Day 6: Mussels with Red Curry and Coconut Milk. Roger Mooking, the exuberant host of Everyday Exotic on the Food Network, came up with this brainstorm. “Mussels are cheap,” he said, “and you don’t have to get too fancy with them. Some stock, shallots, garlic, bay leaf or a lime leaf and you’re good.” Three pounds of mussels cost me $5.10 and because I did want to get fancy with them I splurged on some cilantro, shallots, coconut milk and a couple of hot peppers ($2.98). I made a quick curry paste with the herbs, aromatics and peppers, and cooked that off before adding the coconut milk and the mussels. This dinner would be even more substantial with some rice, but it was completely filling and satisfying on its own. Grocery Bill: $7.98
Day 7: Chickpea Stew with Prosciutto and Cabbage. This was cookbook author and chef Karen Barnaby’s inspired dinner suggestion. I told her there were still some chickpeas left over that I wanted to use up and right away she said, “I think chickpeas go with cabbage. You can get a prosciutto rind, they’re cheap, chop that up and cook everything down with some water or stock, add a little tomato for contrast and throw in the toasted bread in the end to thicken it up.” I bought bread ($2.49), cabbage ($1.79) and a prosciutto rind ($2.87). There was a little bit of beef stock left and the last of the tomato ragout and the whole thing was an ideal winter dish. Grocery Bill. $7.15
Total cost for the Week: $49.72
When I asked my girlfriend what she wanted for dinner on day eight she said: “Something expensive.” While we certainly ate well over the past week, it required an awful lot of planning and we both miss having the occasional lunch or dinner at a restaurant. It was inspiring, though. Having these restrictions made me think differently about the food I cook and even though we’ll loosen the purse strings up after this we will be more careful about what we buy and incorporate at least one budget meal into the plan each week. In this economic climate it’s good to know that eating cheaply can still mean eating well.
Chris Johns is writing a book of frugal recipes.
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