Still a big hole – now with a concrete porchy thing.
September 15, 2014
Still a big hole – now with a concrete porchy thing.
September 14, 2014
Huntress in Williamsburg.
Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of September 15 – 19
A number of people I know are completely flabbergasted when contemplating sticking to a budget while eating a primarily “paleo” diet. I’m hoping to shed a little light on that issue for those of you on the fence about eating healthfully in this manner – it *can* be done – and done well – without spending all the money. All it takes is a little planning.
A little background: I live in Brooklyn, NY, and the grocery prices here are definitely not the same as what you will find in other areas of the country. If you live in say, Raleigh NC for example – you may very well be able to cut this grocery bill by a third, depending upon where you shop. For where I live, where I shop and what I buy, $100 a week is a doable budget without having to sacrifice the quality I want too much. My DH thinks $130 is probably more realistic with our morning smoothie supplies, but I want to shoot for $100. I aim to make 4-5 dinners for two and 5 lunches per week, plus two smoothies per day six days of the week with my budgetary allowance and update you all weekly on what’s going on. Let’s see if I can make it.
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My CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares are going strong, so I will be doing things a little differently with the vegetable portion of my meal planning for the next few months (until October). My share averages out to $25 a week, which will come off the top of my budget allotment and will comprise the bulk of my non-smoothie-related vegetable purchases. If you’re curious to see how I use my CSA veggies up, check out my What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables posts.
Menu for Last Week (Week of September 8 – 12)
The Plan vs. Reality
This week’s meal planning was decent – I got corn in my CSA box again and decided to use it instead of waste it, even though corn isn’t paleo.
Monday
- The Plan – Collard wraps with shredded balsamic beef, bell peppers and carrots
- Reality – This worked really well. I can’t wait to get more collards in the CSA box – this needs to be repeated!
Tuesday
- The Plan – Shredded balsamic beef with corn/green pepper/feta salad
- Reality – Yum. This was a great meal. I added jalapeno for some extra spice and roasted all the peppers on my gas range. Delicious.
Wednesday
- The Plan – Bunless burgers with corn on the cob and herbed butter
- Reality – I ditched the fancy butter and this meal was delicious.
Thursday
- The Plan – Stuffed peppers with kale and roasted tomatoes if I get enough peppers in the CSA box
- Reality – I ended up going another direction. Had leftover shredded balsamic beef with a warm corn/pepper/leek/balsamic vinegar salad instead.
Friday
- The Plan – Eat out.
- Reality – This happened.
Lunches
- The Plan – Leftovers.
- Reality – Had a bunch of leftovers + days of chicken with tomatoes and peaches.
Extras
- The Plan – Nothing planned but almond milk.
- Reality – The almond milk turned out awesome. More on that soon!
This Week: September 15 – 19
I have leftover CSA veggies this week and $75 to spend on groceries.
This Week’s Proposed Menu
- Monday: Steaks with corn on the cob
- Tuesday: Stuffed peppers with sausage, roasted tomatoes, eggplant & kale
- Wednesday: Corn and goat cheese stuffed peppers with ???
- Thursday: Eggplant fries with ???
- Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
- Lunch: Leftovers.
- Extras: None planned.
Shopping List & Cost Breakout
Grocery Store Key: TJ = Trader Joe’s, O = Optional if budget allows
Shopping List
Steaks (flank steak – $12.95 @ TJs)
2 other meats (chicken thighs – $7.29 @ TJs + uncured hot dogs – $4.99 @ TJs)
goat cheese ($2.49 @ TJs)
coffee ($4.99 @ TJs)
2 other meats (chicken thighs – $7.29 @ TJs + uncured hot dogs – $4.99 @ TJs)
goat cheese ($2.49 @ TJs)
coffee ($4.99 @ TJs)
Smoothie supplies
2 bags kale ($2.29 x 2 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach ($1.99 @ TJs)
4 apples ($3.16 @ TJs)
Limes (1 lb $1.69 @ TJs)
3 avocados ($4.17 @ TJs)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ TJs)
Ginger ($1.39 @ TJs)
Extras: peanut butter dog biscuits ($3.49 @ TJs), sauerkraut ($3.99 @ TJs), thai chile almonds ($5.99 @ TJs)
I also ran into a sale at Whole Foods on grass fed beef for $5 a pound – I picked up 4 lbs. and plan to break that out over the next few weeks. Win!
Total TJ: $67.16
Total WF: $20.31
Total For The Week: $75.00; $0.00 under budget. I *was* $8.84 under budget this week, but I’m going to count some of that beef surplus toward this week’s budget. I think I’m safely recuperated from the week I went over with party supplies last month; plugging the partial cost of the beef in this week will leave me a little wiggle room for later in the month. Plus, now I have extra ground beef + the Italian sausage I still haven’t used in my freezer store. Whoo hoo!
Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, CSA veggies, Italian sausage, ground beef.
Charred Corn & Leek Salad with Carrot Top Pesto
Mmmmmm….. summer CSA corn. It’s not paleo, but damn is it ever good. And we’ve been swimming in it at our house – the best ears we’ve had in years, too. North Carolina Silver Queen, eat your heart out.
This salad is nutty and sweet from the toasting the corn gets and savory from the leeks – with a nice hit of smokiness from bacon and a side of carrot top pesto (waste not, want not) to round out the herbaceous notes.
Gluten-free
Charred Corn & Leek Salad with Carrot Top Pesto
2 ears corn
3 leeks
Coconut oil
2 Tbsp. carrot top pesto (see recipe below)
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground chipotle powder
2 slices thick bacon
First, char your veggies. Set your broiler to High, cover a cookie sheet with tinfoil and prep your veg. Shuck the corn and halve the leeks lengthwise (don’t forget to rinse). Brush with coconut oil and broil until charred on all sides – the leeks will be done first.
While the veggies are caramelizing, chop the bacon and fry. Drain and move to a large bowl. Add the vinegar, cumin, and chipotle. When the leeks and corn are browned to your liking, remove from the broiler and let cool a bit. Chop the leeks and add to the bowl. Remove the corn kernels (I shave off one side, flip onto the flat side and chop down the side of the ear as close to the cob as possible) and add to the bowl. Toss. Add the pesto, toss and taste for seasoning.
Serves 2 as a side dish if you use smallish corn and leeks.
Carrot Top Pesto
1 small bunch carrot tops (about 1/2 c.)
Olive oil
3 Tablespoons parmesan (optional)
1.5 tsp. citrus juice (I used lime)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper
Add the carrot tops, parmesan, red pepper flakes and a generous pinch salt and pepper to the bowl of a food processor. Process until broken down. Add olive oil in a stream while the machine is running until you get the consistency you want. Add the lime juice and give another couple whizzes. Taste for seasoning and add more if necessary.
Makes enough to double the salad recipe.
September 13, 2014
Hard-won beach shot in the cold and the rain. At Rockaway Beach, Queens.
September 12, 2014
Early pumpkins
September 11, 2014
This is his ‘I’m so damn cute you should totally share half your snack with me’ face.
I’m a sucker and it worked.
September 10, 2014
Little dog, big stripes.
What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables: Paisley Farm Box 14
This year’s CSA is from Paisley Farm, a 25-acre operation located in Tivoli, NY. Paisley Farm grows organically and plants with the chef in mind. The 22-week CSA runs from June – October and I purchased the standard vegetable share. This share includes 8-9 vegetables and herbs per week (8-12 pounds) – enough to provide a family of three with 3-4 dinners’ worth of veg. The price equals out to $25 per week, the cost of which will be accounted for in my weekly Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking posts.
Paisley Farm 2014 CSA Box 14
6 bell peppers
6 ears corn
1 bunch collards
A bunch of Japanese eggplant
5 heirloom tomatoes
1 pint sungold cherry tomatoes
1 head lettuce
3 yellow cucumbers
2 slicing cucumbers
6 bonus peaches
Leftover From Previous Weeks
Japanese Eggplants
Bell Peppers
Heirloom Tomatoes
Corn
Romaine Lettuce
Kale
Carrots
Zucchini
How I Used My Share
I roasted the eggplant for use here and there tucked into recipes where I want a little body and can hide the texture from the hubbs.
I roasted most of the tomatoes so they wouldn’t spoil. If I don’t use them in dinners, I’ll end up snacking on them.
I froze a crapton of peppers for use later.
I used the leftover zucchini in lunch one day to beef it up, along with half the collards.
I used a pepper, some broiled eggplant and some of the carrot in an asian-inspired ground turkey bowl.
I made a charred corn and leek salad with carrot top pesto, which I served with broiled pork belly.
I made “burrito” wraps out of the rest of the collards and stuffed them with slow cooker beef, bell pepper and carrots.
I made another salady thing with raw corn and roasted peppers to serve with slow cooker beef for dinner.
And I served corn on the cob with burgers and a tomato butter another night.
I also ate peaches and sungold tomatoes out of hand for snacks.
Waste: 1 head lettuce, 1 tomato.
My Favorite Dish From This Box
Hmmm… either the collard wraps or the charred corn and leek salad. Both were delicious.
Next Week
Going into next week, I have: a couple small carrots, some peaches, 1 ancient bunch kale, 2 ears of corn, roasted tomatoes, roasted eggplant, 1 fresh bell pepper, bunches of frozen bell pepper, 2 big slicing cucumbers, and 3 yellow cucumbers.
September 9, 2014
Hill climbs in accordance with my mini trainer’s munchkiny four-legged whims.
Gastography 