Fried Green Tomatoes

This week for Frugal Friday I decided to stick with the homegrown method of saving money (again) and I decided to make fried green tomatoes. I had never had fried green tomatoes before but Chris loves them we have a ton of tomatoes out on the vine just waiting to ripen so I figured why not use a few for a good, cheap meal? Most of the other ingredients are things you have laying around the house except for possibly cornmeal which you can get at the store for less than two bucks. You can also substitute cornmeal for homemade bread crumbs and get rid of some of that stale bread laying about.

Ingredients:
4 good sized green tomatoes (picked free from my yard)
3/4 cup flour (a staple of the kitchen)
2 eggs beaten (another kitchen staple)
3/4 cup cornmeal (or bread crumbs) $2
1/4 cup olive oil (staple)

Slice the tomatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices and season with salt and pepper. Let the green tomatoes sit for about 15 minutes before cooking

Coat the tomato slices in flour, then egg, then cornmeal



Heat the oil in a large skillet and carefully place the tomato slices in the oil and fry each side for about 4-5 minutes.



That's it! That is all there is to making fried green tomatoes. To complete the meal I heated up a can of corn (75 cents) and made some instant mashed potatoes ($2.00) for a grand total of $4.75.

To Insure Proper Service

TIPS. . .what servers, bartenders, and cabbies make their living off of. Tipping is a two way street though. It isn't just you giving up your hard earned money to just anybody for just anything. The person performing the service must live up to their end of the bargain (hence the acronym) by providing good service. You get the good service in anticipation of a Tip. In the absence of good service the amount of the tip should decrease but it should increase with the level of service as well. I waited tables for years and there were definitely times when I wondered why people left me the amount of money they did when I knew I didn't deserve it. On the other hand there were plenty of times when I got far less than I knew I deserved. There are people out there who honestly believe that five dollars is a good tip no matter what. On a fifteen or twenty dollar bill it is but on a 100$ bill it is an insult.

Where is this leading? Well D. was talking about the iPod Touch 2.0 software update which allows you to download different apps to your iPod. Naturally I had to get it once I saw it and I am addicted to the applications on there. One of the ones I saw (I should say one of the free ones) is Tip calculator that you can also use to figure out how to split the checks (if you weren't thoughtful and let the server know ahead of time that you had separate checks then this will come in very handy). I know a lot of people who can definitely use this (like the entire continent of Europe. . .or Canadians) when eating out in the U.S. As a basic rule when dining out 15% is the norm for a tip. 20% (or more) for great service and 10% for mediocre service. This is very important because servers generally make less than half of minimum wage.

Tip calculators aren't the only cool applications. I found at least 4 cocktail reference guides, 3 wine guides (and tasting notes), and different restaurant search engines along with nutritional info and grocery list makers. Damn, I think I may end up with more applications than music on my iPod.

Pick Your Own

When I was growing up I always wanted to be in one of those families that drove off to the country to pick berries for the day. We never did anything like that. The closest we got was the few years we went to tree farms to cut our own Christmas trees. I guess seeing how poorly those adventures turned out (arguing over trees, fighting over how to cut the tree, frozen toes, cold silences on the drive home. . .the usual) I guess it was probably a good thing we never went to pick berries together at a farm. Now that I am an adult I can go pick my own produce if I want. At Pick Your Own there are lists of different farms that have the option to go pick your own berries, tomatoes, peas, peppers and assorted others. Has anyone been to either Jacquemin Farms or Circle S Farms in Columbus? It seems that they are mostly farms that sell their produce (which is fine by me too). Is it worth the drive to either?

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Lost On Planet China

I received an advanced reader's copy of Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid the other day at work and I love this book. I really enjoyed his first book The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific where the author and his girlfriend attempted to survive in a tropical "paradise". His second book Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu was enjoyable but lacked the joie de vivre of the first book. Now a "seasoned" adventurer the author travels China to try to "get" it.

I have to say that I am totally horrified at the amount of pollution the Chinese are producing. I did not even know that part of the California air pollution problem stems from China (yes, the smog is blowing across the ocean). Lakes and rivers have been turned toxic and and the author claims that 700,000 people die a year from just breathing the horrid air. It is appalling. Amidst these visions of ecological destruction are the author's wry observations of being a complete outsider in China. How he managed to survive I will never know and why he chose to eat barbecued bullfrog from a street vendor I can't even fathom.

Overall it is a very fun, lighthearted, book that does raise some very serious questions about ecology, economics, politics, and food. The book does provide some insight into the dichotomy that is China and provides an entertaining glimpse into a world that I just can't comprehend. If you want to get a glimpse into China but don't want to be bored reading a dry history book try Lost on Planet China. It is at least worth the laughs you'll get from reading it.

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How To Poach An Egg

I will be the first to admit that I have been totally slacking in my quest to learn the "proper" techniques of cooking. I sort of fell off it before starting the egg portion of it. This isn't because I do not like eggs but merely beause the chapter started off with omlettes. Omlettes sort of scare me. It just seems like there is a lot involved in not making the eggs stick to the pan, getting the eggs cooked just right, and then filling the freaking thing. That is daunting.

I, being the genius that I am, have just come to the realization that I don't need to start at the beginning of the chapter. I can skip the omlette part and come back later. Why I didn't think to start with the easier methods of cooking eggs earlier I don't know but at least I figured it out at some point. Anyhow, I poached an egg. Woo-Hoo!

I don't really understand the point of poaching eggs and I don't know when I'll ever need to poach an egg but I know how to when I need to. It is also good that I had my handy dandy guide book near by because if someone had told me to drop a shelled egg in near boiling water I would have salted the water. Why? I don't know? Because it makes sense to me to salt the water? Too bad that would have turned out horribly because the salt would cause the whites of the egg to break. You actually add vinegar to the water. Who knew that vinegar would help to set the whites? So to poach an egg you

1)Bring cold unsalted water to a boil and add 1/4 cup vinegar per quart of water

2)Boil the water then bring it down to about 180 degrees

3)Break the egg into a ramekin and make sure the yolk is unbroken and it is a perfect egg



4)Slip the egg into the water and cook about 3 minutes (the whites will firm and the yolk will be covered with a thin film




5)Remove the egg from the water with a slotted spoon, dip in cold water to stop the egg cooking (and it rinses off any vinegar residue) and put on paper towels to drain

6)Trim any ragged edges






7)Refrigerate until needed

Okay, so I have an egg yolk encased in a thin layer of egg white. Great. Now what? Do people eat this as is or do they add it to something? What, exactly, is the point of poaching an egg?

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Weekend Recipe Roundup

Pasta Primavera with Miso dressing at Vegetarian Times
Roasted Red Pepper and Mushroom Baked Wrap at Vegan Dad
Cherry Cobbler at 101 Cookbooks
Whole Wheat and Brown Sugar Cobblerettes and Roasted Garlic, Tomato, and Basil Squares at Prudence Pennywise
Mixed Berry Shortcakes with Whipped Cream at Chow.com

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Pizza Margherita

One of the things I love about summer is the abundance of fresh produce either from my garden or the profusion of famer's markets. I especially love when tomatoes are ripe and ready. Have you ever noticed the difference in taste of a tomato that you grew yourself and the taste of the grocery store bought tomatoes? The homegrown tomatoes are so much more luxurious and have a ton more flavor. This isn't just because of personal pride in growing a tomato (although that does help).

Commercial tomatoes have been bred to be hardy and transportable at the cost of flavor. They are also picked at a green mature stage. Tomatoes are a fruit that can continue to ripen after being picked so they are harvested when they are on the verge of turning red and when they are still hardy enough to be transported without damage. Unfortunately, tomatoes ripen at different times so you are bound to get tomatoes that haven't developed their full flavor yet. In addition if a pallet of tomatoes happens to get stored in a cooler, or even rigt next to a refrigerated unit, and they fall below 50 degrees that also majorly impairs their flavors. Left to grow and mature on the vine at home the tomatoes are able to develop their full flavors which is why your homegrown tomatoes will, pretty much, always taste better than store bought.

This all leads me to my recipe for this week's Frugal Friday. Somehow I have a bunch of roma tomatoes that ripened already. I'm used to tomatoes not ripening until August in my garden but "whoop" there they were! I also have a profusion of basil out back too and the combination of tomato and basil brings to mind pizza for me, specifically pizza margherita. Sure you can buy a frozen pizza but just read the ingredients, how many of the words can you easily pronounce? Now read my ingredient list. Big difference. You can also make your own flatbread very easily (Prudence Pennywise actually has a great recipe for flatbread and a more complicated and gourmet version) but for convenience sake I bought whole wheat flat bread. Another great thing about this recipe is you can be as basic, or gourmet, as you taste buds and your wallet allow. You can sub the packaged cheese for fresh grated fontina and mozzeralla and load up on the toppings or you can go basic and generic.

Ingredients:
4-6 roma (or plum) tomatoes halved: picked fresh from the garden (or about $2.00 at the grocer)
5-6 sprigs fresh basil: fresh from the garden
3 cloves of garlic (or 2 Tbs garlic powder if that's what you have in stock)
4 8 inch flatbreads: $2.80
3 Tbs olive oil
2 cups cheese (either prepackaged or fresh grated mozzeralla and fontina in equal parts): $2.50
My total cost: $5.80

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425
Add the tomatoes, basil, and garlic into a blender or food processor and puree until coarsly chopped. Season with salt and pepper to taste
Brush the flatbreads with olive oil and spread an equal amount of sauce evenly over each flatbread.



Sprinkle cheese over each piece then add whatever toppings you have handy (I had leftover mushrooms and green olives that I threw on top of mine)


Bake 10-12 minutes so that the cheese is nicely melted and the flatbread is browned.

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Wok of Death

Have you ever had that one recipe that you just can't wait to try? You go out, you buy the ingredients, you prep everything and get ready for the main event and get going then by the end you realize that you have made a horrible mistake? I am not referring to burning down the house (or any fires at all for that matter) or substituting salt for sugar. I am talking about the fact that you even made the dish in the first place.

It all started with, obviously, a cookbook. This cookbook was given to me as a gift before I moved to Columbus last year by a regular customer who knew that I wanted a book on cooking with a wok. After doing some reorganizing (and yes some unpacking too) I found the wok cookbook again. I flipped through and found a recipe that sounded very interesting and Chris agreed so I made my shopping list and off to the store I went. Now, I probably should have realized while making the list that I probably would not like the finished product because it called for peanut butter (I hate peanut sauces) and coconut milk (not a huge fan of coconut). I decided to ignore the warning signs because I was convinced that the sum would more than outweigh the parts.

Well. . .no. The parts overwhelmed the whole. I do have to say that it did smell yummy when I just had tofu and vegetables frying in oil with garlic, diced chili pepper, and scallions. I had an inkling that it was going downhill when I put the peanut butter in and the whole house was filled with the smell of burning peanuts. I probably still could have worked with it until I added the coconut milk which turned my wok into something resembling the texture and color of something that my cat just recently puked up onto the carpet. Not only did it look awful and taste awful but it smelled horrible. We still have the stench of coconut and peanut butter lingering in the house seven hours later. I really wish I had gotten a picture of how horrible this looked but Chris scooped it right up into a bag and ran it right out to the trash. I can't really blame him, it did stank to high hell! Anyhow, mental not to self "do not make a dish that calls for peanut butter and coconut milk ever again!"

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Arugula Calzone

I had every intention of making a spinach calzone the other day but when I got to Trader Joes the spinach was twice the price of arugula. That decided me right there and even though I had never had arugula before I have read about it and it's rich peppery taste so I decided what the heck? I'll give it a shot. I think I actually like the calzone better with arugula than I did with spinach. I also added some Kalmata olives for some extra flavor

Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups arugula
1/2 small sweet onion finely chopped
1 1/3 cups sliced portobella mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped Kalmata olives
3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup pizza or pasta sauce
butter or oil to grease the pan
4 basil leaves
Preheat oven to 425°.

Unroll dough onto a baking sheet coated with olive oil
Cut into 4 quarters.
Pat each quarter into a 6 x 5-inch rectangle.
spread 1/4 of the pizza sauce evenly over each rectangle
Sprinkle garlic evenly over rectangles.
Top each rectangle with 1 cup arugula, 2 onion slices, 1/3 cup mushrooms, 1/4 of the olives, and 3 tablespoons cheese.




Add basil leaf to the top of the mixture.
Bring 2 opposite corners to center, pinching points to seal. Bring remaining 2 corners to center, pinching all points together to seal.
Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until golden.

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What To Do With Cucumbers?

This spring I planted a few cucumbers in the back garden. One of the plants died by the beginning of June and the other two were just straggling along and I really didn't think much would come of them. What seemed like overnight, the two remaining cucumber plants climbed up the little trellis I had for them and began to overtake the fence. Not only that but there are a ton of flowers on the plants a already a bunch of cucmbers. I picked the first two yesterday and they are gargantuan! My question is what in the world am I going to do with all these cucumbers? I did do some reading on pickling and that is just a monstrous task. You really can't make cucumber bread like you can with zucchinis (or can you?) and I can only eat so many salads with cucumbers on them. This is why I need your help. What is your favorite cucumber recipe? I need ideas on what to do with these.

P.S.
I finally figured out what to do with all those cucumbers

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Wake Up Daddy!

This is totally off topic but so funny. This is pretty much what I go through in the mornings. Tavi has learned that when alarms start going off I am usually the first one awake. If I don't wake up quick enough to feed her the morning ritual goes something like this. . .


Be sure to turn up the volume to hear the kitty. The only difference is that Tavi will stare right in my face and when I open my eyes I'll have two huge green eyes staring at me from about 2 inches away. . .quite creepy.

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Sauteed Zucchini with Fresh Herbs and Mushrooms

I had a zucchini from the garden that I needed to use before it went bad and I really didn't want to make zucchini bread or muffins with it because I also have a huge garden of herbs that I haven't used much either so I decided to do a saute of zucchini, mushrooms and fresh herbs. When I think of mushrooms and zucchini together it just reminds me of an Italian dish for some reason so I wanted to use Italian type herbs in the saute. I decided on thyme, oregano and rosemary using equal parts thyme and oregano but just a few sprigs of the rosemary (I didn't want the rosemary to overpower the flavors of the other herbs) which also calls for a white, tasty cheese so I used a yummy Parmesan cheese on top. It is so simple and so tasty. I actually sauteed my mushrooms longer than the five minutes recommended because I love them when they get the nice brown char from the pan on them to the point where they become almost crispy. I think that is when they get the most flavor.

Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini cut in half length wise then cut in 1/2 inch pieces
8 oz mushrooms sliced
4 Tbs mixed fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, and rosemary) chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan (or Swiss or Gruyere cheese) grated

Directions:

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil about 5 mins with the garlic




Add the zucchini, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs and saute another 5 mins



Remove pan from heat and cover zucchini and mushrooms with cheese, cover, and let sit a few minutes to melt the cheese.

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Dress For Dinner

I just found the perfect all occasion accessory for the refined diner over at Trashy Eats. Have you ever been out with friends and someone suggested a nicer restaurant but you are in a tee shirt? Worried you'll get stuck at a table by the restrooms? Worry no more with the Dress For Dinner Napkins. That's right, keep em in your car for those unexpected fancy dinners. Never be under dressed again!

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Weekend Recipe Roundup

So I am trying to decide if I like the new template for this blog or not. I was a little tired of the old one and this one looked interesting. I'm gonna give it a few days before I decide whether or not I scrap it and go back to the old template. Anyway here is the list of recipes from the week that I want to try (eventually). . .
Curried egg salad from Fun Foods- On a Budget
Fresh Homemade Salsa from What do Vegetarians Eat Anyway?
Thai Tofu Lettuce Wraps from Veg Cooking Blog
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes and Fine Herbs at Columbus Foodie
Browned Butter and garlic pasta with fresh tomatoes and herbs from Prudence Pennywise
Arugula Salad with Grilled Peaches from Chef Tom Cooks
Cherry Cobbler from 101 Cookbooks

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Frugal Friday: Curried Cauliflower and Tomato

This is my first post for Frugal Fridays where bloggers post their recipes that will feed a family of four for under ten bucks. Well, I don't know how many kids would enjoy this recipe but if you have four vegetarians coming for dinner (or you love leftovers for lunch the next day) then this recipe will be a good one for you. The rules of the game state that common ingredients (such as cooking oil, salt, pepper, butter. . .you know the basics) aren't included in the ten dollars. I think curry is a common spice but I thought about what my parents have in their kitchen and that isn't there so in the interests of being fair I added the cost of the curry powder to my total.
There are a ton of different curry powders you can buy but I have found the best ones (and the most reasonably priced) come from Indian grocers. I found a fantastic curry powder at the Indian grocer in Sawmill that was only $2.50 as opposed to chain grocery store curry powder which is more expensive (upwards of $4.00) and nowhere near as good. That being said, here is the ingredient list:

6 Tbsp margarine (or butter)
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp curry powder ($2.50)
2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes ($0.98)
2 lbs redskin potatoes, cut into small even pieces ($1.98)
1 Large head of cauliflower cut into sprigs ($2.99)

Total cost: $8.15

Directions:
Melt the margarine over medium heat and add the curry powder, salt, and tomatoes (including the juices) and bring the mixture to a boil

Add in the potatoes and just barely cover with water and bring back to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes

Add the cauliflower, stir, bring back to a boil, and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Be sure to keep the potatoes cut into small, even pieces (about the size of your cauliflower chunks) to make sure everything cooks evenly. I ate mine with some hot sauce on top but Chris thought the spiciness was just right as is.

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Columbus: Representin'

Totally off topic but has anyone else noticed the sudden profusion of Columbus natives (my adopted hometown) on reality T.V.? There was Dominique on ANTM (although I'm not sure if we want to claim her) and there are now 3 on Bravo with Gail on Shear Genius and the two women on Project Runway (who I totally forget their names but the blonde who had the vacuum bag dress is one and the woman with the yellow dress and food collar is the other). It is craziness I tell you, sheer craziness!

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Cocktail Hour: Basil-Lime Vodka Fizz

I found the basis for this recipe in an awesome book called The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor. It was good but I immediately thought "this would make a great cocktail" so I added vodka and it was still good. Then I thought "but I like more citrus than the original recipe" so I added lime zest to the mix and it was better. The basis of the cocktail is a basil puree of sorts:

1 1/2 cups of basil
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
pinch of baking soda

Blend all ingredients in a blender until they are liquefied then strain out any leftover bits through cheesecloth. Keep sealed in the fridge up to three days.

To make the actual cocktail pour 2 Tbs basil puree, 1 1/4 oz vodka, juice of 1/2 a lime, and soda water over ice and garnish with a lime wheel.