Might: Market Finds‚ Callaloo, and Jamaican Cook-up Rice

Penned by the effervescent Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about the wide world of Vegetarianism.

I've got another fun find from the farmers market this week: callaloo. I'm a sucker for leafy greens‚ especially one I've never tried before.

Turns out I'd had callaloo before; also known as amaranth greens, which I've received in CSA shares past, callaloo is a Caribbean green similar in taste to and a tad heartier than spinach. Once you rinse away the dirt and cast off the stems, the deep green leaves are ready for any recipe that calls for leafy greens.

Since I spent the last month away from my stove, I was inspired to dig out an old favorite cookbook and fire up the hot box. I found the perfect recipe: Jamaican Cook-up Rice from Jay Solomon's The Global Vegetarian. It combines traditional Caribbean flavors and whatever you’ve got hanging around your kitchen into a one-pot wonder.

I added some roasted tofu with a simple marinade to the party. If you want to keep things simple and all-in-one pot‚ stick with Solomon's protein of choice: red beans or pigeon peas. And you can use any vegetables you like too; choose your own root veg, greens, and/or sub the eggplant with summer squash or zucchini.

CB, my cutie pal JBF, and I loved it. Rice, vegetables, and warm spices make this dish a perfect, stick-with-you lunch or supper. And it goes great alongside corn-on-the-cob that's perfectly in season.

Have you tried callaloo before? What's your favorite leafy green? Spill in the comments! I could talk about greens all day.

~~~

If you dig this recipe, you may fancy

• Tunisian-style Beans and Greens
• Gumbo Z'herbes
• Pasta with Nettles, Sorrel, and Lemon

~~~

Jamaican Cook-up Rice with Callaloo and Roasted Tofu
Makes 5 servings.
Adapted from The Global Vegetarian by Jay Solomon

1 tbsp canola oil
1 medium white onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
6 small Japanese eggplants (about 12 oz), diced
1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup almond milk
1 cup brown rice
2 cups carrots, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
1 tsp dried allspice
2 tsp salt
6 cups callaloo greens or spinach, torn

Caribbean Roasted Tofu
14 oz roasted tofu, cubed
2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
1 tsp dried allspice
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp canola oil

1) Preheat oven to 400F. Combine 2 tsp fresh thyme, 1 tsp allspice, salt, pepper, lime juice, and canola oil in a medium mixing bowl.

2) Toss cubed tofu in marinade until coated.

3) Spread evenly over baking sheet.

4) Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once.

5) In a large saucepan or stewpot, heat oil over medium heat. Combine onion, green and habanero peppers, and eggplant in pot and sauté for 7 minutes or until soft.

6) Add liquids (almond milk and veggie stock), rice, carrots, and spices. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked through and liquid is absorbed, stirring occassionally. Add water as necessary to keep rice from sticking to the pot.

7) Stir in greens and tofu (or beans), and cook until greens are wilted. Serve warm with corn-on-the-cob.

8) Rejoice.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price per Serving
348.4 calories, 8.9g fat, 13.6g fiber, 27.25g protein, $1.61

Calculations
Jamaican Cook-up Rice
1 tbsp canola oil: 120 calories, 14g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.08
1 medium white onion: 40 calories, 0.2g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.50
1 medium green bell pepper: 33 calories, 0g fat, 3g fiber, 1g protein, $0.49
12 oz Japanese eggplants: 79.5 calories, 0.75g fat, 11.25g fiber, 3.75g protein, $1.50
1 habanero pepper: 2.75 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0.25g protein, $0.12
2 cups vegetable stock: 40 calories, 0.2g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.38
1 cup almond milk: 40 calories, 3g fat, 1g fiber, 1g protein, $0.50
1 cup brown rice: 720 calories, 6g fat, 12g fiber, 12g protein, $0.76
2 cups carrots: 100 calories, 0g fat, 8g fiber, 4g protein, $0.64
1/4 cup fresh parsley: 5.2 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.28
2 tsp fresh thyme: 2 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.08
1 tsp dried allspice: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.02
2 tsp salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.02
6 cups callaloo: 36 calories, 0g fat, 4.5g fiber, 2.25g protein, $1.50

Caribbean Roasted Tofu
14 oz tofu: 437.5 calories, 22.4g fat, 28g fiber, 112g protein, $0.98
2 tsp fresh thyme: 2 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.08
1 tsp dried allspice: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.02
1 tbsp lime juice: 4.75 calories, 0.02g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.05
2 tsp canola oil: 79.2 calories, 9.2g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.05
1 tsp salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.02
Totals: 1741.9 calories, 44.57g fat, 67.75g fiber, 136.25g protein, $8.07
Per serving: 348.4 calories, 8.9g fat, 13.6g fiber, 27.25g protein, $1.61

The Best Everyday Cookbooks

(Sweet readers! I was all set to discuss Nutritionism and Your Money today, but the response to yesterday’s Ask the Internet question was so solid, Imma gonna postpone the Pollan discussion until next week.)

When it comes to eating healthfully and frugally, one of the very best things you can do for you and your family is to cook at home. Serving meals from your own kitchen not only allows you to control ingredients and portion sizes, but keeps household expenditures way down.

Of course, if you endeavor to cook, it helps to know how. And that’s where cookbooks come in.

The internet is helpful for research and recipes and such, but there’s nothing quite like holding a well-loved cookbook in your hands; gazing at the pretty pictures and flipping through food-stained pages for a favorite dish.

Yesterday, we asked CHG readers to name their favorite everyday cookbooks, and then describe why each was so useful. Certain titles (revealed below) were name-checked over and over again, largely for the following reasons: they were well written, easy to understand, good for general reference, and included tons of never-fail recipes. Vegetarians and vegans were well represented, as were the classics, PBS, and Mark Bittman.

So, whether you’re just starting out in your kitchen, looking to give a cookbook as a gift, or searching for the ultimate in food tomes, this list will give you a kick in the right direction.

[And hey! It’s an obligatory plug! You can buy all of these through mah Amazon store! (But you don’t have to. But you can. But you don’t have to.) Incidentally, all photos are from Amazon.]

1) Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker (7 mentions)
Seventy-nine years old and still going strong, Joy of Cooking is full of fail-proof recipes to satisfy folks across the generations. Can a book actually teach you to cook? In this case, yes.

• Jennifer: It is the only one I own.
• Denise: I still have my 20 year old copy of The Joy of Cooking which I still refer to.
• K. Tree: When I need information about anything, I go with my Joy of Cooking.
• c.r.a.: It's got a good recipe for most anything you might want to cook.

2) How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman (6 mentions)
A relatively new entry, at least in terms of the other veterans on the list, Bittman's massive, exhaustive, award-winning book could have been called Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Food (But Were Afraid to Research). Containing literally thousands of recipes, it has a place in every kitchen.

• Debbie Koenig: I don't necessarily cook from it directly, but I consult it practically every day.
• MS: [It] makes so many appearances that I might as well just leave it out.
• Leigh: I have the cookbook and then I got the $5 app for my iPhone which is the ENTIRE BOOK. ON MY iPHONE. It has repeatedly saved dinner.

3) Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (5 mentions)
We own this one at home, and I'm consistently wowed by the breadth of recipes. While the paperback version could use a few more pictures (IMHO), BH&G has been indispensable for decades.

• Myrnie: For basics like canning, breads, breakfast, "base" recipes like frosting and whipped cream and eggs ... it's always Better Homes and Gardens.
• drphibes: I was in a bookstore once and a Czech couple approached me and asked what would be a good source of American recipes. Without hesitation I pulled down a copy of BH&G.
• Anon: The three ring binder set up is great, and all the ingredient info and substitution suggestions make it handy even when I'm winging it... Which is most of the time.

4) Moosewood Cookbooks - various, but mostly Moosewood Cooks at Home (5 mentions)
I think every vegetarian I know owns at least one Moosewood book. The Ithaca, New York, collective seems to publish them by the boatload, and Simple Suppers is a personal favorite.

• Charlie: The Moosewoods! I have the original, plus New Classics, Cooks at Home and Low Fat Feasts. I think I probably use Cooks at Home the most but they are all great.
• Anna N: I have fierce love for all the Moosewood cookbooks, especially Sundays at Moosewood, Moosewood Cooks at Home, and New Recipes from Moosewood.

5) Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison (4 mentions)
Another vegetarian standard, VCfE is practically a produce encyclopedia, as valuable as a reference guide as it is a cookbook. 

• Kristin: It has great general info on how to cook every possible vegetable or grain.
• Diane: I've never made a dud recipe from it - ever.
• Anna N.: Apple upside down cake, I love you 

6) America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (3 mentions)
Really, you could stick about anything from the America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Illustrated crews in this list, but a few readers mentioned this one as the best all-around book.

• Suzanne: I rarely cooked American food until I found this book.
• Peggy: [It has] everything I need: tips, techniques (with pictures of same) product testing results and recommendations.

7) Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today (3 mentions)
I've owned this since I was 17, and life would be weird without it. Someday, it will have to be replaced, and I'm not looking forward to that day.

• K. Tree: I still have my very first cookbook which is the 1976 version of the Betty Crocker's Cookbook

8) Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (3 mentions)
Moskowitz has become a veritable vegan guru the last few years, between this 2005 cookbook and 2007's Veganomicon. Whether you're interested in or already neck-deep in non-animal foods, this is the place to be.

• Leslie: Lots of delicious recipes, especially the tofu scramble.

9) How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman (2 mentions)
It's like How to Cook Everything (meaning: huge, helpful, heavy), but without the meat.


HONORABLE MENTIONS

These cookbooks all received one vote, and could be worth checking out, especially if you’re interested in a particular kind of cuisine.

1000 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gells
660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer
America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
Betty Crocker’s Big Book of Baking
Clueless in the Kitchen
Complete Vegetarian Kitchen by Lorna Sass
Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook by Jamie Oliver
Cook’s Illustrated Best 30-Minute Recipes
Desperation Dinners by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross
Essential Dinner Tonight by the editors of Cooking Light
Fannie Farmer Cookbook
Farm Journal cookbooks
Good Food Book by Jane Brody
Good Housekeeping cookbook
Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook
How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson
How to Eat by Nigella Lawson
Jamie’s Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver
More with Less and Extending the Table by Doris Janzen Longacre
Not Just Beans
Real Thai by Nancy McDermott
Tassajara Bread Book
The Clueless Vegetarian by Evelyn Raab
The Complete Family Cookbook
The MediterrAsian Way by Ric Watson and Trudy Thelander
The Silver Palate Cookbook
The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash
Victoria Boutenko’s books

And that’s it. Readers, any other cookbooks you’d like to add? What do you think of this list? Would you start your own collection with any of these? Do tell.

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If you like this article, you might also enjoy:

• Cooking for Small Children: 15 Hows, Whens, and … Honey, Please Put That Cleaver Down
• The Dos and Don’ts of Buying a Cookbook
• Saturday Throwback: Frugal Food Hacks - 10 Tricks to Simplifying Online Recipe Searches

Green Kitchen: Noodleless Veggie Lasagna

Green Kitchen is a bi-weekly column about nutritious, inexpensive, and ethical food and cooking. It's penned by the lovely Jaime Green.

I never made lasagna until this winter.

I don’t remember the order of events – it had something to do with me coming across a delicious tofu ricotta recipe. It had even more to do with looking for meal ideas that were healthy, easy, cheap, and leftover-friendly for kitchen adventures with my cooking-averse guy. (This path of making cooking less scary, it is a long one.) Ultimately, we ended up with no-boil noodles, jarred sauce, a bowlful of tofu, and a lot of deliciousness.

Lasagna! It’s amazing! Even for cooking-averse boyfriend and lactose-averse me!

Even in the island of warmth that is wintertime kitchen, I was thinking ahead to summer. Wouldn’t it be awesome, I gushed to my probably not-as-excited-about-this boyfriend, if we replaced the noodles with slices of grilled vegetables?! Like, eggplant and zucchini? Sliced real thin ,like noodles, and broiled? I don’t even love eggplant, but OMG, that would be so good!

I was probably met with an Uh huh… sure. But I would not be daunted. I held to my dream through the end of winter, through the veggie-less early warmth of spring, through the first months at the farmers market, the lettuce and berries and asparagus. Ramps? Whatever. Give me midsummer vegetables and long-dreamed of lasagna!

Finally, a few weeks ago, piles of zucchini started showing up at the greenmarket. We’ll be sick of them by the end of summer, but those first green squash meant I was almost there.

A couple of weeks later came the eggplants. Finally! I filled my bag, hit the supermarket, and turned on my oven.

This was a few weeks ago. Remember, in the middle of that month-long heat wave? Yeah, that was awesome. But I did not care because, A) I had become a little consumed by my dream of a delectable, noodleless lasagna, and B) it was DELICIOUS.

Sure, I burned some zucchini. And sure, my apartment was just about as hot as my oven, but there it was: a scrumptious, saucy, rich and satisfying lasagna. No grains. No gluten. No dairy. Just veggies and tofu and some alchemy.

(When I set out to recreate it this weekend, my oven stopped sparking, and they’re coming to fix it tomorrow, so I don’t have a picture, but I promise it’s pretty. What I do have is three pounds of sliced, prepped eggplant wrapped up in my fridge. I should probably sauté them tonight or something. Also, the weather’s calmed down so this isn’t quite such a crazy-person endeavor anymore.)

The recipe isn’t nearly as labor-intensive as the number of steps implies. The tofu ricotta takes just a few minutes to put together, and it and the grilled veggies can be prepped in advance. The rest of the work is just layering sauce, veggies, and tofu, and you’ll be done with that before the oven’s even preheated. Plus, this makes delicious office leftovers, and can easily be doubled for a larger pan.

When you put it in the oven, hide out in a cooler room while it bakes. Trust me, it is very, very worth it. Even my carnivore boyfriend agrees. Tofu and all.

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If this recipe appeals to you, you might also enjoy:

• Baked Eggplant with Mushroom-Tomato Sauce
• Eggplant Mini-Pizzas
• Fresh Tomato Lasagna

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Noodleless Veggie Lasagna
Serves 4
Note: Unfortunately, we don’t have a picture for this one. The following photo is from a site called Living in the Real World (which you should visit!), because it’s the closest we could find. We hope they forgive us.

For the Tofu Basil Ricotta:
1 lb firm tofu, pressed
2 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
¼ t salt
¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
Large handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
Dash black pepper
Dash red pepper (optional, but tasty)

For the lasagna:
1 24 oz jar (~ 3 cups) of your favorite pasta sauce
1 large eggplant
3 medium zucchini
Olive oil or cooking spray
Salt

1) Make a batch of tofu basil ricotta. Stash that in the fridge.

2) Slice eggplant and zucchini lengthwise in thin, even strips. 1/4”-1/2” thick is good. (This is a great time to own a mandolin.)

3) Salt the eggplant and let sit in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.

4) If you have a grill, lightly coat the slices with oil, sprinkle with salt, and grill.

4a) If you don’t have a grill, crank up your broiler. Cover your broiler tray or a cookie sheet with aluminum foil; spray with cooking spray or spread a little olive oil. Lay out your veggie strips in a single layer; spray with oil and sprinkle with salt. Broil until browned but not burned, flipping midway. 5-30 minutes, depending on your oven. (NOTE: This will vary WIDELY from oven to oven, so it's best to keep an eye on things.) Repeat until all the veggies are cooked. Let cool a bit, at least so you can handle them. Or refrigerate until you’re ready for the next bit.

5) Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease an 8x8 (or so) baking dish with olive oil.

6) Assemble:

• Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce over the dish, spreading evenly.
• Lay strips of zucchini to make an even layer on top off the sauce.
• Add another thin layer of sauce.
• Spoon in half of tofu ricotta mixture, using your fingers to spread it in an even layer.
• Top with sauce.
• Lay down a layer of eggplant.
• Another layer of sauce.
• Spoon in the rest of the ricotta, spreading into a layer.
• Top with sauce.
• Top with a layer of zucchini (add any eggplant you have left).
• Cover with the last of the sauce.

7) Bake 20-30 minutes, until heated through and the sauce is looking thicker. If the top starts to get dark, cover with aluminum foil.

8) Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
327 calories, 17.4g fat, 10.4g fiber, 19.6g protein, $1.90

Calculations
1 lb firm tofu: 365 calories, 22g fat, 5.8g fiber, 39.8g protein, $1.69
2 T lemon juice: 8 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.33
2 T olive oil, plus for greasing pan: 315 calories, 35g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.10
1 clove garlic: 4 calories, 0g fat, 0.1g fiber, 0.2g protein, $0.02
¼ t salt: 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.01
¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes: 107 calories, 1.3g fat, 6.7g fiber, 12g protein, $0.74
large handful fresh basil leaves: 9 calories, 0.3g fat, 0.6g fiber, 1.3g protein, $0.50
dash black pepper: 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.02
dash red pepper: 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.01
1 24 oz jar of pasta sauce (~3 c): 270 calories, 9g fat, 3g fiber, 12g protein, $2.15
1 large eggplant: 132 calories, 1g fat, 18.5g fiber, 5.5g protein, $0.75
3 medium zucchini: 94 calories, 1.1g fat, 6.5g fiber, 7.1g protein, $1.25
TOTAL: 1307 calories, 69.8g fat, 41.4g fiber, 78.4g protein, $7.59
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 327 calories, 17.4g fat, 10.4g fiber, 19.6g protein, $1.90