We were all thrilled to see Bode Miller on the platform at the Olympics, but did you know we have another reason to applaud him? Miller is a sustainable eating advocate, an organic farmer and lifelong vegetarian!
Michael Pollan’s recent interview on NPR was both entertaining and enlightening: Just one favorite quote: “It’s not food if it arrives through the window of your car.” This got me thinking. . . Is good, healthy, sustainable eating a luxury only for the upper middle class and the rich, or is it something we all can achieve?
Astonish your family with this recipe! Have them try to guess the secret ingredient – I promise it will take them quite a while, if they ever get it at all. Just looking at the picture, can YOU guess what it is? Continue reading ‘Secret Ingredient Flourless Brownies’
Tofu au Vin? Really? Tofu? you say. You’ll have to trust us on this one: it’s saucy, savory and vegalicious! There is something about slowly simmering wine that makes things taste incredible. I swear you could simmer shoe leather in wine and aromatics all day and serve it up as a hip new entree: Lethre au Vin!
To replicate the amazing slow-braised taste of the classic French dish Coq au Vin I slowly simmered onions and carrot and garlic in vegetable broth and wine, and to replace the meat I used chopped mushrooms and tofu chunks. Alton Brown’s dish Coq au Vin takes 4 hours. Julia Child’s iconic version takes about an hour. Our healthier, greener tofu version – just 30 minutes! I just love Meatless Mondays!
Why Tofu? We at FFF love tofu so much, we even wrote a Tofu Cookbook! Did you know that Tofu is the most commonly eaten legume in the world? And – no wonder: it is a frugal source of high-quality protein and one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. In this dish tofu just makes sense – the mild creamy texture and taste of tofu are a perfect match – similar to chunks of chicken – for the strong tangy flavorful wine sauce. We promise you won’t miss the meat!
In lieu of our usual FFF tips, we wanted to share this with y’all: Donna, Anne and Anne’s daughter Lily posed with lucky reader Syrell with her brand-new Cadillac of the kitchen! She just so happens to live nearby (we have a lot of Utah readers), and thought she might as well pick it up in person.
Congratulations again, Syrell! Stop by FFF once in awhile and let us know what masterpieces you are whipping up with this amazing mixer!
I am a Rocky Mountain girl, so have never ventured much into Cajun cuisine. But, what the heck – it’s Fat Tuesday, the first day of Mardi Gras! I decided to look to one of my favorite chef/food megastars, John Besh, for inspiration and a basic know-how and I set out to make gumbo for the first time in my life. In honor of the festive season, I bought myself a cookbook. (( Isn’t this what all foodies do to celebrate?)) Anyway, if you haven’t seen it – check out this work-of-art cookbook/journal of cajun culture and cuisine: “My New Orleans: The Cookbook.” I couldn’t put it down and read it just like a lonely housewife reading a romance novel! Highly recommend it for your Mardi Gras splurge! I followed Chef Besh’s methods but changed the ingredients up a bit.
Boy, do we have a treat for you today. I (Anne) am currently in town visiting Donna, and as is our habit, we’re cooking up a storm. Sunday dinners are always some of the best blowouts, and given that today was also Valentine’s Day, with a good crowd coming over to boot, we wanted to go all out. We were already planning on Donna’s My Heart Beets For You salad, plus the glorious Julia Child chocolate almond masterpiece for dessert, but what to do for an entree? Continue reading ‘Meatless Monday: Paella Primavera’
The time has come. We’ve tallied the points, all 997 of them, reading through the great tips, empathizing with your yearning, and appreciating your efforts in spreading the word on our blog. Believe us when we say we wish we could give this fabulous mixer to every single one of you.
If you haven’t discovered Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Wafers, you’re missing out on a wonderful frugal shortcut that will turn you into an instant Dessert Diva. Look no farther for a last-minute cinchy dessert that will make your Valentine think you slaved for hours!!!
The wafers are thin, crispy dark chocolate discs that are not overly sweet and can be used so many ways. I often crush them and mix them with melted butter and a little sugar and then press the mixture into a crust, and there are lots more ways to use them – see above photo! Keep these wafers in your fab frugal pantry to whip up an amazing effortless dessert anytime!
Eggs that are easy, whimsical and delicious – what better way to show love at breakfast?
Eggs are delicious paired with sauteed spinach – I like this approach better than folding spinach into an omlet – you get more spinach and less egg with the same fantastic flavor combination! Yummmmm . . . low-carb festive goodness!
Eggs are a low-cost high-quality protein bonanza – 5 grams of protein for only about 60 calories that have been found to be healthy for your heart, brain and eyes! And fresh flavorful eggs are available to all of us 365 days a year in any grocery store. A high-protein breakfast has been associated with weight loss – So eggs are a fab frugal choice!
If you don’t have a large heart-shaped cookie cutter to make this festive Valentine breakfast, no worries – just use folded aluminum foil like I did! I used the non-stick Reynolds foil for this.
This is a treat from our collaborative cookbook, “101 Things To Do With Tofu”. Note: FOUR INGREDIENTS total, including the “secret”. Couldn’t be easier! It would be a perfect Valentine’s dessert if, like me, you’re still needing to keep things on the light side. And I’ll bet your sweetheart will be none the wiser. (It’s always fun to see if people can guess the secret ingredient!) Continue reading ‘Secret Ingredient Chocolate Pudding’
