The Thrifty Gourmet

Hail Disciples!

If you work in the food service industry, such as myself, chances are you are familiar with being short on spending money. Let's face it, being broke is pretty much an industry standard! Oh how we suffer for the love of food, haha....

One can never stop learning about cooking. There's endless possibilities, variations, methods and techniques to brush-up on. 

Sometimes I get kinda depressed when I review my finances and realize I have a $50 budget for a week's worth of meals. I dream of all these fancy, expensive, exotic dishes...but why? 

Good food doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, I love how living on a budget makes me more creative when shopping for groceries. I have to think ahead and plan out how I can use my ingredients for Monday's dinner in my meals for the rest of the week, without getting bored of eating the same foods repeatedly. 

Creative ingredient usage---very important! Also, keep in mind that oftentimes less is more---simplicity can be a wonderful thing.

For the next few days I'm going to post some excellent recipes and helpful tips for cooks on a tight budget.

My dinner tonight? 

A simple Veggie Stir-fry...this recipe is scaled to approx 2 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 package fresh stir-fry noodles (225-250g)

2 c. assorted veggies (tonight I used onion, cabbage, bell pepper, carrot and corn)

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

tofu (optional)

small bunch cilantro, chopped

Sauce:

1/4 c. rice vinegar

1/4 c. white sugar

4 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. sesame oil

Directions:

1. Cook noodles according to package directions. I usually boil for 4 minutes, drain and give them a quick rinse.

2. Heat a wok or heavy bottomed skillet over med-high heat. Add a couple tsp of oil and saute veggies and garlic until they are tender but still have some "bite" to them.

3. Add tofu, sauce and noodles. Cook about 1 minute until tofu is hot and noodles start to soak up the sauce.

4. Throw in desired amount of cilantro, toss and serve!

Stay tuned for more...

Sinfully Yours,

The Gruesome Gourmet

Save On Meats

In my travels, I have experienced high-end, over priced delicacies that tantalize my taste-buds, but break my pocketbook. 

On the contrary I have eaten at some sketchy restaurants in the name of being thrifty!

Thursday was a beautiful day, and my friend and I decided to go for a nice walk and grab some lunch. We started downtown, walking past the fancy eateries and trendy coffee shops until we reached our destination.  

Located in a less-than-glamourous part of East Hastings, Save On Meats served up tasty comfort food at an incredibly reasonable price.

I have passed by countless times but that's usually been on my way to Funky Winkerbeans next door, where it would be less than ideal to be toting around a bag of meat all night! I had never been back in the day-time.

Upon entering, it looks like they haven't remodeled since the 60s, but that gives it a simplistic, old-school diner-like flair. For a Thursday at 2pm, this place was packed---I couldn't believe it! Our server was friendly and talkative, making our dining experience all the better. From what we could see of the open kitchen, it appeared clean and organized, with staff that seemed genuinely happy to be at work. 

That's just the restaurant half of it though. 

The other half of the business is a thriving butcher's shop with prices that could have you leaving with a shopping cart full of meat for under $100! 

Save On Meats gets my vote all the way. I can't wait to go back.

The Gruesome Gourmet

A Bite of Everything

Hail Disciples!

To be honest, until about 5 minutes ago, I was under the impression that today was the first day of March...wow...I often lose track of days, but that's ok, it's how I roll:)

I can be a rather indecisive person at times. I’m just a whirlwind of chaos and that is often reflected in what I eat, the music that inspires me and the activities I choose to take part in. When I’m at a loss of what to do, usually I read. I try to calm and focus my mind and sometimes that results in me reading for hours on end and sometimes it just gives me a “jump start”…gets my “motivational juices” flowing, so to speak.

I believe the weather greatly affects my mood and therefore the music I listen to. It’s been observed that I have a taste for slower, more raw styles in the winter months, whereas as soon as Spring hits I go for mostly fast paced, upbeat melodies. 

Summer is always a bit of everything. That’s when I’m usually the most active, come out of my winter tendency to be a bit of a hermit and start socializing more. This always calls for EPIC HEADBANGING. Anything groovy and kick-you-in-the-face-heavy will do!

It’s bloody March and it’s still snowing. In the spirit of summertime fun and spur-of-the-moment ideas and being indecisive, here’s some badass muffins I just whipped up…EVERYTHING Muffins! The fun part about Everything Muffins is that you can put any combination of ingredients together and tweak the recipe to your liking. 

This is what I concocted today. 

Feel free to substitute fruits (fresh or dried), veggies, nuts/ seeds, candy/ chocolate, grains , etc. 
For the best results try , as best you can, to keep the ratio of wet to dry ingredients in proportion. Now go on…CREATE!

Everything Muffins (Makes about 10)

1/3 c. Canola Oil (I use oil for a light, spongy consistency, but if you’re seeking a                                       more dense product, use butter or shortening)
½ c. Sugar
1 Egg
1 c. Orange Juice (any fruit juice or milk)
2 c. All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
¼ c. chocolate chips
¼ c. granola
¼ c. chopped walnuts
¼ c. dried currants


Preheat oven to 350°F.

1. Combine oil, sugar and egg in a medium sized bowl.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a separate container.
3. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the juice to the wet ingredients. 
4. Pour into lightly greased muffin tins. 
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes.



Enjoy your creation...post a comment, I always enjoy feedback. 
Let me know what your Everything Muffins are rockin'!




 What I'm listening to right now:

Kalmah, a melodic death metal band from Finland. This is the title track off their 2006 release The Black Waltz.

Sinfully Yours,
The Gruesome Gourmet