The real question is not if but what will people eat. With everyone making difficult spending choices, apparently one food item is not even on the bargaining table. That's right, we are not willing to give up chocolate.
According to Cadbury, the world's second largest candy company, chocolate sales were up in the last half of 2008. But chewing gum? Not so much. Evidently chewing gum is an impulse purchase made by people on the go, whereas chocolate is a stock-up-and-pig-out-at-home item. So in these hunker-down times, we refuse to give up chocolate. Again, duh.
The EconoMuse would like to point out that living well during a recession is all about making trade offs. If one were to live on some inexpensive meal, such as--let's say--soup, then the savings can be put towards indulging in luxurious chocolate. Again, this feels like a total no-brainer. So to make your chocolate splurge a reality, Ms. E-Muse--putting on her Frugal Gourmette hat--would like to share some thoughts on soup.
Soup: It's Not Just For Breakfast Anymore
OK. Maybe you weren't raised in the EconoMuse's house where everyone fought over leftover dinner for breakfast. (It got to the point where they would make spaghetti to have it leftover and cold for breakfast.) So, yes, Ms. E-Muse has a storied past when it comes to adventures in eating. And all those stories began with Mom and Dad Muse (aka Ma Muse and Da Muse).
When most kids were sitting down to meatloaf and mashed potatoes in the 70s, Ms. E-Muse was grating Sap Sago cheese on her pasta. Don't know it? Sap Sago is a hard, green, stinky, grating cheese from Switzerland. Capers? No problem. Katsudon Donburi? Bring it on! Full curry dinner? Only if it could be eaten without utensils! Ma and Da Muse were well-traveled and liked to continue their international adventures in the kitchen. There was a time (also in the 70s), when Da Muse had recently returned from Japan and Hawaii, so he decided the preferred method for making toast in the morning was to pan-fry it in butter, covered with sesame seeds, using chopsticks as a spatula, and doing all this while wearing a kimono and flip flops (or "go-aheads", as he called them). This was the zany 70s, after all, and Da Muse was doing his part.
In honor of Ma and Da Muse, who knew how to make inexpensive food fun and exciting during the last really nasty recession, the EconoMuse would like to kick off this Frugal Gourmette post with one of Ma Muse's famous soups, adapted to today's recessionary shopping trends. In other words, everything can be purchased at Trader Joe's!
Tuna Palos Verdes Chowder
First of all, the EconoMuse has no idea where the "Palos Verdes" in the title came from. She worked the Googles and got nothing. She thinks it was meant to give a recipe made from canned goods a name with cachet. (Ma Muse's version, after all, was made with Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup.)
Ingredients
1 Carton of Trader Joe's Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
1 Can of white tuna, drained [N.B. Never get light tuna. Yes it is cheaper, but you might as well buy cat food! Yuck!]
1 Small onion, diced
2 Potatoes, peeled, cut in half long ways, then sliced thin
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Heaping tsp. oregano
Directions
1. Saute onion in a bit of oil in a medium large pot until softened, about five minutes.
2. Add potatoes, pepper, oregano, and enough water to barely cover potatoes (about 1-1/2 - 2 cups).
3. Cover and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes.
4. Add soup and tuna, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Adjust seasonings to taste. Might need a touch of salt.
6. Enjoy.
7. Chase down with large quantities of chocolate.
Tuna not your thing? The EconoMuse understands. Her kids are split on the matter. The funny thing is the non-tuna eater loved the soup, whereas the tuna eater? Well he hates everything new, so don't let it stop you...
The second soup is one of Ms. E-Muse's favs. It's easy, yummy, and full of healthy things that can easily be picked out. (See paragraph above about picky eaters!)
White Bean, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Soup
Again, all of the ingredients can be bought at Trader Joe's. Ms. E-Muse's TJs even carries bags of whole sweet potatoes. But if you are inclined to waste a few dollars, you can buy those pre-packaged, peeled,and diced sweet potatoes or butternut squash. Ms. E-Muse won't tell the Economizing Police.
Ingredients
1 Small onion, diced
1 Can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 Carton chicken broth
1 Medium-large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
3 Italian sausages (precooked or not), sliced in 1/2" slices. Ms. E-Muse prefers turkey so she doesn't have to precook and drain fat
A couple handfuls of baby spinach
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese
Directions
1. Saute the onion in some oil in a soup pot, until soft.
2. Add sausage and saute until cooked. Drain fat, if necessary.
3. Add broth, beans, and sweet potato.
4. SImmer for about 20 minutes or until potato is soft.
5. About 5 minutes before dinner time, add handfuls of spinach.
6. Adjust seasonings. It likes a few good grinds of black pepper.
7. Ladle into bowls and grate fresh parmesan cheese on top.
8. Enjoy.
9. Chase down with large quantities of chocolate.
Swapping Soup
Now, with blizzards in the East and dumping rain in the West, the EconoMuse wants her final word to be a plug for sharing soup. Years ago, Muse Jen P. wanted to have a soup party. Ms. E-Muse thought it was a grand idea. Mr. Muse Jen P.? Not a fan of the idea. Well, Muse Jen P., you could have been a trendsetter! The EconoMuse has stumbled across the notion of Soup Swaps. They are like those annoying Christmas Cookie Exchanges, except you go home with healthful soups instead of gazillions of extra calories at a time of year when people have way too many sweets anyways. Apparently there is even a National Soup Swap Day. We missed this years. It was January 24th. But no worries. And no need to wait a whole year to have your own. If you are looking for an inexpensive way to warm hearts and party with foodie friends during these recessionary times, check out Soupswap.com. Not that the EconoMuse needs an excuse to party...
Well it shows that great minds think alike. I actually made Tuna Palos Verdes chowder just the way you directed for Da Muse, before you even posted the recipe. This is only because you had turned me on to the joys of TJ's Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup during your last visit.
ReplyDeleteI would like to share another of Ma Muse's recipes. Actually it is Muse Angie's recipe that Ma Muse adapted. There are no precise measurements. According to Muse Angie hungarians use 5 ingredients every time they cook and they never measure.
The original version calls for a half pound of bacon cooked and broken in small pieces. Then use the bacon grease instead of oil. Ma Muse omitted that.
Ingredients:
I head of cauliflower
Olive oil
Minced garlic either fresh or dried
Wondra flour
Milk ( for a reduced calorie version I use Chicken broth)
Lots of cracked black pepper and salt to taste
Directions:
-Cut the cauliflower up into to small florets each no larger than a quarter.
-Put some olive oil in a soup pot. Get it hot enough to sort of stir fry the cauliflower. Toss the cauliflower in the hot oil to coat.
-Add generous amounts of minced garlic and toss.
-Add about 2 handfuls of wondra enough to generously coat the cauliflower.
-Slowly add milk or chicken broth stir continuously. Add enough liquid to cover about an inch above the cauliflower.
Bring to a boil and let simmer until the cauliflower is cooked. Add lots of pepper and salt to taste. If the soup needs a little thickening remove some and put in a blender. Blend until smooth then return to the soup.
You can top this with crumbled bacon.
Enjoy!!
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Oh, Clockwise. Ms. E-Muse noticed that you forgot the very important final step: "Chase down with large quantities of chocolate!"
ReplyDelete