Poverty Food, Prosperity Home

Color and Novelty

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 12 Oct 2013 20:08:00 +0000

Another trip to the market today and without fail, I always find something new and different to cook up.Perhaps its something seasonal. Perhaps something I have never tried before. Or maybe something so colorful I can't resist it!

Vibrant multi-colored peppers, shiny red cabbages, green tomatoes, ocher turnips, blue potatoes, lavender-speckled scotch beans...to name just a few. How many new or colorful foods do you incorporate into your weekly menus? If you have a tendency to remain with the same staple products, not mention color palette, week after week, shock your taste buds and decorate your table and try something new and colorful!

Some heirloom type products can be pricey in certain regions of the country. But choosing a new vegetable or fruit by color or novelty for your menu and diet does not have to break your budget. Don't go nuts and buy 5 pounds of something! Just try one new item...ideally when they are on sale at your farmers market or grocery store. For instance, try a red cabbage in a new way or stuff a new type of pepper you find. Make some blue mashed potatoes to go with your chicken or a big batch of chili with those scotch beans instead of kidney...be creative and enjoy the novelty and the nutrition. But always remain in your budget!

Here is a great recipe from the All Recipes.com website for Braised Red Cabbage... so simple and scrumptious! Chef-Johns-Braised-Red-Cabbage

Please submit your recipes to Poverty Food, Prosperity Home. We will feature them along with your photo and memories about the dish. And be sure to make it colorful!

Eat simply, eat well!

What do Jamie Oliver and Mahatma Gandhi have in common?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 11:57:00 +0000

What do Mahatma Gandhi and Jamie Oliver (aka The Naked Chef) have in common? No, not the "naked" or semi-clothed thing. It is their philosophy on food and poverty.

Over sixty years ago, Mahatma Gandhi recognized the possibility that his fellow Indians, who were in dire need and want, could in fact, eat a healthy diet from the food sources available to them. After several years of experimenting with what we call "vegan" diets today and vegetarianism, Gandhi wrote what is today considered a solid framework for a healthy diet for us all. His book Diet and Diet Reform was published in 1949 and is still worth a read.

Fast-forward to 2013, and to Britain's Jamie Oliver, celebrity chef and healthy food campaigner in his native Britain. Oliver has received both accolades as well as derision, for suggesting that people in his country could be making healthier food choices, even if on the lower end of the economic scale. In a recent brouhaha, Oliver has been recently criticized for making the following statement, "You might remember that scene in Ministry Of Food, with the mum and the kid eating chips and cheese out of styrofoam containers, and behind them is a massive TV. It just didn't weigh up,” he said.

"The fascinating thing for me is that seven times out of 10, the poorest families in this country choose the most expensive way to hydrate and feed their families. The ready meals, the convenience foods." (1)

How could Gandhi be right and Oliver wrong? Sure, Indians in 1940s India were not thinking about big screen tvs and being entertained. Political realities and hunger shaped their priorities and this is refleted in the "Gandhi Diet" As writer Arundhati Bhanot wrote, "For Gandhi, food was not something that just satiated hunger. It was an integral part of shaping the human consciousness." (2) And this is the heart of the matter.

We can look today to other countries like Spain, where a recent news program profiled a modern Spanish family. Well educated and previously well employed. Then came the crisis. Today, they are struggling to survive (read: eat!) on less than 500 Euros a month. The food choices they made back in the good old days, are long gone. In fact, they are out of the question. So, they are reduced to eating the most basic staple foods. No, they are not happy about it and wish they could afford a greater variety and those favourite treats they used to enjoy. Of course! But reality is reality. So no convenience foods or even moderately priced frozen or packaged foods for that family and so many like them in Spain and elsewhere. The economic crisis has changed their priorities have changed from treats to life.

So why the upheaval over Jamie Oliver? Is it because he is being preachy? Is it because he is a self-made millionaire? No, probably neither. It is really more about us. It is a reflection of values. Until people value their health and something else in life other than being constantly entertained with every gadget under the sun over everything else, then our diets and our consciousness will remain as they are.

We at PovertyFood salute both Mahatma Gandhi and Jamie Oliver for reminding us that our food is a reflection of what we value. We don't have to be vegetarians but we should put our food and our health before the other "stuff" that we can really do without, especially during difficult times.

Eat well!

The Poverty Kitchen: What do you really need and what can you do without?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 12:43:00 +0000

I have been meaning to write a post about equipment for some time. As I walked through several of Paris' well known cooking stores, I realized it was a must-write post.

I love going into these shops. Home cooks and professional chefs everywhere know all the names, of course. The mecca of all of these shops is probably E.Dehillerin's. Reportedly Julia Child's favourite shop in Paris, E.Dehillerin's was founded in 1820 and it is the amateur and professional cooks nirvana! Particularly if you are a copper cookware aficionado, this is the place to come. It is a great store! One of those old Paris shops that has not changed much since 1820. The same wood fixtures, the same old staircases and the same dank cellar full of even more cookware! In the basement you will find the industrial sized merchandise, for making soups and stews for a hundred or more servings. The heavy duty cast iron skillets and industrial sized potato ricers take up quite a space. Upstairs you will find bins of various sized knives, oyster shuckers, lemon zesters, rolling pins, cake pans, terrine moulds, garlic presses, ramekins, madeleine pans and on and on and on!  Whatever pot, pan or kitchen gadget you can imagine, they have it.

Yet, all those beautiful copper pots and gizmos aside, each time you have to ask yourself, "What do I really need? And what can I do without?" After all, what have most people in France done with and what have they done without, still producing the great food that they do? After my various trips into endless Parisian kitchen shops, I offer my quintessential list of must-haves for your cooking needs. If you think the list is too brief, then this will come as a challenge to your culinary skills!

                                             One Chef's knife
                                             1 serrated knife (like a steak knife)
                                             Forks, spoons from your flat wear set
                                             One potato peeler
                                             Set of measuring spoons
                                             Set of measuring cups
                                             2-3 rubber ringed canning jars with latch closure
                                             One couscoussier (serves as a steamer, pasta maker and general all purpose stew pot) They are great!
                                             One 18inch sauté pan with lid
                                             One 10 inch fry pan with lid
                                             One (or ok 2!) terra cotta baking dishes
                                            One cake pan
                                            One terrine mould (ideally in terra cotta)

That is pretty much it folks! Spartan you say? Really? What else do you really need? If you are thinking, "What about my Thanksgiving Day turkey? Where is the pan for that?" Well, depending on the size of your baking dishes, you may be able to prepare that in one of those. "What about my cookies?" Well, I have personally used terra cotta bake ware for making cookies and they come out great! "What about my soups? " Well your all purpose couscoussier or stew pot of course! And what about that lemon zester you so desperately need? Why, your serrated knife or potato peeler will do the job just fine! And food processor? Use the old fashioned ones. They're called "knives".

I would love to have more gadgets for the kitchen! I truly would! But space and money are limited so I do as the French have done and still do! I make do and keep cooking!

Bon Appetit!

PovertyFood

PS. Looking for a couscoussier and can't find one? Contact me!

The Holy Trinity of Sauces

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:50:00 +0000

In an economic crisis, people who may have never known the concept of "budget" are forced to confront it. What can you do to really stretch your food budget without sacrificing flavour and nutrition? Answer: sauces!

Whether you live solo or have a brood, money issues today will take a hit on your food budget so now is the time to make a real effort to use what the world of food and cuisine have offered up for generations. Sauces in every cuisine are essential and you can use them to liven up a tight food budget and give yourself a morale boost simultaneously. In the humble opinion of PovertyFood, these three basic sauce recipes are the holy trinity of sauces. Used wonderfully on pasta, rice and cooked vegetables, each can be made for roughly one dollar per six ounces of sauce.

PovertyFood pays homage to the American classic, Martha White flour!

                                                                        Basic White Sauce
                                                                           2 tbsp. butter
                                                                           1.5 tbsp. flour
                                                                           1/4 tsp. salt
                                                                           1 cup milk

Melt butter in saucepan then simply stir in flour and salt. Add milk and whisk together. Allow to simmer until nice and creamy in consistency. Only takes a few minutes to cook fully. For variety, you can cook grated onions in the butter before adding flour. Or, add a few dashes of grated parmegian, your favorite herbs like dill or even course prepared mustard for a fabulous creamed mustard sauce that is delicious on chicken or potatoes. The basic recipe is your foundation.

20 Minute Tomato Sauce

2-3 ripe tomatoes

One scallion onion, chopped

salt and pepper

1 tbsp.olive or other vegetable oil

Simple. Heat oil in pan. Add chopped tomatoes and chopped scallion, salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer and cook down until tomatoes are essentially dissolved. Stir frequently to avoid caramelising. ** Of course, you can add a dash of white wine and your favourite herbs. I add a slice of lemon to mine to give it a zing! But really, if the tomatoes are nice and very ripe, their flavour is all you need! And there is no reason you can not use canned tomatoes, but fresh is best if your budget allows it.

                                           Garlic Spread
                                            One head of garlic
                                            One tbsp. olive oil
                                            One tbsp. mayonnaise
                                            salt and pepper

This one I picked up in France. It is a typical southern French spread or dip. Simple. Place the garlic head on a cookie sheet or tinfoil and bake in oven at about 350 for about 30 minutes. The garlic is done when it comes out the consistency of mashed potato. Once cooked, squeeze all the garlic into a bowl and add oil. Blend with fork. Now add mayo and salt and pepper. Done! Again, you can really experiment with this one! Hot sauce, lemon, curry...virtually anything can be used to vary this sauce. Use as a dip, on bread....spread onto uncooked pork, chicken or beef. Delicious!

Pinch those pennies and enjoy it!

Focus on: 19th Century France!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:11:00 +0000

While much of America still takes part in the seasonal joy of gardening, many have abandoned this practice for the ease of the supermarket. While we here at PovertyFood are also modern food shoppers, we still hope to encourage everyone to do at least a little gardening, to bring back that joy of savouring the fruits of our own labour. To inspire us, let's go back to 19th century France and the "potager"!

If you were lucky enough to live in even the near countryside, your home in 19th century France would not have been complete without a "potager". That is, literally, a "soup garden", where you would grow your staple and favourite vegetables as well as herbs and even flowers that would add to your table throughout the seasons. As we make our way through the long month of January, the snows, the ice and those feelings of potential that the new year brings, consider planning and planting your own "soup garden" for spring. Your harvest will be fabulous even if small, and you will get a wonderful sense of satisfaction, particularly when you savour those dishes that YOU made possible with a little help from the soil and the sun.

If you plant a soup garden, consider what would have been typical of a 19th century French "potager". For inspiration, PovertyFood HIGHLY recommends the book, Vilmorin, The Vegetable Garden. While more of a collection of drawings from the Vilmorin Seed Company which was popular in 19th century France, this collection of drawings will surely inspire the gardener and the cook in anyone. Actually founded in 1742, Vilmorin is today the fourth largest seed company in the world!

Get yourself started with a "potager" of any size, whether a few window sill herbs or a full blown, multi-crop garden... just PLANT! And consider some of the herbs and vegetables which would have been in every "potager" in France, courtesy of Amazon.com and the book Vilmorin, The Vegetable Garden.

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 06:11:00 +0000

Happy New Year to everyone around the world from PovertyFood!
I hope you enjoy a happy and healthy year!

Please consider sending your favorite PovertyFood recipe to be included
on the site. Or perhaps a fond childhood story about a cherished food memory.

Whatever you do, enjoy simply food with loved ones. There is nothing better in life!

Happy New Year!
PovertyFood

Focus on Australia: Bush Tucker

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 08:31:00 +0000

In a recent adventure program called Ray Mears' Walkabout from the BBC, which you may be familiar with, the host, Ray Mears, talked extensively about the survival foods, not sure what else you could call them, of the early settlers of Australia and the original Aboriginal inhabitants.

Bush tucker (pronounced "tucka" if trying your best Aussi accent) is any of the staple foods or dishes that would have been consumed routinely in the outback in the early days of Australia, and before. Using only very basic staples such as flour, sugar and salt the food focus of these hearty people was primarily on bread and tea. A bland diet to be sure unless meat was also on the menu. None the less, bush tucker, in it's simplest form, kept many people alive in the brutal conditions of the Australian outback.

Making damper in the bush

The bread made is called damper or bush bread if you are Aboriginal, and the tea most often consumed, Billy tea, made from the leaves of indigenous trees, typically was the staple survival diet of those explorers, settlers and Aborigines who truly invented them.

Bush bread, a simple flour and water bread, was cooked in the hot ashes of a campfire. Once cooked, the ashes would be have to be tapped off the bread. None-the-less, you would surely consume some of the ashes. And Billy tea, according to Aussies, has a real cultural component to it beyond the simple tradition of tea. Read more here on the art of Billy Tea.

In any event, these foods are the stuff of legend and survival. Entertain the kids and make it a truly cultural experience. Next time you are camping, make a batch of damper. Or fire up a DVD on Australia and enjoy a little bush bread and billy tea, wherever you are. Here are the basics for making your own bush bread or damper.

Ingredients: - 5 cups flour (white or whole wheat or a combination of any kind of flour)
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup milk powder
- 2 to 3 Tbsp. fat (butter, margarine, shortening, bacon grease)
Directions:
-place the dough in a greased and floured dutch oven
-cover
-place the dutch oven under the coals and hot ashes of your campfire (or place dough directly under the ashes without using a dutch oven! )
- bake about thirty minutes
- to know if it is done, tap on the sides with a knife. It should sound hollow
- serve with great amounts of butter and jam and a cup of your best Billy Tea!

More to come about other bush tucker in future installments.

Have you asked your grocer about these foods?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 20:24:00 +0000

I have the good fortune of having a fabulous and low cost fresh fruit and vegetable market near my home once a week. Every Saturday morning, I do my best to get there by about 8am, before the crowds really hit. As I walked through a few weeks ago, I realized that supermarket shopping that I was so used to, often neutralizes food for us. It sanitizes the real plant, cutting it just so, removing leaves and flowers and roots, to make a carrot look dead or a cabbage like a bowling ball. When they do this, we miss so much! We miss not only in seeing the full plant as it was actually grown, picked or cut, but we also, frankly, get ripped off! And in these economic times, we should be making use of every delicious part of our fruits and vegetables as we can!

In purchasing my produce a little more rustic, I have been enjoying a few items that perhaps you can rediscover. These are true PovertyFood specialties and depending on where you are from you may already be familiar with them. Here are a few examples of what your grocery store should be providing. If they are not, ask the manager if they clean and prepare the produce in house. If so, take advantage of these fabulous foods that they will probably just give you for FREE!

Zucchini Blossoms: At my market they don't sell the simple zucchini. They sell it with the zucchini blossom still attached! This is amazing to me considering the zucchini blossom has become something of a delicacy that can be battered and fried as with a good Japanese tempura or eaten raw in salads and other dishes. HINT: Most squashes have edible flowers. If you are growing them, absolutely try the blossoms!

Turnip greens: If you are from the Southern part of the United States, such things as turnip greens, mustard greens, etc will be an old familiar favorite! I have recently discovered their versatility and their flavor. Turnip greens are delicious. This is PovertyFood for sure! Indeed, greens were one of the major food stuffs of the poorest of the poor in the United States, including slaves, for generations. Today, they are a standard part of Southern cooking. I ask the turnip seller at my market for an additional bag of greens that most people here discard and he gladly gives them to me for free. I cook them within 24 hours or so, as they can wilt relatively quickly. Just boil in salted water until cooked, drain and add shallots or onions that have been cooked in butter, heavy cream or cream cheese and even a few dashes of hot sauce! Delicious!

Radish leaves: Another "green" that I have discovered the savor of here in France! And in France and Belgium, radish greens make a traditional soup, "Veloute des fanes de radis", or Pureed radish greens soup. Here is the basic recipe:

Simply wash the radish leaves well and saute in butter in a large soup pot. Add 2 cut potatoes and enough water to cover. Bring to boil. When potatoes cooked, remove from heat and add salt and a little grated nutmeg and one egg yolk. Puree the mixture and serve with a little heavy cream or creme fraiche! Delicious and peppery! I guaranty it!

Send me your ideas of foods that you have rediscovered and I will feature it here on PovertyFood!

Focus on Mauritania: The Fattening of Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 15:52:00 +0000

Poverty Food asks the question, is the consumption of food a pleasure or a torture?

I recently saw a program on CNN on the fattening of girls in Mauritania, one of the poorest countries on the planet. The fattening practice is centuries old in this western African nation. A young woman who is thin or normal sized by western standards is considered not only un desirable by men in some parts of Mauritania and therefore, difficult to marry off, but she is also considered unloved by her husband if she is married. In Mauritania, many men, particulary in more rural areas, want to marry a plus sized girl and keep her that way through their married life. "In Mauritania, a woman's size indicates the amount of space she occupies in her husband's heart," said Mint Ely, head of the Association of Women Heads of Households" in an article from the Guardian in 2009. A large sized girl is so highly prized, that mothers will conduct the force feeding of their own daughters. The punishment for not drinking the fat rich milk, a staple fattening drink, or to be constantly consuming food, is to have another woman crush the child's feet between two wooden poles. And if the girl simply can't stand it any more and vomits, she must also consume the vomit. Sound unbelievable?

Fortunately, this practice is not widespread in most of Mauritania but it is feared that it is making a comeback. Across the atlantic, in the USA, this kind of treatment of a child, both the force feeding torture and the foot crushing torture, would be flat out considered child abuse and prosecuted. We look at it and say, "how barbaric"! Yet, are we really so different? How many people allow their children and themselves to consume food almost non-stop? It may not be force feeding, but it is permission to over feed with the same disasterous results. It may not be torture but can it be considered a kind of violence to the body to over consume? For many of us anything that interrupts our constant snout-in-the-feed-bag-lifestyle is the real torture.

What do you think? Do you really need to eat an 16 ounce steak when you go out to eat? Must something like a hamburger or sandwich have to weight two pounds? Does anyone really have a thirst that can only be quenched by a Big Gulp? As one Mauritanian woman recalled in an interview from CNN, "My mother started fattening me forcibly when I was 13-years-old. She used to beat me to eat more oiled couscous and fat lamb's meat. Each time I thought my stomach would explode." A lot of people in the first world feel like that all the time! And we still go back for more.

Algeria and the food of the desert

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 21:16:00 +0000

Our recipe spotlight today is on Algeria.

Algerian cuisine has become very close to my heart. I have been initiated into the art of couscous and the spice of harissa. Algerian cuisine is a blend of flavors originating from the native Berbers to the influences from Spain, France, Italy, indeed the entire Mediterranean basin to the newar east and Arab influences. In short, it is delicious!

Algerians have gone through much...invasion, war, colonisation, independence and fighting terrorism. They know hardship and suffering.
The following humble yet wonderful recipe comes from a great Algerian chef, Chef Zaidi! But you don't have to recreat this exactly. Couscous in Algeria is prepared a thousand different ways. There is no wrong way...use what you have and it will be wonderful!

Here is the recipe and text from Chef Zadi:http://www.chefzadi.com/2005/10/seksu_bil_khodr.html

There are as many variations of this dish as there are possible combinations for the vegetables we have available in the Maghreb. Some say the number seven is lucky. Some say it's a Badwi or Bidawi (Bedouin) dish. Others say any cook with seven vegetables makes this dish.

I chose my seven based on what I had and also the other dishes I was thinking of making. I knew that my guests liked piquant dishes so I planned on making a few along with a side of harisa. I decided a mild version of couscous with seven vegetables would be a nice contrast to the heat and spice of the soups in particular. I also did not want to add eggplant, tomatoes and peppers because I was making Badenjal chteta or Badenjal zaloka (eggplant ratatouille*).

Ingredients:
Pumpkin (carefully peel with a very sharp knife. peel away from your body)
Zucchini
Fennel
Parsnip
Cauliflower (I MUCH prefer carrots, but I did not have any)
Kholrabi
Turnip
1 onion
Butter
Salt

I really would have preferred to use carrots in this dish. The smell of cauliflower is not one that I like. But these recipes are not about my personal preferences. I will say though that carrots would have been much better for the sweetness. It would have produced a more delicate dish. I also like to add butter to this dish more than olive oil. For me buttered root vegetables are a good thing.
Method:

1) Cut the vegetables as shown. Maghrebi cooking is not about fancy knife cuts. Vegetable cutting is often done directly over the pot or onto the cutting board, not on the cutting board itself. So don't worry about fancy French chef knife cuts here.
2) Some cooks will throw everything into the pot at the same time. Others will add the longer cooking vegetables first. My parsnips were quite thick and tough so I added those in first along with the pumpkin and fennel with about a cup of water. The fennel was also a bit old. I cooked them for about 30 minutes on very low heat, then added the onions, turnips, kohlrabi and cauliflower (carrots would have been better), the butter, seasoned with salt and cooked on low heat until all was tender.

I added a stick of butter for about 2 kilos of vegetables.
Optional spices are saffron, turmeric or cinnamon.

*Don't jump to the conclusion that it's a French influenced dish because of the ratatouille. It is not a French influenced dish at all.

Is shopping a form of entertainment?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:49:00 +0000

Years ago I recall driving along the highway that passed a larg shopping mall..I remember it was a beautiful, sunny day, with clear blue skies and the temperature was just perfect. And I thought to myself, "What in the world are all those people doing INSIDE a shopping mall on a day like today?"

I am not saying that to go shopping is some sort of sin. But to spend every free moment, all weekend long, during the course of any given year inside a shopping mall is, in my humble opinion, insane. I admit, I have never been a fan of shopping but naturally, I do it from time to time. But let's face it.Once we start going out of boredom, as a form of entertainment, we have crossed the line to lazy and crazy. Isn't there more to life than this? Can't we muster a tad more creativity and effort than reading the Sunday ads and dashing to the car with keys in one hand and credit cards in another?

And the financial effects of this habit can be far more destructive that we all care to believe, even when it comes to food shopping!

How many of us walk into a grocery store just for a couple of things and walk out with two bag fulls because we enjoy looing at all the great stuff? I was doing this so often I could cringe! Here are just a few tips from a great article I found on this topic...stop overbuying and stop wasting!

From:http://green.yahoo.com/blog/guest_bloggers/104/six-ways-you-re-spending-more-than-you-think-on-food.html

This year, my husband and I resolved to spend way less money than we've been spending. But to be fair we've done this before. We've tried to budget, but for the longest time we weren't sure where all our money was going. We thought we lived quite frugally, staying away from too much consumerism and unnecessary junk.

But it seemed we were coming up short. So for a month straight, we wrote down every cent we spent from morning coffee to shampoo and meals out. We wrote it all down and kept receipts. At the end of each week we divided what we had spent up into categories including food, toiletries, gifts, gas, and utilities.

Neither my husband nor I buy a lot of clothing or gadgets, and we never have. But what we found is that we were spending an astronomical amount on food and dining. We were left wondering what to do because we're both self-proclaimed foodies and refuse to give up high quality, local, organic eats. And in the end, I found out that you don't have to.

Try this experiment for a month and I assure you that you'll be able to save the leftover dough for a rainy day, here's how:

1. Stock your pantry efficiently
If you don't have a few meals that you can cook in a flash, you're much more likely to eat out more than you'd like.

If I'm zonked, I'll go with a crowd-pleaser like my Tempeh Reuben, Tan Tan Noodles, or Homemade Veggie Burgers. We eat out very rarely, but by no means do I prep a four-course meal each night.

Have your go-to meals, whatever they are, and always stock the pantry with ingredients to make them. If you're hitting the grocery store each night, you're bound to pick up stuff that you don't need.

2. Try ethnic cuisines because they're veg-friendly and less expensive
You're likely spending way too much money going out to eat, that's generally where we spend cash on entertainment. While you don't have to sacrifice eating out, choose wisely.

Ethnic cuisine such as Middle Eastern, Indian, Mexican, and Thai often gives you more bang for your buck. I love this Asian fusion café here in Columbia because its appetizers are well-executed, and I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to make them at home. What's more, I never need a main course because I'm way too full.

Indian cuisine is also great because you never need meat, which is what costs the most. Think outside the box, and you'll come out on top.

3. Be flexible with your recipes
When it comes to dinners at home, it doesn't have to be perfect, and if you're not flexible with preparations, you'll waste a host of ingredients. You don’t need every correct spice the recipe calls for all the time. Always keep garlic, fresh herbs, onions, olive oil, and local butter on hand.

If your recipe calls for cilantro and you only have flat leaf parsley, it's not the end of the world. If you have a sweet potato just waiting to be used, add some color to that stir fry or maybe some fiber to a traditional potato salad. Use up your produce in creative ways and don't buy more until you have.

4. Buy groceries by category
To avoid constant return trips to the store, make sure you buy by category. Sounds strange, I know, but if you want to stay healthy and have tasty meals, it's the best way to buy. You'll notice that most of my foods come from the bulk aisle, which is always the least expensive way to buy.

When I'm buying for the week I make sure that my list fulfills the following categories but obviously adapt to your favorite healthful foods:

Grains: Rolled oats (breakfast), spelt pasta, basmati rice, barley, local loaf bread.

Protein: Dried beans, tempeh, raw nuts, nut butters.

Vegetables and Fruit: This is a separate trip to the farmers' market and depends on the season, but I always buy some sort of greens, along with seasonal local veggies and fruit choices. We usually go through about 12 pounds of produce per week for the two of us.

Dairy and Dairy Substitutes: Coconut or soy milk, local cheese, local eggs.

Condiments: Any that I'm out of at the time.

Desserts: Organic, fair-trade certified dark chocolate is always on hand.

5. Buy spices in the bulk aisle

ometimes you have to have certain spices for the recipe to come out correctly, but spices are pricey and some recipes call for tons of different ones. I love to prepare ethnic cuisine, but it's an expensive venture if you buy four different kinds of spices for one meal.

Here's the deal: Buy spices as you need them in the bulk section of the store. If I need garam masala and I'm out of it, I buy what I need. It's much cheaper this way, and if you're concerned with quality, dried spices go bad in a really short period of time anyway.

6. Grow your own herbs, even if you don't have a green thumb
Fresh herbs are the biggest rip off at the store. Actually, no matter where you buy them, it's the same deal, you buy too much, they're pricey to start off, and they go bad without you getting to use them all.

Even if your thumb is far from green, grow your own herbs. It’s a two-fold saver: You save cash because you have herbs on hand, and more importantly, you can pick what you need when you need it, so nothing is wasted.

Poverty Food (Victory) Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:06:00 +0000

The idea of gardening, for me, always brings to mind my mother's story of her "Victory Garden" during the war years. Victory Gardens were promoted throughout World War I and World War II as most food stuffs were directed to the war effort and our soldiers. Rationing was the name of the game and so the Victory Garden was both practical and patriotic. I think it still is! My mother planted and grew several vegetables in her WWII Victory Garden...her string beans were evidently particularly successful, so she says!

As Spring is fast approaching, for those of us who appreciate and actually enjoy the art of gardening, a Poverty Food Garden is a must have! Even if you have no space to plant directly into the ground, one can still create creative and space friendly gardens that even apartment dwellers such as myself can enjoy.

The most obvious of small garden favorites are herbs. A few hanging pots or small counter top pots can produce an abundance of herbs like basil, parsley, chives and oregano among others. And I will tell you, I have been planting from the same packet of basil seeds for three years. One packet must have had a few thousand seeds so my one dollar investment is paying off for sure! And no, they don't seem to expire as the packet would claim!

Vertical potato garden in Kenya - photo http://observers.france24.com/content/20081020-farming-innovations-slum-kenya-biological-farm

Other small garden favorites can include cherry tomatoes, peppers, beans, pea pods... even melons can be planted in very creative containers that make best use of space and simple items you have around the house. I love seeing how creative people are with old containers, plastic bags, old nylons and the like.

For space-challenged folks, vertical gardens may be the solution! Vertical gardens are being increasingly used not only in the USA as a novelty or space saver, but literally as a life saving and economical food producer in the third world. Potatoes and other life sustaining crops are being grown in these clever vertical gardens, as shown above.

Be sure to use only containers from non-toxic products- soaps, bleach or chemical product containers
should never be used! And change them each time you plant something new. Plastics will erode over time.

Vertical garden made from a shoe tree!

You can find creative multi-crop containers at your garden center or you can create one yourself. Use the space you have and be resourceful.

Try growing the following if you don't want to get into a labor intense garden season. Total estimated cost, about 10 dollars. Total food value, about 150USD for the season. And never buy seeds for things like tomatoes, pepper and the like. Save the seeds from the vegetables you buy in advance and simply dry them on paper towel. In about 3-5 days they should be dry enough to plant. Potatoes should simply be allowed to root and grow "eyes"- then cut them in to pieces and plant.

Three window sill pots= suggestions: basil, flat leaf parsley, chives or sage, lemon basil and thyme

Two pots or containers: tomatoes and green peppers or chili peppers (go for fruits that can be dried or frozen easily).

One hanging shoe tree or other creative vertical container with deep soil: onions, carrots or potatoes. If you are attempting potatoes or onions, your vertical garden should rest on the ground as it will become increasingly heavy.

The point is, grow a little something to both reduce your yearly costs as well as adding freshness, beauty and flavor to your daily life. Have fun!

Tajines....real clay cooking!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:07:00 +0000

I am often amused when I walk through the kitchenware sections of large department stores. Inevitably there is an electrical version of virtually every simple cookware item imaginable. But the one that always makes me shake my head is the electric tajine!

If you are unfamiliar with tajines or tagines, they are an ancient clay cookware vessel originating in North Africa. Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian and many other African cultures have used the tajine for centuries.

Tajine with traditional lamb and potatoes

Tajine being used the traditional way- try it on your grill or in a barbecue pit or simply in the oven!

Tajines are becoming increasingly visible in US stores. If you see one that is NOT electric and a true clay tajine, grab it! You will not regret it. They are great for clay baking meat, vegetables and even breads. Beef and lamb cooked in tajines are wonderfully tender and using lower end cuts of meat will turn out just great! And, they are quite elegant in their form and beautifully decorative, often using Berber patterns and vivid colors on their exterior.

Even better, plan a trip to Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia and buy one there! If travelling to virtually anywhere in Europe, you should be able to find them in almost any place that sells kitchenware.

Appreciate your food

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 01:43:00 +0000

This blog wants to spread a joy of life through simple pleasures.Poverty Food is not about bringing people down but about celebrating their accomplishments despite adversity. And we are not here to preach! But, let's face it... there are degrees of adversity. I think the images from a blog courtesy of Valparaiso University are certainly examples of "food for thought" on this issue...what do we value most? What takes priority?

Sorry, not trying to be a downer or preachy, but rather just a reminder to really appreciate your food, however humble it may be. Be appreciative for clean water and simple grub...and yes, be good to your furry friends too. We love them here at Poverty Food too. Finally, Poverty Food encourages you to give to a food bank locally and a charity globally. Most of us can do both....try...even a few dollars can help feed a child. You don't have to give massive sums. A humble gift is fine.

http://blogs.valpo.edu/gjones/about/

Russian Salted Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:55:00 +0000

Nastrovia! Ah the Russians! If there are a people on this planet who understand Poverty Food, it is the Russians. War, famine, cold! These are a people who have suffered throughout the centuries and yet, they have come up with simple, elegant and delicious cuisines using whatever they had on hand.

Try this wonderful recipe for Salted Fish the Russian way!

This recipe comes courtesy of a wonderful website called http://www.rt.com/. A great information source for all things Russian!

Here it is:

Russian salted fish is a stand-alone dish and a great addition to bliny, too.

Ingredients

■Fish (any red fish – salmon, trout, chum salmon)

■Sugar

■Salt

Cooking

Clean the fish inside and outside, cut off the head and the tail, cut out the backbone and split into two. Mix 2 parts of salt (sea salt won’t do, only the regular one!) and one part of regular white sugar. Cover the fish with a thick layer of salt-and-sugar mix on both sides and roll it in baking paper. Store in a cool place for at least a day. The fish is ready to eat – just wash off the salt-and-sugar and cut the fillet off the skin.

TIP:

Great with a bit of lemon juice. Salted fish is a great companion to vodka!

Dasvidaniya!

Indian Chick Pea Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:04:00 +0000

Indian cooking has some of the most innovative yet simple recipes around. There are several variations of this classic however the following is one of the most basic and savory that you will find. And you will find a version of it in virtually every Indian restaurant out there. The secret is found in four simple ingredients: Chick peas, lemon, onion and black pepper!

Here is the simple version:

Drain and rinse one large 24 ounce can of chick peas

Chop several scallions or one medium onion as fine as you can...truly minced
Add to the chick peas and toss well to distribute evenly.

Using one large lemon, squeeze the totality of its juice, eliminating the seeds but allowing
some of the pulp to be added, directly onto the chick pea and onion mixture.

Now, pour about 1/3 cup of olive oil over the salad.

Salt to taste.

Now sprinkle a generous amount( about a good full teaspoon- that is actually quite a lot) over the salad and toss to very evenly distribute.

This salad should ideally be allowed to marinate several hours. You can add additional olive oil and lemon juice as well as other ingredients like tomatoes or peppers, but this simple recipe will satisfy! Wonderful...tangy...delicious...healthy!!!

Cuisines of poverty as means of empowerment: Arab food in Israel

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 05:45:00 +0000

Food Culture

The Food Culture section of Poverty Food will provide resources on food and cuisine beyond the kitchen and dinner table. Culture, politics, the arts have all been impacted by food culture. Enjoy the links and please send those you find to us to share.

If you are interested in the sociological link between food and politics, check out
Cuisines of poverty as means of empowerment: Arab food in Israel by Liora Gvion.

This is a highly academic paper to be sure, but a fascinating look at cuisines of poverty and how food represents much more that we may have imagined.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/j77l216605ug4778/

Abstract

This paper suggests looking at cuisines of poverty as practical and political systems practiced by urban and rural Palestinian citizens of Israel. It is an important and interesting case study within which political and economical considerations govern and enhance the development, change, and acceptance of culinary knowledge. Cuisines of poverty operate in two simultaneous arenas. As systems of practical knowledge, they repeatedly center on the ability to maintain the traditional kitchen, turning it into a tool-kit out of which information is recruited upon need. Simultaneously, cuisines of poverty reveal the inter-connection between the culinary discourse and the political one. It is where issues such as access to land, national and ethnic identity, and means to participation in the dominant culture are of major concern. The analysis of cuisines as operating on two complementary discourses contributes to the understanding of the relationship between food and the arena of power.

Keywords Cuisines of poverty - Domestic knowledge - Empowerment - Food - Gender roles - Israel - Minorities - Palestinian cuisine

Liora Gvion, PhD, is a qualitative sociologist. She studied at SUNY Stony Brook, USA and is currently a senior lecturer at the Kibbutzim College of Education in Tel Aviv, Israel and at the Department of Clinical Nutrition at the Hebrew University. Her major interests are the sociology of food, second-generation immigrants, eating disorders, and the relationship between food and ethnicity.

Winter stew...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:16:00 +0000

Deep in the midwest, winter is a time of quiet, stillness and snow...winter white and hot food!

The old homestead would not be the same in winter without a pot of stew! The beauty of stew is that is costs very little (about four to five dollars for a family of four) and can even be vegetarian, not by design necessarily, but by what you have in your cupboard. The ingrediants could not be more simple: potatoes, carrots, an onion and a tablespoon of flour. If you want, add a little beef...or my personal favorite: spinach! You will love this served with a little crusty bread....here it is:

Winter stew with or without beef

In a large pot, add your onions and carrots and beef cubes if you wish

Let saute for about 10 minutes on low to medium heat.

Add about 3 cups of water...let simmer again on medium to high.

Add about 5-6 peeled and cut potatoes. Allow to boil...

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make a roux of your flour and a bit of water....begin to stir into the stew.

Add the spinach at the end and let the entire stew cook on medium for another 20-30 minutes.

It really is delicious!

Now go...watch the snow fall and be still.

Ode to the Onion

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 01:06:00 +0000

Pablo Neruda

I have to share with you the most beautiful poetry of Pablo Neruda, Ode to the Onion. Neruda fans will know it and PovertyFood fans will appreciate it. Neruda himself clearly understood the concept of poverty food.

Enjoy...

Ode To The Onion by Pablo Neruda

Onion,

luminous flask,

your beauty formed

petal by petal,

crystal scales expanded you

and in the secrecy of the dark earth

your belly grew round with dew.

Under the earth

the miracle

happened

and when your clumsy

green stem appeared,

and your leaves were born

like swords

in the garden,

the earth heaped up her power

showing your naked transparency,

and as the remote sea

in lifting the breasts of Aphrodite

duplicating the magnolia,

so did the earth

make you,

onion

clear as a planet

and destined

to shine,

constant constellation,

round rose of water,

upon

the table

of the poor.

You make us cry without hurting us.

I have praised everything that exists,

but to me, onion, you are

more beautiful than a bird

of dazzling feathers,

heavenly globe, platinum goblet,

unmoving dance

of the snowy anemone

and the fragrance of the earth lives

in your crystalline nature.

The distance of food

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 12:25:00 +0000

The question of "what is enough" comes to mind more and more as I live in France. Back home, I have family who live in fabulously large homes and take vacations that are even bigger. Buying food is like a bulk purchase expedition where the smallest of packages would very likely pass for "family size" in France. Believe me, I think the American way is the best and most fruitful in all ways. Except, sometimes, I wonder to what extent we sometimes miss what food really tastes like in the ease of accessing it.

The recent volcanic eruption in Iceland reminded me oddly enough of this. It strangely brought my walk in Spain on the Camino de Santiago back to mind. How easy travel is these days vs walking the earth or travelling by boat. The 100 or so kilometers that I walked in Spain seemed and indeed was very gruelling at times. Confronting the elements, the terrain and my own limitations showed me exactly what the word "distance" meant. It was a strange and almost annoying feeling to have boarded a bus afterward, to go back to where we started to catch the train, and realize that what took us four days on foot, took us about 45 minutes by bus.

I think the same is true for food. That is to say, we forget what it takes to produce food and what consuming food really is about when it comes wrapped in plastic, artificially refrigerated and easily obtained for very little money. Again, that is preferable to struggling and starving and anyone who tells you otherwise are full of garbage. Yet, when was the last time we though about the time it takes to grow a head of lettuce? Or how that rice that only costs about a dollar a box is actually grown? Or the egg...the humble egg...if one kept hens and cultivated them, fed them, kept them healthy, defended them against the foxes, one might have, I dare say, a bit more respect for the humble egg.

Food, like travelling, it done at top speed these days. A volcano can bring it to a screeching halt and help us to remember the meaning of time, distance and how easy we really have it these days. So, savor and appreciate your food. Take the time to remember where it comes from. How long it takes to grow and be appreciative of how easy it really is to obtain. And grow some yourself, even if just a small planter of herbs on your windowsill. You will feel much more connected and appreciative of what you have. It's a good feeling. Bon appetit!

A simple thrill

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 17:43:00 +0000

There are simple thrills in life. Today I discovered one that is simply delightful. I learned how to make cheese.

Being in France has given me a chance to explore some of these age old arts, but ones that I never ventured to try before. Growing up in the Midwest one would have thought that these kinds of skills would have been passed on. But my parents were of the space age generation. They wanted everything new and store bought and wrapped in plastic or aluminum. Plus my mother was always afraid she would somehow manage to poison all of us if she tried her hand at things like making preserves or canning. And cheese making! Forget it! Milk? Cream? Those can “turn” too easily.

But cheese making is natural and safe. There is no need to be an expert artisan cheesemaker in the hills of France to create a delicious, homemade, gourmet cheese for next to nothing. So, here is the simple recipe I used to make a batch, albeit a small one, of simple cheese.

1 Cup of whole milk
On small individual container of plain yogurt
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste

A few coffee filters
A few deep coffee cups

All you need to do is heat the milk until a few small bubbles form, add the yogurt and stir until you have a smooth liquid consistency. Keep on heat continuing to stir. This process should take not more than 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the fresh lemon juice. Give it a couple of easy stirs and just let it sit for about 10 minutes. You should see the difference between the cheese curd and the liquid whey.

Layer several coffee filters into several cups. Pour in the curd and whey mixture. You will see it draining through the filters almost immediately. You can let this sit for about an hour. Drain. Now open the filters and find your creamy, delicious cheese! Remove the cheese from the filters and put in a small bowl. Add salt to taste and chill.

And guess what? If your budget does not allow you fresh milk, powdered milk will work too!

This will make just a small amount of simple spreadable but delicious cheese. That is the beauty of it. You only make as much as you need!

Enjoy the simple thrills! Savor life!

The Solar Oven...make one today!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:20:00 +0000

A friend of mine pointed out a great article recently all about solar ovens. Apparently these have been around for a long time. The Peace Corps had started promoting them in the 1960s as a way to assist folks in the third world with their cooking and safe water needs. They have since caught on with everyone else from campers and hunters to environmentalists and the simply curious.

Keep in mind that a solar oven will get close to 300 degrees if properly constructed. This is hot enough to cook potatoes and carrots as well as bake bread and boil water. Many things can be cooked in solar oven. I am making one to hang out my window in Paris.

I suggest as a first attempt in solar cooking something very simple. The humble yet honorable baked potato.

Interested in making your own solar oven? All you need are a couple of cardboard boxes (one should be able to fit in the other with at least an in inch or so of space all around), aluminum foil, black paper and some crumpled newspapers. Get that all together. Line the bottom of the smaller box with the black paper to absorb heat. Then, line the inner walls of the small box with foil. Now, put the crumpled paper in the bigger box to act as heat insulation. Place the smaller box inside the big box now. Place a sheet of plastic wrap or even an acrylic sheet over the opening. Using the large box flaps that you would normally close the box with, now line those with foil to reflect more heat into the box. you are done! Now if I have completely confused you, go here for more details: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-and-Use-a-Solar-Oven

Give the solar oven a try...I am making one just big enough to cook my beloved baked potatoes!

Bon apetit!

The Poverty Food Shopping List

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:31:00 +0000

It is time to talk about more recipes...

I started this blog long before the recession hit simply because I was experienceing my own recession. Living in one of the most elegant cities in the world without resources allowed me the privilege (yes, privilege) to experience truly hard times. You never really look at the world and people in quite the same way after experiencing financial hardship.

I thought that for this installement I would share with you a classic shopping list I used during the roughest times. Now that times are better for me, I am actually sticking to this list as much as possible. It is wonderfully satisfying to know that you can survive on nearly nothing.

Keep in mind a couple of things. This list was used to sustain two adults, one male and one female and represents food that should last for a period of no less than '4-5 days. The budget was about 10 Euros.

One bag of sliced bread - 1.00
One box of frozen hamburger patties- 10 in a box- 3.89
One jar canned tomatoe sauce- about 12 ounces- .80
One package pasta or rice- .70

Two fresh onions- .45
3 fresh carrotts- .35
2 Courgettes- .70

Carton of Milk - .60
Bag of coffee- .80

Bag of lentilles- .95
Tomato paste- .20
Can of stewed tomatoes- .20

You will notice that this list is sorely lacking in the fresh fruits and vegetable area. These are some of the most expensive items in most shops as we all know. Not to worry, I have another 10 Euro fruit and vegetable list that would be used for the same sustaining purposes. Here is that list.

One 2.5 kilo sac of potatoes - 1.95
2 kilo bag of onions- 1.45

One bag of fresh courgettes- 1.65
6 carrotts- .70

One jar of tomatoe sauce - .80
One box of dry couscous- .75

One 10 pack of fresh eggs - 1.00
Carton of milk- .60
Box of tea- .45

One 2.5 kilo bag of apples- 1.50

Each of these lists is bare bones food. There is nothing here by way of condiments, spices, etc...
For such a list of basics to season, I recommend spending not more than 9 Euros as follows:

Salt- .60
Pepper- .55
Mayonnaise- .65
Mustard- .35
Harissa red pepper paste- .45
Curry powder- .55
Herbes de Provences (an herb blend of 3 green herbs) .55

Balsamic vinegar- 1.55
Olive oil- 3.65
Sugar- .75

Now, what can you really do with list number one?

I guaranty that you can get at least 5 dinners, 5 lunches and 5 breakfasts from that list. Here is how you do it...

Pasta Bolognaise- Half an onion chopped: half a carrot chopped fine; saute with 1 of the beef patties (no need to add oil); Once fully cooked add half the jar of tomatoe sauce and allow to simmer on low for a good 20 minutes. Serve over rice or pasta- This is enough for 2 persons.

Hamburgers using sliced toasted bread served with grilled onions.

Vegetarian lentil stew- begin to cook about one third of a small sac of lentills in 3 times its quantity of water. When water is reduced by half and the lentills are beginning to get soft, add half a chopped onion and half a chopped carrot, roughly chopped; add either half a can of stewed tomatoes or a small can of tomatoe paste. Allow to simmer until lentils are fully cooked and the stew is thick and hearty. Serve with toasted bread.

Meatballs- using 2 beef patties- crumble one slice of torn or shredded bread into a bowl; add defrosted beef patties. Roll into balls and saute on low in non stick pan. Once fully cooked, add a couple of tablespoons of tomatoe sauce over the patties and continue to simmer. Serve over rice.

Dolmas- Cut the courgettes in half (NOT lengthwise!)... you will now hollow out the courgette portions creating courgette tubes... fill the tubes with a beef and chopped onion mixture. Saute in non stick pan until center meat and courgettes are fully cooked. Add a tiny amount of water. Serve with rice or couscous. Did you save the courgette centers? You should have!

Hamburger helper, your own version! - cook rice; transfer to larger pot and add a beef pattie or two; add finely chopped half an onion and the courgette centers you saved; add remaining tomatoe sauce. Transfer to a pyrex pan and bake for 10 minutes until top is crusty.

What is lunch you ask?

Lentil stew- another round! ( make the rest of the bag- enough for two days)

Vegetarian lentils and rice with carrot ( make the rest of the bag- enough for 2 days)

Open face hamburgers

What is breakfast?

Cafe au lait + Toast

This is survival folks, not the Ritz!

Do this for one week and I guaranty you that by now your mouth will be watering over the thought of saltines and ketchup! List number two is frankly far easier to deal with. Omelettes and egg salad; couscous with vegetables; potato soup; onion soup; vegetable soup; potato salad; baked apples; legumes Provencal; onions farcis au couscous; fried or poached eggs; scrambled eggs with home fries; And a lovely cup of tea every morning!

It's not easy folks but you can do it! If you have the luxury of the condiment list, the possibilities are far more interesting....not endless, but more interesting.

Good luck!

A Dollar a Day- Could you do it?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:01:00 +0000

There is a small ad that appears from time to time on this blog with the headline, " A Dollar a day". I wonder if those of us in wealthy countries could live on that if we tried. It would not be a question in most cases of having to, but just very simply of trying to, to see if we could do it.

What does a dollar buy you? A small bag of generic rice, pasta...sure. But what about flavour?

What can you make for a dollar's worth of ingredients? Think about it...now make that stretch to feed you all day long. Right, you got it...only one meal.

At times when money has been lean while living in France, I began to see where many French dishes sprang from. One day, looking in my kitchen, a few days before the paycheck landed, I had a few things on hand...but what if I had to feed a family on this? What would I have done? What do and what have people done? I then saw the birth of many things I would have looked past otherwise like onion soup, croque monsieur, cassoulet....these are all poor dishes. The dishes created from want and need, born of tremendous creativity and the human desire for flavor despite circumstances. It takes a genius to take a few onions, a little olive oil, salt, pepper and if you're lucky, a beef bone and make a feast large enough for a family. I can see into the origins of this classic French dish like never before. I savour it when I taste it. I appreciate it. I hail the French!

Of course, this is not an ability unique to the French. The entire world has created dishes from need. A dollar a day...or less.

Give it a try on a day when you are feeling particularly low. On a day when the internal rains are pouring despite the sunshine outside. You will feel better.

Onion soup
Makes about 4 servings

1/8 cup olive oil
4 large onions, sliced
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
4 cups water

Begin to saute the onions in a the olive oil on medium heat...cook until they just begin to caramelize, turning a soft golden brown. Now, sprinkle in the flour, mustard salt and pepper...continue to saute for just a few minutes.

Transfer the onion mixture to a large soup pot. Add the water. Cover. Cook on a gentle low heat
for about 2 hours.

If you do not have Dijon style mustard, improvise! Use what you have...you can substitute a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce or even hot sauce.

Paris, Poverty and People

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:22:00 +0000

I have had the opportunity to travel. In those travels I have mixed and lived with people from backgrounds very distant from mine. Their experiences are truly worlds apart from my own yet within them I have found more than one element of similarity. Some that are leaps in the imagination to get to and others as close as your front door and as familiar as your old shoes.

If all of these elements, there is the singular element of food that is indeed the ultimate common denominator. When I lived in poor neighborhoods in Paris and shopped in the local grocery stores with my African, Arab and Asian neighbors, the familiar was always swirling around us. Universally loved flavors we all shared. Coca-Cola, bread, ice cream, frites...Others, were as foreign to me, like their roots and spices, as perhaps my eating pork was to many of them.The Halal butcher and the French butcher share a common practice but certainly their inventory was different.

My experiences in Paris, the immigrant Paris, has allowed me to see the quest for food from another angle. I recall one day standing in line at the check-out counter of the neighborhood ED supermarket. ED is a hard discount chain.Not much variety but the general basics in everything and not at all expensive compared to the Monoprixs and Champions. On this particular day, an elderly woman was paying, or attempting to pay for her items which consisted solely of a plastic wrapped package of Danish salami. Probably 30 ultra-thin slices in the pack. The woman who was dirty and poorly dressed in rags, really.. rags, reached into her thread bare coat pocket and pulled out a paper cup, probably an old espresso cup she found on the ground. In that cup which was serving as her wallet, were a few coins. her bony, dirty fingers reached into the cup for enough coins to pay. There was one customer between her and I ( I was third in line). The second customer, another woman, well dressed and attractive, offered to pay for her food. The cashier had been asking the first woman a question but she either did not understand or pretended to not understand. The second woman provided a coin or two and the first woman left without saying anything. "C'est pour manger, monsieur," the second woman said to the cashier.

As I watched this scene play out, I wondered if my compatriots would be as quick to pay for someone else's food like that. I'm sure it would happen there as well as here. And then I thought, how many times had I ever in my life seen a person so obviously impoverished in my country. Not often. They are there, but they are not often seen.

In Paris the impoverished live amongst the well off. There are poorer neighborhoods and extremely wealthy neighborhoods for sure. But that in and of itself does not determine whether a quartier's residents are eating or not eating on any given day. It is not a determinant of an average income or any income at all.

I still look in wonderment at people who have to survive in this city with no family to rely on nor good job to go to. These are the people who make literally something from nothing everyday. These are the survivors.

This blog therefore is dedicated to delving deeper into the cuisine of poverty. Poverty food. It is not an oxymoron. It is the fruit of the human race's quest not only for survival, but for survival with flavor, savour, spice and beauty. Some of the most delicious things have come from this and they are reminders of what we are capable of as human beings.