Junk food, and the salvation of Turkey Jook (a.k.a., rice porridge, xifan, congee, juk, okayu)

Question: is it wise to eat pizza, chocolate-covered rice crispy bars, spicy blue corn chips and other junk food exemplars for days and days on end…even if you feel like being lazy? Answer: No! My concern for all I’ve ingested leads me to attempt some salvation. Traditionally restorative, I am hoping that six thousand years [...]

When the stars make you drool just like Pasta Fazool, that’s Amore…(about $.50 per serving)

Sometimes slow cookers can help you become magical – in two places at once. Yes, you can be hard at work in the kitchen and relaxing elsewhere, at the very same time. (mea culpa, no pix for this post.)
Pasta Fazool (Pasta e Fagioli)

3lbs of Swanson’s Lower Sodium chicken stock ($2.75);
1 lb dry kidney beans, soaked [...]

maximally lazy and frugal version of feijoada (under $0.25 per serving) // Year of the Boar post #2

The national dish of Brazil. The gourmet’s answer to those complaining about their burdensome student loans. The ultimate in comfort food. Feijoada. Oh, and to serve it? With steamed white rice*, and quickly-sauteed collards – and toasted farofa (cassava flour) if you have it. This simple prep gives you a creamy dish, full of flavor [...]

ain’t your mama’s Toor Dal: recipe & notes

(repost b/c of accidental deletion; first posted on 1/31/07)
One of my friends cooked me his toor dal. I was concerned that he simply stuck in some veggies into the toor dal without saute-ing or blanching those first, causing some texture issues. He told me it wasn’t as good as his mom’s, and he was just [...]

Madras Chicken Curry in the Tundra for less than $1.00: even better than it sounds

In the tundra, what better dinner could you have than piping hot chicken curry? Yesterday, there was a sale at the supermarket – I got about 3lbs of chicken drumsticks for $2.62 (or, 88 cents/lb). Fabulous price. Yes, I know, I know, Costco sells chicken thighs for 89 cents per lb…living in the land of [...]