"Variety's the spice of life."
~ William Cowper (British poet, 1731-1800)
I have never had as much appreciation for this saying as I have this week. Cooking for one is incredibly inefficient and the result, cooking with fresh ingredients and on a budget, often means a lot of the same thing. For the last three days, I have been eating a lot of pumpkin.
Thankfully, in various forms (soup, risotto and fritters) but tonight was a welcome change. I can't help but feel a need to finish eating what I've cooked before I make something else (fresh is best) so I've been in the routine of eating last night's dinner for today's lunch. If I had the willpower, it would be a great idea to have a little of a few different things instead of having a lot of one to create the sense of a meal, as is the principle of many Asian cultures.
This morning's breakfast, morning tea (2 pieces) and afternoon tea: flatbread as per the last couple of days ($0.185), however I kneaded thinly sliced green onion into the dough once it had already been formed and cooked as per normal. I've decided I prefer this to having the fresh green onion on top.
Lunch: last night's pumpkin, carrot, potato and onion fritters. Even better as leftovers at room temperature when you can taste each component more vividly, I feel.
Day 4’s dinner: Tomato and dhal nachoes! I love nachoes and love how healthy you can make them by loading in heaps of vegetables and using plain, unflavoured corn chips. All of my dhal lentils (312g, $0.93) parboiled in 500ml water with 1/2 tsp salt ($0.01), stirring frequently until water is absorbed and lentils are al dente. 1/2 onion ($0.10) diced, 1 green onion ($0.15), white part sliced and green reserved, sautéed in 1 tsp oil ($0.05) with 1 tsp each of cayenne pepper, cumin and dried oregano ($0.15). Add cooked lentils, 1 can of whole peeled tomatoes ($0.88) and 1/2 potato ($0.09) grated straight into the pan and combine, heating through for a further couple of minutes to allow the tomatoes to break down and potato to cook through. Season with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper ($0.03).
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| Tomato and dhal nachos |
