Succulent oven-baked beef bourguignon

This one pot dish is tender and rich. Perfect for family or company on a harsh winter night.

WHAT YOU NEED
2 lbs beef from an inexepensive cut, in medium sized pieces
3 slices of bacon, chopped (lardons)
4 onions, halved (or a dozen tiny onions)
4-6 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery sticks, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 lb mushrooms, sliced thin, either fresh or frozen
a little oil and butter
some peppercorns
2-3 cups of water
1/2 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 bottle of dry red wine
1 bay leaf
thyme
salt, pepper, pinch of flour
a large thick bottomed stove and oven proof pot with a lid 


ALL YOU DO IS:
(in an oven proof pot) 
Heat a little oil and butter in the pot, throw in the bacon and beef and brown on all sides
Remove beef  and add onion, carrot, celery, garlic and mushroom, fry lightly
Sprinkle flour, salt and pepper on beef and stir.
To pot pour in wine, water, add 1/2 chicken bouillon cube, bay leaf, thyme and stir, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom
Add beef and cover, bring to boil briefly
Heat oven to 360°F
Remove pot from stove and place in oven for 2-3 hours.  (The meat will be tender after 2 hours; but the sauce will be thicker and more intense at 3)
Turn off oven and let sit in warmth until you are ready to serve (No rush--you can serve this several hours later.  It only gets more tender!)


TO SERVE
Remove the peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme,
Serve with steaming hot rice or your favorite pasta!

It's astonishing how easy and delicious this dish is.  All you need is a little time.

Juicy pork roast with tasty gravy

This recipe, adapted from one we loved in France, is easy, inexpensive and fine enough for company.

WHAT YOU NEED
1 large pork roast, preferably from the fattier "echine" cut
2 slices of bacon
1 onion diced
mushrooms, sliced, either fresh or frozen
a little oil and butter
some peppercorns
2-3 cups of water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
thyme
a large thick bottomed pot with a lid (best of all if you have an oven-going dish)
recommended: prepare rice separately at the end of cooking as a sauce absorbing side

ALL YOU DO IS:
heat a little oil and butter in the pot, throw in the pork roast and brown on all sides
remove pork roast and throw in bacon, onion and mushroom, fry lightly
add water, chicken bouillon cube, bay leaf, thyme and stir, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom
place  pork roast on top and cover, simmering on a low heat for 90 minutes
If your pot can go in the oven, place it a a warm oven for another 30 minutes. If it can't, turn off the stove and let the roast sit covered for another 30 minutes. (This extra time will make the meat so tender you can cut it with a spoon.)

TO SERVE
remove the peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme,
slice the roast elegantly on a platter and cover with sauce, serving some on the side as well
serve with steaming hot rice

This sauce is ridiculously delicious and simply makes itself!

Recipe for the simplest, most delicious, easy warm soup

This wonderful soup has few ingredients, costs little, is easy to make and feeds a family of four twice.

YOU WILL NEED
1.5 to 2 lbs very inexpensive beef cut for soups (can be any cut, with or without bone, as long as it is fresh and cheap)
1 large can of peeled tomatoes
2 leeks
1 bay leaf
thyme
a few peppercorns
a little salt
several quarts of water
and 3 hours of simmering time
fresh celery if you can get it

ALL YOU DO IS
fill a large pot half to three quarters full with water
throw in the meat, canned tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns (stab the tomatoes a few times so they break up)
simmer for 2 hours
THEN
wash and trim the leeks (make sure there is NO sand) and throw them in
wash and dice three or four stalks of celery, leaving on some leaves and throw them in.
simmer for another hour.
salt to taste and serve.

Enjoy.

How to Eat Well on a Tiny Budget ! The Seven and a Half Commandments

What can you buy with ten dollars?

A couple of Happy Meals ! Seven cigarettes each for a family of four! A two mile drive in a Hummer. Or, my personal favorite, one hundred millionth of the 2007 bonus of an AIG executive who drove his company to bankruptcy.

Ten dollars? But how? If only there were some easy commandments to follow...




The Seven and a Half Commandments

One: Thou shalt ignore food fads, food advertising, new food medical findings, and any hint of food political correctness like the spawn of hell !

Two: Thou shalt invest a few bucks to stock your kitchen with basic spices and one amazing device that will change your life forever: the French soup blender (otherwise known as the propeller on a stick).

Three: Thou shalt drink tap water. (unless it's really unsafe in your area)

Four: Thou shalt not keep up with the Joneses or otherwise compete, show off with, or define who you are with food.

Five: Thou shalt honor thy vegetables; including the ones you always hated until now on account of they were overcooked to disgusting, evil smelling mush in your childhood.

Six: Thou shalt not waste. (Seriously. You'll save a lot of money.)

Seven: Thou shalt learn to plan ahead. (ditto!)

Seven and a... Oh, heck, just buy what's fresh and cheap!

I will never go hungry again!

This blog owes its existence to two delightfully contrary inspirations: the image of Scarlette O'Hara shaking a dirty turnip at a menacing sky vowing "never to go hungry again!" and a US newspaper headline proclaiming. "Veggies too expensive! Americans doomed to eat junk!"

Even in hard times, occasionally you just have to laugh.

Some of the best food ever invented has come, not from the fancy kitchens of the rich (obsessed with figuring out how to stuff humming birds into quails into chickens into peacocks into ostriches like a grotesque feathered nesting doll), but from impoverished peasants forced to get creative to feed their families, with, for example, turnips.
Like hardy Australian plants that bloom only after a devastating fire, we tend show our best selves under pressure of adversity. This is true also, we believe, of our food.

Costco: friend or foe ?

I remember the first time.  

"You've never heard of Costco?" Woody exclaimed as it finally dawned on him that I had been living among primitives (in France). "Come."

The carts were gigantic! Everything was several times larger than normal! Had I shrunk? I felt like Jack in the house of the giant! "

Oh, my God!" I yelled. "Are those marinated artichoke hearts?" 

"Yes," he smiled. "A gallon for $7.95. Would you like some?"

"But," I stuttered, "how is that possible? In Paris an itsdy bitsy microscopic plastic container of these would cost as much." 

"Welcome," Woody said, "to Costco."

At home, I discovered that the jar was not only humungous and inexpensive, it was also quite excellent. I also learned that no human being on earth can eat a gallon of artichoke hearts without some annoying health complications. Thus was I introduced to the paradox of Costco.


 Like the atom, it can be a force for good or for evil. It's all in what you do with it.

And who you are.

Some people, nice, kind, decent citizens, should not be let within a mile of Costco. Why? Because they cannot control their bargain buying instinct. "Twenty packs of bathroom towels! they'll yell. Ten pound tubs of chicken salad!"

The  first  key to success: chose your Costco buyer. Who is the most goal oriented, disciplined person in your entourage? Yes, that's the one. He/she goes; the others stay at home.

Second: always work from a written list. Insist on phone confirmation for any change. Cooler heads will prevail. ("That's wonderful, honey. But what are we going to do with fifty chicken wings?")

Third, learn to spot consistent value. For example, certain fruits and vegetables of excellent quality regularly cost less at Costco. It doesn't matter why. For big savings, take advantage of this.

Fourth, especially in the refrigerated perishable section, practice asking yourself the question, do we really want to eat all that in the next three days?

Fifth, never, EVER send your designated shopper off to do battle hungry. Or angry. Or overly sad. After all, they're only human.

Advanced Costco shopping techniques

Buying in quantity saves money on three conditions:

1) you don't let it rot;

2) you don't feel obliged to eat too much just to get rid of it; and—of course—

3) the price really is cheaper (check, don't trust the store).

Vegetables famously don't keep, so you'll lose money if you buy them in quantity unless you are really making preserves or feeding a lot of people. Meats, on the other hand, freeze well. Chicken breasts and the fleshy part of pork ribs, especially. 

Thou shalt not stress out !

You cook a nice meal, set a lovely table, want everything to be perfect, and what happens? The partner is late, the kids fight, the phone rings, someone's favorite TV show's on, a thoughtless remark about the rice being too sticky—and, suddenly, everything's ruined!! All that hard work for nothing! Nothing! Why do I bother! No-one appreciates it! I'm through! Never again!

The chewing stops.

They all look at you, eyes wide.

Nobody speaks.

It seems you have lost it again.

Is this scene familiar?  (It is to me.)

Here are a few tips to de-stress your family meals for the benefit of all.

For chronic late arrivals, favor dishes which are not time sensitive or, even better, which improve while sitting quietly in a turned-off oven.

If you are doing all the work alone and resenting it, farm out certain tasks. Peeling vegetables, can be done together while talking or watching TV. Children can take turns setting and clearing the table. And, if no help is forthcoming, dinners can be simplified to what you are comfortable with. A hotdog, say.

If the tension is coming from your children—fights over schoolwork, sibling rivalry, picky eating, whatever—there's no miracle solution. But you can try to identify the cause and deal with it away from mealtimes. There's no reason to repeat the same fight night after night.

If a family member criticizes your cooking, offer to share the burden. Not in a snarky way, but for real. Let everyone take a turn preparing dinner. Or at least part of dinner. Who knows, they might discover they like to cook and are good at it. Or maybe that a good meals requires effort which should be appreciated.

In any event, relax. Family meals are not for show. The curtain does not go up. There is no applause. Just, hopefully, a little quiet, pleasant time for you and your loved ones. Whenever and however you all prefer. At the table if possible. In front of the TV if there's no other way.