Wordless Wednesday

Mikhail9876

Pink Sherbet Photography

philipn

Preserving tomatoes with almost no work

I'm impressed. This blogger grows 2000 pounds of tomatoes a year. There's no way I could pull that off in my tiny, shady yard, but, I do buy some at the farmer's market when they are in season. I usually slow roast and freeze the ones I'm putting away. For those who wish to can but are overwhelmed by the usual work, check out this blog post: How to Preserve 100+ Pounds of Tomatoes with Almost No Work.

Like Coffee? Like Contests?

Just a short entry to let you know that jenzshoppin over at My Mom is a WAHM is giving away a $10 Starbucks giftcard. Head over to this post to enter.

Because I'm also cheap: the guide to group buying sites

I love eating in new restaurants. Unfortunately, I'd go broke if I ate out as much as I wanted. Luckily, I have found a nice workaround that has allowed me to double, if not triple, my restaurant budget.

By now, pretty much everyone has heard of group buying sites such as LivingSocial or Groupon. The concept behind the sites is this: you pay a small amount, such as $20, to get a larger amount, say $40 or so, in credit with a local merchant. These blow deals Restaurant.com out of the water. There's no minimum purchase to get the credit, and usually few or no restrictions on how to use your certificate.

So, none of this is news, so why I am telling you? Because I want to share a couple of my strategies for getting even more out of my discount:

1. Buy your certificate through a site like SwagBucks. Swagbucks gives back an amount of points that turns out to be about $2 back. Sadly, they no longer offer Groupon deals there, but, you can still buy EverMore and HomeRun.
2. Buy your certificate through eBay. They pay out 5% in eBay bucks. EBay bucks, of course, can only be used on eBay. However, I shop there enough that I always wind up using my bucks.
3. Buy through eBates. They usually offer 3% back, but sometimes double to 6%.
4. Make sure you buy using a rewards card. My rewards card of choice is my PayPal debit card, where I get 1.5% cash back each month.
5. Think you won't use a deal before it expires? Resell it on Lifesta. On popular deals, you can even make a profit.

Homemade Vegetable Bouillon

As I've mentioned before, I think that having a pantry full of high quality ingredients is key for lazy foodiness. I can throw together a pretty respectable pasta with aged parmesan, some preserved lemon and some parsley snipped from the plant by my door. It's even more satisfying when these ingredients are homemade.

I found a great recipe for making your own homemade vegetable bouillon a few months ago on the fantastic cooking blog In Jennie's Kitchen. This has become a regular key player in dishes that need a little oomph. It has a much nicer flavor than bouillon cubes or canned broth, and it's cheaper, too. This recipe may seem high in salt, but, you only use it a teaspoonful or so at a time. Plus, the high amount of salt is needed to cure the vegetables and prevent them from spoiling. You should cure the bouillon for a couple of days to let it develop its peak flavor. However, I found that it's pretty good right after you make it, too. Feel free to make some substitutions for preferred vegetables, or to use up what you have on hand. For instance, Jennie's recipe calls for leeks. I omitted them and upped the onion and garlic, since those were what I had on hand.

Homemade Veggie Bouillon

• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 onion, peeled & quartered
• 4 cloves garlic
• 6 sun-dried tomato halves, chopped
• 3/4 cups cremini or white mushrooms cleaned and quartered
• generous handful of fresh parsley, including stems
• 3 1/2 ounces kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Store in a clean container in the refrigerator. To use, mix one teaspoon bouillon with one cup boiling water.

Chickpea Patties

I found the recipe that this is based on on the Chowhound boards a few months ago. The poster described it as falafel, but, since the chickpeas are cooked and other veggies are included, I don't really consider the description accurate. However, that doesn't stop it from being a good last-minute dinner option that can be cooked with ingredients you probably have on-hand.

Chickpea Patties

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 small zucchini, shredded
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 2 tablespoons flour
• more flour for dusting
• olive oil

Toss the chickpeas in a food processor, and process until they're broken up. You want some chunks left. Stir in vegetables and spices. Add just enough flour so the mixture holds together. Form into walnut sized balls, flatten, and roll in flour.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook patties for three to four minutes each side, until golden brown.

This can be eaten in pita bread like falafel. Serve with tahini or another flavorful sauce. These can also be baked to cut down on fat content.

Lazy Peanut Butter Cookies

My husband is a peanut butter fanatic. I love easy recipes with very few ingredients. When I stumbled across a recipe for peanut butter cookies made with only three ingredients, I knew it was something I had to try. And no, the lack of flour is not a typo. These come out exactly like traditional peanut butter cookies.


Stupid Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg

Mix all ingredients until combined. Preheat oven to 350. Drop walnut sized blobs of cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes. They should be lightly browned. Don't worry if they seem really soft. They will firm up as they cool.