Smart shopping and cooking can save cash
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Orange Marmalade Sauce for
Pork Chops or Roast
1 cup orange marmalade
1 t garlic powder
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. mustard
1/4 cup mayo.
Mix all of the ingredients
together. Cook the pork chops
and heat the sauce in a small
sauce pan. Pour over finished
chops.
Red Beans and Rice
2 cans Red Kidney Beans or 1/2
pound dry beans soaked over
night.
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 green pepper (chopped)
3/4 lb. of polish sausage
1/4 t white pepper
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
2 T. vegetable oil
4 cups cooked rice
Pour oil into a medium pot over
even medium heat. Saute onion,
green pepper and chopped sausage
until onion and green pepper are soft.
Add red beans and cook until hot
Add spices and serve over rice.
Bread Pudding with a Rum Sauce
Loaf of stale french bread
1 stick of butter (8 Tablespoons)
3 eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 t. vanilla
Rum Sauce
1 stick butter
1/2 cup rum
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter, then add the
other ingredents in a sauce pan.
Cut bread into small cubes. Put the
bread in a 9x13 well greased pan
and pour mixture over the top. Let
the liquid soak in for a little and
then place in oven for 1 1/2
hours. You can test doneness by
checking the center with a
toothpick.
By Albert Schmid
Food Critic
With all the responsibilities college
heaps on students, the last thing one
wants to think about is having to cook.
Part of the reason that fast food is
gaining market share has to do with the
convenience factor, but the expense of
eating out can catch up with financial
ly strapped college students.
You can save a lot of money cook
ing at home. To give you an idea how
much you can save, for every three
dollars you spend eating out, the res
taurant only spends about one dollar.
Even so, many students continue to
spend money eating out just to avoid
cooking.
But cooking doesn’t have to be a
hassle.
Cooking your own meals can be
fun, easy and cheap for home cooks at
all levels. The key to successful home
cooking is planning.
PLANNING IS THE KEY
Sitting down on Sunday and plan
ning out your week is a good idea
anyway. That way you and your room
mates can know what to expect from
each other in the coming week.
Preparation of food for your house
hold can be one of the things planned
for the week. If your roommate has a
class or you have a conflict, the two of
you can plan around it.
Sunday is also a good day to get a
jump on the week on food preparation.
Preparing a casserole or a cold pasta
salad for the week is by no means
against the rules.
Taking the time to cook can actual
ly be a more efficient use of your time.
Cook while you study (just make sure
that whatever you’re cooking is on a
timer).
If you have a break between class
es, and you are able to return home,
you could cook dinner and refrigerate
it until you are ready to eat.
What you need in the way of equip
ment is a good set of measuring cups,
measuring spoons, a stainless steel
bowl, an eight inch chef s knife (Make
sure that it is sharp or have it profes
sionally sharpened. This is
very important!), a par
ing knife, cutting board,
latchen scissors, gra
ter, bottle opener, church
key can opener, rotary can
opener, corkscrew, wire whisk, three
quart sauce pan, one-quart sauce pan,
12 inch skillet, eight inch skillet, three
quart heat-proof casserole, rubber spat
ula, pancake turner, 2 slotted spoons,
The Basics
Spices: basil (for Italian and French
food), cayenne pepper (useful all
around), cilantro (for Mexican,
Chinese, and Indian food), cinnamon
(mostly for sweets, but can be used
in stews and chili and to flavor
coffee), curry powder (a must for
Indian food), dill (great on carrots,
chicken and pork), ginger (mostly for
baking, but also good for Asian
food), mint (great in tea and with
cantaloup), nutmeg (adds an extra
dimension to apple pie), oregano (a
must for Italian and French foods),
Hungarian paprika (adds rich flavor
to beef, poultry, and seafood) and of
course, pepper.
Staples: Wheat bread, crackers, kidney
beans, refried beans, all-purpose flour,
granulated sugar, powdered sugar,
brown sugar, old fashioned oats,
spaghetti, elbow macaroni, fettuccini,
rot ini, Uncle Ben’s converted rice,
tortillas, catsup, cornstarch, mayon
naise, mustard, salad oil, soy sauce,
white vinegar, tomato sauce, tomato
paste, chicken base, beef base, whole
tomatoes, com, green beans, sweet
potatoes, dives, baking powder, baking
soda, chocolate chips, honey, raisins,
vanilla extract, yeast, butter, chcddar
cheese, montereyjack cheese, swiss
cheese, eggs, milk, sour cream, chicken,
hamburger, and a cooking sherry.
Utensils: a good set of measuring cups,
measuring spoons, a stainless steel
bowl, an eight inch chefs knife,paring
knife, cutting board, kitchen scissors, a
grater, bottle opener, can openers,
corkscrew, wire whisk, saucepans, 12
inch skillet, eight inch skillet, thre&<]uart
heat-proof casserole, one rubber
spatula, pancake turner, 2 slotted
spoons, kitchen tongs, a 9x12 cake pan,
a cookie sheet, muffin tin, a blender,
toaster, small food processor,
microwave oven, potholders, cloth
kitchen towels, paper towels, plastic
wrap, aluminum foil, plastic freezable
containers and air tight canisters.
kitchen tongs, a 9x12 cake pan, a
cookie sheet, muffin tin, a blender,
coffee maker (even if you don’t like
coffee), toaster, small food processor,
microwave oven, potholders, cloth
kitchen towels, paper towels, plastic
wrap, aluminum foil, plastic freezable
containers and air tight canisters.
Sure, it may sound like a lot, but it’s
really not. All of these supplies can be
picked up at the Goodwill or Salvation
Army at very little expense.
BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF
Another key to successful home
cooking is being honest with yourself.
Don’t buy the groceiy store out of
cheap Ramen noodles and then go to
the Golden Arches every night be
cause all you have at home are the
Ramen noodles.
Buy things that you like to eat It is
cheaper in die long run because you
will reduce what you throw away.
Buy a lot of pasta, rice, and pota
toes. They are filling, versatile and
very cheap. Also, each of these can be
prepared ahead and warmed in a mi
crowave oven or over low heat on a
stove. As an added bonus, pasta, rice
and potatoes are at the bottom of the
nutrition pyramid(6-l 1 servings a day);
they’re what you should be eating
anyway.
When you are at the store, ask
yourself if you will eat everything you
are picking up. Sometimes, saving
money at the store requires a little
study of the ingredients.
For example, my wife and I love
Mexican food, but she is a vegetarian.
Many of the brand-name refried beans
contain lard, with the exception of the
cans marked vegetarian (which usual
ly cost more than the regular refried
beans). One day I read the label of a
generic brand that cost about half of
die brand name with lard. It was made
with soybean oil — totally vegetarian.
The generic brand cost about half of
the brand-nam^egetarian.
You’re the final judge of what you
want to eat. Here are some ideas to
help you plan your shopping trip.
These are items that I try to keep on
hand: Wheat bread, crackers, kidney
beans, refried beans, all-purpose flour,
granulated sugar, powdered sugar,
brown sugar, old fashioned oats, spa
ghetti, elbow macaroni, fettucini, rotini,
Uncle Ben’s converted rice, tortillas,
catsup, cornstarch, mayonnaise, mus
tard, salad oil, soy sauce, white vine
gar, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chick
en base, beef base, whole tomatoes,
com, green beans, sweet potatoes, ol
ives, baking powder, baking soda,
chocolate chips, honey, raisins, vanil
la extract, yeast, butter, cheddarcheese,
Monterey jack cheese, Swiss cheese,
eggs, milk, sour cream, chicken, ham
burger and a cooking sherry.
Obviously, you won’t need all of
these items for your initial forays into
the world of cooking, but as you work
up to bigger experiments, mostofthese
will come in handy.
HOW TO BRING IT ALL
TOGETHER
Concentrate on spices — beyond
salt and pepper. Spicing food properly
will add a new dimension to your
meals.
Some of the spices I try to keep
around my kitchen are basil (for Italian
and French food), cayenne pepper (use
ful all around), cilantro (for Mexican,
Chinese, and Indian food), cinnamon
(mostly for sweets, but can be used in
stews and chili and to flavor coffee),
curry powder (a must for Indian food),
dill (great on carrots, chicken and pork),
ginger (mostly for baking, but also
good for Asian food), mint (great in tea
and with cantaloup), nutmeg (adds an
extra dimension to apple pie), oregano
(a must for Italian and French foods),
Hungarian paprika (adds rich flavor to
beef, poultry and seafood) and of
course, pepper.
One way you can save money is to
make as much food from scratch as
you can. The cost of processing the
food is, of course, always passed on to
the consumer.
For example, a classic volute sauce
is very easy to make. This is the fore
runner to American gravy. You start
with two tablespoons of butter melt it
in a small sauce pan and add two
tablespoons of flour. Stir the flour in
and cook it until golden. Add two cups
ofprepared chicken stock or beef stock
and let cook over low heat until thick
ened. Simple, easy, delicious.
There are several very good cook
books on the market for general use.
Better Homes and Gardens and
Doubleday each publish excellent
cookbooks. The more extensive the
book the better the chance it will meet
your needs.
Finally, don’t be afraid to jump in
and experiment
If you don’t feel comfortable in the
kitchen, have someone who knows
basic cooking give you pointers. No
one just knows how to cook, everyone
learns. Like anything, the more you
bake, fry, poach, saute, boil, broil and
grill the better you will get.
Have fun, save money and Bon
appetit.
