Fancy apple chips: $1

You may have seen packages of these at your local upscale grocery store for anywhere from $3-$6, but did you know that with just 10 minutes of labor and a food dehydrator, you can make two bags’ worth for a buck? They’re sweet, they’re crunchy, they’ve got no added sugar or preservatives, and you can make them year round. They also keep well for vacuum sealing, and are a great holiday-season hostess gift when packed in a cellophane bag with a nice ribbon. Read on for the secret that makes them so inexpensive.

 

Roasted-tomato topping for pasta, bread or polenta: 39 cents/serving

Apologies for the late post, but I have officially entered into the late stage of pregnancy where standing on my feet, at the counter, for long periods of time has gotten almost unbearably difficult. I’m still cooking, mind you, but it’s more in the vein of throwing things together based on the garden and pantry and hoping they cohere enough to be edible before I have to go sit down. The resulting “recipes,” if I remember them at all, are rarely innovative or tested enough to warrant inclusion on the blog. The last thing I made that would be worth your time and trouble to re-create was this roasted tomato dish, utilizing what appears to have been the last big tomato harvest of the summer. It’s nothing fancy, just a big ol’ pile of heirlooms and a few handfuls of sun golds (or whatever tomatoes you have on hand), roasted in olive oil to concentrate their sweetness and topped with basil-garlic bread crumbs. I served it over pasta, but it would also be great over polenta or on bread as a sort of bruschetta.

How to make soup out of (just about) anything

Yes—it’s true! It probably took me a good six months into the $35 a Week project to realize this, but most soups don’t require a recipe. In fact, there exists an extremely simple formula that allows for a fabulous soup out of just about anything you’ve got left over in your crisper or pantry. Yes, I made the formula up, but I’ve probably tested it close to 50 times by now, and I can assure you it works. Consider it your ace in the hole for fall, on days where you think there’s nothing in the house to eat when there is, in all likelihood, an entire meal—with leftovers—just waiting to be called into action. All you need is an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of cooking oil, salt, and some broth. See below for the formula and some easy-to-make examples.

Panzanella: 18 cents/serving

With compliments to the Italians, panzanella is the original budget meal. The O.G. Sui generis. Some stale bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and tomatoes and basil from the garden, and you’ve got yourself dinner. Provided you made your own bread or are using a loaf that otherwise would’ve been thrown out (and have tomatoes and basil in your garden), it shouldn’t cost more than 25 cents or so a serving. And it’s still tasty even after it’s sat for a while, making it an excellent side or potluck dish.

Winter-squash soufflé: 73 cents/serving

Starting our winter squash in the greenhouse this year has paid off—a good bit of it is already ready to harvest. So far we’ve gotten a medium-sized green turk’s turban, a small acorn squash, an enormous hubbard squash, and a small white gourd of indeterminate origin. Given that more are on the way, I felt no compunction in roasting what we had, puréeing it, and freezing it to use as baby food*. I did, however, reserve about a cup’s worth to use in a soufflé, the flavors of which turned out to be a delicious fall preview. In fact, it’s a great catch-all recipe for any winter squash you may have and not know what to do with; no need to worry about texture or flavor, so long as it’s vaguely squashlike.

Mizuna pesto: $2.17/cup

Last week, we were gifted with a CSA (community-supported agriculture) box. One of B’s work colleagues runs the drop-off spot for this particular farm, and an unclaimed share was generously passed on to us under the (exceedingly correct) assumption it would be used and appreciated. As I’m sure comes as no surprise, I’ve never been part of a CSA before, but I can definitely see the appeal. The only downside with this box was that it was one of the “family” shares—intended for households with more than 2 people. Which meant we suddenly had a house full of summer squash, peaches, potatoes (on top of the ones we already have from our garden), dill, mizuna, green beans, wax beans (again, on top of the ones we’re already harvesting), carrots (again, more), and French crisp lettuce. The squash were no problem—immediately grated and frozen in bags for bread and muffins. A little bit of the mizuna went into BMTs—bacon-mizuna-tomato sandwiches, using heirloom tomatoes from our garden—but what do with the rest, other than insert it unceremoniously in a series of salads? Pesto, of course!

Tomato cobbler: 60 cents/serving

Regular readers of this site know I’m a big fan of savory baking. It’s efficient, it’s delicious, and if you happen eat it all, oh well—it’s dinner! I’ve been wanting to make this particular cobbler for a couple of years now, given that it calls for three pounds of cherry tomatoes. I certainly knew I wouldn’t be buying those tomatoes in the store, so I’d have to wait until a year I could grow them myself. As it so happens, this is the year. Our plants have been so fecund that harvesting three pounds of sun golds only took a couple of days. If you yourself have a surplus of cherry tomatoes, or don’t mind going out and buying them, this is perhaps one of the best places for them to end up. Oven roasting brings out a sweet tartness that contrasts with the topping of rich, creamy cheese biscuits, and, provided you grew your own tomatoes, the whole thing costs less than $4 to make.

Potato “galette”: 11 cents/serving

Last week, when I solicited suggestions for what to do with all these potatoes we pulled up out of the yard, someone suggested a potato galette. Which I thought was a splendid idea—not only would it use up a ton, but it would display their pretty pink and purple insides. Now, this suggestion was probably intended for someone patient enough not only to layer each slice of potato in an attractive manner, but carefully flip the galette over when it came time to do so. I am so not that person, especially when it comes to the “carefully flip” part. It was just B. and I, so why risk a mess and the whole thing sticking to the pan? So this is what we have here. I’m posting it anyway because it’s still delicious—the top potato-chip-crisp, the middle buttery and soft—cheap, and vegetarian, and you’ll probably do a much better job than I did. In fact, I’m including the link for you to see what it’s supposed to look like. (We paired it with other salad fixin’s from the garden and a quick balsamic vinaigrette.)

Baked rice with currants and chickpeas: 77 cents/serving

Every now and then I like to go through the cupboards and challenge myself to use up the various little baggies of bulk odds and ends I’ve accumulated over time. Sometimes the yield can get a little random, as was the case in the most recent cleanout: half a box of currants from whole-grained stuffed cabbage rolls and a little baggie of dried chickpeas from creamy farro & chickpea soup. Thankfully I remembered seeing this recipe in Claudia Roden’s The Food of Spain; it’s sort of a vegan/vegetarian paella, which of course is up my alley given that I don’t like seafood; it makes a ton, which is perfect for lunches for the week; it looks cool coming out of the oven; and it’s truly delicious—currants and garlic are not something I would’ve thought to pair, but now that I’ve tried it I can’t believe it’s not used more often.

Gemelli with sungold tomatoes, beans & olives: 63 cents/serving

We had our first harvest of sungold tomatoes this week, and as difficult as it was for me to refrain from eating them right off the plant (although I admit there may have been a few that “fell”), I managed to accumulate enough to make this pasta dish. It’s a light, quick, cheap, and filling warm-weather meal, especially with the beans, and it can, of course, be made with any variety of cherry or grape tomato. I also used fresh oregano, but I didn’t like it all that much with the olives, so I’m recommending you use basil.