The current fiscal climate is bad on many fronts, but in at least one respect, I think it’s doing us some good. Most of us are thinking more seriously about what we spend money on — and this includes what we eat. And as might be expected, more Americans are opting to cook at home these days. If you’re among those spending more time in the kitchen, knowing what to have on hand can make cooking faster, easier and more affordable. General principles to help you eat better and save money…
Buy in bulk, whether it’s whole grains, pasta or Parmesan cheese (the latter, wrapped well, can keep for a year — you can scrape off mold if necessary). Stock up when these items go on sale, or buy bigger, more economical packages. As long as it is something that won’t spoil, you’ll be sure to have essential ingredients on hand and save money.Cook in bulk, too. Doubling or even tripling many recipes is an easy way to make sure that you always have something delicious and healthy around. Grains, beans, soups and stews all can be made in large batches with minimal effort — and leftovers can be frozen. When you have good food ready to eat in the house, you’re less likely to order a pizza or run out for a pricey restaurant meal.Think about how much meat you eat. Since I have started eating less meat, I have saved a lot of money. (I also have lost weight.) Two sausages in a pasta sauce are plenty for four people, and one large roasting chicken, with lots of vegetables, can easily serve 10. Two or three shrimp per person chopped up in a stir-fry offers more than enough flavor.Beware of “convenience” produce. Those bags of prewashed lettuce or cut carrots save time, but you’ll save money buying whole produce and washing and cutting it yourself. Consider adding a salad spinner to your collection of kitchen tools so that you can quickly wash and dry salad greens.Embrace whole grains. They’re good for you and relatively inexpensive — and you can do a thousand different things with them. Keep short-grain rice in the pantry for risotto or paella. Barley drizzled with any pan sauce is delicious. Polenta, quinoa, wild rice, bulgur — add these to your repertoire, and you’ll never be at a loss for something wonderful to eat.If you’re in doubt about how to cook any of these, add them to lots of salted water and cook as you would pasta, then drain when tender.
Learn to love legumes. Beans, like grains, are an excellent pantry staple — they’re good for you and incredibly inexpensive. They’re also very simple to make. Soak overnight and discard the soaking water (discarding the water helps make the beans less gassy). Then simmer in water until tender. Put beans and lentils in soups, stews and salads, or even enjoy a bowl on their own. Skeptical? Try this: Drizzle a bowl of cooked white beans with olive oil and some freshly chopped rosemary, lemon zest and a generous grating of Parmesan cheese. Or purée some chickpeas with garlic, lemon, cumin and tahini for a delicious homemade hummus.Make use of the whole bird. Roast chicken for dinner? Use the chicken scraps and bones to make your own stock. Chop half an onion, a carrot and a stalk of celery, and sautée in a little olive oil. Add some whole peppercorns, parsley and a bay leaf along with the bones, cover with water and let cook for about an hour.The flavor of homemade stock is vastly superior to that of store-bought, and it is better for you by far. Plus, few weeknight dinners are as speedy or satisfying as a bowl of good broth served over angel hair or other noodles with some minced garlic, grated ginger, a few handfuls of sautéeed bok choy or other vegetables and a dash of soy sauce.
Make the most of your freezer to reduce waste. You may not even realize how many things you can freeze instead of letting them spoil — fresh mozzarella, aging bananas (for bread or muffins), broth, tomato sauce and bread crumbs. Hearty fresh herbs (parsley, dill, basil) all freeze well. Freshly squeezed lemon and lime juices can go into ice-cube trays and be saved for later. And instead of letting that last quarter cup of wine go down the drain, put it in a zippered plastic bag or ice-cube tray and freeze it to add to pasta sauce or risotto.Do it yourself. Before you reach for something in a package or a bottle, think about whether you’re better off taking the time (and saving the money) to do it yourself. Examples…Salad dressing. Bottled salad dressing is almost never made from decent oil, usually has preservatives and other unpronounceable junk in it, and is the biggest rip-off imaginable, so why buy it? Combine olive oil with lemon juice or vinegar (in a proportion of about three parts oil to one part vinegar). Add salt and pepper, some Dijon mustard, herbs if you like, and you will have something infinitely better than anything you’ll find in a bottle (and lots cheaper).
Tomato sauce. Instead of paying for a jar of something that will never taste as good as homemade, sauté garlic in a little olive oil, add a large can of tomatoes and cook until it is “saucy” — you’ll know when it is ready. Tomato sauce freezes beautifully, so again, making it in larger quantities makes sense.
Aerosol oil is another rip-off. At about $12 a pint, it’s twice as expensive as halfway decent extra-virgin olive oil, and it contains additives. Instead, use a brush or your fingers.
Bread crumbs. Don’t throw out that day-old (or two-day-old) bread. A few pulses in a food processor, and you have a bag of homemade bread crumbs to put into meat loaf or on top of gratins.
