Cheap Eats

In article <[email hidden]>,

blake murphy said:

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>, "jmcquown"

Quoted message said:

Had a dairy farmer down the street. He had some nice Gurnsey's. He also had free-range chickens
running around his front yard. It was so funny to be driving down the road on my way to work
seeing those colourful chickens running around. His rooster was black with gorgeous yellow and
red tail-feathers.

Alas, he sold the property because he wasn't making any $$ from the dairy business. Now guess
what I get to look at? Starter homes with about 3 feet between them, and a middle school.
Sucks. I used to love being out in the middle of nowhere; now I'm in living in the middle of
suburbia. (sigh)

Jill

You are not alone... :-( That is why I posted that.

When all the farm land and orchards are covered with little ugly boxes, what are we going to eat?

K.

each other, i guess.

your pal, blake

Soylent Green anyone??? ;-)

K.

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Quoted message said:

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On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 05:40:01 -0600, "jmcquown" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Katra said:

In article said:

"notbob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:5t9Tb.204055$na.334992@attbi_s04... It's the
damn milk that's insanely
> priced!
>

That is one of my biggest pet peeves... Milk is outrageous in the grocery store, but dairy
farmers are only getting about 10 dollars per hundred weight (10 dollars per hundered pounds of
milk, a gallon is roughly
8.5 or so pounds, I think).... This was the price the last time I asked, and it's been awhile,
but I don't think the price of milk has gone up any for the dairy farmers. The farmers
definitely aren't seeing any of the profits. It just makes me so ill when people like my dad
are working their a**** off, and someone in a suit somewhere is obviously getting rich from
it. It seems the stores or bottlers, more likely, mark up the milk under the guise of "the
farmers need more money", which is the truth, yet the farmers aren't getting that extra money.

As my dad points out, things would be a lot better if they would do away with government price
supports, since farmers could then set their own price for milk and hopefully earn the money
that they deserve.

Don't be so hasty...

Farm subsidies are all that is keeping some farms from selling the land to housing developers,
and starving all of us.......

K.

Had a dairy farmer down the street. He had some nice Gurnsey's. He also had free-range chickens
running around his front yard. It was so funny to be driving down the road on my way to work seeing
those colourful chickens running around. His rooster was black with gorgeous yellow and red tail-
feathers.

Alas, he sold the property because he wasn't making any $$ from the dairy business. Now guess what
I get to look at? Starter homes with about 3 feet between them, and a middle school. Sucks. I used
to love being out in the middle of nowhere; now I'm in living in the middle of suburbia. (sigh)

Jill

One of the artisanal cheesemakers that comes to our greenmarket has a farm in CT that has been in
his family for generations. He saw the writing on the wall in time,and made a serious effor to learn
cheesemaking. There is no way a small farm like his (about 30 cows) could survive selling milk now.

He also has chickens running around, but just for family.

Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a

"If Brecht had directed 'Waiting for Godot,' he would have hung a large sign at the back of the
stage reading 'He's not going to come, you know. ' " -- Terry Eagleton

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Surely this group can come up with inexpensive dishes that aren't Welfare Porridge. Assuming a
normal range of condiments and spices, and kitchen equipment beyond a m'wave and hotplate, can
rfc'rs come up with things better than hot dog casserole and chicken wing soup?

One of my favorites -

BLACK BEAN SOUP

1 lb. dried black beans 2 stalks celery, diced 2 carrots, diced 1 onion, diced 2 Tbsp Cumin 1 - 2
dried chipotle peppers, pulverized in spice grinder 1 tsp salt Optional: sausage of some type:
chirizo, linguica, even kielbasa if you like 6 - 8 cups chicken stock

Soak beans overnight, drain and cover with chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.

Sweat onion, carrots & celery till onions are translucent. Add to soup pot. Add a ladle full of
chicken stock to saute pan to deglaze pan; add to soup pot.

Add cumin and chipotles, and simmer soup for approximately ninety minutes. Add salt and, if desired,
sausage; simmer 30 minutes more.

Most black bean recipes call for pureeing the soup - I kind of like it as is but by all means puree
it if you prefer that texture. Sometimes I garnish with some cilantro and chopped tomato, but that's
not really necessary.

Makes about 10 servings.
--
Donna A pessimist believes all women are bad. An optimist hopes they are.

To reply, remove the SPAM BLOCK

"Frogleg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Frogleg said:

There've been threads on 'student food' and other cheap meals, but I wonder... I made Freedom
Toast the other day from a couple of large slices ($2/loaf) of WalMart sourdough bread, 1 egg,
and a little milk.

(snip)

Quoted message said:

Why do cheap eats involve ramen noodles (can't argue with the cheapness, f'r sure) or hamburger
extended to the limit with pasta?

Surely this group can come up with inexpensive dishes that aren't Welfare Porridge. Assuming a
normal range of condiments and spices,

There's your problem. Assuming a normal range of condiments and spices. It's hardly fair to
assume in a college dorm one would have anything

aside

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

from salt, pepper and some packets of ketchup from McDonalds.

I have explained this qestion badly. I'm *wasn't* asking about student food, just using that as an
example of how cheap eats are often discussed here. What I'm after is inexpensive gour-may ideas.
Not rock-bottom poverty fuel, but also ideas that don't require goat cheese and prosciutto or a
bucket of fresh raspberries to taste 'right.' Also wasn't thinking of "how to feed 20 people for
$10" dishes. Just inexpensive but *good* food. Ex: potatoes and onions can be had quite cheaply.
Cabbage and carrots. Celery and eggs keep going up and up, but butter is pretty cheap right now.
Frozen veg are cheaper than fresh, mostly. Chicken, whole or cut up, is relatively inexpensive.
It's easy to make something delicious that starts with a pound of large shrimp or sushi-grade
tuna; what about something that starts with frozen whiting?

Well, I've had great success with this:

Take a box of linguine (appx. $.79/box), a head of garlic (maybe a quarter?), a small bottle of
olive oil (no more than $2.00), and a stick of butter (about two bucks for a two-pack).

Mince the garlic. Meanwhile, heat a quarter-cup of olive oil. Begin cooking the pasta, then dump the
garlic into the oil. Sautee until golden-brown and remove from heat. add 1/4 stick of butter and
stir to melt. when the pasta is done, strain, dump into bowl, then add the garlic mixture and toss
to coat. No meat, little cost, very filling, and quite tasty. Of course, you can add crumbled bacon,
fresh spinach, chicken chunks (from a can, even), or anything else you like. Pasta is your friend.

Frogleg <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I have explained this qestion badly. I'm *wasn't* asking about student food, just using that as
an example of how cheap eats are often discussed here. What I'm after is inexpensive gour-may
ideas. Not

I have a recipe for a Turkish soup that I think contains only red lentils, onion, butter, salt and
pepper. I was startled by how good it was. I'll try to dig out that cookbook and post the details.
There are an awful lot of very good inexpensive lentil (and bean) soups. Similarly, there are a
number of very good Carribean red or black beans and rice. New Orleans red beans and rice can also
be very cheap (although when I make it I tend to load it up with preserved pork products) as can a
chicken and sausage jambalaya.

Here's a Greek way of cooking spinach and rice. Chop up an onion and a bunch or two of spinach.
(Frozen will work.) Saute the onion in olive oil until it's soft but not brown. Stir in the spinach
until it wilts. Stir in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste. Stir in some rice - half a cup or a
cup - salt and black pepper. Add enough water to cook the rice. (It will be less water than usual
because of the water on and in the spinach). When the rice is done stir in a handful or two of
chopped fresh dill.

Quoted message said:

rock-bottom poverty fuel, but also ideas that don't require goat cheese and prosciutto or a bucket
of fresh raspberries to taste 'right.' Also wasn't thinking of "how to feed 20 people for $10"
dishes. Just inexpensive but *good* food. Ex: potatoes and onions can be had quite cheaply.
Cabbage and carrots. Celery and eggs keep going up and up, but butter is pretty cheap right now.
Frozen veg are cheaper than fresh, mostly. Chicken, whole or cut up, is relatively inexpensive.
It's easy to make something delicious that starts with a pound of large shrimp or sushi-grade
tuna; what about something that starts with frozen whiting?

Frogleg said:

Come ON people. I'm a fan of white chicken meat, but whole fryers were on sale last week for
$0.48/lb. Wouldn't a roasted chicken surrounded by potatoes, carrots, and onions be cheap and good
eats with dark- & light-meat eaters around? *This* is the kind of thing I was looking for.

How about a variation on Rubber Chicken? First day, you serve roast chicken with gravy, mashed
potatoes, steamed veggies of choice (lots of veggies, you want leftovers.) After dinner, pick the
meat remaining off the carcass, throw the bones into a pot with water (and maybe the remaining
gravy) and make a good stock. Day two, chop half of the meat remaining and season suitably for
tacos, serve with tortillas (of course) and all the fixins', plus refried beans. Day three, use the
stock and any chicken that's left to make soup or chicken and dumplings (assuming there's enough
chicken left.)

Tracy R.

"Barry Grau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Here's a Greek way of cooking spinach and rice. Chop up an onion and a bunch or two of spinach.
(Frozen will work.) Saute the onion in olive oil until it's soft but not brown. Stir in the
spinach until it wilts. Stir in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste. Stir in some rice - half a
cup or a cup - salt and black pepper. Add enough water to cook the rice. (It will be less water
than usual because of the water on and in the spinach). When the rice is done stir in a handful or
two of chopped fresh dill.

When I read this, it reminded me of a soup I made about 2 or 3 weeks ago. It is a little more
complicated and it's Italian but nontheless very good.

Charlie

ZUCCHINI AND ARBORIO RICE SOUP

Source: Food and Wine, date unknown (1990)

1 medium onion, minced 1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 medium zucchini (about 1.5 lbs.), cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tsp. salt
2/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
3/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
4.5 cups drained plum tomatoes from a 35 oz. can, chopped 6 cups Vegetable broth or canned low-
sodium chicken broth 1 cup Arborio rice 3 tbs. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 3 tbs. chopped
fresh basil

freshly grated Parmesan

In a large saucepan, cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil over moderately low heat, stirring,
until softened but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the zucchini and season to taste with the salt,
pepper and nutmeg. Increase the heat to moderate and cook, stirring, until the zucchini is barely
tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, broth, rice, parsley and basil, if using. Increase the heat to moderately high and
bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer until the rice is tender,
about 20 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature with the grated Parmesan.

NOTE: This soup is often served at room temperature. Its flavors will blend while it sits.

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Katra said:

Quoted message said:

Don't be so hasty...

Farm subsidies are all that is keeping some farms from selling the land to housing developers,
and starving all of us.......

K.

Quoted message said:

Had a dairy farmer down the street. He had some nice Gurnsey's. He also had free-range chickens
running around his front yard. It was so funny to be driving down the road on my way to work
seeing those colourful chickens running around. His rooster was black with gorgeous yellow and red
tail-feathers.

Alas, he sold the property because he wasn't making any $$ from the dairy business. Now guess what
I get to look at? Starter homes with about 3

feet

Quoted message said:

between them, and a middle school. Sucks. I used to love being out in

the

Quoted message said:

middle of nowhere; now I'm in living in the middle of suburbia. (sigh)

Jill

This will probably be my last post on this subject, since it's very close to the heart and I could
probably loose my temper really quickly...

This may have to be "a we agree to disagree" issue. I'm the last person who wants to see more
farms, especially dairy farms, go. I was raised on a dairy farm, and my dad still farms. It's a
small farm in Kentucky--50 or so milking cows (mostly guernseys, but we board a few jerseys for a
friend of my dad).

If we don't want to see all the small farms go out of business, something has got to change from
the current situation. Farm subsidies aren't saving that many farms... Farms are going out at rate
thats damn scary. I'm sick of seeing family friends go broke and quite farming. The year that my
parents started their farm (1978), 13 other dairies were also started in our county. Today, only my
parents farm is left. It's not the farm subsidies that have/are saving it either. It's the fact
that my dad, in addition to running the dairy, also works selling feed and does custom hay baling
work. This man works 80 hours a week to keep his farm from going broke. It's his hard work--the
hard work of our family--that has kept the place running--not farm subsidies. My mom also works (an
accountant for Tyson), but her salary is used to pay off medical bills from when she had lyme
disease (long story), to pay for the household expenses, and to help my sister and I with school
expenses from time to time.

The same story is true of the litterally dozens of other small farm families I know. We show cattle
at the state fair, etc. and know tons of the small dairy farm type people. Many of these farmers
with small farms--the kind that the subsidies are supposed to be helping--are also having to work
extra jobs, etc. just like my dad. Does it look like subsidies are helping?

If you get a group of dairy farmers/families together, the price of milk is an inevitable subject. I
have yet to met a farmer with a small operation who thinks that the farm subsidies are doing anyone
worth a damn. The prevailing opinion *held by the owners/operators of small dairy farms* is that if
the subsidies weren't around, farmers could set their own price for milk and *earn more money per
hundred weight than they currently earn with the subsidies*. As one family friend said once, "we
could get a helluva bit more than 10 dollars per hundred weight."

Maybe dropping the subsidies altogether isn't the way to go... All I know is that something has got
to change or there will be no more small farms left.

I know something just seems awfully wrong with the fact that farmers are only getting 10 dollars per
hundred weight, or not much more--at least the last time I asked--and consumers are getting charged
ridiculous prices for milk at the store....

DRB said:

This will probably be my last post on this subject, since it's very close to the heart and I could
probably loose my temper really quickly...

I don't pretend to understand anything about dairy farms, but I post this question. Why, if there is
so much of a markup in milk products, do the farmers not do a co-op and sell to customers directly?
Lord knows the customers hate being screwed in buying milk as much as dairy farmers hate being
screwed in selling their milk. If the disparity between farmer and customer is so great, why don't
farmers go back to direct sales?

nb

notbob said:

DRB said:

This will probably be my last post on this subject, since it's very close to the heart and I could
probably loose my temper really quickly...

I don't pretend to understand anything about dairy farms, but I post this question. Why, if there
is so much of a markup in milk products, do the farmers not do a co-op and sell to customers
directly? Lord knows the customers hate being screwed in buying milk as much as dairy farmers hate
being screwed in selling their milk. If the disparity between farmer and customer is so great, why
don't farmers go back to direct sales?

nb

Government interference?

Best regards, Bob

"notbob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:v1DTb.80397$U%5.435100@attbi_s03...

Quoted message said:

DRB said:

This will probably be my last post on this subject, since it's very

close to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the heart and I could probably loose my temper really quickly...

I don't pretend to understand anything about dairy farms, but I post this question. Why, if there
is so much of a markup in milk products, do the farmers not do a co-op and sell to customers
directly? Lord knows the customers hate being screwed in buying milk as much as dairy farmers hate

being

Quoted message said:

screwed in selling their milk. If the disparity between farmer and

customer

Quoted message said:

is so great, why don't farmers go back to direct sales?

You know, there are a few co-ops, but I really don't know why more haven't tried it. It would be a
pretty good solution--get rid of the middle man. I'd imagine it would have to do with enough farms
being in a close enough proximity to each other (so there would be plenty of volume to supply the
customers and there wouldn't be a need to truck milk for hours...) Start-up cost would probably also
be a factor--facilites, etc. would be quite a chunk of money.

This is something to run by the old man.

notbob said:

DRB said:

This will probably be my last post on this subject, since it's very close to the heart and I
could probably loose my temper really quickly...

I don't pretend to understand anything about dairy farms, but I post this question. Why, if there
is so much of a markup in milk products, do the farmers not do a co-op and sell to customers
directly? Lord knows the customers hate being screwed in buying milk as much as dairy farmers hate
being screwed in selling their milk. If the disparity between farmer and customer is so great, why
don't farmers go back to direct sales?

There is one dairy farm that does that at our greenmarket. People that use a lot of milk get it in
glass milk bottles and return the bottles the following week.

I get creme fraiche and butter from them.

But they are much bigger than the 30-cow farm I mentioned before.

Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

Capsizing under chute, and having the chute rise and fill without tangling, all while Mark and Sally
are still behind you

Katra said:

Ginger is indespenseble (along with garlic) for other meats such as pork, beef and chicken. Thanks
for opening the final frontier! <grins>

I noted that you say you peel it. Not that that is any work, really, but just take the whole root,
wash it and remove any bad spots, then run it over a course or fine cheese grater. :-)

Neat and a time saver.

Yeah, I don't always bother, it depends on what the ginger's getting used in. But it's no big
deal to me to take a sharp knife and just trim it off, either.

Ariane

Katra said:

When all the farm land and orchards are covered with little ugly boxes, what are we going to eat?

Ramen noodles?

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Tim Vanhoof) said:

Katra said:

When all the farm land and orchards are covered with little ugly boxes, what are we going
to eat?

Ramen noodles?

<snort> Funny, but they are made from wheat... ;-) I guess you could get the imported ones from the
Thai store.

Ew!!!

K.

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notbob said:

kalanamak said:

Not that I have a clue about what tuna costs these days, but creamed tuna of toast was probably
me and my sibs favourite lunch....

I was raised on the stuff. Still fix a batch now 'n then. If you catch the supermarket sales, you
can still get a can of mushroom soup for $.50 and a can of good tuna for $1. It's the damn milk
that's insanely priced!

Creamed Tuna on Toast

1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can tuna 7-8oz milk toast

This ain't rocket science. Make soup, add tuna, pour on toast.

Open window shades so you can view the dismal rain/snow outside and appreciate how good you've
got it. 🙂

nb

My mom always called that 'Tuna Glop', and we mixed in some frozen peas while we heated it, so they
were warm (but not mushy) when it was ready to glop over toast (or noodles, or rice).

This was one of the more complicated things my mom cooked... Most of her meals involved things that
went from freezer to microwave to plate. I learned to cook from my dad.

Tuna glop is comfort food for me now, though. (The hubby thinks it's one of the grossest things on
the planet).

-Sapphire.

Frogleg said:

There've been threads on 'student food' and other cheap meals, but I wonder... I made Freedom Toast
the other day from a couple of large slices ($2/loaf) of WalMart sourdough bread, 1 egg, and a
little milk. Ate one with jam; froze the other and m'waved for another breakfast several days
later. How much could that have cost? Why do cheap eats involve ramen noodles (can't argue with the
cheapness, f'r sure) or hamburger extended to the limit with pasta?

My husband and I were amused this morning by a Denny's commercial for French Toast at "only" $4.99.
We made French toast for breakfast this morning, and when we calculated the costs, we figured that
we spent about $1.75 to feed both of us (including beverage, with leftovers in the fridge). Of
course, it helps that the bread was homemade (with flour I got on sale, so the whole loaf probably
only cost us about 50 cents).

I've been baking a lot of breads lately. On average, it costs between 50 and 75 cents to make a loaf
of bread (the yeast is the expensive part - especially now that my stupid grocery store has stopped
carrying the jars of anything except "bread machine yeast" (rapid rise stuff)). Much cheaper than
the roughly $2 that most loaves cost in the stores. And very versatile - you can make loaves, or
rolls, or crescents, or whatever.

Most of my meals have to be economy meals these days. I do a lot of spaghetti (I have a well-stocked
spice cabinet, and tomato sauce goes on sale at 2 for $1 often enough that I don't have to worry
about it).

Most pastas are dirt cheap (even more so if you make them yourself, but I just don't have the
patience for that), and it's pretty easy to improvise sauces. You can get packets of various sauces
for about $1.19 to $1.79 each, or you can make your own. If you want to, you can cut up chicken or
brown some ground beef and mix it in with the sauce. I use half a pound of ground beef anytime the
recipe calls for a whole pound - it's half as expensive that way, and when I use the whole pound it
seems that the beef is all I can taste.

Unfortunately, most of my cooking is improvisational, so I have no recipes to share...

-Sapphire.

Sapphire <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Frogleg said:

There've been threads on 'student food' and other cheap meals, but I wonder... I made Freedom
Toast the other day from a couple of large slices ($2/loaf) of WalMart sourdough bread, 1 egg, and
a little milk. Ate one with jam; froze the other and m'waved for another breakfast several days
later. How much could that have cost? Why do cheap eats involve ramen noodles (can't argue with
the cheapness, f'r sure) or hamburger extended to the limit with pasta?

My husband and I were amused this morning by a Denny's commercial for French Toast at "only"
$4.99. We made French toast for breakfast this morning, and when we calculated the costs, we
figured that we spent about $1.75 to feed both of us (including beverage, with leftovers in the
fridge). Of course, it helps that the bread was homemade (with flour I got on sale, so the whole
loaf probably only cost us about 50 cents).

I've been baking a lot of breads lately. On average, it costs between 50 and 75 cents to make a
loaf of bread (the yeast is the expensive part - especially now that my stupid grocery store has
stopped carrying the jars of anything except "bread machine yeast" (rapid rise stuff)). Much
cheaper than the roughly $2 that most loaves cost in the stores. And very versatile - you can make
loaves, or rolls, or crescents, or whatever.

Most of my meals have to be economy meals these days. I do a lot of spaghetti (I have a well-
stocked spice cabinet, and tomato sauce goes on sale at 2 for $1 often enough that I don't have to
worry about it).

Most pastas are dirt cheap (even more so if you make them yourself, but I just don't have the
patience for that), and it's pretty easy to improvise sauces. You can get packets of various
sauces for about $1.19 to $1.79 each, or you can make your own. If you want to, you can cut up
chicken or brown some ground beef and mix it in with the sauce. I use half a pound of ground beef
anytime the recipe calls for a whole pound - it's half as expensive that way, and when I use the
whole pound it seems that the beef is all I can taste.

Unfortunately, most of my cooking is improvisational, so I have no recipes to share...

-Sapphire.

The fact that you're capable of baking bread and cooking, improvisational or not, and that you enjoy
the food you make is really the bottom line. During a two+ year spell when I was, ahem, "between
jobs", I did more bread baking, pizza baking, and pasta-sauce making than I ever had in my life. I
used some of the bread for bread pudding and baked egg custard pies, both of which were very cheap
to make. We enjoyed every bit of it and looked forward to the home-cooked meals. I wish I had time
to do more of it now! Our work schedules are murder.

Wayne

Sapphire said:

Tuna glop is comfort food for me now, though.

Tuna glop is comfort food for me too... my mother NEVER made it - I like to think it was my own
invention, but I probably learned it while I was in 4H.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments

sf <[email hidden]> wrote in news:3nib2051d5fn5gmonrnu2v44fiqi5td4c9@
4ax.com:

Quoted message said:

Sapphire said:

Tuna glop is comfort food for me now, though.

Tuna glop is comfort food for me too... my mother NEVER made it - I like to think it was my own
invention, but I probably learned it while I was in 4H.

Tuna glop it was, and replete with green peas, but mom always called it "creamed tuna on toast". We
usually had sliced tomatoes on the side. I'm not quite sure what she added to it, but I add a little
splashes of lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of cayenne, and it tastes like hers.
Once on the toast, a sprinkle of paprika and a little chopped fresh parsley if I have any. Homemade
bread, toasted, is a nice enhancement too. Always good for a winter lunch on a bleak day (not often
now that I'm in AZ) or a cozy supper after working late.

Wayne