So here we go. 30 days, $5 a day, what will come of it? Will I be sick of beans or will I find new, and inexpensive ways to feed the family while putting money aside for all of the other things a new home owner needs to deal with (and there are many). So after a super weekend of helping friends join in heavenly matrimony up in Sonoma, sipping great wines and apparently gorging myself on lamb, wild salmon and fresh from the farm produce, I sat down last night to write out a list for the week. As far as I can tell, I have always been that guy who wanders the aisles looking to see what strikes my fancy or what beautifully marbled piece of meat there is to work with. So entering the store with a list of items that I had to stick with was something of an oddity. But I did it. I did not find everything I needed, but then again, the week is young. I spent a total of $44, but this included enough lentils to get me through 30 days as well as some spices and oil that I was in need of, that will last far longer than my 30 day experiment. So right off the bat I realized that as much as a solid spice rack is fun to play with, it is a necessity for the manipulations of the legumes I hope to create.
Tonight turned out well. Veggie cutlets were the springboard into the cheap eats program (if anyone has a better name for this next 30 days… please offer it up). I pieced together a vegan recipe, that turned out to be super filling, very healthy, tasty and only cost $2.50 for dinner for two and lunch for us both tomorrow. Yes $2.50! Where the hell have I been dropping my hard earned paycheck up to this point? So I amassed the following items on my counter and got to work.
2 cups garbanzo beans
1 cup of oatmeal (spin through the food processor till a bread crumb consistency)
4 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
4 tbs soy sauce
6 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried sage
I mashed the garbonzo beans and oil in a bowl with a spoon, combined the oatmeal, thyme, paprika and sage in a second bowl and mixed. I added the beans and the dried ingredients together and blended then added the veggi broth and soy sauce and worked it in together. I let the moisture get absorbed into the mix for a little while and then made 6 patties. In an oiled pan I fried them for 12 minutes a side till they were golden brown and aromatic. I placed them with a simple spinach, onion and vinaigrette salad on a plate and gave them a try.
Yummy. But they could of used an aoli or yoghurt sauce on top to give it an added dimension and a bit more moisture. But for a first attempt they were pretty damn good and way below my budget. So these will be kept in the rotation for sure, and with some kind of sauce, these will be a real hit.
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