Okra with Coriander & Tomatoes, Spanish Potatoes and Roasted Eggplant

• Fresh Tomatoes or Can of tomatoes $1.50
• 1 lb of Okra $2
• 2 onions >$1
• 2 tsp coriander seeds >$1
• 3 garlic cloves >$1
• honey
• 1 lemon >$1

Total – $4

Follow recipe on pg. 74 of “Mediterranean” I would make rice next time to have with the okra.

Spanish Potatoes

• 1 1/2 lb small potatoes ( I used both red and blue potatoes) $2
• olive oil, garlic cloves, crushed chilis ( I used chili pepper flakes), ground cumin, paprika
• 2 tbsp red or white wine vinegar

Total $2

Follow recipe on pg 83 of “Mediterranean”

Eggplant – $1.50 – Cut a small thin eggplant in half lengthwise, brush with olive oil and roast in oven

Total Meal – $8

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Fresh Fried Tortilla Chips

Why pay $3 for a bag of chips when you can make your own for less than $1

At the local bodega I bought 4 packs of tortillas for $1

Recipes online called for a lot of oil – I used a cast iron deep skillet and filled it a couple of inches with canola oil – (preheated the skillet before adding the oil and let the oil get hot)

I cut two packs of the tortillas into triangular pieces and seperated them from each other and then put a couple into the oil at a time – let them fry for around 30 seconds or more and then put them onto paper towels to soak up the oil. After I put the next batch in I would sprinkle some salt on the ones drying.

Black bean and corn salsa

• 1 can of organic black beans – $1
• 1 bag of frozen corn kernels – $ 2
• 1 lime – >$1
• some cilantro
• Roasted hot green pepper of some kind >$1
• Small onion >$1
• Salt and pepper

mix Total – $4 – Makes a large amount – great for dipping chips and a nice ballance to a hot salsa, might also be nice with fish or as a side dish

Thaw the frozen kernels. Mix 1/2 lime juice, onion, cilantro,peppers and then add corn and beans, add other 1/2 lime juice , mix, & adjust for taste – Chill until a little before ready to serve and let it come closer to room temp but it should still be cool.

Vegetarian Dirty Rice & Greens

Rice

• 1 cup of dry brown rice >$1
• olive oil
• 1 medium onion >$1
• 1 green pepper $1
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of Veggie Sausage ( I used Gimme Lean Sausage Style) $3
• 1 tsp hot sauce ( I used a scotch bonnet sauce)
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• cayenne pepper

Total $5
Follow Recipe on pg 232 of Vegan Planet

• In the future make the rice dish the day before the greens

Greens

• Bunch of greens (Collards, Chard, Kale) I used Kale this time – $3
• Olive oil
• 1 small onion >$1
• 1 Celery rib > $1
• 1/2 large green bell pepper $1
• 2 garlic cloves
• Can of diced tomatoes $1.50
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp file powder ( I didn’t have access to this so I used sage instead)
• cayenne

Total – $5

Follow pg. 202 in Vegan Planet

Total for Rice & Greens – $10 – lasts for several days for multiple servings – filling and healthy – tastes just as good when reheated

Almost Vegan Chocolate Chocolate chip Coconutty Cookies

• 2 cups unbleached All Purpose Flour – > $1
• 1/2 tsp baking soda >$1
• 1/2 tsp salt >$1
• 1 cup brown sugar >$1
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup >$1
• 1/ 2 cup of Cocunut Oil (Gives a definite coconut taste) use other type of oil if you don’t want the coconut >$1
• 2 Eggs ( the original recipe called for egg replacement about $1
• 1 tsp vanilla extract >$1
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips ( I used an organic baking chocolate bar) $2
• 3/4 cup of cocoa powder – used green and black organic cocoa – Could probably use more cocoa next time

TOTAL – about $3 –

Use the recipe on page 510 from “Vegan Planet” cookbook – I substituted the eggs for egg replacement and added the cocoa powder – the cookies came out a little dry and had a coconut taste since I used the coconut oil instead of reccommended corn oil – it made around 30 cookies – If I made them smaller I would have more.

Peanut Sauce Marinated Tofu

• Tofu Block – $2
• Peanut Butter – (had in fridge) >$1
• Garlic (had already) >$1
• Soy sauce (had already)
• Water
• Rice wine vinegar
• Asian chili paste
• honey
• Sesame Oil
• Peppers ( poblano this time) >$1

Total about $3

Combine all of the ingredients except for tofu to make a marinade and marinate the tofu in it for a while

Fry the marinated tofu with marinade

Serve with noodles and steamed bok choy and broccoli

Purchases at the Farmers Market

This weeks farmers market buys totaled $10

I bought:

• 1 bunch of swiss chard
• 6 assorted tomatoes
• 5 assorted onions
• 2 cucumbers
• okra

Light Mediterannean Grouper & Morrocan Eggplant rounds w/ dipping sauce & roasted fingerling potatoes & stringbeans

• Fresh Grouper 3/4 lb (from Dirks Fish & Gourmet Shop) – $15
• 1 small eggplant – $1
• Several fingerling potatoes $2
• Canned Artichokes – $2.50
• Fresh Stringbeans – $1
• lemon >$1
• garlic>$1
• olive tapendade (-in fridge) -$3
• Yogurt $2 ( had in fridge)

TOTAL – $25 for 2 servings with a little bit left over

• Make Marinade – Whisk together 2 artichoke hearts from a can, a little bit of the liquid from the can, 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped, half of a fresh lemon (juice), lots of thyme, olive oil, salt & pepper

• Marinate two fillets of fish in marinade for 1/2 hour
• Pre-heat oven to 425 with pan in oven while fish is marinating
• Put fillets in pan and put marinade on top of fish. In middle of two fish fillets on pan place one sliced shallot
• Top each fillet with a spoon full of olive tapenade

• Cook in oven on top rack for 10 minutes. Then put in broiler for 2-4 more minutes

Sides

Morrocan Eggplant Rounds

• Slice a small thin eggplant int round slices.
• Cover both sides with olive oil. Top with cinnamon
• Put in oven on bottom rack at same time as potatoes

Yogurt Dipping Sauce

• Three tbsp of yogurt – add cardomom, one scallion sliced, one to two cloves of garlic, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, salt and pepper and possibly some fresh ginger root

Roasted Potatoes

• Sliced circles of potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper, baked in oven on bottom rack, put in toward end of fish marinating.

String beans – sautee or steam

Jerk Seasoned Broiled Portabellas w/ Green Apple Salsa & Spinach w/ raisins & pumpkin seeds sprinkled with home made croutons

• 1 lb of portabella mushrooms (farmers market) $5

• Spices already had
• Bunch of spinach (farmers market) $2
• Pack of Roasted Pumpkin seeds – $1.29
• Tomatillo –
• Lime >$1
• Poblano pepper >$1
• Raisins already had

TOTAL (approx) $9 for about 2 servingsStart with the portabella mushrooms. Spread some olive oil on the portabella caps and then sprinkle them with jerk seasoning. ( I used the jerk seasoning recipe in the book ” “) Broil until a crust forms on the caps and they are cooked through.

I used the green apple salsa recipe from the same book but substituted poblano peppers for jalepenos and added tomatillos which added more tartness.

For the spinach I changed a recipe similar to this one but used roasted pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts since I didn’t have any pine nuts at hand.

Finally I took a couple of pieces of a loaf of hearty garlic bread and cut them into cubes and fried them in canola oil, sprinling a little salt on them when they were done.

Roasted Beets & Carrots – Pureed Green Pepper Quinoa

• Bunch of beets – $3
• Bunch of carrots – $2
• Shallots -< $1

Roasted Beets TOTAL (approx) $6

• Quinoa – < $1
• Green Pepper $1
• Onion < $1

Pureed Veggie Quinoa TOTAL $2

TOTAL MEAL – $8 For many many servings that last a couple of meals worth

• Wash beets and cut off the greens and very tip – cover in aluminum foil and heat in oven at 450
• Combine, carrots, shallots, olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in oven at same time as beets
• After both are roasted combine the beets and chop up in the carrot/shallot mixture

• Dry Roast 1 cup of Quinoa
• Saute selected veggies in olive oil
• Pour in 2/3 cup of water with Vegebase and assorted spices into sauteed veggies
• Boil then put on low heat for 15 minutes
• Puree in blender
• Put back on stovetop with a cup of water and vegebase and quinoa.Cook on low heat covered until quinoa soaks up the liquid