We're a lot more fortunate than a lot of people, but I think everyone's tightening the belt these days. Instead of springing for a table full of Super Bowl snacks this year, we spend Sunday making a few tasty Chinese treats from scratch. Today, we enjoyed the fruits of our labor.
Dumplings: a pork and napa version with plenty of ginger, and a vegetarian version filled with shitake mushrooms, tofu, vermicelli noodles, scallions, and watercress. And daikon cakes with dried shrimp and sausage. And to fill our vegetable quota, we had some cabbage and watercress. I think the entire meal was assembled from under $5 worth fo groceries, but I didn't actually do the math.
A close of dumplings, made with homemade dough wrappers. I find that thick, chewy homemade dough shines best with a smaller amount of filling than big thin commercial wrappers, so a little meat and tofu went a long way. And we'll have freezer dumplings for awhile! I love freezer food.
Dumplings: a pork and napa version with plenty of ginger, and a vegetarian version filled with shitake mushrooms, tofu, vermicelli noodles, scallions, and watercress. And daikon cakes with dried shrimp and sausage. And to fill our vegetable quota, we had some cabbage and watercress. I think the entire meal was assembled from under $5 worth fo groceries, but I didn't actually do the math.
A close of dumplings, made with homemade dough wrappers. I find that thick, chewy homemade dough shines best with a smaller amount of filling than big thin commercial wrappers, so a little meat and tofu went a long way. And we'll have freezer dumplings for awhile! I love freezer food. 
8 comments:
Oooh! Recipes, please!
I'm still perfecting the daikon cake recipe, so I have no recipe to share.
And for the dumplings, sigh. People always ask, but it's kind of like asking an American how to make a tuna sandwich. Everyone knows how, everyone does it differently, but no one can really explain it to you in measured specifics.
The dough: combine three cups of flour with hot water and stir until the dough just barely comes together. Cover with a damp cloth for an hour until the dough is soft and pliable. Cut into balls smaller than ping pong balls, then roll out.
The meat filling: a half pound of pork, a heaping tablespoon of grated ginger, half a cube of tofu, a handful of chopped cooked vermicelli noodles, a tablespoon chopped dried shrimp, a tablespoon soy sauce,a tablespoon sesame oil, an egg,salt and white pepper to taste.
The veggie filling: half a block tofu, an egg, six finely chopped shitake mushrooms, a handful of chopped vermicelli, a handful chopped scallions, a handful chopped watercress, a tablespoon sesame oil, salt and white pepper to taste.
You see what I mean? The filling can have any proportion of anything, as long as you have an egg or two and either tofu or meat to make up the bulk.
Yay! Frugal living is back in -- down with LV purses! Seriously, we had a meeting with leftovers today and I totally grabbed as much as I could so I'd have free dinner :-( Now we know what it was like for grandmama and papa living through the depression. Btw, the dumplings look so good... a northerner would be proud of you and J :-)
Soon you'll be stealing food from the soup kitchen. Seriously though, sometimes they feed volunteers...
I think you should start a frugal dining series -- that could be your niche and you'll get hired by Food Network and be famous!
It's possible. Our grocery bill last week was $19. And as you can see, we're not exactly hurting for nutrition.
Today I spent $15 at the farmers' market and got:
-a whole chicken
-10 lbs potatoes
-5 onions
-3 lbs carrots
-1 head celery
-1 very large red bell pepper
-1 bulb garlic
-1 head bok choy
With that and pantry items I can make enough curry for at least dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow, a shepherd's pie, a Chinese herb stewed chicken with a side of vegetables, and a carrot cake for both breakfasts and desserts.
That's about $20 for three days' meals for two people.
That's great! You should totally blog about frugal dining -- like where to get the best quality grocery but at the least amount of $$$... I think people would be interested. I totally thought WF was more expensive than Ralph's! But think of it now -- not necessarily!
Thank youuu for the recipes! It's way easier than I thought!
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