I'm out of money and I'm going on vacation!

The two are not mutually exclusive, but both are happening this week!

Because of some overzealous spending earlier this month I've spent only $45 on groceries these past three weeks including the amazing 10 whole dollars I had left this week. After pouting internally for a little while, I settled on a few things to get me to Thursday night.

4 bananas
4 apples
2 carrots
1 small plain yogurt
1 bunch of celery
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$9.53!

There's nothing humbling like telling the cashier you may have to pass on the celery if it takes you over $10. Lucky for me, I'm chocked full of celery now with two whole quarters rubbing together in my wallet. Good thing! Just in case I go through a worm-hole back 15 years and I need to make a call.

I have a stash of leftover food in the freezer, a fairly stocked pantry, a head of cabbage and a baking potato in the fridge, so I know I can make it until Thursday when I'm heading to Edmonton for some Mother/Daughter bonding time.

My Plan for the week:

Sunday night & Monday lunch - coleslaw + 1/2 of a baked potato
Monday night & Tuesday lunch - lentil soup w/ carrots, frozen peas and celery
Tuesday night & Wednesday lunch - Freezer chili/soup/curry
Wednesday night & Thursday lunch - anything that's left over.. from the leftovers..
Thursday night - a delicious airport meal!?

I always bring a yogurt, apple, banana and my snack pack (almonds, raisins, rice crackers) for lunch with whatever salad or leftovers I have. This makes making packing lunch super easy since it's the same everyday, but I don't get sick of it because the main event changes. It's nice to have small components so I can snack through the day if needed. An awesome additive to my snack stash this week (and the cheapest bang for my buck I could think of) was the celery I can team with peanut butter and raisins to make some killer ants on a log to enjoy.

This coleslaw pretty much ended up just like the Waldorf salad without the apple, but I did it from memory, so maybe I invented it all over again! It's pretty much a kitchen sink salad using up the leftover cabbage from the minestrone from last week.

In my effort to be pretty much awesome in everything, especially money and food, I'm trying to eat really balanced diets, so clearly tonight's meal is a testament to that. I have all three food groups: dairy, vegetables, potatoes... riiight, a little short of protein am I? I have some eggs kicking around in the fridge, but I know I'm not in the mood for scrambled eggs this evening and it's too hot in here to cook anything else. Let's say the yogurt and walnuts are protein enough and call it a day.
Kitchen Sink Coleslaw

1/2 small head of green cabbage, chopped coleslaw style (about 2 cups)
1 carrot, grated
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1T fresh coriander
1t fresh parsley (or whatever herbs you have)

Dressing
1 small cup of plain yogurt
1 tbsp honey or maple or agave syrup
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
Salt + Pepper

Mix salad ingredients together until well combined

Stir up dressing ingredients together and tweak as needed.

----- This tastes fine, fine. You could use some onions, and lemon or lime juice and I might suggest leaving out the cinnamon, it's a bit grainy in the dressing.

I just baked a potato in the oven for about an hour at 400 degrees and doused it with some of the Naam's miso gravy. Eating baked potatoes is the only time I wish I had some Cheez Whiz and I like to avoid that craving ( I mean, what's in that anyway?) so the miso gravy is a delicious alternative.

Final Thought - Am I the only one with a lunch routine? Eat at the same spot each Friday, bring the same PB&J your mom made you all though middle school?

Spring! Waldorf Salad and Banana Nut Muffins

FINALLY finding my camera cord, I have some photos and recipes for you!

I'm really watching my money right now and so with $30 in my pocket for groceries this week I settles on chili and salad for my dinners this week. It's a short week because of the holiday and I have some curry left over from the weekend which is still plentiful.

I wasn't too hungry tonight so I just made the salad to start. The curry is great and it has some veggies included... but sometimes you just need some salad.

Inspired by searching "cabbage" I borrowed from ELS' Waldorf Salad and made my own.

Waldorf Salad
1 granny smith apple, chopped
1 small head of green cabbage, chopped coleslaw style
1 small onion, diced fine (I left this out, most would include it)
2 carrots, grated
1 small green pepper, diced
1/2 c golden raisins
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Dressing
1/4 cup of mayonnaise ( I ran out and had to use 1/8 cup of sour cream)
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
heaping tablespoon of sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

Mix salad ingredients together until well combined

Stir up dressing ingredients together and tweak as needed.

Done!

--- If you ever wanted a make ahead salad which will get way better with time this is the one for you! This baby is picnic ready, so enjoy.

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This weekend I had some time on my hands so I decided to save the rotting bananas I had and make them into delicious banana bread. Since gluten and I aren't buddies I know I can't munch on too many at a time, so for freezability, I make any loaves I make (zucchini, banana, etc) as muffins.

Here's a great basic recipe (based on ELS' take on Smitten Kitchen's). I left out the rum since I don't have any liquor in the house (because I'm poor, not because I'm a puritan) and you can tell there's something missing. I would have added chocolate chips had a had more than a half cup on hand.

"Jacked-Up" Banana nut Muffins
Makes one dozen

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 c melted margarine or oil
3/4 c lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 t vanilla
1 T rum or Wild Turkey
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 t baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 c of flour
1/2 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Mash up your bananas and then add in the melted margarine and brown sugar.
Mix about with a wooden spoon until well combined and then toss in the egg, rum and the rest of the spices.
Add the baking powder and a pinch of salt and combine.
Add the nuts and incorporate before adding the flour and mixing well
Pour batter into muffin cup and bake for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven or until cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from oven. When cooled slightly, remove from muffin tin and put on rack to cool completely. Or you know... eat.

If you want to make a loaf, just pour it into a loaf pan and cook for 1 hour.
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Would you believe my mother and a coworker also made banana muffins this weekend? Maybe something is in the air, but maybe a banana nut muffin is the bridge to spring. It is neither a heavy pumpkin muffin nor a light summery fruit filled delight.

Ole! Mexican Fish Tacos and Lime Peanut Coleslaw

I Love Leftovers.

I am a devout lunch bringer and lover of a hot lunch. Leftovers fit the bill. Granted I can only eat the same thing 3-4 times before I want to throw it out the window, but it's a great way to maximize your time and minimize your expenditure. I only cook 2-3 days a week and I eat every day, every meal - I promise.

Last night Dave came over for his weekly meal at my house so I put him to work (not that he doesn't do all the cooking the rest of the time). Dave mastered the salad (check out the knife skills on the cabbage!) and fixings and I was focused on my one task - breading.

I never experienced a fish taco until a few weeks ago at a infrequent visit to Cactus Club and that fish taco there was fantastic. I wanted to try making it for myself. I know there are many variations of this delicious meal feature unbreaded fish, but I wanted to take inspiration from kickpleat over at Everybody Likes Sandwiches (surprise, surprise) and whip up a batch with a nice spicy panko/cornmeal crust. If nothing else, this Mexican delight and a nice Mexican beer could potentially entice spring to show it's face on a more permanent basis sometime soon.

fish tacos with garlic-cumin yogurt sauce (adapted from ELS)

4 white fish filets (I used cod)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
1 T oil

1 small container of fat free plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T cumin

flour or corn tortillas ( I tried corn to avoid the hated gluten, but it was not a good result)

A selection of fixings - cabbage or lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, jalapenos are a good start.

1. Cut the fish into manageable strips. Mix the cornmeal, breadcrumbs, cayenne pepper, chili powder and salt together. Set up a breading station as pictured above. Dip fish into flour, then egg and then dredge in the cornmeal mixture.

2. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large pan and when hot, add the breaded fish. Turn fish over when golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from pan.

3. Prepare sauce by mixing the crushed garlic, yogurt and cumin together.

4. Heat tortillas (in microwave, over a gas flame, or in a pan) until softened and slightly charred. Assemble tacos with the fish and fixings of your choice and drizzle with the garlic sauce & squeeze lime juice over top.

Makes 8 tacos, 2 per person
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This was great! The spices worked out really well for the fish and although Dave and I agreed that the corn tortillas killed it, it was overall a success. Worked out well for lunch today too, if not a little messy.

For a delicious side salad I pulled out this great recipe from 101Cookbooks. I made some changes so this is the altered recipe below. I did goof when doing this from memory and made the dressing 1/2 cup oil and 1/4 cup lime juice, not as written below - it turned out fine, but was definitely not the intent of the original author. I can only imagine that her version would have that kick we were looking for in the salad. That being said, the peanuts and lime were a dream combo.

Lime & Peanut Coleslaw Recipe

1 1/2 cups unsalted raw peanuts
1 of a small green cabbage, cored and sliced thin and short (3-4 inches long max)
3 plum tomatoes diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon + fine-grain sea salt

In a skillet or oven (350F) roast the peanuts for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice along the way, until golden and toasted.

Combine the cabbage, tomatoes, jalapeno (opt), and cilantro in a bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt. Add to the cabbage mixture and gently stir to combine. Just before serving fold in the peanuts (add them too earl and they lose some of their crunch). Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt if needed.

Serves 6 as a side.----- Even though I goofed on the dressing this turned out great, and it was awesome in lunch today. The great thing about cabbage and oil and acid dressings like this is that they can keep extraordinary well compared to a dressed romaine or red leaf lettuce salad which would wilt horribly over the same time period. I wanted to mention also that Dave had suggested that we could have just put the salad on the tacos as fixings rather than bothering with anything else. What a delicious suggestion.

Great dinner altogether, corn tortillas notwithstanding.