hungarians beans and sour cream soup

Beans! Beans! I love legumes!

They are totally healthy, totally tasty and wonderfully versatile.

It is important to note that beans do not need to be eaten with a grain at the same meal because "when the diet provides an assortment of plant proteins over the course of a day all amino acids are present in abundance." (Source: 'Becoming Vegan' by Brenda Davis, R.D., Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D.) Beyond eating a variety of wonderful plant-based foods, including beans, vegetables, grains and fruits, there is no need to combine grains and beans at one meal, a myth that was made popular

in the book 'Diet for a Small Planet.'

Now you know that you have freedom to cook your beans and eat them too... even without a grain as a tag-along. A little more freedom to be creative with your cooking, I would say!

Tonight's meal was navy beans cooked simply with a few bay leaves and seasoned at the end with paprika and cashew sour cream. I also added some green beans because I have a ton of them.

Very delicious! A nice crusty bread and a green salad would make this an easy great meal. The sour cream adds a delightful tang that everyone enjoyed.

Cost Breakdown:

beans: $2

spices: $.50

cashews: $2

lemon, vinegar, miso: $1

green beans: $1

Total for 10 servings:

$6.50

indian-spiced rice

Another fridge cleaner! When you have freshly roasted and ground spices, fresh stir-fried vegetables and gremolata, you can't really go wrong.

I don't usually make Indian food at home because we live so close to a great Indian restaurant, and one of the best things about going to Indian restaurants is the variety. Realistically, am I going to cook four different curries and make 2 different breads as well as a whole bunch of other wonderful Indian dishes for a weeknight meal? And it is the variety I love - as well as the food, naturally. 

But today I felt the need to make something Indian inspired (maybe it's because of Top Chef last night). It had to be fast though, I'm still cleaning. I am hosting a couple of Literature Groups for my kids over the next year and I need it to be spic and span, otherwise I can feel my Mom shaking her head.

So I toasted some fenugreek seeds, yellow mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and ground them up. I cooked the rice with this spice mixture, adding a chopped tomato, turmeric and paprika. 

When the rice was almost done cooking (and brown rice takes a while), I stir-fried sunflower seeds (remove from pan and set aside), 1/2 onion, 1 corn (kernels removed) and zucchini, diced (these takes longer to get color so make sure it has before adding...), a 1/4 of a red cabbage, chopped. Quickly stir-fry after adding the cabbage so it stays crisp tender.

Add the rice to the veggies and sunflower seeds, squirt it with thejuice of 1/2 lime, adjust seasoning and serve with the gremolata.

Gremolata:

1/2 c cilantro, minced

2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

zest of 1 lime

salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients and mince everything together or process all in a machine. 

Cost Breakdown:

zucchini: $1

cabbage: $1

corn, onion, garlic: $1

brown basmati rice: $1

tomato: $1

cilantro, lime, spices: $2

Total to feed a family of 5:

$7.00