Budget food/living

It actually wasnt that bad.

Weird that there're so many meat based recipes here - surely the one thing a person can do to make meals cheaper is to cut the meat out. Besides which, the idea of buying the cheapest meat available is just a horrible idea - imagine the horrors which've gone into shaving every penny off that pound of lamb or whatever. Vile. Anyway, have a butternut squash is what I'm saying here.

I've been having a lot of baked potatoes lately, really diggin the whole different toppings idea :)

cut the meat out.

lol

Can't go wrong with Mujjadara (arabic lentil and rice stew)
1 pot, simple as fuck, filling and delicious.
Take onion, garlic and seven spice mix (can find in any 'ethnic' supermarket for about 50p for several servings- or just use cumin, paprika( or chili), coriander, pepper
Saute for a bit in oil over med temp.
Chuck in the lentils, chuck in some water (or stock) Boil, reduce heat, cover for 30. Add rice and cover again.
Eat and enjoy for the entire week as a side dish/ main course...

Or Maqluba:
you'll need aubergine, potato, tomatoes, corgettes, red peppers, rice, garlic and onions and the same spices as above.
Slice the aubergine and potato thinly as possible- enough to cover a wok when laid out as a sheet.
Sprinkle salt over the aubergine, leave for 30 mins or so and scrape off the excess water.
Fry the aubergines till golden in the wok. Set aside
Fry the potatoes now. Set aside.
Dice your tomatoes, corgettes and peppers, garlic and onion.
Fry the garlic, onion, corgette and peppers till soft, add spices and then the tomatoes (additionally here you can add some tomato paste- or just use a tin) cook till a nice pasta sauce consistency- and set aside.
(optionally you can drop the corgette and add in diced lamb or chicken).
Take the potatoes and make 1 layer all over the wok. Then a second layer with the aubergines. Then add your sauce mix (and meat). Then fill pan with rice, and pour on enough veg stock to cover the rice, and cover the work with some sort of improvised lid.
Cook till rice is done and no water remains, then a little longer.
Serve by turning the wok over onto whatever you can find, slice as cake and enjoy.

Glucasomine has worked for me though. Since I've been taking it it has made a difference, will continue taking it I'd have thought.

Since I've been taking it, I've done my shoulder and both my knees, my right wrist and left elbow hurt more than ever, so it's hard to tell :-).

Does glucosamine adversely affect your balance?

^^^ Thanks for this I made a pot of Mujadara that I have been living off of for the past few days. It turned out super good!

Before that I was living off of chili and 3 layer cornbread for a few days. I realize it is pretty americaner but chili and cornbread is a good combo. Regular cornbread is good too but 3 layer is better for leftovers I think.

Here is my mom's recipe from her hippy bread making book.

Three Layer Corn Bread:
1 c. corn meal,
1/2 c whole wheat flour,
1/2 c unbleached white flour,
2 t. baking powder.,
1/2 t. salt,
1 egg,
1/4-1/2 c. honey or sugar,
1/4 c. oil,
3 c. milk or buttermilk.
Combine wet ingredients in one bowl.
Combine dry ingredients in another bowl.
Mix all together.
Pour into buttered medium cast iron frying pan (or 9x9 oven proof pan).
Bake 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees until top is springy when gently touched.

yum!

Cheap buses to Europe here;

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/megabus-paris-amsterdam-brussels-boulonge-for-1-1163535

You can get to Paris for under £10!

I'm thinking of catching one just to Paris and cycle around during summer.

That's ace, overnight buses too so you won't even lose a day.

if you can hack it anyway

Oh for the chili: People probably make this tons of different ways. I made vegetarian with beans and tvp.

Cooking the kidney beans from dried beans:
1 poured beans on plate and threw away odd looking ones or any rocks.
2 soaked them for about 6 hours (if you do any more you should do it in the fridge so they don't ferment)
3 replaced water, added some onion, chopped carrots, toasted cumin seeds, and a pinch of "epazote" (a mexican herb that has a pleasant oregano-like taste and supposedly helps if you are prone to "bean discomfort")*, note: important not to add salt or acid before beans are cooked.
4 brought to a boil and then slowed to a simmer. left cooking for about an hour adding water as needed.

Cooking the flavorful stuff:
1 In a separate pot put in a healthy layer of vegetable oil and turn heat to medium-high
2 add 1 chopped onion, a few cloves of garlic, some cumin seeds. cook until onion is transparent
3 add chopped chipotle pepper(s) and some of the adobo sauce* (alternately some red pepper to taste) If you let them fry for too long your eyes will start to burn so best to quickly move to step 4
4 poor in 2 cups or so canned, chopped tomatoes or tomato puree.
5 Add in a couple of handfuls of tvp (textured vegetable protein [should be available from asian or hippy store])
6 If you like it you can add in a can of corn (maize?)
7 Add salt to taste
8 Turn down heat and let simmer for 15 or so minutes until tvp has expanded and is no longer hard when you chew it.

When the beans are ready take about half of them and add to the tomato mixture. check seasoning and add more salt if needed. cook for another few minutes to let flavors mingle etc. Eat with cornbread and maybe a scoop of plain yogurt and some green onions.

The unused beans can be poured into a ziplock cooking liquid and all and frozen (don't try until they have cooled down). They freeze pretty well and then you can make more chili later with not much effort.

• I found epazote and chipotle peppers in adobo cans at a weird spanish import store (i live in berlin) even though they are mexican. Epazote can be skipped if you want maybe just put in some oregano or a bay leaf, chipotle peppers are good in this but you can use any spicy peppers you want.
  

sounds good!

where is that store you speak of?

I'm about to bang out a stuffed mushroom extravaganza, it goes a little something like this...

Get some mushrooms, big sexy open ones, they're often on special at my supermarket, why not pop over sometime? No, sod off, they're my mushrooms...
Cut the stalk out and chop it into little tiny bits, fry it for a minute or so with some similarly chopped salami.
Wop some breadcrumbs, fresh herbs, salt and pepper and anything else you think might be nice into the frying pan, give it a shake and chill out for a mo, you deserve it.
Get the big old mushroom heads and slop the fried up mix into them, maybe chuck some grated cheese all over if you're feeling avant garde.
Bang those beauties in the oven for about 10 minutes, the mushrooms should be tender.

Guzzle wholeheartedly.

This seems like a good way of cooking food on a budget:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/mar/09/can-slow-cooking-change-lives

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/mar/09/can-slow-cooking-change-lives?INTCMP=SRCH

where is that store you speak of?

This place
Aqui España
Kantstraße 34
10625 Berlin, Germany
030 3123315

http://g.co/maps/keuvf

They also have masa flour, dried peppers (including ancho chilis sometimes), and some ok hot sauce and stuff.

that whole area has some rad things. dim sum, taiwanese noodles, a super good mitte meer and more.

Thanks!
The only chipotle-related stuff I've found so far is Chipotle-Tabasco.
It's good with chili, so I'm curious to try the real stuff!

Regarding TVP, try the stuff 'dm' sells -
it's cheap, 'bio', and size is perfect for chili!

I love the Tabasco Chipotle sauce, possibly even more than the classic version.

Cheap buses to Europe here;

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/megabus-paris-amsterdam-brussels-boulonge-for-1-1163535

You can get to Paris for under £10!

I'm thinking of catching one just to Paris and cycle around during summer.

That's ace, overnight buses too so you won't even lose a day.

if you can hack it anyway

Yep I'm still debating whether to book it up or not though. Damn cheap holiday though!

If my 4 years old daughter can survive 24 hours on a couch across Europe you can survive those 6 hours as well.

This seems like a good way of cooking food on a budget:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/mar/09/can-slow-cooking-change-lives

You can make one quite easily - they are necessarily quite large due to the amount of insulation that you need, so if you make a wooden one, you can also use it as a seat.

Just got twelve long-tailed lamb chops from the Algerian butchers/deli on Station Road in Brixton for a measly £8... Now marinating in lots of garlic, rosemary, chilli, olives, salt, pepper and olive oil... These will be going on the BBQ later... Nomnomnomnomnomnomnom!!!

Not eating this week. Saved some money for new wheels already.

http://www.unicef.org.uk/Fundraise/Community-Fundraising/live-below-the-line/

My (says tentatively) girl friend works for UNICEF and she's doing this living on a £1 a day thing.

Anyone tempted?

£5 for 5 days. No free stuff. No stock from your kitchen.

This seems like a good way of cooking food on a budget:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/mar/09/can-slow-cooking-change-lives

Google Solar cooking, even better !!!