Frugal Cooking

Sesame seeds are found in recipes from all over the world.  You’ll find them used in Mexican moles, Middle Eastern desserts, Asian dishes and topping American hamburger buns.  It’s no wonder considering how tasty and healthy they are.  Here are some good reasons to get more sesame seeds into your diet and a tasty Korean BBQ recipe that will help you sneak them past the most finicky eaters.

I’m not going to try to get into all the details of why they’re so good for you, but here are a few of the good things packed into these tiny seeds:

• Copper, which support antiinflammatory and antioxidant enzyme systems to reduce pain and swelling and prevent cancer
• Magnesium, which supports cardiovascular and circulatory systems to reduce asthma symptoms and lower blood pressure
• Calcium and zinc, which supports bone strength and prevents colon cancer
• Phytosterols, which lower cholesterol and blood pressure

Check out this page and this page for more detailed information.

So it’s not like you can just have a big bowl of sesame seeds for dinner.  My two favorite ways to sneak in some sesame seeds are hummus and this Korean BBQ recipe:

Korean BBQ

Almost any kind of meat (or tofu) will do in this recipe.  My favorites are beef short ribs, chicken thighs, tri tip, pork loin and firm tofu.  Make the marinade as much as a week in advance and marinade the meet for at least and hour and as long as 24 hours.  The most important part of this recipe is the toasted and then crushed sesame seeds.  Don’t skip that part!

• Meat
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 4-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 2T ginger, finely chopped
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2T agave or sugar

Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until they turn a light brown and are fragrant.  Put them in a blender or food processor and pulse until mostly crushed.  Smell that flavor!!!  Combine the rest of the ingredients and either keep in the fridge until ready to use or pour on your meat to marinade.  Wait as long as you can stand it and then fire up the grill and cook over high heat to get a good char.  Cook until finished and serve with kimchi and rice or whatever else your family likes.  Leftovers are possibly even better!

Here’s another example of using “formula cooking”.  Tonight I was really in the mood for something *LIKE* potato salad.  I didn’t have any potatoes but I wasn’t going to let a trivial problem like that stand in my way.  I used the formula for potato salad and came up with a very tasty quinoa and vegetable salad that was exactly what I was craving.

The formula for potato salad is pretty simple:

• Some cooked starchy vegetable(s)
• Some aromatic vegetable(s)
• Some mayonnaise-like binder
• Some seasoning

I had some cooked quinoa and left over sauteed green beans and mushrooms.  Here is what I came up with:

Summer Quinoa and Vegetable salad

• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup cooked green beans. chopped
• 1/4 cup cooked mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1T fresh parsley, chopped
• 3T mayonnaise
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all up.  Makes about 3 servings.

In this post, I proclaim that I am the creator of the phrase “formula cooking“.  I’ve googled around and can find no other references to this that aren’t about something completely different.  After this phrase catches on and gets it’s own Wikipedia page, you can say that you read it here first!  Even if I actually am the first to use the phrase, I’m far from the creator of formula cooking and to some extent every professional and home cook does this every day.  I wanted to explain my thoughts around formula cooking because it’s a fun way to cook and super frugal, of course.

Formula cooking is the idea that behind every recipe there is a formula.  The formula dictates what kinds of things go into a recipe and roughly what’s done with them.  That formula might be the same for literally hundreds or thousands of similar recipes but with each combination of specific ingredients yields something unique.  The easiest way to illustrate is with an example.

Here is a recipe for Macaroni and cheese:

• 1lb elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
• 8oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/2cup milk
• 2T flour
• 1t salt
• 1cup seasoned bread crumbs

Mix first 5 ingredients and pour into a small baking dish.  Cover with bread crumbs and bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

This is a simple recipe but specifies exactly what goes into the dish and in what order.  Here is a formula for Macaroni and cheese:

• Some kind of pasta
• Some kind of cheese
• Some kind of sauce
• Some kind of seasoning
• Some kind of topping

Mix in some order and heat until all ingredients are cooked.

With this formula, you can create a practically unlimited number of dishes that could be called macaroni and cheese but are distinctly different from the first recipe.  You already do this when you happen to be out of cheddar cheese and substitute monterey jack instead.  Now, think about every part of a recipe being replaceable and your now using formula cooking.  This flexibility will allow you to create your own variation that might be:

• Healthier
• More suited to the tastes of your family
• Easier to prepare
• More interesting
• Better matched to another dish that this will accompany
• Best of all… Less expensive to make!

Now let’s say that I’m planning to make a Cajun meatloaf for dinner tonight.  The meatloaf is already in the oven and I need to make a quick side dish.  There are some chopped vegetables left from making the meatloaf.  I have some left over rotelli pasta that’s already cooked and some mild cheddar I got on sale because my family doesn’t like sharp cheddar.  Why not make a Cajun macaroni and cheese to go with the Cajun meatloaf?  Here’s what I come up with.

Cajun Stove top Mac & Cheese

• 1lb Rotelli pasta, cooked (pasta)
• 6oz mild cheddar, grated (cheese)
• 2T flour (sauce)
• 2T butter (sauce)
• 1/2 cup milk (sauce)
• 1/2 cup onions, chopped (seasoning)
• 1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped (seasoning)
• 1/4 cup celery, chopped (seasoning)
• 1/4 cup andouille sausage, diced (seasoning)
• 2t Cajun seasoning salt (seasoning)
• 5 dashes Tabasco (seasoning)
• 1/2 cup stale goldfish crackers, crushed

Cook the butter and flour over medium heat in a large sauce pan until the flour turns lightly brown.  Add the onions, bell pepper and celery and cook about 5 minutes or until soft.  Add the andouille and seasoning salt.  Add the cheese and milk and stir until it forms a sauce.  Add the pasta and tabasco.  Turn off the heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes for it to thicken.  Sprinkle with the crushed crackers.  Serve with Cajun meatloaf!

I’ve never made the above recipe, but bet it would be good!  It’s just an example to show how when you use the formula you can come up with something completely different that you can be pretty certain will still be recognizable, and probably delicious.  Next time you’re looking at a recipe, see if you can figure out the formula.  If you do that, I bet you’ll immediatly come up with ideas to make your own version that’s probably even better!

Before you call PETA, let me explain…  I’m not advocating the hunting of hedgehogs or even collecting roadkill to eat.  The hedgehogs I’m referring to are fudge-like bars filled with dried fruit, nuts and cookie bits.  I’ve never heard of hedgehogs until recently but these sound a lot like bars I’ve seen in candy shops called “bark”.  From the web sites that talk about hedgehogs, I’ve gathered that it’s some kind of British and/or Australian comfort dessert.  Do we even have real hedgehogs in the US?

I’ve not tried to make the following recipe but the ideas were too good to keep to myself.  I don’t keep a lot of dessert materials on hand so it’s unlikely I’d get around to making this for several months.  I hope someone can try this and report back.  Since I’ve not made it yet, I don’t have any exact measurements or even specific ingredients to recommend.  Maybe someone can make it and post back their recipe…

American Hedgehogs

• Chocolate chips (any kind leftover from something)
• Sweetened condensed milk (or evaporated milk and sugar)
• Nuts (any kind, chopped)
• Cookies (any kind, fresh or stale, crushed into chunks)
• Candies (any kind, chopped into small bits)
• Dried fruit (any kind, chopped)
• Anything else that might taste good in this like marshmallows, pretzels, candied orange peel, etc…

Mix equal parts chocolate and sweetened condensed milk to make a simple fudge.  You could also add some vanilla extract, butter and/or marshmallows.  If you’re really unsure, just follow a fudge recipe.  Then add in any or all of the remaining ingredients to make a lumpy sticky mess.  Pour into a baking pan lined with parchment or foil and refrigerate until firm.  Cut into bars.

If anyone gives this a go or has a good hedgehog recipe, feel free to post a comment.  Wow, just typing up this post is making me want to run to the store…

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that I started this blog to keep track of recipes that I come up with that I want to be able to make again.  This curry recipe is one of those.  It’s an Indian-style curry with lots of inflammation-reducing (hence, “incredible shrinking”) ingredients like turmeric, ginger and garlic.  These ingredients are known to help reduce pain in those suffering from arthritis and fibromyalgia.  It’s also super low in carbs and really satisfying.

Incredible shrinking curry

• 1T oil
• 1t turmeric
• 1t curry powder
• 1t mustard seeds
• 1/2 onion, chopped finely
• 1 tomato, chopped finely
• 1/2 can coconut milk (about 1 cup)
• 1t chicken bouillon
• 1 cup water
• 1 chicken breast, sliced thinly

Heat the oil in a wok or deep pan over medium heat and add the three spices.  Fry for 1 minute and then add the onion.  Fry another 5 minutes until onion starts to soften.  Add tomato and cook until tomato is soft.  Add coconut milk, bouillon and water and simmer for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy.  Add the chicken and stir until just cooked.  This makes enough for 1 or 2 depending on your appetite.

This recipe is super flexible.  There are a ton of vegetables that could go into this.  It could easily be made all vegetarian or vegan as well by omitting the chicken and bouillon and substituting tofu, tempeh or seitan.  Great vegetable additions would be peas, carrots, potatoes and cauliflower.  A quick and easy thing would be to use frozen or canned vegetables.  If you’re not watching carbs, serve this with basmati rice to stretch it out further.

I just read a great article in the South Bend Tribune (online) about how the comfort food of our parents and grandparents is coming back in style.  It’s no surprise considering that dishes like tuna casserole and meatloaf were developed to weather bad economic times.  Sound familiar?

The article offered up some great general tips for making frugal food choices.  I’ve summarized them here.  A link to the full article is below:

1. Choose less expensive cuts of meat like whole chicken and whole pork loin
2. Add grains and legumes to stretch out a meal
3. Go vegetarian a few times a week
4. Stick with simpler recipes and avoid buying spices that you won’t use again
5. Cut down on food waste by freezing and cooking leftovers into new recipes

The full article has a lot more detail along with some frugal recipes at the end.