THREE NEW RECIPES

Can you tell I'm on vacation. Add to the fact that hubby is sick, and it's a darned near miracle that I tackled them all (as well as taking our son out and about for 3 hours to give my hubby some rest).

So, I bought this book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I'd tried the no-knead bread recipes out there from the same folks, and even a version from Cook's Illustrated. Pretty good stuff. But now I have a pizza stone and peel, and I do love my bread. On my recent vacation, I picked up a copy of Mother Earth News, and there they were again...a few of the recipes from the new book. And I decided to try the Anadama Bread because my spouse used to have a bread machine recipe for it that we LOVED. (Alas, the bread machine died after about 12 years, and it turns out...recipes don't translate between manufacturers.)

So the bread recipe is here, and we still have three loaves' worth of dough in the refrigerator. This stuff is good!

Anadama corn bread

1 1/2 cups corn meal: 0.38

1/4 cup wheat germ: 0.80

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour: 0.69

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour: 0.62

1 Tbsp kosher salt

1/4 cup vital wheat gluten: 0.55

3 1/2 cups lukewarm water: $0

1/2 cup molasses: 1.00

Total: $4.04 for enough dough for four 1-lb loaves, or $1.01 per loaf.

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So, I also signed up for a series of emails for the vegan 21-day kickstart challenge. No, I'm not vegan, and I'm not likely to become one. But I do like looking at and trying the recipes. Today's recipe is here, and is a deliciously sweet soup. I slightly adapted it.

Vegan Carrot and Roasted Pepper Soup

1 Tbsp canola oil: 0.03

1 onion: 0.28

6-7 carrots, peeled and diced (about 1/2 lb): 0.35

1/3 jar of roasted red peppers, diced: 1.16

2 cups water

1 cube vegan vegetable bouillon: 0.37

2 cups unflavored soy milk: 1.25

juice of 1/2 lemon: 0.18

2 tsp balsamic vinegar: 0.15

pepper to taste

Total: $3.77 for four servings (1.5 cups each), or $0.94 per serving.

Saute onion in oil in a pot until soft. Add carrots and saute a bit more. Add water and bouillon cube. Cook 20 mins or until carrot is soft. Add peppers and heat through.

Add soy milk. Puree using immersion blender (or a real blender if you don't have an immersion blender). Add lemon juice, vinegar, and pepper.

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I found this last recipe in Martha Stewart Living. You know, grabbing a couple of magazines before getting on the train, and it beats Glamour. I have, of course, adjusted it a bit.

Quinoa with Mushrooms and Chard

1 cup quinoa: 0.94

2 cups water

1 Tbsp olive oil: 0.11

Handful of chard from the garden: $0

10 oz bag sliced cremini mushrooms: 2.29

2 cloves garlic, pressed: $0.10

1 Tbsp fresh minced parsley: 0

pinch dried thyme: 0.05

salt and pepper to taste

Total: $3.49 for about 5 cups, or $0.70 per cup.

Place quinoa in a strainer and set in a bowl. Cover with water and let sit a few minutes. Lift out strainer and pour water (it will look cloudy). Repeat. This gets the bitterness out of the quinoa.

Bring water to boil in a pot. Add quinoa, return to boiling. Add quinoa, reduce heat, cover, and cook about 15 minutes, or until rings around quinoa start coming away from grains. At this point, there might be extra water, so I cook uncovered until it dries out.

Saute diced chard in 1 tsp oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove to bowl.

Add 2 more tsp oil to nonstick skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 min. Add salt and pepper to taste and pressed garlic. Continue to cook and stir about one minute. Add dried thyme and fresh parsley.

Add cooked quinoa and stir. Serve with chard on top.

I also put some parmesan on top. It needs a bit of something. For the leftovers, I'll likely add some olives or sun-dried tomatoes. Maybe some cooked chickpeas.