Charred Zucchini Salsa Verde served over Cottage Cheese
It’s the end of summer – time for a foodie zucchini festival!
With gardens overflowing with zucchini and several of my neighbors anonymously leaving large summer squashes at my doorstep and then running before I could catch them, I decided to char the zukes on the grill and blend up some salsa verde. Verdict: zucchini and chiles: a match made in heaven!
(Nostalgic Note: I used to eat salsa as a child served over cottage cheese (pictured above). I know, I know. It sounds weird, but the salty mild cottage cheese pairs perfectly with spicy salsa. Yum! Serve any salsa this way, especially if you have kids!)
And, everyone knows in their bones that zucchini should be on our “must-eat-more-of” lists. They are packed with nutrients and yet are low-calorie and low-carb. And few things are more frugal than zucchini in season. So. What’s not to love?
Many of us foodies, in our low-brow moments, are fans of State Fair fare. C’mon. Who doesn’t love funnel cakes, or corn dogs or deep fried Coca Cola? If you don’t know if you’re a State Fair food junkie, take this fab quiz and find out. Did you know that the Iowa State Fair’s claim to fame is an annual life-size butter sculpture of a cow? But, I digress. Fair food is unabashedly uber UNhealthy, but intensely fun. Food should always be FUN, shouldn’t it?
Anyway, this month’s Food Network Magazine features a State Fair savory parfait of pulled pork and mashed potatoes. I laughed out loud! Then, I decided a veggie version was in order. If you whip up some chili and polenta and spoon it into fancy parfait glasses and eat it on your porch swing, you’ll have just as much fun as you would at the State Fair. Maybe even more, depending on who is sitting next to you!
(SHAMELESS PLUG: Come and watch my Demo at the Utah State Fair on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 4:00. I’ll be doing quesadillas and promoting my new book – Quesadillas!)
I dare you to find a recipe that is more frugal than one that uses spent corn cobs as the main ingredient. Go ahead. Try.
I saw this idea a while back on Eats Well with Others, a fabulous food blog I follow religiously. A few nights ago we had sweet delicious fresh corn with dinner, leaving kernel-free cobs at the end. Perfect timing to try this unusual recipe. Joanne, I put you to the test and you did not fail me! I was afraid the stock would be too sweet, and too, well, corn-y. It was not at all either of those. It reminded me a bit of chicken stock, actually, but just a tiny bit sweeter.
Joanne, I hope you don’t mind that I added a few touches of my own: cumin seeds because – hey! – cumin is great in everything; a few dashes of Frank’s; some fresh lime juice. And, OK, it’s confession time: I went to watch the new episode of The Next Food Network Star and accidentally left it simmering the whole time. So, it simmered much longer than you recommended, Joanne – but – I found that that somehow gave it a more “toasted” flavor, if that makes sense. A happy accident!
Next time you’re tempted to buy that veg stock at the store and spend a fortune for a few cups, try this trick and you’ll have a flavorful broth for only pennies!
Don’t throw out those over-ripe watermelon slices! Watermelon popsicles are a cinch to make – and they’re almost FREE if you consider that you make them from watermelon you would have thrown out otherwise.
Just throw chunks of the too-ripe watermelon in a blender, seeds and all. Also add a little lime juice and some lime zest, as much as you dare! Then turn your blender on full blast and wait for the popsicle magic to happen.
Strain the mixture through a kitchen strainer and add your sweetener of choice as desired. Freeze in popsicle molds or small paper cups. Then, bask in your glorious frugal-ness and sit on your porch steps and slurp away!
I love those “gourmet” chips they sell at the grocery stores these days, but the problem is that for a little sprinkle of, say, chipotle powder, they charge you 2 or 3 times the price of regular old potato chips.
So, in the spirit of Fab Frugal Friday, I decided to experiment with my own spiced chips.
This is so incredibly simple and fabulously frugal that you’ll be making your own spiced chips in no time!
THIS IS THE ENTIRE RECIPE. NO, REALLY: Spread potato chips on a baking sheet in a single layer. Heat in a 400 degree oven for 2 to 3 minutes, just until chips become oily. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with spice mix of choice.
Try one of our three FFF spice blends, or whip up your own. Chef Bobby Flay has a fabulous 16-spice blend, if you’re feeling ambitious. Or, just use a favorite spice from your pantry. I love just plain smoked paprika or cumin. Yum!
I’m thinking everyone has done this: You stash leftover dressed salad in the fridge thinking you will eat it soon. “C’mon, it’ll be fine,” you say to yourself. Then, you go to the fridge later and discover a sad, soggy, wilted pile where your fresh salad used to be.
My sister Sandy, an amazing cook, posted a tip on my other food blog, Everyday Southwest, that uses up wilted salad that you would otherwise throw out. This is such a fabulous and frugal idea, I just had to share it with all my fab frugal friends. It’s not just frugal, it’s FREE – if you consider that you are using food that you would otherwise throw away!
So here- with kudos to Sandy – is how to turn wilted spinach salad into a fab FREE pesto!
Making pickled peppers is so easy you’ll wonder why you haven’t made them before. I know I have. Case in point: Bobby Flay’s pickled jalapeños. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is always thinking outside the box. I love to take out his Mesa Grill Cookbook and just thumb through it for something creative to try. I wanted to make some fruit salsa, and as part of fruit salsa he made pickled jalapenos. This just sounded too intriguing to pass up. I had no choice- I had to make them. And, I decided to add pickled carrots – the kind you get at taco stands – so yummy when treated with a boiling brine.
The result is surprising – the jalapeños are still crisp – the brine does not make them soggy, but only adds tartness. This is a very easy recipe – you don’t need to blanch the veggies first, the boiling brine takes care of that. Just stuff the jar with veggies and pour in the boiling brine. That’s it. Really.
Here’s a tip for those already engaged in one of the most frugal enterprises of all: gardening. Did you know you can save your coffee grounds to be used as compost? Here’s Kathy LaLiberte at Gardening.com with the full scoop:
When I go to my local coffee shop, I often come out with more than a cup of coffee. Near the door, they have a bin with free bags of used coffee grounds. Like most avid gardeners, I find it impossible to resist free food for my garden!
In the spring, I spread handfuls of coffee grounds around my acid-loving plants—azaleas, blueberries, rhododendrons. The grounds are slightly acidic and besides helping to lower the soil pH, they foster the humus-rich soil texture these plants really love.
In late summer and fall, I dig coffee grounds right into the vegetable garden after removing early-season crops such as peas and spinach. In the winter, I add the grounds to my compost pile. They’re a good source of nitrogen at a time of year when that can be a little difficult to come by.
And here, Science Daily explains that it’s the nitrogen that makes it so valuable. How To Do Things explains, well, how to do it. (It’s very easy, but there are a few key things to know.) Finally, as Kathy LaLiberte mentioned, the Slow Cook writes about how the coffee behemoth itself, Starbucks, makes a point of offering their used grounds to anyone.
So hang onto your own or head to your local coffee shop, or both – but make use of this trash-turned-true treasure!
It had to happen. You just can’t have a frugal food blog without at some point having a post about making your own yogurt. And, yogurt is a natch for this blog – it is both frugal and healthy and can be eaten by almost anyone. It has natural weight loss and anti-cancer powers and some researchers say it actually improves lactose intolerance. So, Here it is – FFF ‘s take on home made Greek yogurt!
I was intimidated by the process – fears of messing up the accurate measuring, exact temperatures and timing. But, it turns out it really isn’t that complicated. Just heat, stir and keep warm for 6 hours. That’s it. Really.
One of my favorite new products in America’s food world is Greek yogurt. It is tangy but less acidic than regular yogurt and has a beautiful thick creamy texture. The Greek style may be even healthier than regular yogurt. So, I decided if I was going to try making yogurt, it had to be Greek style. I added instant dried milk powder to help thicken the yogurt and hopefully mellow the tartness. I am happy to report success! The result was a thick and creamy tart – but not acidic – yogurt at a fraction of the cost of purchased Greek yogurt. Whip up your own – it’s a snap!
