I've been keeping a sourdough started for a couple of years. Recently a friend shared that he'd used the starter to make pancakes. I tried it. It's simple, easy, tasty, and versatile!
What you need:
Sourdough starter
A little oil
A frying pan
Heat a little oil in the pan over medium heat. When the pan is good and heated, pour some sourdough starter into the pan. Let cook. When it's time to flip it over, flip it and cook the other side.
That's it. Dress it up the way you wish. I used raspberry jam.
Optional: Add a little salt and maybe a little sugar to your batter. (NOT to the starter you're keeping for starter.)
If you'd like a thinner pancake, thin the batter with a little water or milk of your choice.
If you'd like something more like crepes, thin it with some sort of milk.
Experiment!
Some things I love about this:
No recipe, no measuring
It's perfect quick, easy, filling food. Hungry? You can cook this up in a matter of minutes. You can make one or a dozen, the only limit is how much starter you've got.
Have fun!
Friday, March 20, 2020
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Okara Granola
Okara Granola
This is my favorite way to use up the okara left over from making soy milk. I have not included a cost for the okara since the cost was already accounted for in the making of the soy milk.
Note: I often will add a teaspoon of vanilla or maple flavoring.
Nutritional information per serving:
This is my favorite way to use up the okara left over from making soy milk. I have not included a cost for the okara since the cost was already accounted for in the making of the soy milk.
1 cup okara
¼ cup oil
2 cups oats
1/4 c dark Karo syrup
2 Tb. Brown sugar
Add all ingredients in a large bowl a stir to mix well. Place ingredients on a couple of cookie sheets, spreading out so it is evenly distributed in a thin layer. Place in a low oven (about 250°F) and toast until golden brown, stirring occasionally. The edges will brown first, so push them into the middle and push the granola in the middle towards the edges. Take care not to let it burn. When done, remove from oven and let cool thoroughly on the trays. I let it sit out overnight so that it's thoroughly dried out before storing in a jar.
I have not calculated the cost per serving but it's not much. This recipe makes approximately 10 40 gram servings. Serve in a bowl with 1/2 cup soy milk.
I have not calculated the cost per serving but it's not much. This recipe makes approximately 10 40 gram servings. Serve in a bowl with 1/2 cup soy milk.
Note: I often will add a teaspoon of vanilla or maple flavoring.
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 153
Protein: 3 g.
Carbohydrates: 21 g.
Fiber: 2 g.
Fat: 7 g.
Soy milk, 1/2 cup:
Calories: 50
Soy milk, 1/2 cup:
Calories: 50
Protein: 4 g.
Carbohydrates: 4 g.
Fiber: 1 g.
Fat: 2 g.
Recipe: Nepali Style Dal and Rice (Dal Bhat)
Dal and Rice (Dal Bhat)
serves 7
Note: This is the staple of Nepali diet, at least the part of Nepal around Kathmandu and the Kali Gandaki trail. This is very digestible. Nepali comfort food. I like using the small red/orange dal but one can use small yellow dal, too. They are quick cooking, taking only about 30 minutes to simmer.
Ingredients:
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 189
serves 7
Note: This is the staple of Nepali diet, at least the part of Nepal around Kathmandu and the Kali Gandaki trail. This is very digestible. Nepali comfort food. I like using the small red/orange dal but one can use small yellow dal, too. They are quick cooking, taking only about 30 minutes to simmer.
Ingredients:
1 cup dal 200 g: .74
1 tomato 10 oz: .43
1 tomato 10 oz: .43
1 onion
10 oz: .62
2 Tbsp. olive oil: .19
1 tsp. tumeric: .01
½ oz. garlic: .06
2 oz. canned chiles .29
½ tsp. paprika: .01
½ tsp. cumin: .01
½ oz. garlic: .06
2 oz. canned chiles .29
½ tsp. paprika: .01
½ tsp. cumin: .01
Ginger, fresh: .10
1 ¾ c. cooked brown rice: .49
Cilantro, chopped .10
Total:
$3.05 for 7
servings = $.43/serving
Soak dal in water for 20 minutes. Drain. Add dal to a pot, cover with water and simmer over low flame, stirring occasionally, until it begins to fall apart.
Chop onion, mince garlic. Heat oil in a frying pan, saute onion and garlic until onion begins to soften. Chop tomato, mince fresh ginger, add to onion/garlic mixture. Add paprika, tumeric, and saute briefly. Add to dal, stir. Add chiles. Simmer 15 minutes to let flavors blend. Remove from heat. Serve in a bowl over 1/4 cup cooked brown rice, garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 189
Protein: 10 g.
Carbohydrates: 39 g.
Fiber: 10 g.
Fat: 5 g.
Recipe: Cuban Black Beans and Rice
Cuban Black Beans
& Rice
serves 8
1/2 lb. uncooked black beans
10 oz. onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 oz. garlic, minced
cilantro, chopped, to garnish
1/2 small can of chopped green chiles
Directions:
Cover black beans in water and overnight. Drain. Place black beans in a slow cooker, cover with water, cook until tender. You should be able to easily mash them between your tongue and the roof of your mouth. (Or cook beans by whatever method you prefer. You can substitute canned beans; it will be a little more expensive.)
Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute onions, green pepper, and garlic until onions and pepper begin to turn soft.
Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute onions, green pepper, and garlic until onions and pepper begin to turn soft.
Add sauteed onions, pepper, and garlic and stir into the beans. Add can of chiles and salt to taste. Simmer together until the onions and peppers are very soft and flavors have melded. Remove some of the cooking liquid and set aside. Mash some of the beans with a potato masher or run some of them through a food processor to thicken the soup. Add some of the cooking liquid back in to achieve desired consistency. Serve over cooked brown rice, garnish with fresh, chopped cilantro leaves.
½# black beans
.77
10 oz. onion .63
1 green pepper .50
2 oz. garlic .24
2 Tablespoons olive oil .24
½ small can chiles .29
1 tsp. salt .01
cilantro .10
Total
$2.78 for 8 servings = $.35/serving
10 oz. brown rice .56
for 8 servings = $.07/serving
Nutritional content for 1 serving Cuban Black Beans served over 1/2 cup cooked long grain brown rice:
Calories: 276
Protein: 12 g.
Carbohydrates: 48 g.
Fiber: 11 g.
Fat: 5 g.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Recipe: Chocolate Soy Milk Pudding
Chocolate pudding – 2 servings
50 grams sugar .05
1 oz cocoa .28
1 ½ Tb.
Cornstarch .05
Total
.42
for 2 servings = .21/serving
Since
writing out the details of making a cornstarch pudding is more than I'd
like to take on, I would refer you to either a recent edition of Joy of
Cooking, from which I adapted this recipe, or any good recipe for making
a cornstarch pudding. There are details to making cornstarch pudding to
get it right. It's not difficult, you just need to know what to do.
This is really very good.
*Cost of home made soy milk. Recipe is linked to.
Each serving contains:
Calories: 120
Fat: 4 grams
Carbohydrates: 20 grams
Protein: 8 grams
Recipe for Frugal Vegan Chili
Chili
1 cup (160 g) dry pinto beans .18
6 oz. onion .38
1 oz. canola oil .04
1 12 oz. can tomatoes .89
1 green bell pepper .50
1 tsp. chili powder 2g .04
1 tsp. oregano .02
1 tsp. cumin .02
Total $2.07
for 8 1 cup servings = $.26/serving
Soak pinto beans in water overnight.
Drain water from beans, put into a slow cooker, cover with water, a cook until soft. Please note: beans are done when they can be easily smashed between your tongue and the roof of your mouth. I either put up the beans to soak when I leave for work and then cook in a slow cooker overnight when I come home, or soak at night and slow cook during the day while I'm at work. Or you can simmer on the stove for several hours while you are home. Whatever gets the job done.
Chop onion and bell pepper. Heat oil (you can use whatever oil you like) in a large pot, saute onion and pepper until they just begin to turn soft. Drain most of the liquid from the beans but set aside. Add the beans, tomatoes, and spices to the onions. Simmer for about an hour. If you need more liquid, use the liquid from the beans. Salt to taste. Serve with corn tortillas on the side.
Chili keeps well in the refrigerator and is even better reheated the next day. Freezes well.
Chili keeps well in the refrigerator and is even better reheated the next day. Freezes well.
Optional:
Add a bay leaf to beans or the chili
Add a bay leaf to beans or the chili
Add some fresh garlic to chili
Add about 1/2 cup dry red wine
Each one cup serving contains:
Calories: 133
Calories: 133
Fat: 4 grams
Carbohydrates: 21 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Protein: 5 grams
Some More Cost-Effective Choices
The original article that sparked my interest in the $3/day experiment generated some criticism both on the author's blog site and in the vegan FB group where I first encountered the article. I agreed that I thought that some days there did not appear to be adequate calories and many days seemed to lack adequate protein. I also thought that there were some lower cost alternatives that would have produced more nutrition for each dollar spent.
I want to emphasize that this is not a personal criticism of the author, who I commend for even engaging in this experiment and the putting it out there for everyone to see. The purpose of this is to demonstrate that one can get adequate nutrition on a vegan diet that is very frugal. When one is limited to such a frugal budget, it's important to maximize the nutrition one gets for each dollar spent. In the interest of helping vegans or anyone living a frugal life to achieve a balanced and nutritious diet, I would offer these alternatives.
The original article's food items:
2 cans of black beans (estimated $1.75/can) Alternative: Black beans can be bought for about $.75/can at Aldi’s, Ruler, and Family Dollar. Dried beans can be bought for $1.15/lb. at Aldi’s and will yield the equivalent of about 4 cans, are easy to cook, can be cooked in batches large enough for several meals and frozen or kept in the refrigerator for several days.
1 can re-fried beans ($1.48/can) Alternative: These can be bought for much less than $1 at Aldi, Ruler, and Family Dollar. see above note on dried black beans.
Tomatoes (A bunch of 4 is $4.00, so one is $1.00) Alternative (maybe): This depends on the size of the tomato, but local tomatoes [were in season at the time] are available at the mainstream grocery for $.69/lb. Out of season, I would not buy them.
Head of lettuce (From farmer’s market for $0.75)
Package of pasta (3 packages for $3.00)
Package of vegan waffles ($3.00 for package of 8) Alternative: Prepared food is expensive. One can make a batch of waffles for a lot less, freeze them, and reheat in the toaster. Or come up with a breakfast that will provide more nutrition for less. [Note: I looked up Van's Gluten Free Waffles and one waffle, which is what the author had for breakfast, is only 100 calories, not really enough calories. A serving is 2 waffles.]
Tortilla chips ($2.00/bag) Alternative: Tortillas can be had for a fraction of this. More food for your dollar.
Onions ($2.00/bag)
Potatoes ($2.00/ bag–$0.20 for one 8 oz potato)
Frozen spinach ($1.00/bag)
Brown rice, precooked ($0.16 for 1/2 cup) Alternative: Cooking up a pot of rice will cost half this amount. It can be frozen in single serving portions and reheated or keep for several days in the refrigerator. While one can use a normal cooking pot, a rice cooker makes the job even easier and they are common in Goodwill and other thrift shops for about $5.
I want to emphasize that this is not a personal criticism of the author, who I commend for even engaging in this experiment and the putting it out there for everyone to see. The purpose of this is to demonstrate that one can get adequate nutrition on a vegan diet that is very frugal. When one is limited to such a frugal budget, it's important to maximize the nutrition one gets for each dollar spent. In the interest of helping vegans or anyone living a frugal life to achieve a balanced and nutritious diet, I would offer these alternatives.
The original article's food items:
2 cans of black beans (estimated $1.75/can) Alternative: Black beans can be bought for about $.75/can at Aldi’s, Ruler, and Family Dollar. Dried beans can be bought for $1.15/lb. at Aldi’s and will yield the equivalent of about 4 cans, are easy to cook, can be cooked in batches large enough for several meals and frozen or kept in the refrigerator for several days.
1 can re-fried beans ($1.48/can) Alternative: These can be bought for much less than $1 at Aldi, Ruler, and Family Dollar. see above note on dried black beans.
Tomatoes (A bunch of 4 is $4.00, so one is $1.00) Alternative (maybe): This depends on the size of the tomato, but local tomatoes [were in season at the time] are available at the mainstream grocery for $.69/lb. Out of season, I would not buy them.
Head of lettuce (From farmer’s market for $0.75)
Package of pasta (3 packages for $3.00)
Package of vegan waffles ($3.00 for package of 8) Alternative: Prepared food is expensive. One can make a batch of waffles for a lot less, freeze them, and reheat in the toaster. Or come up with a breakfast that will provide more nutrition for less. [Note: I looked up Van's Gluten Free Waffles and one waffle, which is what the author had for breakfast, is only 100 calories, not really enough calories. A serving is 2 waffles.]
Tortilla chips ($2.00/bag) Alternative: Tortillas can be had for a fraction of this. More food for your dollar.
Onions ($2.00/bag)
Potatoes ($2.00/ bag–$0.20 for one 8 oz potato)
Frozen spinach ($1.00/bag)
Brown rice, precooked ($0.16 for 1/2 cup) Alternative: Cooking up a pot of rice will cost half this amount. It can be frozen in single serving portions and reheated or keep for several days in the refrigerator. While one can use a normal cooking pot, a rice cooker makes the job even easier and they are common in Goodwill and other thrift shops for about $5.
Bread, whole grain ($1.79/loaf
or 12 slices)
Banana ($0.20 per banana at the farmer’s market)
Zucchini ($1.00 for 1)
Cucumber ($1.00 for 1)
Celery (1 stalk about $0.50) Note: I apologize to Jessie for initially misinterpreting this (I assume) as a single stalk of celery rather than the whole bunch, which is labeled as a “stalk” on the package. If she did actually pay $.50 for a single stalk of celery – an entire bunch can be bought for $.69 at Aldi’s.
Red bell pepper ($1.00) Alternative: I do not buy red bell peppers at $1/each, which is expensive, even when I am not restricted to $3/day. They are available for less at the farmer’s market, Aldi, Ruler, and Jay’s. If not, I do without.
Banana ($0.20 per banana at the farmer’s market)
Zucchini ($1.00 for 1)
Cucumber ($1.00 for 1)
Celery (1 stalk about $0.50) Note: I apologize to Jessie for initially misinterpreting this (I assume) as a single stalk of celery rather than the whole bunch, which is labeled as a “stalk” on the package. If she did actually pay $.50 for a single stalk of celery – an entire bunch can be bought for $.69 at Aldi’s.
Red bell pepper ($1.00) Alternative: I do not buy red bell peppers at $1/each, which is expensive, even when I am not restricted to $3/day. They are available for less at the farmer’s market, Aldi, Ruler, and Jay’s. If not, I do without.
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