Cheap and easy vege soup

This is the meal I make once a week that is so easy. Not to mention very cheap. And the kids love it. (Ok, loves a strong word, they eat it heartily). Usually I make it the day before I go shopping, to use up all those old veges hiding in the bottom of the fridge.

So, cut up an onion or two, garlic if you have it. Fry in plenty of fat (I use either lard, butter or coconut oil, or a combination) until soft. Add cut up veges, whatever you have such as zucchini, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, those wilting greens that you forgot to use, anything. Put the lid on and sweat the veges for about 20 mins with the onions. This really makes it flavourful.

Then add stock (see below) or water, and a cup of red lentils (soaked previously if possible). Bring to the boil and let it simmer until it's all soft - maybe half hour or so. Add salt to taste (I use plenty - good for you, and tasty).

Pour some cream on top to serve, chives if you have them. Maybe some toast. Total cost I think would be about $3.50. And if you're cooking with stock, very, very nutritious.

STOCK: This is a way to cut your budget big time. It's a very cheap, very nutritious meat meal, without the cost of the meat. You can actually get a shopping bag of bones from the butcher for about $2. They will make 3 weeks worth of stock! Will post stock recipe tomorrow....

Delicious, Simple Dal

Ahhh dal. Such a simple meal, peasant food, but it can be so delicious, nutritious, and yes cheapskates, it's cheap as chips. The key to a delicious dal is CONDIMENTS. Our favourite at the moment is a lime pickle I made a few months ago. Really simple recipe (will fill you in another day), and very authentic tasting. Goes extremely well with a simple dal. So, for dinner I cooked some split mung beans in fish stock (I've found a good use for fish stock! - very nutritious, and I can finally get rid of some of the hoards of it in my freezer). Separately I fried up some onion, ginger, garlic till soft, then added ground cumin, coriander, tumeric, paprika, mustard seeds, and cardamom. I left out the chilli so that Little Miss Four would eat it (alas, I was wrong). Finally added the cooked dal. Done. Earlier I fried some brown rice in ghee for 10 minutes, then added water and cooked on a low heat for 45 mins. At the last minute I steamed cauliflower and carrots, and put it all together, with, of course the lime pickle, some yoghurt, and lots of fresh coriander out of the garden. I made double so we'd have leftovers, and I reckon the meal would have only cost $3.

Lunch was a very simple and quick sandwich. Fresh home made sourdough bread, topped with plenty of butter, avocado, sliced tomato, and some very yummy home-made cheese (more about that another day too). Salt and pepper. I could eat that all day.

Breakfast is always a tough one. I get a bit bored with the same old same old. Need new ideas. Today I was short on ideas, so we had overnight-soaked porridge, cooked in milk (makes it creamy). Topped with cream (raw is best), raw honey, and a spoon of coconut oil (good way to get good fats into Littlies). Yummy and nutritious, but yes, quite obvious.

Eat on, cheapskates.