Indian, definitely - so many great spices!!
Tina here from $30/Week. We document our grocery buying trying to keep it under $30. We've got a lot of posts on what we do to save money, but like other people have said: beans, grains, pasta, oatmeal are great to have around. Definitely go bulk as much as you can. It allows you to buy as much or as little as you want. We don't eat meat, which helps us keep our costs down, but making everything you possibly can from scratch (within reason) is really cost effective. Bread, yogurt, seitan, hummus, stock., etc. This is our nifty way to make stock for nothing: http://thirtyaweek.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/this-weeks-receipt-bonus-recipe/
Christmas Eve and Portuguese food with my family all around me - especially with some delicious bolos de bacalao.
Soft ginger cookies...oh so good.
Bite-sized chili chocolate brownies. I love the spicy and sweet!
Homemade pasta, just made, with salt, olive oil some great tomatoes and fresh basil AND good parm.
A taco in a homemade corn tortilla with some queso fresco and crema and blackbeans cooked with chipotles. The key is the homemade tortilla.
I had it for breakfast a weekend or two ago and really enjoyed it. Bittman's always been a proponent of veggies for breakfast, utilizing different grains, etc. Not too far off from a traditional Japanese breakfast or congee.
Traditionally, you need to add Portuguese chorizo to the mix. I should know, I made a vegetarian version for my parents which they thought was delicious, but just not "authentic." Ah well.
Veggie Chili or Veggie Pho - both super spicy.
Where to start?
1. Homemade pasta with homemade tomato sauce and whatever veggies are hanging around.
2. Big salad with whatever's in crisper
3. homemade dumplings
4. Omelets
5. Caramelized onion soup or just caramelized onions on just about anything
6. Dried beans (cooked) and then whipped up into delicious soup or sandwich toppings or chili
7. Can of condensed milk = homemade dulce de leche; not a meal, but a dessert for 4; on top of pan dulce
8. Quinoa pilaf with any stir fried veggies
9. Dal with homemade Chapatis
10. Fuul
@latenac - when I started the $30/week project we didn't stock up our pantry or anything. We just started it. I mean, our pantry wasn't barren or anything, but we didn't stock up on sugar, butter, flour, oils, etc. We use what we have. The start date of the project was 9/9/08 - http://thirtyaweek.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/hello-world/
We're still going strong.
As for shopping at ethnic markets, I'm all for it, but I find that sometimes the produce comes from sources that utilizes pesticides and are not local at all. Which is something that is hard. How do you balance the cost effectiveness of a Chinatown mango when you probably be eating mangoes in January anyways? Tough one.
I am interested, but a little sticker shocked. My vegetarian banh mi at Banh Mi Saigon is tasty, huge, hot and $4.50.
Like @gsd96rk1 (above) says Banh Mi Saigon is the way to go. Here's where you can find it: http://www.yelp.com/biz/banh-mi-saigon-new-york
@NotanAmerican - haven't tried grow bags, but I am intrigued. We DID try everything to combat the squirrels - netting, human hair (folk remedy), cayenne pepper, etc., but nothing worked. Will have to research this a bit more.
I would love to grow some of my food. We have an herb garden indoors and tried to grow veggies on a minuscule deck last year, but a gang of Brooklyn squirrels killed that idea.
The idea of doing weekly potlucks with friends is fantastic! A friend and I have been meaning to do a soup exchange. People make a big pot of soup, divide it up in ziplocks or tupperware and split it with friends. You can freeze them for later or use em up during the week. Which reminds me, I have to get on top of that.
dhorst, we've got a new sweet breakfast recipe on the site, but you have to like beans! If you make lots of pizza, have you tried cracking an egg on top of one while it bakes? Trust me, it's amazing.
Oh, and for all of you looking for bang/buck, I recommend quinoa, millet or groats instead of brown rice. Those grains have great nutritional profiles and can change things up once in a while. An added bonus, you can use them for breakfast, like oats.
Hey littlestcapy - it's Tina from $30/Week. Thanks for all of these good ideas. Coupons don't work for us because we shop at a Food Coop. You can read what we do at the blog - http://thirtyaweek.wordpress.com. I mean, we're vegetarians, which allow us to cook with the $30/week budget and we're doing pretty well with bulk, baking our own bread, making our own yogurt, etc. PumpkinBear, the only 99 cent store that's worth anything in NYC is Cheap Jack's - and really only for pasta, bread or condiments. Sometimes they have things worth buying - like Yves brand veggie "meats". For a buck, that's cheaper than any food coop.
Making dumpling dough is pretty easy too - especially if you have a food processor. Cuts the cost down even more.
Quinoa, chickpeas, red onions and whatever greens are in the fridge sauteed in a bit of olive oil and lemon juice.
Ohh, I can't wait to have fun with this one.
I've been making Bittman's tomato jam obsessively, it really retains the taste of summer. I also made an apple ginger jam (use fresh ginger and grate it with a box cutter or shredder attachment on food processor, it makes a HUGE difference compared to powedered). I'll be making and canning some apple butter after I go apple picking this weekend. Also a favorite is Garlic Rosemary Jelly. Seriously, try it.
Favorite Jam Pot? I just use a big pot.
Favorite Pectin Brand/Style? Ball Fruit Jell Liquid Pectin, but I usually don't use recipes that need pectin.
Any luck with low- or no-sugar jams? Haven't tried!
BW or Pressure canning? No pressure canning - just normal.
Flavors of jam you like to make? See above!
What do you do when your jam doesn't set? hasn't happened yet (fingers crossed)
What about making it yourself? Any good recipes out there?
Consistently making this awesome sandwich bread in order to save money has been my biggest baking coup. I actually got it off a Serious Eats' reader comment and have tweaked it to perfection. You get a fresh baked loaf in about 2 hours and it's great for any type of sandwich.
Been chronicling efforts to only buy $30 worth of groceries a week for 2 people since October and just wondering if there are any other people out there doing things like this and what tips, if any, you all have?
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Thanks for linking to us - if you contact Cook's Illustrated, they are usually fine with you posting up their recipe. Anyways, we didn't laminate the dough and it came out great!
deep dish pizza on thirty bucks a week.