TATERS!!!!

Have you guys heard of this gentleman?  All potatoes (white and sweet), all the time, for A YEAR!

Apparently he did pretty well:  22 pounds lost in the first month without working out.  After that, he added 90 minutes of activity per day and towards the mid-year mark all his numbers were down by quite a bit, like from the danger zone to normal range.

Andrew mentioned in his story, the McDougall plan, as laid out in the good doctor's book "The Starch Solution" which (via a Youtube vid of his lecture on the same subject) resonates with me quite a bit.  I need to do some research on some of the points that he made (e.g. the claim that humans have 6 copies of the "amylase gene" (amylase is the enzyme that digests starch), but all lower primates have only 2 copies with the assumption that we digest starch much easier and better than the monkeys and great apes.  If true, it kind of makes sense, but regardless, you can't argue with Andrew's story.  So starting 2 Dec 2018, my way of eating will be based in various starches: potatoes, whole grains, and legumes with the addition of lots of salad and cruciferi, plus some fruit every day. (Edit 2/5/19:  Due to denture fitting, I had to delay my start to last Monday, Jan 28)

Anyhow, my favorite way to make the spud is mashed, by far!  I used to peel and boil up 3 medium russets and then add a half a stick of butter (EEK!) and a 1/4 to 1/3 cup warm milk.  Now if you're doing plant-based, you can skip the butter and use the potato boiling water or else plant-based instead of the dairy milk.  But if you're just doing cheap eats, then use the milk and butter (or maybe not so much butter, lol).

Besides mashed ,there's chunked and boiled (with lots of dill), and also some ways I've found perusing the 'net:  croquettes, soup, scalloped, and more.

Getting back to the starch-based way of eating, I figure a starchy "main" dish of either potatoes in one or another preparation or else beans or a grain dish.  Along with that, my plan is to have a green salad (this one will be my go-to, I think; at least for a while), and a couple of servings of veggies, keeping in line with my decision to go whole foods, plant based.  Basically, WFPB is essentially a vegan diet only without the processed stuff (fake meats, fake cheese), in other words, no processing other than what I can do at home.

Lentils and dal

First, I really have to do a shout out to the Levantine cultures of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine for their fabulous contribution to world cuisine, the spice mix called "za'atar".  The blend I use has thyme, cumin, coriander, fennel, anise, lemon, toasted sesame seeds, and sumaq in it, and it is incredible on roasted veggies!  It has a nice earthy background and a hint of citrus that goes perfectly with sweeter veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and parsnips, although it's fantastic on just about any vegetable.  It plays a major part in my take on California Blend veggies (worry not, the recipe is below!)

So, anyway............

Lentils!! 

There should really be a song about lentils; they're that good and versatile.

Did you know there are many types of lentils out there?  In addition to the brown lentils most people are probably familiar with, there are red lentils and green Puy lentils, and, to me mythological, black lentils.  I say "mythological" because, although I've seen them mentioned in other food blogs, I have yet to find, and therefore taste them.  The quest is ongoing!

A nice lentil soup can be had following the recipe in my last post for split pea soup with the optional potato and carrot upgraded to required.  Some chopped raw onion sprinkled on top gives a crunch and a bite.  There's a very nice recipe here, in a blog by Susan Voisin, Fat Free Vegan.  She has some other lentil soup recipes on her blog that are well worth looking at, so be sure to look around a bit.

Green Puy lentils are from a specific region in France and are particularly suited for recipes that need them intact, like a nice lentil salad.

Red lentils (which are actually more of a salmon/coral color) are my favorite lentil to work with.  It's the star of my second go-to soup (after my chili), Cucalenco soup.  (I've posted it before but it bears repeating)  It's my wonderful (if I do say so myself) combination of red lentils, carrots, and coconut milk spiced with curry spices and cilantro (For all you cilantro haters out there (shaking my head), it's not in the least overwhelming in this soup, so don't worry about it being ruined!).  

Cucalenco paired with a plate of Roasted California blend a la Dimo, below, is a lunch or light supper to crow about!

My local grocery store sells packaged broccoli crowns with a half a  head of cauliflower that is the perfect amount for my California blend a la Dimo.  The za'atar is important for this dish but if you can't find it, any seasoning mix that you like will be fine.

1 medium to large broccoli crown
1 small or 1/2 medium large head of cauliflower
2 large or 3 medium carrots
olive oil
seasoning mix (if you can find it, get a mix called za'atar from a Middle Eastern market; it will transport you!)
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste (I also add a large pinch of dill, but I'm a dill fiend)
roasted sesame oil

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets (Leave some stem on the broccoli, and cut the larger trees in half, or even quarters), large-dice the carrots, and toss together with as much olive oil as you need to coat everything.  Don't overdo the oil!  If you don't use it, then spray with cooking spray just before you add the seasonings.  Spread out on a roasting sheet (on parchment paper for non-stick veggies) and sprinkle with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and seasoning mix, and roast at 400 for about 30 minutes or until the veggies are as tender as you like them.  Sprinkle the sesame oil over the veggies after you take them out and enjoy!

Anyway, back to the lentils!

Other than lentil soup, what can you do with 'em?

The answer comes from India:  dal (pronounced like "doll" but with more of an "ah" sound) which is basically lentils cooked with onions and spiced up with curry.  Now when I say "curry" I don't mean the powder you can buy from the spice section at the local Kroger, although a lot of stores are stocking various blends nowadays, but a perfectly acceptable dal can be made with Kroger curry powder.

My favorite dal recipe is a non-fat free variant of Susan Voisin's (the author of the "Fat Free Vegan" blog).  If you want the fat-free version, follow Susan's recipe, but I like it chock full of oil!  so, here's my variation:

1/2 cup of split red lentils.
1/2 cup of yellow split peas
3 cups of water
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger root, minced (I use a pre-prepared paste that comes in a tube.  Yeah, it's pricey but it lasts a LONG time.)
1/2 teaspoon of garam masala (find it in the spice aisle)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 large onion sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne
2 tablespoons of oil
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Place the lentils, peas, tomato, chopped onion, ginger, and salt into a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and cook till the peas are soft.  Stir often and add water if they get too dry.
Add the garam masala and stir vigorously (a whisk works best) so the lentils get creamy.  It should be medium thick so add water if you need to.  Keep this warm.
Now, while the lentils are cooking, heat up a teaspoon of oil and cook the sliced onion, and cook till they start to brown.  Add the pepper flakes and cook till they're softened and touched with brown.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the cumin and turmeric over medium heat until the seeds start to pop and/or the mix is fragrant and then add the garlic and continue cooking till just short of turning brown (DON'T burn the garlic; it'll get bitter).
To serve, spread the browned onion slices on top of the lentils and pour the cumin seed mixture over the top.  Make sure each serving gets some onion and seed oil mix!

Split peas and some new veggies

Hello, all you cheap eaters!

Today we'll be talking about split peas (lentils in the next post) and a couple new veggies and veggie combos:

Split peas, (green or yellow) will cook without soaking in 35-40 minutes.  Sometimes I'll go ahead and soak for a couple hours, if only to avoid having to involve the blender when I make soup.

A very basic split pea soup can be had with just split peas, an onion, and some herbs:

2 cups split peas (soaked for a couple hours if you don't want to involve the blender for pureed soup).
1 yellow onion, minced.
3 cloves of garlic, pressed.
1 teaspoon of hickory smoke salt.
1 bay leaf
1/2 tablespoon of herb mix of your choice (my go-to blend is below).
Optional ingredients:  1 carrot,thinly sliced
1 medium potato, diced,
1 sliced rib of celery.

All I do is dump everything into the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8.  For a bit more flavor saute the onion in some butter or oil (or mix of the two) till they just start to brown.  Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two and then proceed with the peas and herb mix.

Please note:  If you intend to puree with a blender (stick or stand), make sure you take the bay leaf out first!  Little shards of dried leaf make for a very unpleasant dining experience.

Herb mix for split pea soup
Make a big batch and mix thoroughly, and use 2-3 teaspoons per pot.

Mix equal parts of the following herbs:
whole thyme leaves
dill
ground oregano
ground sage
black pepper
ground celery seeds
ground cumin
ground mustard seed
turmeric
and a half part of smoked paprika

If your "equal parts" is anything other than 1 teaspoon, be careful with the turmeric and paprika; experiment.

If your tastes tend more toward complex flavors and more veggies, try this version from The Dairy Hollow Country Inn Cookbook by a lady with the delightful name of Crescent Dragonwagon.  It's a bit more pricey than the basic soup but well worth the expense!

Spanish Style Split Pea Soup

Pam Cooking Spray

2 cups dried split peas  

2 quarts any well-flavored vegetable stock

1 large onion sliced

2 carrots, scrubbed and sliced

5 cloves garlic, peeled

2 bay leaves

1 box (10 oz ) frozen spinach, thawed

salt to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

3 onions, chopped

6 fresh tomatoes, chopped

2 T chopped fresh basil leaves or 2 t dried

2 T minced fresh parsley

freshly ground pepper to taste

1. spray a large soup pot with Pam and in it combine the stock, split peas, sliced onion, carrots, 2 cloves of garlic and the bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, 1 hour.  Add the spinach and season with salt (at least 1 tsp).  Continue to simmer another 30 minutes.  Let cool slightly and remove the bay leaves, then puree the soup in a food processor.

2. Meanwhile in a 10-inch skillet heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and saute until they start to soften.  

Turn down the heat to medium-low and continue to saute until the onions are wilted, another  6-8 minutes.  Turn down the heat further to very low and cook, stirring often, until the onions are caramelized, about 10 minutes more.  (watch so they don't burn)

3. Add the tomatoes to the onions, increase the heat to med-low and cook down until very thick, reducing the heat as the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and put in the three remaining 3 cloves of garlic thru a garlic press and add to the tomato mixture.  Stir in the fresh herbs and plenty of freshly ground pepper.

4. Stir in the tomato-onion mixture into the pea puree and heat through. Serve at once, garnished with additional parsley or let stand overnight and reheat the next day.

Now, in my last post, I suggested moving beyond the same 4 veggies most of us probably depend on:  green beans, carrots, peas, and corn.  You can still eat these, but try some different preparations:  sauteed fresh green beans with garlic, pureed carrots and potatoes are two preparations I do quite often.  

There's a whole produce section to explore!  Cabbage, turnips, beets, kale, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, and more!  And the best thing about vegetables (if you have the space, time, and gumption) is you can grow them yourself!  I've done green beans mostly; I love fresh ones and it's much cheaper to grow them than to buy them at the store.  I've got turnips in the garden this year, and really want to try beets next year (roasted beets are an entirely different experience than canned!)

Here are some of my favorite preparations (specific prep for all of these can easily be googled):

Braised red cabbage with apples

Sauteed turnip and red pepper strips

Sesame asparagus (not really that cheap unless it's springtime and even then it's a bit pricier than other veggies)

Roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots (aka California Blend; I love this with an Arabic spice mix called za'atar)

Stir fried broccoli, carrot chips, and bok choi (another wonderveggie in the produce section; use the white stem and the green leaves)

For all sorts of ideas, visit this blog.  It's chock full of great veggie preparations.  Just put the vegetable name in the search box and go to town!  Promise yourself to try at least one new veggie per week.  You may find some new favorites!

Next time on Cheap Eats:  Lentils and dal (Indian style lentil and split pea stews).

Cheap Eats tip:  My local stores often have 10 lb tubes of 80% ground beef on sale for 19.99, which is 1.99 per pound, an unheard of price!  If you like pork (and especially if you're in Iowa), ground pork is usually quite a bit cheaper than beef; at my local store, it's 1.99 a pound, vs. $3.50 to $4.00 per pound for beef.   It's usually around 70 to 75% lean, so use it in recipes that you can drain the fat off.

  

Beans, beans; they're good for your heart!  The more ya eat, the more ya.................

....well, you know!

When you have a food budget of 40-50 bucks a week per person, it means you're pretty much going to be eating a whole-foods, veg*n diet. and that means beans for protein.  

Let me join the chorus of people who try to dispel the protein deficiency myth when it comes to veg*n eating:  There is no such thing as long as you eat a varied diet.  And by "varied diet" I don't mean the same 4 veggies you've always eaten.  You gonna need to branch out!  I'll write about veggies in my next installment.

Anyhoo, beans do have a minor glitch:  They are deficient in one of the essential amino acids, but as luck would have it, grains and nuts have this amino in abundance!  This is the reason behind the beans and rice of Louisiana, Puerto Rican, and Cuban cuisines and the refried beans and corn tortillas of Mexico not to mention the treat from Italy, Pasta e fagioli!

But I'm here to talk about cooking beans.

If you're eating on the cheap, the best option is dried.  For those of you whose bean experience has been strictly canned or frozen green beans and canned kidney beans for your chili, there's no need to be afraid of dried beans.  Just make sure you soak them before you put them on to cook.  Here's a basic bean prep that covers most beans (I'll discuss chickpeas in my hummus post, later on).

1.  Place a pound of dried beans into a pot and fill the pot with water, at least 8 cups.  Let them soak overnight/8 hours (in the fridge during warm weather).  At the end of the soak, split a bean and if you see a white speck in the middle (this is just the part that's still not rehydrated), that means you need to soak longer; give it another couple hours.

2.  Pour off the water (unless you LIKE the "musical" aspect of beans!) and rinse, then add in fresh water to about an inch or two above the beans, usually another 6-8 cups.  For soup, you'll want to add 8-10 cups.

3.  Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer and cook them with your choice of non-salt, non-acidic seasonings till the necessary softness, again depending on what you're using them for.  Once they're as soft as you like, THEN you can add salt and acidic stuff.  (NOTE:  There is a debate whether salt affects the tenderness of cooked beans.  Some people have a hissy about salt being put in before the beans are done; others say it doesn't matter.  The only bean I've added salt to at the beginning of cooking is the large lima bean and they come out fine.  Maybe one of these days I'll do some experimenting)

4.  If you want to have no-fuss beans, put them in a crock pot after soaking.  Just drain and rinse, and chuck them in the crock with the seasonings and 6-8 cups of water, and turn it on low and cook till soft.
   
IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you're cooking dried kidney beans (red or white) in a crock pot, make sure you pour off the soaking water and then boil them for at least 10 minutes at a rolling boil on the stove before you transfer them to the crock.  Let's let the author of this blog explain:  "Red kidney beans contain high levels of a toxin that occurs naturally in beans, Phytohaemagglutinin (also known as Kidney Bean Lectin.) If raw or undercooked red kidney beans are eaten…well, bad things happen. Let’s just say you’ll be getting to know the pattern of tiles in your bathroom very well.  For all the gory details, check here."  And believe you me, they're pretty gory!  I can tell you from first hand experience, it is NOT a fun way to spend the evening after dinner!
If you use canned kidneys, you'll be fine without boiling; the processing takes care of the lectin.

As I said, the above method will do for most beans you're likely to be cooking.  The amount of time needed varies with the bean, but usually around 45 minutes.  If you're in a hurry, do lentils or split peas; they don't need to be soaked and cook in 35-40 minutes.

Once your beans are cooked, they can be used for just about anything:  soup, salad, side dish.  My favorite bean for side dish (or even main dish) is the huge lima beans I mentioned earlier.  When you cook them in the crockpot, they break down and create a gravy-like broth that is heaven.  Cooked with a bay leaf and hickory smoked salt (or salt and a DASH of liquid smoke) and you'll swear they were cooked with a ham hock.  They're even thicker the next day!  A beloved aunt, now deceased, had these on the table for every dinner, no matter what.  Every time I cook and eat these, fond memories come flooding back.  Thanks, Auntie J.!

Salad beans need to be a bit firmer than soup beans and so will need to be cooked for less time.  Just drain the beans (save the cooking water to make veggie broth!!) and use according to the recipe.  

To freeze beans, just drain (again saving the cooking water for broth) and then place in freezer bags in 1 3/4 cup batches (the usual equivalent of a can of beans, but without all the sodium and other additives).   I use freezer bags rather then those square freezer tubs because flat bags are much easier to store in the freezer and also thaw much quicker.

Well, that's it for now.  I'll start with recipes in my next post.  See you then!

Cyprus diet

I call this my "Cyprus diet" because it's what I lived on while I was on a temporary duty assignment at the British base on Cyprus back in my Air Force days.

It's main feature is that it's cheap (or at least it WAS when I was there)!  Unfortunately, it's also kinda boring, so make sure you mix it up with the fruit and veggies.  It's also VERY high in sodium; to the tune of 1800 mg a day from just one item!  Thus, if you hae been sodium restricted by your doctor try something else.

Breakfast was the same every day:  A half a melon, plus 1 or 2 seasonal fruits in addition to an egg (mine were boiled because it was just easier) and a slice of whole wheat toast with butter.

Twice a day, for lunch and dinner, I had a packet of ramen noodle soup and a can of veggies (I know; ick, but like I said, I was going for cheap.  Anyway,  sub fresh or frozen if you want to) along with a grilled slice of Haloumi, the local cheese, which was de-LISH....and horrendously expensive as an import, so I usually sub in a half a can of tuna instead.  If you can get Haloumi near you, try it at least once.  It is truly amazing stuff!  It's so densely packed, you can just plop it on a hot pan and grill till browned on each side and it won't melt!

Here at home, I usually add a romaine salad with shredded carrots, radishes, and red onion slices for lunch, with a lemon vinaigrette.

You'll notice there's no meat.  Meat's expensive, so I restrict(ed) it to once a week, subbed in for the tuna, usually Saturday evening.  Here in Iowa, pork is subsidized, so I usually go for a boneless chop, but I'll mix and match if I can get it for a dollar or less for a 4 oz serving.

It all comes up to around 2000-2100 calories a day, and as I said, really cheap!  Like 30-35 dollars a week depending on what fruits you choose!

Sure it's probably not the healthiest diet you could eat, but its not a life-long thing to follow.

Cucalenco soup

I saw a request for lentil soup on a veg(etari)an group I belong to on Facebook, so instead of writing it there, I'm writing it here, so I can just give anyone the URL for this page.

So, here's my Cucalenco Soup (CUrried CArrot, red LENtil, and COconut)

1 cup of red lentils,
4 med  carrots, peeled, diced (reserve trimmings)
 2 med onion, diced (reserve peels and ends)
3 cloves of garlic, minced/pressed
14 oz coconut milk (regular, lite, or coconut beverage)
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 T curry powder
1 bay leaf
1" piece of fresh ginger, minced/grated

Soak lentils in 4 cups of water for at least 10 minutes;  drain and reserve soaking water.
While the lentils are soaking, prep the onions, garlic, and carrots.  Drain the lentils and add all the veggie trimmings to the lentil soaking water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes then strain.  Measure out a 4 1/2 to 5 cups, adding water if necessary to make required amount (I usually make do with around 4 1/4 to 4 1/2).

Heat a soup pot over medium heat for 2 minutes.  Toss in the onions (NO OIL!  Don't worry; you won't miss it!)  and saute over medium high heat, stirring often, until onions start to brown, about 10 minutes, adding some water when the onions start to stick a bit.  Add the broth, lentils, carrots, coconut milk, 1 tsp salt and bay leaf.

Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer partially covered, until carrots are tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile in a small skillet, heat 1 T oil over medium heat.  Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and cilantro.  Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add to soup.

Remove bay leaf* and in a food processor or blender, puree soup in batches (a blender produces a much smoother textured soup).  Taste and add a bit more salt if desired. Serves about 6.

*Make sure you remember to remove the bay leaf!  Bay leaf shards are NOT pleasant to swallow.  I can't remember how many batches of this soup I've ruined because I forgot to remove the leaf before I blended it.

New tech and card games

There's a lot of talk out and about concerning the death of social interaction among today's youth because of all the electronic goo-gahs that are available. Just sitting around and shooting the breeze is a thing of the past (supposedly).  I've seen it happening in my own life, but thank goodness I've been able to keep it at bay for the most part.

One "death" I'm particularly sad over is that of the "card party."   For you young'uns out there, people used to get together in the evening and play card games.  There'd be snacks and lots of "chewing the fat" or chit-chatting to go along with the card games.  We'd get to know each other a little bit better and have fun while we did.

So, for the benefit of the younger generations, who seem to have a phone or tablet or something like it connected to their hand, here are some card games that I like to play:

1.  Canasta.  there are plenty of websites that have the rules on them, so I won't reiterate them here

2.  Crazy Rummy.

3.  Euchre.  I particularly like Cornish euchre (not sure if that's the actual name).  You use a joker and it's the top trump card, even over the right bower.  After the second round of biddng for trump, if still nobody names a trump suit, the hand is played as a "no trump" hand with the joker as the only trump card.

4.  Kings Reverse.


Any others that people like to play out there?