Steal This Recipe #4: Sticky Rice with Mango

The sticky rice I had at the Taste was so good I thought I'd replicate it. Or try. It turned out pretty well:

1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used lite, and then tossed in a tablespoon of powdered coconut)
1 packet of Splenda
pinch of salt
1/2 c frozen mango chunks

Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan, but don't boil. When hot, stir in Splenda and salt. Pour it over the rice. Nuke the mango chunks until they are only slightly frozen, put on top the rice. Voila! Simple and delicious.

Very filling--the above should get you two servings. Per serving: maybe 50 cents for the coconut milk, a dime for the rice, Splenda and salt, and depending on where you get it, a quarter for the mango.

Steal This Recipe #3--Mujadara

This is a simple Lebanese peasant dish. It is very, very flavorful, and very, very cheap. All but Kipsy would love it, but since Kipsy is no longer seemingly a member of this group (growl), too bad.

2T. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 T. cumin
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. allspice
3 cloves garlic, minced

Sautee these in a medium pan for about 4-5 minutes, then add:

3/4 c. green lentils
28 oz. water

Bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for ten minutes. (Meanwhile, you'll start making the blackened onions--more on that in a minute.) Then, add:

3/4 c. long grain white rice

Bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for fifteen minutes. To prepare the blackened onions:

2 T. olive oil
2 large onions, sliced

Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for at least 20 minutes, until they start to blacken.

When the lentil/rice mixture is done, add a teaspoon or two of salt, then serve on a plate. Top with a generous portion of the blackened onions. Voila! (If you want to use brown rice instead, add at the same time as the lentils, bring to boil, and cook both for a total of 30 minutes).

Cost:
About $1 for the onions, .25 for the rice, and .25 for the lentils, at most. Maybe another .25 for the other ingredients (oil, garlic, spices). This easily makes four very large servings, so about .45 per serving.

Steal This Recipe #1: Mashed turnips and potatoes

I recently read a blog of a couple who were striving to eat on a dollar each per day. Their project is sobering.

I'm not going to try to eat for a dollar a day. On the other hand, the fact that I spend about $300 a month on food, as a single vegan woman, is fairly absurd. It didn't used to be this way. I used to be poor. I remember a time when I knew before I got to the cash register exactly how much each item cost, and what my total bill would be, and I watched the cashier like a hawk. (Amazing how many errors I caught.) Now, I can't tell you how many times I literally don't even see/hear the total.

So I think there's room for more prudence than I have exercised. Don't get me wrong, I still buy generic and compare prices and buy what's on sale. But, I could definitely ratchet back the amount of convenience and exotic food I buy.

So, this, too, is going to be a regular feature: Steal this Recipe will be recipes that cost, literally, pennies a serving.


Turnips and mashed potatoes

1/2 of a 2 lb turnip (also known as a rutabaga when they get this big): .75
about 1.5 pounds of russet potatoes: .50
a couple of tablespoons margarine: a few pennies (say .10?)
maybe a half a cup of unsweetened soy milk: .25
salt and pepper: essentially free
TOTAL: $1.60

Boil 'em up, and mash 'em with the soymilk, margarine and salt 'n' peppa. This makes a heaping load of starchy goodness. I ate it for dinner last night, and lunch today. Nothing else. Yes, it's an acceptable meal. Don't forget that whole generations of Irish lived, literally, on nothing but potatoes. And this is potatoes PLUS turnips PLUS soymilk. Mmmm mmmm!

So today, I ate:
morning coffee (costs maybe .30?)
potato/turnip mash (.80)
some pretzels (maybe .50?)
huge Ethiopian meal (homemade, approx. 2.00)
two beers (2.50)
TOTAL: $6.10

And it would have been under $5 if I had only one beer. And under $4 with no beers. (Not to mention saving about 400 calories.)