The 12 Days of Holiday Treats: Cranberry Sorbet Edition

'Tis the ultimate season for festive foods. In that spirit, I've decided to countdown the 12 remaining days to Christmas with a collection of holiday recipes, both naughty and nice. Sidebar: How is it 12 days until Christmas? Anyone else have no idea where in the world the last month went? Didn't I chow down on massive amounts of turkey, like, yesterday? Anyway...

To kick off the dozen days of Christmas delicious, I want to introduce you to what has become a December staple in my house: cranberry sorbet. This falls on the nicer side of the naughty/nice holiday food spectrum. It's fat free, albeit sugary, but has lots of fruit and is a great alternative to traditional ice cream. 

Unfortunately you need an ice cream maker for this one, but it's totally worth dusting yours off or finding one to borrow. This sorbet is tangy and slightly sweet with chunks of cranberries sprinkled throughout. Provided you don't have far to travel, it makes a great food gift that is a far departure from typical cookies or fruitcakes. 

Cranberry Sorbet

Up to 90 minutes, mostly unattended, plus several hours to freeze

Makes 3-4 cups

A Spoonful Original

Ingredients:

• ½ cup orange juice
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. orange zest

1.   Combine the orange juice, water and cranberries and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until cranberries start to pop open.

2.   Once the cranberries begin to open, use a wooden spoon to mash them against the side of the saucepan. Continue to mash until most of the cranberries have been pressed.

3.   Add the sugar and orange zest and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and allow the liquid to cook for 15-20 minutes, or until it cooks down to a syrup-like consistency.

4.   Place the mixture in the freezer for 30-60 minutes to cool.

5.   Transfer the mixture to your ice cream maker and finish according to the machine’s instructions.

Tips and Tricks:

1. Don’t worry about mashing up the cranberries completely at the second step. As the liquid continues to cook and the ice cream machine beats the mixture, the berries will continue to break down.
2. You will probably need to return the ice cream to the freezer to harden after the ice cream maker has finished. If you’re using certain containers to store the ice cream, transfer it to those containers before hardening it in the freezer. 

moroccan lentils and accomplishments

Today was a textbook example of what the last days of fall should be like. The temperature outside was downright chilly, but the sky was full of abundant sunshine. On days like that the chill in the air makes you quicken your step to get back inside to the warmth, but truly, you really don't mind the cold all that much. The perfect compliment to a day like that is a bowl full of warm, yet light deliciocity.

It's amazing what a clear sky will do for my tolerance of cold weather.  Ask me how I feel about that chill in the air come February. I promise my answer will be far less cheery.

Maybe the donning of rose-tinted glasses when it came to today's weather was partially thanks to the fact that today was a big day. For the last year, I've been fighting a back injury that has put me through countless imaging tests, hours of physical therapy, a whirlwind tour of pain-controlling pharmaceuticals, and more exposure to waiting room televisions streaming Fox News than I needed in a lifetime. It's been a very long year that has only begun to show light at the end of the tunnel in the last six weeks. I'm not entirely put back together, but today for the first time in a year, I ran two miles.

Two miles may not seem like a big deal. And if you'd asked me a year ago, I would have said it wasn't. But today, two miles of not just running but the kind of run your mind gets absolutely lost in, qualified as a major accomplishment. My recovery is far from over, but this was a huge step.

After my two miles I came home to a big bowl of Moroccan Lentils. This is a recipe I've made with regularity for a couple of years now, but it's definitely best when the weather is cold. It almost reminds me of a chili with much more exotic flavors. It works well served several different ways: served atop roasted spaghetti squash, served with a large slice of bread on the side or thinned with broth or tomato juice to turn into a soup.

Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's crossing and old familiar finish line you haven't seen in far too long, or maybe it's just getting a taste of something that's as wonderful as you remember, but something has a holiday spirit of sorts running amok in this spoonful's kitchen.

Moroccan Lentils

50 minutes, 35 minutes lightly attended

Serves 4

Adapted from Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 ½ tsp. turmeric
• 1 ½ tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup lentils
• 3-4 cups chicken stock or water
• salt and pepper to taste

1.   Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and allow to cook for 5 minutes.

2.   Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the tomatoes, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, lentils and 1 cup of stock/water and bring the mixture to a boil.

3.   Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30-35 minutes. Stir occasionally and add additional stock/water 1/2-1 cup at a time as the lentils absorb the cooking liquid. Continue to simmer and add stock/water until lentils are softened, but not mushy.

4.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Christmas Kolaches

When I was a kid in grade school, I was the student who had a compulsive need to constantly raise her hand. Always had the answer, always had to talk first... Yeah. That kid. The only problem with that was the occasional question from the teacher that went something like this: "Who has been to Zimbabwe?" *Emily's hand shoots high in the air as quickly as possible* Even though it is clear I have never been to Zimbabwe and I am in no way qualified to contribute to wherever this conversation is going, I felt compelled to feign globetrotter status.

Fast forward to adult life. Very little has changed. While I now avoid the obvious traps (instead of saying I'd been to Zimbabwe, I just act like I know a lot about it), I still fall victim to this set-up from time to time when it's a topic on which I feel I need to seem intelligent.

This past week I was trying to arrange a presentation during a coworker's training session. In order to make my offer for a power point at 8 am on a Friday a little more appealing, I offered to bring coffee and whatever breakfast treat he would like. "Kolaches" he responded. I stared back blankly. He interpreted this blank stare as me being impressed he came up with such a difficult and obscure food item. I was actually staring because I had no idea what the hell a Kolache was. I wasn't even sure what he said. I only had a string of syllables that I thought were what he said. Instead of admitting my cluelessness, I assured him I could make them (because, duh, I can make anything). I've never raced back to my laptop to call on the powers of Google quite so fast.

For those out there who are equally as ignorant about Kolaches as I was, they originated as a semi-sweet dessert in Czechoslovakia traditionally served at weddings. Basically, it's a yeast-based pastry with a fruit or savory filling inside. I am so glad I accidentally walked into a Kolache challenge because these little desserts are so very tasty! Their semi-sweet nature keeps them from being too rich, while their filling gives a great balance to the fluffy, bread-like outside. The first batch I made (per the coworker's request) were strawberry-based. I tossed in a few apple flavored ones as well.

I made them again this weekend to see if I could fix a few things with the dough I thought could be improved and used leftover cranberry relish for the filling (best use of leftover cranberry relish, ever, by the way). I've landed in a spot that I like a lot, so I want to share these with you. I'm dubbing the cranberry-stuffed version Christmas Kolaches. Even though cranberry is not a traditional filling, I think the semi-sweet dough is meant to be paired with a slightly tart inside. Plus, they're delightfully festive. I think Santa would be as happy as a clam if some of these awaited him at the bottom of your chimney this year.

Christmas Kolaches

3 hours, 2 ½ unattended

Makes 16 kolaches

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 stick butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 cup filling (see tips and tricks below)
• Egg wash (1 egg whisked together with 1 tbsp. milk)

1.   In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast and nutmeg.

2.   In a medium saucepan combine milk, butter, sugar and salt. Heat on medium low until all of the butter is nearly melted.

3.   Add the contents of the saucepan to the mixing bowl along with the eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. Using a dough hook, beat on low speed, scraping sides of the bowl until ingredients are combined. Beat on a medium-high speed for three minutes.

4.   Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth. Coat the mixing bowl with nonstick spray, return the dough to the bowl and cover. Allow to rise for 2 hours.

5.   Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Punch the dough down and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Divide the dough into two equal parts.

6.   Roll the dough as close to 16” x 8” as possible (your dough should be about 1/8” thick). Cut the dough into 8 4”x 4” squares.

7.   Spoon a tablespoon of filling into the center of the dough. Brush the outside of the square with your egg wash, fold the four corners together in center and pinch to seal the kolache. Place a toothpick through the sealed corners to ensure they stay together.

8.   Preheat the oven to 375. Place the kolaches on the stovetop, covered, and allow them to rise for 30 minutes.

9.   Brush the remainder of the egg wash over the kolaches. Bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Tips and Tricks:

1. The Christmas Kolaches are filled with cranberry relish made with 1 cup of finely chopped cranberries, 1-2 tbsp. of sugar and 2 tsp. orange juice. For an apple filling, dice 1 cup of peeled apples and combine with 2 tsp. brown sugar, ½ tsp. cinnamon, ¼ tsp. nutmeg and 2 tsp. apple juice. For a strawberry filling, dice 1 cup of strawberries and combine with 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar and 2 tsp. water.
2. If you secure the kolaches with toothpicks you can place them through the top and angled towards the bottom of the kolache or you can skewer them straight through the top with the toothpick parallel to the surface of the pan. The latter is more secure, but more difficult to remove once they’re baked. Either one should do the trick.
3. To make sure I'm actually cutting 4"x4" squares (because you know I'm terrible at eyeballing it), I use a yardstick (a ruler would be fine, too) to measure and rolling pizza slicer to cut straight lines. It might sound excessive, but it's very easy and accurate. If you're off a bit here and there it won't matter too much, just make sure it's still a square. If it's too rectangular, fillings tend to fall out when you pull the corners together.

Let's Talk Turkey...Leftovers

The Thanksgiving celebration has come and gone. If yours was anything like mine you ate way too much incredibly delicious food, lounged around the house in sweatpants for several hours and then got your game face on for black Friday shopping. If yours was nothing like mine, it probably still involved copious amounts of turkey, gravy, dressing, potatoes, vegetable casseroles, roles, pies and the like. With a Thanksgiving feast comes the inevitable refrigerator full of leftovers.

Don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving leftovers. For about 36 hours. After that, I'm really, really tired of turkey that's now losing its moisture, gravy that looks like Jell-o, and casseroles that are more chewy than crisp. It's one of the many reasons I'm thankful I don't host actually Thanksgiving; it's not my refrigerator that gets packed full of tupperware!

What to do with all that turkey...

Here are three different ways you can use the leftovers to give you a break from mundane reheating:

The Traditional: Open-Faced Turkey Manhattan

This is a great way to use up lots of Thanksgiving day leftovers at once. Start with a slice of bread and layer mashed potatoes, turkey and gravy on top. The turkey and gravy should reheat in the microwave with no problem. You may need to add a bit of milk to the potatoes to get them back to their fluffy consistency. Warm the potatoes first, then stir in additional milk one teaspoon at a time until you've got the right consistency. 

Healthy Comfort Food: Moroccan Lentils with Turkey

This lentil recipe is one of my go-tos for warm, comforting food that doesn't pack too many calories or fat (an especially nice post-Thanksgiving break).  I usually serve it over spaghetti squash, but have swapped out the squash for turkey in this variety.

Dice a medium onion and mince 2 cloves of garlic. Saute in 1-2 tbsp. olve oil over medium heat for five minutes. Add one can of diced tomatoes, 2 tsp. turmeric, 1 tsp. coriander, 1 tsp. cumin, 2/3 cup dried lentils and 1 cup diced turkey. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water 1/2 cup at a time if the lentils absorb all the liquid before they're done cooking.

Fusion-Inspired: Turkey Dumplings

This will take your turkey out of the Thanksgiving realm entirely. For each serving of dumplings you want to make, take 1/2 cup of shredded cabbage, 1/4 cup shredded carrots and 1/2 tsp. minced ginger and saute in 2 tsp. of vegetable oil over medium heat. Allow the mixture to cool briefly, then spoon equal amounts into 4-6 wonton wrappers, brush water along the edge and press to seal the edges together. Lightly coat a non-stick skillet with vegetable oil and cook the dumplings over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover skillet with a lid and steam dumplings for 3 minutes. Serve with soy sauce mixed with minced ginger to taste.

If you have any recipes you like that call for diced or shredded chicken, substitute your leftover turkey for the chicken. Try turkey in these chipotle tostadas for a decidedly different leftover flavor.

Weddings, weddings everywhere! And edible tuxedos!

Edible tuxedos got your attention for all the wrong reasons, didn't it...

Does wedding bonanza seem to be upon anyone else these days? I have quite a few close friends getting ready to tie the knot and know several more people who either just took a trip down the aisle or are in the process of planning their big day.

With weddings come bridal showers and with bridal showers come opportunities to cutes-ify every detail of the décor and food (bridal showers and baby showers are very similar in this way). There also seems to be no shortage of shower-related inspiration on the internet (seriously, just google wedding shower food/décor/games. It’s nutty, I tell you). And I find myself a little too excited whenever I have the opportunity to dream up theme food for a group.

This past weekend I was delighted to have the chance to make these tuxedo cheese and cracker platters, but I was more excited to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of my friends Lisa and Avery. This was before the tiny little cold I'd been fighting for a couple weeks mutated while I was sleeping on Friday night and turned into a double ear infection. Super fun. Thankfully, I'd prepped these ahead so the time I had to be within arms reach of the platter was minimal. 

These little guys were surprisingly simple to put together and decorate. The base is simply a large round cracker with a slice of wedge cheese on top (I used sesame crackers and Laughing Cow cheese wedges). The cheese wedges sliced beautifully, but did take a bit of coaxing to get off the knife unscathed. For the decoration I used raisins, either cut into small triangles or stamped out with a cake decorating tip. To cut the raisins, I sliced one in half hamburger-style (come on, you all know it's clearer than me saying widthwise), then cut the raisin again 45 degrees from the first cut. Same with the other side, put them together and boom! Instant edible bow tie. For the buttons, I just pressed a writing tip into the raisin until it went through, then poked it out with a toothpick over the spot I wanted it on the cracker.

Initially I thought to use olives (and still think it would be easier to do it with them instead of raisins) but avoided that option to better suit the bride’s taste preferences. If you want to give these a try, raisins are absolutely doable, but olives would remove the stickiness that occasionally made the former grapes a little tricky to work with.

Have you seen any particularly clever foodstuffs at recent showers? Stuff that was so over-the-top cutesy that you kinda threw up a little bit in your mouth? I mean it, cute has its limit... 

Share away in the comments! There are lots more bridal/baby showers in this little blogger's future, so stay tuned for more cute (but not too cute) wedding- and baby-themed goodies!

Sloppy Joes and Childhood References...

When I think of sloppy joes I think of two things. One, the camp cafeteria scene in It Takes Two (yes, the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie) where the sheltered wealthy girl tries sloppy joes for the first time and is so overwhelmed by the deliciousness that she ends up scarfing the food and wearing sauce all over her face. The other thing I remember? That every time I ate a sloppy joe as a kid, I could never get quite that into the sandwich. I liked sloppy joes, but was not crazy about them. At least, not crazy about them like Alyssa Callaway was. For those of you who are completely lost by this reference, get yourself up to speed at 1:25:

See, I try and give you insight into what motivated me to make a recipe or what I wanted to accomplish with it and instead, I just let you in on the (not-so-secret) secret that I’m totally a child of Full House era and grew up digging Mary-Kate and Ashley like it was my job. Hey, it could have been worse. I could have totally adored Lindsay Lohan.

Back to the sandwiches.

My point is, I found a sloppy joe totally worthy of face stuffing. In fact, I found it hard to not have a face (and hands!) covered in gooey red sauce  and chunks of meat and veggies when I was plowing my way through not one, but two of these puppies last week for dinner. This is not your elementary school sloppy joe. The things I love most about how it turned out was how creamy the sauce was, thanks to the condensed soup and how much texture and flavor was added just by putting in additional veggies. I nearly pureed the onion and pepper by accident the first time I made these which made me realize you could purposely blend up the vegetables to make them undetectable to any picky eaters that may dine under your roof.

Now that the weather is really starting to feel like fall, whip up a batch of these for dinner on a chilly night. Much faster than letting a soup simmer for hours, but still a completely warm and comforting meal.

Sloppy Joes

35 minutes

Serves 4

Adapted from Foodie Crush

Ingredients: 

• 1 onion
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 lb. ground beef           
• 4 ribs celery, diced
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ½  tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. chili powder 

1. Quarter the onion and bell peppers and place into a food processor, pulse until the onion and pepper are in small pieces, but not liquefied.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, begin cooking the ground beef. Cook, for five minutes, then stir in the diced bell peppers, onion and celery.
3. Continue to cook for an additional five minutes, or until the onions have just become translucent.
4. Stir in the tomato soup, garlic powder, salt and chili powder. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Recipe: Pesto Bread

I came across this recipe for Pesto Bread back in the summer during one of those weeks that could have been alternately titled: 101 ways to use basil. I love this recipe for many reasons, including its ability to use up extra basil and serve as a vehicle for other great veggies or cheeses.

I've served the bread a few different ways. I've had it topped simply with butter or parmesan. I've used it as a bread for grilled cheese and caprese sandwiches. I've also had it served cinnamon-roll style and topped with marinara sauce. One of my favorite ways to enjoy this has been to allow others to use their own toppings. My coworkers did this the last time I brought a loaf to the office - everyone brought in their own spread, topping or dipping sauce they wanted to have the pesto bread with. It was so much fun and gave us all so many great ideas on what to do with the bread.

A tip if you're looking to use it for sandwiches: The bread is difficult to slice thinly because of the rigid crust on top. However, even thick pieces will be super-absorbent because of the bread's make-up. This is no problem if you're just slicing toppings and serving on top, but if you plan to melt a moist cheese (like mozzarella) make sure to toast the bread slices first, otherwise you end up with soggy bread!

Pesto Bread
2 hours, 30 minutes
Makes 1 loaf
Adapted from Mmm is for Mommy

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 3 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup prepared pesto

1. In a large bowl, whisk the warm water and yeast until fully combined. Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes, or until bubbles form at the surface.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl and set aside.
3. Stir in the olive oil and buttermilk in with the yeast mixture. Fold in the dry ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time until dough has come together.
4. Once the dough is formed, remove from the bowl and roll into a ball. Coat the mixing bowl with a layer of non-stick spray and return the dough ball to the bowl. Cover with a towel and let rest for one hour, or until doubled in size.
5. Lightly flour a work surface. Place the dough on to the floured surface and roll to a rectangle with a length about twice as long as your loaf pan and between one quarter to one half inch thick.
6. Brush the prepared pesto over the surface of the bread. Beginning from a side twice the length of your loaf pan, roll the dough jelly-roll style until all of the pesto has been rolled up. 
7. Cut the roll in half, then cut each of those halves down the middle, exposing the rolled up pesto. Weave the four pieces of dough together, keeping the pesto side up. Place into a greased loaf pan. Allow to rise for another hour.
8. Heat oven to 375 and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Tips and Tricks:

1. If you have a Kitchen Aid with a dough hook attachment, feel free to use it at step three instead of folding the ingredients to created the dough.
2. See photos below to illustrate steps 5, 6 and 7.

Rolled out dough with pesto spread on top.

Dough rolled up and cut in half. Each section is approx. the length of the loaf pan

Rolls sliced down the middle, exposing the pesto.

Four strands of dough, woven together and ready for the loaf pan!

Bread, post-baking.

Pantone Cookies

Last week, I surprised my friend Holly with a big batch of these little guys for her birthday:

They were a huge hit, especially with all the graphic designers at Holly’s and my office (come on, who can say no to treats as colorful as these?!) Rather than just showing you the photos of these darling cookies, I’ve included a tutorial so you can make your very own batch of edible Pantones for the designer or color nut in your life. Also, check out this post from Kim Creative Star, where I originally got the idea for the cookies. She has some great suggestions on presentation.

These are a great weekend project. Not just because they take a lot of time to put together, but because lots of steps require you to walk away for a little while, then come back and do something else. Whenever I have a recipe like that, I use the down time to get odds and ends done around the house or run out and take care of a quick errand. My mother helped me out with these during a visit a few weeks ago. It took us most of a Saturday to get them finished (partially because we made over a hundred of them…), but we had an absolute blast making them!

We made the cookies about three weeks before they were to be served and stored the frosted cookies in air-tight freezer containers. Two days before, I got the cookies out to thaw them and write the name and numbers on. They took very well to the freezing and thawing – I wasn’t able to detect a difference in taste or texture.

To start, you’ll need a batch of sugar cookie dough you can roll out and cut. You can use my decorator sugar cookie recipe (which made about 10 dozen of this rectangular-shaped cookie) or any sugar cookie recipe of your own. Store bought dough that is meant to be rolled out (not break and bake or slice and bake style) will work as well.

The icing we used on these cookies is royal icing. We selected it because of the control you have over where it goes on the cookie and the seamless, matte finish it has when it dries. You can mix up any color you’d like for the cookies. We did about three cookies per each color we mixed up. For us, it was easiest to start with a very light hue, then add in more color to make it darker and darker as we colored more cookies. Any royal icing recipe should work pretty well. We used the royal icing recipe from Joy of Baking

(Nearly) Everything you'll need to make the cookies (large bowl not pictured)

What you’ll need:

Rolling pin

Pasta roller, pizza wheel or rectangular cookie cutter

Baking sheets and cooling racks

Large bowl with tight fitting lid or plastic cling wrap to cover

Small bathroom cups

Toothpicks

Food coloring

Black food marker

To make the cookies:

1. Roll out the dough into a large sheet 1/8” thick.
2. Using a pasta roller or pizza wheel, cut the dough into rectangles 1 ¾” wide and 2 ½” tall (note: our cookies were a bit crammed for writing space. If you’d like more space or bigger cookies, increase the size to 2 ¼” inches wide and 3” tall). We used a yardstick to measure and cut the strips. Provided it is the right size, a rectangular cookie cutter may also work.
3. Carefully transfer the cut dough onto cookie sheets and bake according to recipe instructions. Once the cookies are baked, allow them to cool on a rack for at least an hour.

To make the frosting:

1.  Mix up the icing according to your recipe in a large bowl. Transfer a third of it into a smaller dish and tightly cover the large bowl. Royal icing dries out quickly so it’s important to cover any you’re not using.
2. Leaving the icing its original white color, apply a rectangle to the bottom third of the cookie. Try to keep the borders as straight and a close to the edge of the cookie as possible). Repeat until all cookies have the partial frosting. Allow the icing to harden completely (at least 1 hour). Add any leftover icing back into the original container.
3. Place 1-2 tablespoons of royal icing into a small cup. Add in food coloring until desired hue is attained. Spread the icing on the remaining two thirds of the cookie, again keeping the borders as straight and close to the edge as possible. Allow to dry for at least one hour, or until hardened completely.
4. Once cookies have hardened completely, use an edible marker to write “PANTONE” across the bottom.  For a genuine Pantone look, you can use a color-matching guide to look up the numbers and write them on the cookie as well.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions!  Even better – share your photos here or on the Spoonful of Something Facebook page (don’t forget to “like” the page as well!) if you are so inclined to make a batch of your own. More pictures of the full batch of cookies available on the Facebook page as well.

30 Days Later

The month of my challenge has come and gone. I am at the finish line, less enthused about the end than I predicted I would be and feeling painfully aware of what hunger can do to a person’s body and soul.

I have gone from adoring food and cooking to dreading the thought of making dinner.  My kitchen went from a sanctuary of creativity to a site for irritation and insufficiency. My soul went from craving culinary education and inspiration to just wanting to understand one iota of America’s food system.

I could see the effects of my changed diet very quickly. I didn’t have as much energy. Because of that, my exercise routine took a hit. I became careless about what I was putting in my body; I just cared that I was managing to feed myself. I think I ingested more yellow 5, blue 1 and red 30 dyes in the past month than I did during all of elementary school combined. When I didn’t have the energy to plan meals, I let it slip; food went to waste and I made careless choices. I usually chose comfort foods so I could take solace in at least some part of my meal. Social functions were almost out of the question entirely. It felt incredibly isolating to feel like I couldn’t go out and be amongst friends at a meal. I felt shame when I could no longer bring people over to enjoy a dinner. Not only was there hardly enough to share, I didn’t want people to see me cooking and eating the way I was.

Several people have expressed their relief at the conclusion of the challenge. Many said they had felt bad over the past month eating or cooking certain things in front of me they knew I couldn’t afford. Others wanted me to be back to a more active social life, which included the ability to have a meal or drinks out. Some were concerned for my health and were happy that I’d be able to take better care of myself again. These are many of the same people who have been extraordinarily supportive of me over the past month. Don’t get me wrong, I’m appreciative of their honesty but on some level it makes the conclusion of the challenge seem incredibly unfair. I get to flip a switch and go back to life as I knew it 30 days ago. That change is at such odds with reality, it hurts.

What am I taking away from the Hunger Challenge? Three important lessons:

No judgment.

Food, clothing and shelter are the basic needs of human life. How you choose to feed, clothe and shelter yourselves and your family are personal choices. If I want to fill up a shopping cart full of ramen noodles and Cheetos and call it dinner for the night, I can. If I want to make a dinner out of Cap’n Crunch and Ben and Jerry’s, I can (And, for the record, totally have). My mother always told me “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.” Have I ever looked into someone else’s shopping cart and thought, “I’d never buy that!” Of course I have. But the next time I find my eyes wandering to someone else’s cart, food stamp recipient or not, I’ll think twice before I start examining their purchases. I hope you’ll do the same. If you won’t, then have the decency to keep your thoughts to yourself. No one deserves to be publically chastised for what they choose to eat. Ever.

(Amateur Gourmet recently had an excellent, brief article on a similar topic. I highly recommend it: http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2011/10/lets-not-be-paternalistic-about-food.html#more-6290)

There’s no simple answer to the question “Can you afford to eat healthy on food stamps?”

After researching the actual prices of certain fruits and vegetables (and filling in from my experience over the last month), buying fresh produce or produce at all certainly is possible on a highly restrictive budget. But what about that can of chicken noodle soup? How far up the price chain do you have to go before it’s void of a laundry list of additives? In half the stores I visited, otherwise identical loaves of white and wheat bread were being sold at significantly different prices. When pennies, nickels and dimes matter, would you choose to buy milk, or pay a small fraction of the price for soda? Is your motivation to buy fresh vegetable strong enough when canned varieties are (or even just appear to be) cheaper and require a much shorter prep time? Everyone is free to make their own choices on exactly what they eat, but the almighty dollar sure does have a way of shaping those choices, especially when dollars are scarce.

If you are fortunate enough to have enough, share what you can.

The operations of so many food banks and soup kitchens run on the generosity of both companies and individuals. If the economy over the last five years has proven only one point, it is that anyone, no matter their class status, race, religion or age, can go from having everything to nothing in the blink of an eye. Chances are you won’t wake up tomorrow in need of a food bank’s services. But someone will. Tomorrow I go back to a regular grocery budget just as swiftly as I began to restrict it. There’s no switch to flip that turns off hunger. How can you help? You can donate food. You can give your time. You can provide funds. You can understand how the food banks in your area provide assistance. You can start a conversation. In whatever way you desire or are able to help, it can make a difference.

For me, helping will mean more frequent donations to my local food banks, especially in the seasons when I can donate excess from my own vegetable garden. It will mean keeping accessibility in mind when I decide what foods I feature and recipes I post on this blog. It will mean when I teach beginning cooking classes, to better educate my students on the true cost of certain foods and how to shop and choose ingredients intelligently. It will mean giving some of my own time with efforts to mitigate hunger in my community.

I hope you have gained something by going on this journey with me. If you’re interested, I encourage you to take on a Hunger Challenge of your own. If you are able, I urge you to support your local food banks. Most importantly, if you are reading this, I thank you for having the curiosity, interest and support to see this challenge through. Regardless of your opinion on food, the challenge or hunger itself I hope these posts have helped you to see this issue from a new perspective. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll charge one of you to help make a difference.

Is Eating Fresh Really More Expensive?

I'm headed into the final five days of the hunger challenge. I'd been giving a lot of thought to how I'd handled the challenge: the types of food I'd been eating, the changes I'd made to my diet and lifestyle and I started to feel disappointed I didn't work harder to keep more of my own cooking and fresh foods at the forefront. I felt as if I'd tried harder I could have made my results more meaningful for other people. I could have written more recipes or talked about more resources or ways to budget and plan.

Then I realized that's the point of the challenge. Anyone in this situation day in and day out is surely faced with the same (and probably more) frustrations and fewer resources than I have been in the past month. It gets so easy to reach for the pre-packaged option that's cheap and quick. The first two weeks I showed you exactly what I was purchasing and planning on cooking. Last week my shopping happened at a time that I was unable to photograph the purchase. This week I decided to make a menu using almost exclusively what was already in my kitchen so I could spend almost half my budget (just $14.00) on food to bring to a friend's get-together. Did I make a poor decision with the money I had to spend? Some may say so. I say I was tired of turning down invitations from friends because I did not have the money to spend buying meals out or felt like I couldn't provide a contribution for a meal at their house. To be perfectly honest, my shopping has involved less and less fresh food as the month has gone on.

As the challenge winds down, I am continuing to gather information and research so I can provide others with some insight into the strategy of shopping on a budget. One area that has still felt fairly gray to me this entire month is the price of fruits and vegetables. When I started the challenge, I was asked several times if I thought I could afford fresh produce on this budget. My naive response was "Well, I know I can at least afford bananas!" knowing them to be one of the cheapest sources of fresh fruit.

In my research, I came across a study from the USDA on the prices of fruits and vegetables. I wish I'd found it sooner. It doesn't give you all the answers, but it does help spell out how much a particular fruit or veggie costs in various forms (fresh, frozen, canned or dried) and how much you'll end up paying per cup of actual food. For example, an ear of corn may cost .50, a can .67 and a frozen bag for $1.85, but which one is cheapest? Cans and bags are relatively easy to compare, but with most fresh produce there is at least some refuse (the inedible part that gets thrown away, i.e. banana peels and apple cores).

The USDA study looks at food prices in households across the US for 2008. Foods were purchased at various times of the year and from various retailers. They examined foods in fresh, canned, dried, frozen and juiced forms. They present their data in two ways: the first representing the actual price per pound and the second representing the cost per usable cup.

What did they find? You can see for yourself by looking at the full report here or the summarized findings here. Here's my Reader's Digest version and run down of the winner's circle.

First, not all produce is created equal. Some items see very little price difference from fresh to canned to frozen, others see major differences in price. Bottom line? Pound for pound it's cheaper to feed yourself Ramen noodles and canned soups. There's plenty of research and reasoning to point out the flaws in that diet plan, but integrating produce has to be a conscious choice. And it is possible to keep good nutrition in mind, even on a limited budget.

Cheapest Sources of Fresh Fruit (per usable cup of fruit)

1. Watermelon (17 cents)
2. Bananas (21 cents)
3. Apples (28 cents)
4. Navel oranges (34 cents)
5. Pears (42 cents)

Cheapest Sources of Fresh Vegetables (per usable cup of veggies)

1. Potatoes (19 cents)
2. Carrots (25 cents)
3. Lettuce (26 cents)
4. Cabbage (27 cents)
5. Onions (28 cents)

Cheapest Sources of Canned Vegetables (per usable cup of veggies)

1. Sauerkraut/cabbage (30 cents)
2. Carrots (34 cents)
3. Green beans (34 cents)
4. Corn (37 cents)
5. Turnip greens (40 cents)

Cheapest Sources of Frozen Vegetables (per usable cup of veggies)

1. Green beans (37 cents)
2. Carrots (39 cents)
3. French fries/potatoes (41 cents)
4. Kale (48 cents)
5. Green peas (51 cents)

Keep in mind, these are based on average prices over a year. Want a way to beat the average every time? Focus on what's in season. Grapefruit in September cost a heck of a lot more than they will in January. Use this Seasonal Ingredient Map from Epicurious or check out the selection at your local farmers market to find out what's in season near you.

Whose Groceries are Cheapest?

One thing that I’ve had a bit of trouble with during this challenge has been believing I am getting the best value for what I’m buying. Am I shopping at the cheapest store? Is the sale I’m taking advantage of providing a big enough savings to make a difference?  When you’re on a limited budget, a 10-cent difference in price on a handful of items starts to add up very quickly. I decided to settle the issue by surveying four different grocery stores for their prices on just over 40 pantry “staple” items.

I started at Target. I sort of assumed Target would be most expensive given that they don’t focus on grocery and don’t have a bottom-dollar brand. I love Target’s store brand for lots of household items, but I hadn’t had much experience with the quality or value of their “Market Fresh” store brand for food items. While I was browsing shelves for price tags I overheard a group of college students referring to the store as “the poor man’s Wal-Mart.” I couldn’t help but agree with the stereotype, believing when I got to Wal-Mart later on that afternoon I would find prices significantly cheaper than what I was finding on the shelves at Target.

After Target, I headed to Marsh. Those who live outside of Indiana may not be familiar with this particular grocery store. It used to be an Indiana-owned chain, but now has ownership and locations outside of the state. However, they still brand themselves “Indiana’s Hometown Grocer.” At Marsh, I scoured the shelves looking especially for items bearing their house brand’s name, “Food Club,” or their value brand’s label, “Value Time.” I was able to find versions of most items under the store brand umbrella, but not quite all.

Next, I drove across town to research food prices at Wal-Mart. To be perfectly honest, I’ve never gone to the Wal-Mart here for groceries. Part of the reason is that it’s out of the way from where I live. The other, and larger, consideration is a personal preference to support other retailers before Wal-Mart. The first thing I noticed was that the selection was massive and the store had a crowd to match. At Wal-Mart more than any other store, the value was substantially greater when you purchased a larger size. Most know the same company owns both Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart, but I wasn’t aware that the idea of savings through bulk sizes was integrated so thoroughly into Wal-Mart’s inventory as well. I also noticed the prices of their Great Value brand seemed to consistently be at least ten cents lower than prices I had recorded from Marsh or Target. I was quickly becoming convinced that everything I’d heard about Wal-Mart was true: Love or hate them, their price point is compelling, especially when your budget is restrictive.

My last stop after two hours of playing Nancy Drew in aisles of bread and peanut butter was at Kroger. Kroger is the mainstream grocery store I did most of my pre-challenge shopping at, though my shopping is typically split between a few different places (a luxury I have given up the last few weeks to save as much money as possible).  Like Marsh, Kroger has both a standard generic house brand (Kroger brand), and a more economical option on some items – their Value brand. Many staple items I was shopping for were available in a Value brand version.

Once I’d finished my rounds at all four stores, I went back to the list to compare prices across the board. I went in with a list of 42 items, but in the final list I’ll be comparing there are only 29 items. This is to ensure an apples-to-apples comparison across all stores.

And the winners are…

Wal-Mart came in as the cheapest with its cart totaling $53.17. Kroger, however, came in right on their heels with a total of $53.22, only a nickel more than the cost of the Wal-Mart cart. Most surprising to me was third place being awarded to Target with a total cart price of $61.83: notably more expensive than the first two retailers, but surprisingly cheaper than another “grocery” store option. Marsh came in fourth with a cart totaling $65.71, a difference of more than twelve dollars above both Wal-Mart and Kroger. Additionally, the extra $12 spent represents more than a third of my weekly allowance on a food stamp budget.

Take a look at the chart below if you’re interested in the specifics or to see how retailers compare on particular items.

Regardless of where you’re shopping, here are some general tips on making sure your dollar is stretching as far as possible:

• For staple items, choose a retailer you know to be generally less expensive. Sale prices can be alluring and provide great deals on the right items, but if you have enough general pantry-stocking to do, be sure you’re not being swayed into paying more for the basics by brightly colored sale tags.

•  Take a look at the various sizes of a particular item on your list and determine the optimum balance of your budget, what you’ll reasonably use and the difference is price per ounce. Sometimes larger sizes garner great savings, other times not so much. If you know you only drink a couple glasses of milk a week, any savings you get by buying a whole gallon may be nullified if the milk sours before you’re able to use it. On the other hand, if you’ll use a whole pound of cheese within a couple of weeks, it may be worth the extra dollars now (if you can spare them) rather than paying more in the long run for two smaller package.

• Consider whether or not an item will freeze well. If you can freeze it, you don’t have to worry about some going bad before it can be used up. Meat, fish and bread all freeze very well. Some vegetables like corn or green beans also do well, but others, especially those with high water content aren’t as ideal for freezing (think celery or tomatoes). In general, dairy products are better left refrigerated rather than frozen.

• Make a plan, write it down and consider plan B. I touted the virtues of “the plan” the first week of the challenge and I do believe it’s a great strategy to shop with. When you’re deciding at home what to pick up at the store (use the contents of your cabinet, fridge and weekly ads as resources) think about potential substitutes in case a particular item you’ve placed on your list ends up being unavailable or too expensive.

• Glance over the weekly ads before heading to the store. The longer I do this challenge, the less I build my grocery lists living and dying by sale prices, but they are worth consideration. Think about a few things to determine whether or not it’s worth it. How much are you saving over regular prices? Do you have to go further or to multiple places to get these savings? Are there acceptable substitutes that are cheaper?

What are your experiences finding the best prices when you shop? Do you think you have a rock-solid strategy or do you feel like you’re on shaky ground every time you have to make a plan? I’d love to hear  your thoughts and experiences!