My Mom, most years, makes an amazing assortment of Christmas cookies. After the tree and before the beef roast she cranks out all kinds of goodies. I however do not share in her fervor for baking, at any time of the year. I hate being exact and making something that is only to be eaten after dinner (supposedly). I don’t own a stand mixer, special flours, extracts (except vanilla) or cookie cutters. I did want to make some quick cookies with some almonds I got in a beautiful gift basket from a friend. I searched through the usual suspects- Food Network, Epicurous, Jamie Oliver and didn’t want to go out and buy confectioner’s sugar, almond slivers, or almond extract (= $$) among other “foreign” ingredients. I wanted to use what I had. So like most times I’m stuck with non-fancy, traditional pantry and kitchen items I turn to my Fannie Farmer cookbook. And what did I find? Humble, amazing Almond Spiced Cookies that I pretty much couldn’t mess up! Here’s the recipe - I didn’t have ground cloves, so I just left them out! It’s ok! No stand mixer, rolling pin, or special skills required! Leave out the almonds and spices for just a plain rich cookie.

1/4 lb (1 stick) butter, unsalted

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tblsp cream or milk

1 1/4 cup flour

1/8 tsp salt (my almonds had salt on them so I left this out)

1/4 tsp baking powder

OPTIONAL Spiced Almond ingredients

1/3 cup finely chopped almonds ( I ground mine for a minute in a food processor)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

grated rind of 1/2 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Cream the butter (beat with a spoon or hand mixer until kinda fluffy). Gradually add the sugar, beating until light

3. Mix flour, salt and baking powder together, add to the first mixture and blend well. Fold in almonds, spices, and lemon

4. Arrange by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheets, 1 inch apart. (I did one sheet at a time b/c of my oven’s uneven temp). Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

5. Cool on a rack if you have one, and share with your co-workers - you’ll be super popular and invited to all the great New Years parties….

Don't you want one?

If you’re a dairy slut like me, the more things you can make with cheese, the better. However my least favorite cheeses are of the blue moldy variety but Johnathan always eats those first on a cheese plate. I do appreciate blue cheeses incorporated into dishes, and here are 3 of my favorites. All of these could come from about one container - pre crumbled (which I like) serving 2 people.

My Dad’s homemade Blue Cheese Dressing (AMAZING on wings!)

- 2/3 cup Mayo (using regular, not lite is best)

- 1/2 cup Sour Cream

- 1/3 cup blue cheese

- 1 tbs lemon juice

- couple dashes of worcestershire

- salt & pepper

* Combine all ingredients and adjust to your taste

Jamie Oliver’s Cheese and Onion Salad w/ Creamy Herb Dressing (great winter salad)

- Mixed salad greens (for as many servings as you need)

- Blue Cheese crumbles

- handful of walnuts - toasted if you want

- 4-5 small shallots peeled and finely sliced.

For Dressing:

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 2 tbs creme fraiche

- 1 tbs red wine vinegar

1. Place shallots in a small bowl with a generous pinch of salt and pour over just enough white wine vinegar (I used red) to cover. Let the onions pickle for about 10 minutes and squeeze out excess vinegar when you’re ready to dress the salad.

2. For the dressing: combine 4 tablespoons of olive oil with the creme fraiche and vinegar. Whisk together and season to taste

3. Combine your salad, blue cheese, shallots, walnuts and dressing.

Oozy Blue Cheese (or Gorgonzola) sauce - great with gnocchi or homemade pasta, very simple and rich.

Proportions: 1 part whipping cream to 3 parts cheese.

1. Bring whipping cream to a simmer. Turn heat down and add cheese and whisk until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tip: adding walnuts to this adds a great bite and sweetness to pasta!

While Johnathan and I are mildly broke instead of really really broke I still like to figure out how to get the best food for the best price. Like most clothing, there’s no reason to pay a ridiculous price when there’s great quality at a lesser price. Ok, here’s a few tips/recommendations I have for grocery shopping these days:

1. Target grocery is great! They consistently have the same brands as big grocery stores, but often for less. They also have they’re own brand - Market Pantry which is also great and even cheaper. I’ve saved a lot buying my dry/pantry stock stuff here - flour, coffee, soy sauce, salt, etc. I don’t prefer their meat, or produce, but they have a great price on OJ!

2. Bargain produce. I’m not sure if Whole Foods does this but our other go to grocery store, Berkeley Bowl has a section near the produce of discounted fruit and veg that is too ripe, or about to be. I bought a perfectly ripe cantaloupe for $.79 - cut it up when we got home and it still lasted a couple more days! This week I got 1lb of mushrooms for $.89 and a big container of strawberries for $1.99. This works well if  you can use these things right away but they are usually still ok for a couple more days!

3. Multiple trips. I know pretty much every other budget conscious commentator tells you to shop once a week and plan your meals for the entire week. I’m going to say the opposite! I’ve found from talking to friends and just how our daily lives go - you CAN’T always plan a whole week! You may stay late at work, a friend invites you out on Wednesday, you’re exhausted and your partner/roommate suggests you go out… Most weeks our menu changes and meals get pushed back or canceled. Life happens. So I’ve adjusted to plan for about 3 maybe 4 meals during the week. I also hear people throw out veggies, etc. all the time even with planning. If you go to the store another time during the week and purchase what you need for the next couple days, you could save money by NOT throwing out produce/fruit/dairy from your trip last weekend. I also like to make up new things to do with what I have left - a little spontaneity doesn’t hurt!

I made this veg onion soup on a day we were eating meat (the weekend) but i wanted something really cozy and warm for winter. I also had A LOT of supplies left over from Thanksgiving - this is a great recipe for using up onions, any kind of stock you have, stale bread, and any hard/sharp cheese you have; swiss, gruyere, cheddar, etc., plus it’s super cheap. I had a surplus of all of these and didn’t want to waste. Make sure you take the time recommended to let the onions cook, it’ll be worth it. You can also save this soup and reheat with the bread and cheese later. Obviously for our vegan friends, use veg broth and a soy cheese, or no cheese at all. Here we go (adapted from Jamie Oliver’s ‘Jamie at Home’):

Serves 8 (I adjusted for 4 servings, and still had more than could fit in 4 baking soup bowls)

1 Tablespoon butter

handful of fresh sage

6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (I sent mine through my garlic press)

5 red onions, peeled and sliced

3 large white onions, peeled and sliced

3 banana shallots (or regular) peeled and sliced

11 oz leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced (I only bought 1 big leek - plenty)

2 quarts HOT low sodium stock: veg, chicken, beef, whatever you have.

8 slices stale bread

7 oz fresh grated cheddar cheese

Worcestershire sauce

1. Put butter, 2 glugs of olive oil, sage and garlic into a thick-bottomed, non-stick pan. Stir everything around and add the onions, shallots, and leeks. Season with salt and pepper. Place a lid on the pan, leaving slightly ajar and cook slowly for 50 minutes, without coloring the veggies. Remove the lid for the last 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

2. When the onions are silky and soft, add the HOT stock. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 10-15 minutes. You can skim off any fat from the top - or not!

3. Preheat oven or broiler to 500F. Toast your stale bread on both sides - try not to burn it! Correct the seasoning of the soup. Ladle your soup into your oven proof bowls. Tear the toasted bread to fit in each bowl. Feel free to dunk the bread a little bit. Sprinkle with grated cheddar and drizzle over a little Worcestershire sauce. Place bowls on baking sheet.

4. Melt the cheese until brown and bubbling - try not to burn it. Bon Appetit!

After abandoning ‘Cooking Broke’ almost 2 years ago I’d say it was more giving up than a break. Some comments have trickled in and at times I forgot I’m still paying to keep this site up! My husband and I spent a year in India, and REALLY learned what it means to cook broke and learned some interesting food and life lessons. At this point we’re not as broke as when I started the site but I still struggle with making a weekly food trip last, trying not to let anything rot in the veg bin, and use what I have on hand in the pantry. We’ve moved to the East Bay in San Francisco and couldn’t ask for a better place for veg and fruit in the country. Most things are local and the freshness factor is amazing.

I used to be a vegetarian (in college of course) and then realized I didn’t want to live the rest of my life with out bacon and brisket and basically a lower quality of life (hahaha). However I do believe and have read about the astounding amount of meat the US consumes and how it’s devastating our environment and our bodies. When we moved back from India Johnathan and I decided to do the veg thing during the week, Monday-Thursday. This is in an effort to help us eat better, have a little less impact on the meat supply, and also save money during the week. Now I won’t say we’ve followed this 100% for the last couple months, but as I was ogling over the Whole Foods meat counter getting ready to buy my first pork chops in almost 2 years - I realized - “I haven’t bought a whole cut of meat in a REALLY long time!” The pork chop recipe made by Johnathan from the Jamie at Home cookbook was truly amazing and I was so proud of him for making such a great meal. A great resource if you’re also thinking about cutting back on your meat intake, Meatless Monday. This is a great site and is also Slow Foods approved.

So here we are, not so broke, but making an effort to save money for the important things (mostly balls for our dog and maybe a roast for Christmas). Stay tuned for some fun, possibly retro holiday recipes.

Cheers from San Francisco!

I have a reasonable collection of cookbooks. But there is only one I turn to as my stand by, my no-fail cookbook that will probably give me a recipe for which I have all the ingredients. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook was first published in 1896 and I now have the thirteenth edition which was my only cookbook in college. It’s small, no fuss, easy (for the most part), and perfect for the current economic grocery climate. Here are a few of my favorites - I highly recommend investing in this book. Your basic fridge and pantry supplies will go far.

Something I love to do is “accidently” forget to eat all our bananas and as they get darker and more ripe, begin my plans of making banana bread. I also found a half full bag of Nestle Toll House in my pantry so I dumped those in and made a great banana chocolate bread. Here’s the recipe:

3 ripe bananas, well mashed ( I had 2, use whatever you have)

2 eggs, well beaten

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (if you have them, this is traditional, or add chocolate chips)

1. Preaheat oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan. Mix the bananas and eggs together in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.

2. Add the walnuts or chocolate chips and stir to blend. Put the batter in  the pan and bake for 1 hour. Remove fromt he pan to a rack. Serve warm

I found a great deal on blueberries at Whole Foods this week and turned that into a week of breakfast goodies for us. This recipe is more like a scone, not a super sweet cake which I prefer with my coffee. As I was looking for recipes I came across this gem from Ina Garten - but again it’s an additional trip to the grocery store and a possible coronary from the butter. Fannie required no extra trips or cash.

2 cups white flour, divided - reserve 1/4 cup for blueberries.

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg slightly beaten

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 pint blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Butter muffin pans or line with baking cups.

2. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg, milk, and butter, stirring only enough to dampen the flour. Reserve a 1/4 cup of flour and sprinkle over your blueberries. Stir into batter. The batter should not be smooth. Spoon into the muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

This dish was such a big hit, we didn’t mind eating it for three days! It can definitely serve 6-8, or 2 of you for a few days. Ground lamb wasn’t as expensive as I expected and I didn’t put quite as much ricotta as the recipe called for. Using the jarred marinara also makes a pretty quick un-fussy dish. The egg yolks make the ricotta so fluffy and you could save the egg whites for an omlette in the morning. This would be great for a large family dinner with a nice salad. Enjoy!

I made this pizza based on this month’s Bon Appetit cheese article. An article about cheese you say? Yes, it’s incredible and if you even just like cheese you should get this issue! I didn’t use their dough recipe, I like my stand by and used the fresh oregano from the Jamie Oliver chicken dish and added it to the dough. One thing I tried that was different was I rolled out the dough to the pizza size, covered it, and let it sit for another 10 minutes - I think this really made the crust light and fluffy instead of cardboard like. I also did the cider fondue recipe in the article and used the other half of kielbasa from that for the pizza, another hit if you’re not serving vegetarians. Definitely an impressive movie night meal thats better than anything from Domino’s. Oh, and use the premade crusts to make this even faster.

This isn't the exact dish, but it gives you the idea!

Well, it’s about 5 ingredients plus your usual suspects salt and pepper and olive oil. We’ve made this dish twice in 2 weeks. It’s cheap, really cheap and simple and the fresh oregano is a perfect winter herb. Definitely get the fresh oregano, it’s not the same with dried. The second time around I used drained diced tomatoes instead of going through the tomato peeling process you’ll see below. You could also use leftover mashed or boiled potatoes to cut down the assembly time. Chicken thighs are a cheap cut of meat, so try to splurge for the organic/free range, plus it tastes better than chicken breasts (boring!). It only serves 4, and you might want seconds so it doesn’t stick around your fridge for too long! Bon Appetit!

Crispy and sticky Chicken Thighs with Squashed new Potatoes and Tomatoes (Jamie at Home)

Serves 4

1 3/4 lb new poatotes, scrubbed

12 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on. Cut off the bone into about 3 strips per thigh

1 1/4 pounds cherry tomatoes, in the summer you can use the pretty multicolored ones.

A bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper

Red wine vinegar

1. Put the potatoes into a large saucepan of salted boiling water and boil until cooked.

2. While the potatoes are cooking away, preheat your oven to 400F. Place the chicken thigh strips in a large bowl. Rub the meat all over with olive oil and sprinkle with slat and pepper and toss. Heat a large frying pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces snugly skin side down, you can also do this in batches. Toss and fry over a high heat for 10 minutes until almost cooked then remove with a slotted spoon to an ovenproof pan or dish.

3. Prick to tomatoes with a sharp knife. Place them in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for a minute or so. Drain and when cool enough to handle, pinch off their skins. Drain the potatoes and lightly crush them by pushing down on the with your thumb

4. Bash up most of the oregano leaves with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar, or a Flavor Shaker. Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil, a good splash of red wine vinegar and some pepper and give everything another bash. Add to the chicken with the potatoes, the tomatoes and the rest of the oregano leaves. Toss everything together carefully. Spread out in a single layer in an appropriately sized roasting pan ( I used my 13×9 Pyrex). Bake for 40 minutes in the oven until golden.