Feb Challenge

Now that the week has begun, I plan on keeping my dishes simple and consistent. Today, I had the same oatmeal + coffee for breakfast, pasta (using the sauce from last night) for lunch, and more pasta for dinner. I admit it's not that interesting, but the combination keeps me generally satiated. On a side note, it's been nice getting up and working in the kitchen to wake myself up. For a novice like myself, the combination of simultaneously cooking oatmeal on the stove, french pressing coffee, and cooking pasta really jump starts my brain activity.
 
I'm looking forward to Reggie's iFS lunch tomorrow and then it's back to another serving of pasta for dinner tomorrow. For those who may be wondering, I'll calculate the net cost of each pasta dish once I determine how many more meals I can get out of this sauce.

   

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Day_2_-_More_Pasta.zip (862 KB)

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Soup, although easy and fast to digest, is an instant filler,
especially eaten with bread. I made Tuscan soup tonight. After doing
some research, there were few types of Tuscan soup from Tuscany,
Italy, and most of them have cannellini beans, onions, garlic, and
some type of dark green, such as kale or spinach. Tuscan soup can
either be tomato based or have cream added instead (both if you want
actually). Tuscan soup is light and healthy, and it costs almost
nothing to make (1/4 lb beans and 1 bunch of kale for 3 to 4
servings). I am full and satisfied...I am glad day two is almost over.
 
Estimated cost per serving: $.50

   

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Day_2_Dinner_Tuscan_Soup_with_.zip (4107 KB)

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I am fortunate to have stocked up a lot of food throughout the year. I
only needed to buy few items in order to cook my meals so far.
 
Tomato paste: $.60
Coriander: $1.49
Kale: $1.03
Lime: $0.34
Chile: $0.02
 
Total spent: $3.48
 
Remaining budget: $96.52

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Refried beans and rice is the "poor man's dish", and it is one of the
best meals to make when cooking under budget. I used about 1/4 lbs of
dried beans, which is only $0.25. I also used 1 yellow onion and 1
stalk of spring onion to enhance the flavor.
 
Total Estimated Cost: $1.00

   

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Day_2_Lunch_Refried_Beans_on_R.zip (3523 KB)

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My mom taught me how to make Taiwanese-style braised pork, which we would eat in the winter time growing up.  It's a tasty, filling meal that Pete and I both enjoy.  The total for three large portions of the braised pork is about $5.25.  The one leek I used cost as much as the 1+ lb. of pork we bought from HK Supermarket.  Aside from pork butt and leek, I threw in carrots and potatoes (I would have used red-skinned potatoes, but a 5 lb. bag of russet was more affordable, sigh.)

   

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Day_2_Braised_Pork_for_Dinner.zip (447 KB)

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Our 100-dollar challenge gives me the chance to check what I have
stocked up throughout the year in my pantry, refrigerator, and
freezer.
 
I broke my food down to 3 basic nutrition categories: fats, carbs, and proteins.
 
Pictures 1 & 2: my freezer
Fats: butter and lard
Carbs: frozen zucchini and summer squash, Brussels sprouts,
blueberries, cranberry, whole wheat graham flour (in yogurt tubs),
peas, and corn
Proteins: chicken breast, stew beef, stir fry beef, ground lamb, pork
belly, poultry carcass (for making stock), and frozen egg whites
Miscellaneous: frozen dumplings, and frozen homemade hot pockets
 
Pictures 3 & 4: my refrigerator
Fats: clarified butter, heavy cream, and creme fraiche, buttermilk, some cheese
Carbs: napa cabbage, Chinese chives, kimchi, carrots, celery, apples,
cornmeal, oat bran,
Proteins: eggs, whole milk, pork shoulder (being marinated in the
pot), tofu, and nuts
Miscellaneous: jams, capers, sun dried tomatoes, BBQ sauce, ONE BEER
(oh yes!), Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and herbs.
 
Pictures 5 to 9: my pantry, or out in the space
Fats: none
Carbs: onions, potatoes, winter squash, pasta, rice, flour, oats,
homemade granola cereal, bananas, and dried fruits
Proteins: dried beans, canned fish (not shown): 1 can of sardines, and
2 cans of pink salmon
Miscellaneous: cocoa powder, spices, sugar, salt, and other condiments

                 

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Inventory_Check.zip (18702 KB)

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I am very thankful that my neighbor baked a loaf of banana bread for
me last week. Although I try to be creative in making of every meal, I
have no problem eating similar (or same) item every morning,
especially something as simple as a slice of bread.
 
I thought about poaching the egg and set it on top of the bread, but
I'd lose a lot of egg white during poaching process (not a great month
to waste any part of the food). Therefore, I decided to gently cook my
egg sunny side up to keep my yolk runny for dipping.
 
Going to be a busy day prepping for the next two days.

Estimated Cost: $1.25

   

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Day_2_Breakfast_Banana_Banana_.zip (3354 KB)

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I had the usual for breakfast #1, oatmeal with dried fruits and peanut
butter, before I went to workout this morning.
 
Estimated Cost: $0.50

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Anchovies are great for bringing brilliant flavors to many dishes. I
love using them when making Italian meals. Since Superbowl is on
tonight, I decided to make pizza, one of the traditional football
finger foods, for dinner while watching the game.
 
I like the combination of anchovies, capers, and basil; they are often
used as the backbone for Italian sauce (besides onions, garlic,
celery, and peppers). Anchovies and capers are both very salty. While
anchovies are a little more pungent, capers give a refreshing taste
with their pickled flavor. Basil is one of my favorite herbs. I often
use it in both western and eastern cuisines. I have always loved having
whole basil leaves placed on my pizza.
 
I didn't have a great success for making the pizza dough. I made pizza
dough without the help of my stand mixer for the first time. I used
Jamie Oliver's recipe from foodnetwork, but I cut down the amount of
the ingredients to only 1 serving, which probably threw off the
formula. I guess it's time for me to get a better scale for more
accurate measurements, and I probably need to work on my "dough
skills".

     

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Day_1_Dinner_Anchovies_Pizza.zip (6227 KB)

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For dinner, Pete and I had roasted poblano peppers stuffed with rice, beans, onions, jalapeno, and ground beef, topped with cheese and hot sauce.  The picture didn't come out so hot.  For dessert, we had grilled bread with peanut butter, honey, and bananas.  Our total for the day is approximately $5.25.  Not bad for our first night, especially since we tried to keep it festive for the Superbowl.  We even busted out the Coors Light that's been sitting in our fridge for six months.  For tomorrow, I braised pork shoulder Taiwanese-style.

We'll be back to Hong Kong Supermarket.  Whole chickens were only $1.09/lb there (obviously not the free range, antibiotic-free kind).  We're thinking home made dumplings next week?

   

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Day_1_dinner.zip (89 KB)

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