Jul 6, 2010

cabbage pasta

Cat chose to make one of her all time favorite meals for lunch - Hungarian Cabbage Pasta. It is typically made with green cabbage but Whole Foods only had the red one - the one time I am looking to get it, of course.

She did a great job, it was delicious; nice bite from the fresh ground peppers and sweetness from the cabbage. The cabbage is taken to the edge of being caramelized - and then it is stirred. This is a wonderful way to enjoy this cruciferous vegetable. In fact, Hungarians even make strudel using this method of cooking cabbage.

Cost Breakdown:
cabbage: $3
brown rice pasta: $2
peppers, onion and spices: $2
Total to feed a family of 5:
$7.00




Jul 5, 2010

raw kale salad with sun-dried tomato + chili-crusted cheese

Kale salad was the first food I remember eating raw (Excluding the obvious raw fruits and vegetables. You know what I mean.) I was fortunate enough to be friends with a few ladies in California who were interested in raw preparation and invited a chef to show us how to cook live food. The first thing she made was this salad and David and I were hooked. In fact, he ate too much the first time I made it!
Lesson to those wishing to make this :)

To prepare kale raw, you need to massage the kale with the dressing; this breaks down the cell walls of the kale, not just making it more palatable but ensuring that your body can get to those powerhouse nutrients. 

The cheese (dip or spread) I made using nuts and sun-dried tomatoes, lemon, grape tomatoes, and then I rolled it in chili flakes. The cheese might be spicy (and of course you do not have to roll it in hot chili) but the kale and the crackers cool things down. The cracker is sun tomatoes, peppers, flax seeds, ground and dehydrated. I will make a whole batch and they keep really well in a tightly sealed jar.

Cost Breakdown:
2 bunch kale -$4
shiitake -  $2
onion, garlic, tomato: $2
crackers: $2
avocado and lemon - $2.50
  sun-tomato and almonds- $3
Total to feed a family of 8:
$15.50