THE CAULIFLOWER CRISIS (WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON FOOD IN 2016)

THE CAULIFLOWER CRISIS

It's not much fun beginning the new year with a post on the high and ever-higher (read: daily) increases in the cost of food, but the fact that Canadians are facing fifteen to twenty per cent increases to the most necessary of expenses means that every idea is worth sharing (and I encourage everyone to add their own ideas to this post and thank you in advance for what I know will be some wonderful suggestions). 

   Here is the beginning of what I hope will be a long list of helpful hints to take the sting out of that grocery bill:


1.  SEEING IS BELIEVING
Don't presume organics or store prept produce are more expensive respectively.  There was a time when this was generally true but lately I've noticed it is not always the rule.  At Sobey's on the Avenue last week the organic peppers were less than the regular green peppers and a box of at least a bunch and a half of shallots/green onions, washed and chopped up in store, were $1.08 versus a skinny, loose bunch that was $1.49.

2.  CALL A SPADE A SHOVEL
A rutabaga works where a turnip does and a yam where a sweet potato will.  Trade a lemon for a lime and vice versa.  Dandelion can stand in for swiss chard or any bitter (ish) greens.  Combine your berries.  You get the idea.

3.  THE CON OF CANCON
Yes, it's great to buy Canadian and even better to buy local, but I am not willing (or able) to pay $4.99 lb for tomatoes when the same variety from Mexico is $2.99.  Instead, it may be better for the wallet and the future to buy the Mexican tomato and to use the money saved to buy a stamp, support my local postal workers and let my MP know that it's not acceptable that local food is often more expensive. 

4.  MARRY ME
My fave Tiki Masala (recipe is on this blog) has a combination of nut milks because sometimes the coconut milk is just to rich for my purse (as well as the tummy and waistline) - so improvise.  Last week low cal and super nutritious cashew milk was on sale here.  It works wonderfully as a stand in for the other nuts.  Mix and match (and dilute a little with water, too).  I do this with everything.

5.  DON'T BUY THE COW WHEN YOU'RE GETTING THE MILK FOR FREE
My grandmother, Clara Martin, used to say this.  She wasn't talking about food, she was talking about...well, I'm sure you get it.  The thing is that we routinely get sold a bill of goods in the supermarkets and larger grocers.  Vegetable broth is a great example.  I make veggie broth every day - naturally - when I cook my veggies so I save it up, bag it and mark on the zip-locks the type of veg and the number of cups therein.  Then I lay the closed bags in the freezer and freeze them in the shape of books so that I have a section of my freezer devoted to bases for soups, stews, curries etc.  Easy.  Low Cal.  No MSG.  And free.

6.  EAT/DRINK FROM THE NECTAR OF THE GODS
Likewise, re 5., save all those lovely juices from slicing fruits and fruit salads and so on.  They are wonderful, natural, low cal and healthy sweeteners for baking and smoothies and all sorts of things.

7.  SOUP FOR YOU!
Mom spooned it in our direction regularly for very good reason.  Soups are easy, super economic, healthy and creative (which means "fun").  Plus they save/eliminate food waste and make delicious body warming soul foods (including in the summertime, when they cool your core temp, and at breakfast, when  they fill your body with nutrients that start your day strong and satisfied).  In short, there is never enough soup (and all of the above are why the "cool" people stand in ques in Toronto, Montreal etc on their lunch hours waiting for all they need to be powerful, healthy and beautiful in a single bowl - soup is the "hottest" lunch break food in North America now, for great reasons!)

8.  CHEWING YOUR CUD
Cows do it and we should, too.  It sounds a bit crazy but not only for your health and waistline but for the wallet we should be chewing every bite of food as close to thirty times as possible.  Yup.  Our teeth and saliva are there for very good reason.  They work to trigger the digestive enzymes that get things moving through the body/digestive tract, allowing our bodies to really take what they need re nutrients and to get rid of what is not needed properly.  And because taste is experienced toward the back of the tongue, proper chewing permits longer/sustained enjoyment of food without overeating, and naturally eating less and well saves money! 

9.  GROWLING NEVER MAKES LIFE BETTER.  EVER.
We all know it but it bears repeating:  never, I mean never, shop when your tummy is growling/you are hungry.  It is a guarantee of spending more money than you mean to by purchasing impulsively.  The eyes are indeed bigger than the tummy.  Sort of.

10.  TRAVEL WITH THE PROPER DOCUMENTS
Always take a list.  (As well as your recycled bags.)  Sometimes I take the actual recipe or even recipe book, too.  The weight - literally and figuratively - causes me to re-think purchases that are really only indulgences and that I more than likely cannot afford and don't want to lug home.

11.  NAUGHTY AND NICE
Write down, every day, what you buy.  I do it for food and for everything else, too.  It doesn't take long before the lists begin to highlight the naughty spends and the nice ones as well.

12.  BUYING BULK MAY LEAVE YOU LIVING IN A BARN
Buying bulk can definitely be cheaper - sometimes! - but for starters and to the point that this is not always true, the local Bulk Barn in Charlottetown, PE puts its prices in pounds in large print and the metric pricing is much smaller, often not noticeable on the signs. What seems a deal for our neighbours to the south is not a deal in Canada, where we pay based on kilograms etc.  The other danger of bulk stores are the colourful bins that seem more like a painting than a grocery supply.  Yes, the rows and rows of bins of jelly beans and yummy cashews are enticing and conjur up the comforts of a snowy evening by a fire with a bottle of wine and unlimited snacks - but all that stuff adds up to pricy extras to your grocery bill.  It is almost impossible to walk out of a bulk store with only the essentials and only the necessities of your grocery list.  While none of us wants to support the plethora of extra packaging found in big stores, when I tested it over three months bulk buying added a whopping twenty per cent to my grocery bill!  Venture there with caution!

13. THERE'S NO FREE LUNCH
Sobey's gives double airmiles on a lot of products if you buy two, five or even ten of the same item.  That's often not a good thing.  Sometimes the base price is higher, of course.  But also these are not necessarily things I plan on buying multiples of.  Better to put the loonies and toonies in a jar for that trip.  Ditto for the Superstores and the BOGO promotions.

14.  KIDS EAT FREE
They don't, really, but smaller portions are what we all need.  My mom used to feed five kids sandwiches (plus soup, milk and a dessert/piece of fruit etc) with one tin of tuna back in the 1970's.  She mixed it with mayo and celery etc and our sandwiches were not all four inches high but they were nutritious and delicious.  While I am now a vegan, the principle still applies.  Today we think of a tin of tuna as a single portion.  It is not.  Feed the child inside you.  Save money.  Be healthier.

15.  LIFE IS A BOWL OF CHERRIES - IN SEASON
We all know this.  But there are things that look so good and are so tempting, especially during a Canadian winter.  The way to solve these cravings (and save money)?  Put summer fruits up in jars, preserves, freer etc so that you have those sunny  tastes when you need 'em most.

16.  STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
The big bucks products, the processed foods, the packaged foods, these are all in the middle of the big stores.  Stay out of the middle.  What we need most - all those gorgeous fruits and veggies are out the outer aisles of the stores.  

17.  TAKE A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD
Can't afford $4.49 for celery?  Me, either.  But my local Chinese grocer has fabulous, crunchy, fresh bok choy  for $1.79 a bunch.  It 's a great stand-in for celery and absolutely gourmet sauteed for just a minute or two and topped with a little umeboshi vinegar and fresh black pepper.  Experiment with the culinary wonders of your neighbourhood (nb, I buy all my nut butters, beans, legumes and flatbreads at the Lebanese grocers in my PEI neighbourhood for truly a small fraction of what Sobey's and the Superstore charge).

18.  THINK OUTSIDE THE LUNCH BOX
Your kids don't benefit from expensive processed foods and boring old sandwiches either.  I'll write a blog soon on just this, but do be creative.  And listen to your kids!  They know new things!

19.  ONE FOR THE BUDDHA
Almost everything I could, from soups to stews, curries to cupcakes, borscht to bean burgers - I always leave a little on my plate.  Not as waste, but "for the Buddha".  Eat a little less.  Feel better.  Save money.

20.  IN A NUTSHELL
....and together with beans and legumes, these are the healthy fats and proteins that will save you a tonne of money in 2016.  Plus, if you want to, you can easily lose weight eating these foods. 

More to come....

These beautiful "jewel" beets were a couple of dollars 

from my local/The Charlottetown Farmer's Market 

and were absolutely delicious.  

I took the photo as the basis of/for 

a painting coming in 2016.

-30-

TIKKA MASALA

I promised the beautiful, Mag, a recent convert to vegan life, that I'd post this today, so here it is.  A fabulous masala - as much "treat" as "tikka", it has the wonderful texture and layered flavours that makes you feel like you're getting away with something:  it is that good.  And this is a recipe that goes a long way (you could freeze some for another meal).  Serve it over roasted tofu, seitan or steamed or roasted veggies (chick peas, potatoes, cauliflower, parsnips, carrots, snow peas and eggplant are especially good!). With a side of fresh greens and maybe a bowl of jasmine rice or rustic bread for dipping, this is a true meal and another of those recipes that is hard to resist when seconds are offered.  Warm and comforting, it is also very pretty on a cold winter's night.

1/4 c olive oil

1 large white onion, chopped

1/2-one green pepper, chopped 

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (remember to wash your hands after handling!)

1 heaping tbsp of fennel seeds

3-4 minced cloves of garlic

1 inch of minced ginger (about a heaping tbsp)

1 tsp sea salt

1 heaping tbsp coriander

1 heaping tbsp med curry powder

2 cups cashew milk

1 cup of almond or coconut milk

1, 28oz can crushed tomatoes 

2 tbsp gf all-purpose flour (or rice or spelt flour) - mixed w/ 1/2 hot water, to thicken

2 tbsp lemon or lime juice

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed large skillet and saute onion until just translucent.  Add the peppers, seeds, garlic, ginger, salt, coriander and curry powder and mix well. Let simmer for five minutes or so on medium and then raise the heat to high.  When beginning to boil whisk in the flour/water mixture and reduce the heat.  Cook another five minutes or so to mix in the flour and thicken, avoiding any lumps.  Stir in the lemon juice and simmer for about 20 minutes or so.  Spoon over your veggies and/or tofu and/or grilled seitan.  Be generous! - You'll want sauce at the end to scoop up with bread! 

Namaste ~

"Tikka Masala" by Suzanne O'Callaghan

(antique, hand-painted German vase/pot, Charlottetown Farmer's Market)

WHY GO VEGAN?

Why Go Vegan?

Why go vegan? Well! I am glad I asked! - because I did, often, especially in the years when I was a vegetarian. I kind of figured that I had won the battle, whatever that was, and that the vegan "thing" was just a teensy bit too hard, complicated, and impractical for a busy mom person etc. I was wrong. The fact is that food can - and does - completely change the way we look, feel and think about ourselves, those we care for and the world. A vegan diet will, not surprisingly, cause you to lose the extra weight you may be lugging around, but it will do an awful lot more than that - and that, my friends, includes science that unequivocally proves a vegan diet can reverse (yes!, I said reverse) health problems from depression to Type II Diabetes, to heart disease to various digestive issues. If you simply want to lose weight, a vegan diet let's you do that without the horrible deprivation that is not eating and which accompanies every other sort of "diet". But there's so very, very much more to this. As your newly vibrant complexion will attest, pretty soon after embarking on a plant-based diet your moods will be sunnier (and more even). Pre-menstrual, peri-menopausal and menopausal symptoms lesson and even stop all together. Headaches no longer flare up and joint pains no longer meet your morning smile - you will leap out of bed to meet the day if you want to! You're going to feel mentally clearer, too (someone accused me of being "good at math" yesterday! That is a miracle ;-). You'll have more energy. Your sleep will improve. Everything in terms of your body's functions will simply work better. And yet despite all that wonderful and important stuff, here's the bit that I like the best: going vegan isn't just proving that Aristotle was correct when he asserted that the cure for every ailment lay in food (he was), but going vegan has proven to be a way of living that has put me in touch with my one and only life in ways that I never thought possible. I feel and am closer to this beautiful planet and the creatures with whom we share it. I am not diminishing or touting a cure-all for the gazillion problems of the world in which we live - but we change everything by small, simple, kind acts. I have known days of hiding in a hot bath with a tub of Hagendaz and a big glass of red wine, too. But that never had long-lasting effects for me. It didn't make me feel more loving, powerful or in control of my life; it didn't make me more sensitive to the things that matter most to me - my beautiful sons, my art, family and friends, love, nature, me! My body felt separate from me and I felt separate from everything and everyone - just a little sometimes, but separate. There was a level of compassion and wisdom inside me that I just didn't know was available and waiting... A vegan diet grows the love inside you to fill the space heaviness and distance from yourself once occupied. It's also fun, interesting, connects you to local foods and growers, and your neighbours! Vegan food is not complicated, difficult or expensive. It's actually easier and less expensive than eating meat (and fish). The gals at The Veganomicon in NYC refer to vegan eating as a "culinary whippersnapper" because it "draws influences from every part of the world to create an entirely new way to eat". I promise, you're not being led by yummy sourdough breadcrumbs to the proverbial gingerbread house only to find yourself caged in some crazy complicated culinary madness! The thing about going vegan is that whether you don't particularly like cooking or you really do, you're going to be just fine (and full and happy and yes, there's even vegan ice-cream for the bath-after-the-break-up event and I'll share how to make that, too, before the holidays). So go ahead. Find out what the biggest trend in the Western world is all about, and what people of many other ancient cultures already know. Whether you go "cold turkey" or you begin by replacing a few meals with vegan offerings, you'll feel and look better - in every way. And that's a promise!

 Suzanne 

'

SUZANNE O'CALLAGHAN

"WAITING"

acrylic on gallery canvas

76.2 x 101.6 (30"x40")

ROMAN HOLIDAY SOUP (A vegan take on the traditional pasta and bean soup!)

ROMAN HOLIDAY SOUP

Comforting and delicious, this is what I worked on this weekend while making a painting of a rural farmhouse (image follows) on PE Island.  This soup is based on the traditional pasta and bean soups you find in stone cottage kitchens north of Rome. I served it with a rustic olive bread fresh from the Charlottetown Farmer's Market (with generous dollops of Earth Balance - vegan butter - and hummus).  It was beyond spectacular.  The red lentils are my new soup friend:  they thicken the soup right up and add even more great protein (so you can indulge in those bread carbs almost guilt-free because the proteins burn them right up!).  We're in the midst of a first snowfall today and the left-overs from this new gem are on the menu tonight!

2 med white cooking onions, chopped

6 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1 (heaping) tsp dried oregano

1 (heaping) tsp dried basil

1-2 tsp dried red chilis

28 oz tin crushed tomatoes

small/6oz tin tomato paste

7 cups of water

 3 small/5 large bay leaves

14 oz tin red kidney beans

19 oz tin white kidney beans

1.5-2 tsp sea salt/to taste

3/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup split red lentils, washed

1 cup favourite pasta 

Italian flat leaf parsley and/or fresh basil for garnish

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot until the onions become transparent - about five minutes.  Stir in the oregano, basil and chilis.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, the water and bay leaves and cook on medium high for five minutes.  Add the beans and stir to mix up well..
(Feel free to substitute and/or add navy beans, chick peas, black eyed peas, fava beans! - they are all delicious and good for you.  Use your favourite combination.  The idea is to go heavier on the protein-rich beans than the pasta and still have the wonderful 'comfort' of the combination of beans and pasta.  If you're using dried beans be sure to soak them over night and add another half hour to the cooking before adding the pasta.)  Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer, cover and cook about 15 minutes, allowing the flavours to blend.  Stir in the red lentils and salt and pepper.  Simmer gently, covered, until the lentils are mushy and kind of disappear into the pink/red goodness of the sauce-y base, about 25 minutes.  About ten minutes before serving add the pasta so that it remains al dente!

Buon appetito!

ROMAN HOLIDAY by SUZANNE O'CALLAGHAN

(Pottery courtesy/with thanks to "The People's Potter", Carl Phillis)

SUZANNE O'CALLAGHAN

"THE HUMBLE OF WINTER"

acrylic on gallery canvas

30.48 cm x 40.64 (12"x16")

2015

COMPLEX CREAMY CARROT SOUP - THE BEST!!!! (Super Easy!)

This is a super elegant (and very beautiful looking) carrot soup that's creamy and complex, boasting layers of flavourful goodness and unlike most 'cream' soups it has a so important protein. It's also really easy to make! This is one of my own inventions and currently my favourite soup, too! Guaranteed to impress even the most discerning of guests, it's hearty enough to be a main, sprinkled with roasted organic pumpkin seeds and accompanied by a rustic bread spread with Earth Balance or tahini/a nut butter and a fresh green salad. And, while it is certainly rich enough to be a perfect menu item for friends in the US celebrating Thanksgiving this coming weekend or any special occasion, I made it last Friday night just "because". It is comfort food to the max. (Photos to come!)

The ingredients/shopping list

1 large white onion,chopped 

2 tbsp light olive or sesame oil 

1 inch of chopped ginger 

3 cloves of garlic, chopped to a mince 

7 large carrots, chopped 

7 cups of water 

1 tsp cumin 

2 tsp sea salt 

1/2 tsp tumeric 

1 tsp garam masala 

1 cup split red lentils 

Saute the onion in the oil until the onion is just turning transparent and soft in a large, heavy bottomed soup pot. Add the garlic and saute half a minute longer. Add the ginger and saute another half a minute and then add the spices. Stir to mix and add the water and carrots. Bring to a boil and then drop the heat to a low simmer and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes or until a little tender. Stir in the the red lentils. Simmer covered 35-40 minutes, until the lentils have become mushy. Cool and use your food processor or blender to puree in batches. Return the soup to your soup pot. Taste and adjust salt if desired (do bear in mind that ginger will rigorously compete with salt and salt is only ever meant to highlight flavours, not dominate them...less is more, especially in this recipe/in 'cream' soups).

Serve with a crusty bread etc/as mentioned above.

Makes easily eight servings (or less as mains with seconds ;-) )

~ Once you've had three portions of this preserve your dignity and refrigerate until the next day, when it will be even better! ~

TIP:
When I saute my onions etc in olive oil, to keep the calories and albeit healthy fats from getting away on me, if I need a little more 'liquid' to get the job done after a tbsp or two of oil I add water.  It works just as well, the flavour is retained and I am not just pouring calories into the mix.  

Winter, North Shore, PEI by Suzanne O'Callaghan

 acrylic on gallery canvas

 40.64 x 50.8 cm

2015

PAINTING A FEAST IS AS FUN AS EATING ONE!

Sometimes, painting a feast can be as fun as eating one!  Here are three images of paintings about just this.  Living on an Island, as I do, infuses everything from what people eat to our dreams at night.  I don't eat the lobsters, but they are interesting to paint with all their curls and sharp bits.  Here's the info on these three paintings - perhaps it will delay tonight's meal if you paint it?, but immortalizing our blessings is a good thing, too!:

(top) "Feast: Distracting a few from the needs of the many"

acrylic on pottery

Created for the Confederation Centre of the Arts exhibit "Feast"

(middle) "Island family supper" (From hotdogs and lobsters to milk and wine)"

acrylic on canvas

Private collector, Summerside, PE

(bottom) "Island dinner for two"

acrylic on canvas

Private collector, Stratford, PE

A CAESAR WITHOUT THE BRUTUS

A Caesar salad has never been something for which I have burned with desire (something about the raw eggs I expect).  But at Thanksgiving, a meal I shared with some really wonderful artist friends this year, I needed a green dish that could pass muster with some pretty devoted meat eaters.  With a degree of uncertainty I made this, from Alicia Silverstone's fab book "The Kind Diet" - a vegan cookbook with a wonderful tenderness and honesty that is as fun to read and it is to experiment with.  Not only was this salad a rockin' success with the carnivores, I fell in love with (and have craved it since) this salad, too - I am a convert.
Try it!  You will love it!


Dressing
2 tbsps blanched or roasted almonds (I used blanched - they are prettier in the creamy dressing)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsps Dijon mustard
2 tbsps shoyu (I used Bragg)
1 tbsp tahini
3 tbsps fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lrg head of romaine, torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 sheet nori, cut with scissors into 2:x4" strips (this is kind of optional, in as much if your dining friends are afraid of seaweed I'd skip it - the salad will still be wonderful)

Combine the almonds, garlic, mustard, shoyu/Bragg, tahini, lemon juice, oil and 1/4 cup of water in a food processor or blender.  Process until smooth and well-blended (this will be creamy and wonderful.  Don't worry!)

To serve, toss the lettuce and croutons (also optional and recipe follows - yummy but skip if you're worried about carbs) together in a large serving bowl.  Add the dressing and toss to coat.  Sprinkle the nori over the salad and serve right away.

TIP
All the components - croutons, dressing, greens - may be prepared and stored separately in the fridge for up to a week so you can toss together a fresh Caesar for one or two (as mains) or four (as sides) whenever you feel like it!


Croutons
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp garlic powder (definitely NOT garlic salt)
1/2 tsp sea salt
3-4 slices your fave rustic bread, cut into cubes (about a cup and a half)
olive oil

Preheat your oven to 325"f.  Stir together the rosemary, garlic powder and salt in a small bowl.  Add the bread cubes to a large bowl and drizzle them with the oil.  Toss well to distribute the oil evenly.  Sprinkle the her mixture over the bread and toss again.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the croutons are dry and lightly toasted.  Cool completely. 

"The People's Potter" and sculptor, Carl Phillis, throwing
my new salad bowl!