how to eat well on a shoestring budget
Jun. 1st, 2006 05:38 pmtonight:
will become garlic and tarragon chicken (i mixed the garlic, tarragon, and olive oil a couple of hours ago so the flavors have time to blend, and added a squeeze of lemon juice) with garlic mashed potatoes and a green salad with chardonnay mustard vinaigrette (the mustard has a touch of clove, which makes for a very nice salad dressing and works especially well with raisins).
i wish i had a nice buttery chardonnay to go with this, but a slice of fresh lemon makes ice water seem less ordinary. and i think the salad could do with a few sunflower seeds, as well. but overall, i can't complain. at least not about dinner.
last night i had blueberry pancakes (with the last half-cup of frozen blueberries and instant buttermilk). the night before, Jamaican jerk chicken with roasted sweet potatoes. the night before that, red thai curry chicken. the night before that, a fabulous chickpea curry. (i seem to have a lot of chickpeas on hand, which is just fine by me because i love them and they're loaded with protein and fiber. alas, however, i'm out of basmati, which brings me down to only four different varieties of rice. it's an absolute crime, i tell you.)
i've been lunching on delicious (and incredibly unhealthy) mi goreng noodles, 25 cents a package at the asian grocery. the satay flavor is especially nice. and i've got plenty of yeast, whole wheat, rye, and bread flours, so fresh bread is a regular occurrence. (the wheat bread with blackberry honey and the last handful of walnut pieces was possibly my best idea ever.)
yes sir, i may still be iffy on the daily bathing and clean laundry, and i can't remember to turn on my phone when i'm expecting a call, but i sure do eat well.
nevertheless, i'd just about sell my soul for a big bloody steak right about now. smothered with blue cheese. and wine. there is never an evening when i don't wish i had wine with my dinner. (well, okay, i don't especially want wine with curry, but most of the time...)
in completely unrelated news, they finished fixing the elevator today. (they did not, alas, replace the ugly old elevator car, but it has all new hydraulics.) yay!
- two chicken thighs from the freezer (free range, $1.49/lb. at the grocery down the hill!)
- three small red potatoes
- half of a small head of garlic
- the last tablespoon of butter
- the last dregs of milk
- the last two tablespoons of olive oil
- half a lemon
- a slightly wilted romaine heart
- a sprinkling of raisins
- not quite a quarter-cup of chickpeas
- some sadly neglected tarragon from the spice cabinet
- a dab of Napa Valley Mustard Co.'s tragically discontinued chardonnay mustard ($1.49 in the last chance bin)
- plenty of sea salt and black pepper
will become garlic and tarragon chicken (i mixed the garlic, tarragon, and olive oil a couple of hours ago so the flavors have time to blend, and added a squeeze of lemon juice) with garlic mashed potatoes and a green salad with chardonnay mustard vinaigrette (the mustard has a touch of clove, which makes for a very nice salad dressing and works especially well with raisins).
i wish i had a nice buttery chardonnay to go with this, but a slice of fresh lemon makes ice water seem less ordinary. and i think the salad could do with a few sunflower seeds, as well. but overall, i can't complain. at least not about dinner.
last night i had blueberry pancakes (with the last half-cup of frozen blueberries and instant buttermilk). the night before, Jamaican jerk chicken with roasted sweet potatoes. the night before that, red thai curry chicken. the night before that, a fabulous chickpea curry. (i seem to have a lot of chickpeas on hand, which is just fine by me because i love them and they're loaded with protein and fiber. alas, however, i'm out of basmati, which brings me down to only four different varieties of rice. it's an absolute crime, i tell you.)
i've been lunching on delicious (and incredibly unhealthy) mi goreng noodles, 25 cents a package at the asian grocery. the satay flavor is especially nice. and i've got plenty of yeast, whole wheat, rye, and bread flours, so fresh bread is a regular occurrence. (the wheat bread with blackberry honey and the last handful of walnut pieces was possibly my best idea ever.)
yes sir, i may still be iffy on the daily bathing and clean laundry, and i can't remember to turn on my phone when i'm expecting a call, but i sure do eat well.
nevertheless, i'd just about sell my soul for a big bloody steak right about now. smothered with blue cheese. and wine. there is never an evening when i don't wish i had wine with my dinner. (well, okay, i don't especially want wine with curry, but most of the time...)
in completely unrelated news, they finished fixing the elevator today. (they did not, alas, replace the ugly old elevator car, but it has all new hydraulics.) yay!