I thought we’d do a little something different this Meatless Monday, and give a shout-out to the vegetarian cookbooks that have inspired us.
Continue reading ‘Meatless Monday: My Vegetarian Bookshelf’s Greatest Hits’
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Whether you want something superbly healthy or a little decadent, we have just the festively frugal recipes for you: Two variations on the theme of Red, White and Blueberry.
For the decadent option, check out this Red, White, and Blueberry Tart from last year:
And as you saw the other day, this Red White and Blueberry Quinoa Salad just cannot be beat. How perfect for a potluck picnic or a backyard grill-fest?
Mmm, that tangy grapefruit vinaigrette is bound to be a huge hit.
However you celebrate, enjoy!
– posted by Anne
Who needs hamburger? Try our amazing Meatless Loaf recipe!
For the ultimate Meatless Monday challenge, we here at FFF decided to take on the iconic American comfort food recipe: meatloaf.
June Cleaver made meatloaf, as did all women who dared to call themselves housewives in the 1950s. Each woman’s meatloaf was a yardstick to measure her skill as a home cook. Meatloaf has been made in various versions for centuries, but it was the Americans during the Great Depression who added bread and eggs to the dish to stretch their pennies and added ketchup as a topping.
Like almost everyone growing up in America in the 50′s, 60′s or 70′s, I ate my weight in meatloaf as a child. To this day, when anyone says “meatloaf,” the smell, taste and texture of this comfort food fills my senses.
So, we said to ourselves, “Could we remake this comfort food classic without meat but with as much flavor and comfort as the original hamburger dish?” Our answer: “Absolutely.”
I made about a dozen versions of this dish and there are two secrets to our final fabulous dish. First, add diced cooked dates. The dates add a rich taste and sticky texture that are necessary to replace hamburger. Second, use the American classic A-1 steak sauce. When I made previous versions of this, everyone wanted A-1 to drizzle on top of their slices. So == light bulb goes on == why not add this raisin-y, flavor-packed sauce right in with the loaf mixture?!
The combination of ingredients and flavors in this final version are astounding. The texture is rich, moist and firm and holds together while cooking and slicing. This is one of my favorite veggie makeover dishes of all time. Truly remarkable. Please try it – with or without your June Cleaver apron on!
Happy Mother’s Day to all you fabulous moms out there!
Okay, kids, here’s how to make Mom the traditional breakfast-in-bed! Continue reading ‘Happy Mother's Day from the two moms of Fab Frugal Food’
Feliz Cinco de Mayo a Todos!
In honor of Donna’s new book – Quesadillas – and in celebration of Cinco de Mayo (a holiday that, around here, is primarily an excuse to eat good Mexican food ; ) we announce the 10 winners. Click here to find out who they are!
We here at FFF are celebrating the publishing of Donna’s new book Quesadillas! This beautiful cookbook with photographs (14.99 retail value) published by Gibbs Smith publisher is out this month and we want to share the joy with our FFF followers and thank you for following our blog.
In Quesadillas, the gooey little snacks we all used to make as kids have grown up into flavorful, hearty meals and desserts bursting with flavor. Quesadillas at a whole new level! Favorites include Roasted Veggie and Goat Cheese, Thai Peanut, Parmesan-Crusted Italian, Chicken Caesar, Philly Cheesesteak, Peanut Butter Apple, Triple Chocolate Decadence, and Pecan-Crusted Pear. And, Hey! – what could be more fab and frugal than quesadillas?!
We are giving away ten books to readers chosen by random.org – all you have to do to enter is leave a comment to this post and we will choose our winners on – how appropo! – Cinco de Mayo – May 5, 2010, Mexican Independence Day.
You can earn a chance to win four ways: leave a general comment, leave a comment here with a link to a twitter post about this giveaway, leave a comment here with a link to a mention on facebook, leave a comment here with a link to a mention on your blog. Please feel free to leave up to one general comment every day if you like – the more you comment, the better your chances to win!
Good Luck to all our fab frugal friends!
– posted by Donna
I admit this is normally the sort of thing we don’t endorse at ALL: prepackaged, sugary, processed junk food.
BUT.
How can we resist this? PEEPSHI!
Continue reading ‘Happy Easter to all our Fab Frugal Peeps!’
Thought I would share a few things with you that are recent additions to my all-time faves.
I must admit, until recently I had NEVER had stuffed cabbage of any kind at all – it just wasn’t in my family’s repertoire growing up. Kalyn posted on BlogHer about the wonders of stuffed cabbage (a natural for low-carbers), and then, inspired, Donna created a tasty one of her own, a vegetarian version, for FFF. One of the recipes that Kalyn linked to was Easy Stuffed Cabbage Rolls from Wasabimon.
I decided to try it, as I needed more good phase one entrees, and WOW, is it ever delicious! This is going into my regular rotation for sure. Being me, I had to tweak it a little, and to make it more suitable for phase one, I replaced the rice with red lentils – which worked beautifully (boil 1 cup for 15-20 minutes, drain and set aside until needed in recipe). I also added a few dashes of vinegar to the sauce, but other than that, it’s intact. Do check this out if you’ve never had it!
Continue reading ‘Fab Frugal Friday: Raves and Faves!’
With a name like KELLY, it may come as no surprise that March 17th is one of my favorite days of the year. As part of the celebration, I have been making soda bread for the last 32 years and have tried dozens of versions – experimenting as I went. My favorite soda bread recipe in 32 years of experimenting is Silver Palate author Sheila Lukins’ Irish Soda Bread Rolls. Why rolls and not just a loaf of bread? Because the rolls give you more of that delightful, rustic crunchy crust!
I make these using the Celtic tradition of cutting a cross in the tops to ward off evil spirits for the year to come. The Society for the Preservation of Soda Bread would like you to know that the humble bread has survived centuries of time because it is simple, frugal and just plain delicious. Traditional soda bread has only four ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda and buttermilk.
Irish Americans later added raisins to fancy things up for holidays. Sheila added oats, too, which I think is a brilliant rustic addition of an Irish ingredient. The only thing I have changed from Sheila’s recipe is that I brush the rolls with butter before baking for a nice golden brown crust. This year, I am making these rolls not only because they are Irish, but also as a tribute to Sheila, who died too young a few months ago of cancer. Her fun (albeit NOT Irish) spirit lives on!
Continue reading ‘Fab Frugal Friday: Irish Soda Bread Rolls Recipe’
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?
Continue reading ‘Fab Frugal Friday: Real Life Sustainable Eating on a Budget’
