Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on November 5, 2010

FOOD. GLORIOUS FOOD.

After the emotional roller coaster of this past week with the mid-term elections in the United States, kicking back for a while to look at (and drool over) gorgeous and/or amusing food photos, plus finding a few cost-saving, delicious recipes, is a welcomed reprieve.

When available, recipes will accompany the “Fab Food Friday Fotos,” with a guarantee that at least one recipe — most preferably a frugal recipe — will always be included.

Food photos selected and posted are credited and have Creative Commons-licensed content.

Shrimp Cocktail for Three | Photo credit: Luigiantonio7, Flickr, Creative Commons

Happy Face Food, at the Depato at Sendai JR Station in Japan | Photo credit: scottgunn, Flickr, Creative Commons

My Bordeaux | Photo credit: Rebecca Anne, Flickr, Creative Commons

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Cone | Photo credit: Justin Kern, Flickr, Creative Commons

Dedicated to All Japanese Food Lovers | Photo credit: William Cho, Flickr, Creative Commons

Photographer William Cho didn’t include any information on what this gorgeous Japanese dish was (insert sad face here), but did share where the photo was taken and how he shot it:

Food tasting and shooting as usual at a Japanese Restaurant. It’s Minori, located at 309 Tanjong Katong Road, Singapore. The buffet is sumptuous and delightful!

Shot with a single flash bouncing off a handheld reflector. No processing. Just a little sharpening & contrast.

Soup Time | Photo credit: Wen Zhang, Flickr, Creative Commons

Toronto's Best BBQ Pork Back Ribs | Photo credit: Dine.TO, Flickr, Creative Commons

Ratatouille Ingredients | Photo credit: Anna M. Stevenson, Flickr, Creative Commons

Instructions below to make extremely frugal, easy, and tasty ratatouille (no text info on measurements or quantities — the photo is meant to be a guide), provided by Anna M. Stevenson —

Easy Ratatouille Recipe

Dice the onion and 2-3 garlic cloves, caramelize with a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large casserole.

Add the diced zucchini, pepper and aubergine, and brown them in the olive oil.

Then add the diced tomatoes and a dash of herbes de Provence. Stir. Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 min – 1 hour.

Serve over rice. (Makes 4-6 servings.)

Seasonal Vegetables Terrine Wrapped up in Double-Smoked Ham | Photo credit: DarioMilano, Flickr, Creative Commons

Vegan Curry Lentil Soup Ingredients | Photo credit: Yesica, Flickr, Creative Commons

Pumpkin Pie & Candlelight | Photo credit: Danube66, Flickr, Creative Commons

Recipe for Pumpkin Pie, provided by Danube66 —

Ingredients

* 1/2 (15 ounce) package refrigerated piecrust
* 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
* 1/4 cup SPLENDA
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 12 oz can evaporated skim milk
* 2 large eggs, beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Fit pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate according to package directions; fold edges under and crimp.

Mix sugar, Splenda, and spices in a small bowl. Add pumpkin to eggs in large bowl, mix. Add sugar/spice mix, blend in. Add evaporated milk, blend well.

Pour filling into pie crust.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until set in the center. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Southern Fried Chicken | Photo credit: Something from Nancy, Flickr, Creative Commons

Gianduia Cake | Photo credit: Michael Saechang, Flickr, Creative Commons

Background info on gianduia, from Wikipedia:

Gianduja (or, more commonly, gianduia) is a sweet chocolate containing about 30% hazelnut paste, invented in Turin by Caffarel in 1852. It takes its name from Gianduja, a Carnival and marionette character who represents the archetypal Piedmontese, the Italian region where hazelnut confectionery is common.

Roast Beef with Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes | Photo credit: Emily Carlin, Flickr, Creative Commons

From cook/photographer Emily Carlin’s fabulous website, Back to the Cutting Board… this recipe is originally from Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast: 250 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Any Time of Day.

Roast Beef with Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes

Ingredients

* 3/4 lb new white potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 inch pieces*
* 5 mixed red and yellow bell peppers, ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1 inch wide strips*
* 2 red onions, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch wedges
* 5 garlic cloves: 3 whole, 2 cut into 6 slivers each
* 2 tbsp. olive oil
* Course salt (I prefer sea salt, but kosher is fine, too)
* Pepper
* 2 – 2 1/2 lbs. eye-of-round beef roast
* 3/4 tsp. dried thyme

*Note: I increased the potatoes to 1 or 1.5 lbs. and used 4 peppers instead. I love potatoes and 3/4 lb. just didn’t seem like enough!

Process

1. Preheat the over to 400 degrees (F).

2. Place potatoes, peppers, onions and whole garlic cloves on a large rimmed baking sheet. (You’ll probably need to use two baking sheets unless you have a commercial sized baking sheet
— that’s what mine is and I love it — or you are halving the amount of vegetables.) Drizzle with 1 tbsp. oil and season with salt and pepper, toss well.

3. Using a small knife, make 12 small slits in the top and sides of the roast and insert the garlic slivers.

4. Combine 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and thyme in a small bowl. Set aside.

5. Place roast in the center of the baking sheet, moving any vegetables out of the way. Rub with remaining tablespoon of oil. Then rub the salt and pepper mixture all over the beef.

6. Place in oven and roast, tossing vegetables occasionally, until tender and cooked to your liking, 40-60 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part should be 130-135 degrees for medium-rare, 140-145 for medium.

7. Cover loosely with foil and let meat stand for 10 minutes. Cut into thin slices and serve with vegetables.

Serves 4.

Homemade Pizza with Mushrooms and Fontina | Photo credit: Jill, Flickr, Creative Commons

Various Breads and Rolls | Photo credit: Nik Stanbridge, Flickr, Creative Commons

Banana Boat Army | Photo credit: Mike, Flickr, Creative Commons

It was inside out grilled banana splits night. Some were stuffed with peanut butter, Oreos, chocolate, and almonds.

Mizuna and Sweet Potato Soup with Toasted Pecans | Photo credit: Flit, Flickr, Creative Commons

Bell Peppers, Mar Vista Farmer's Market, Los Angeles, California | Photo credit: Steve Lyon, Flickr, Creative Commons

Pork and Mixed Vegetable Stir-fry with Chile Bean Paste and Hock Yoong's Celery | Photo credit: Alpha, Flickr, Creative Commons

Polenta and Eggplant Napoleons | Photo credit: Harald Walker, Flickr, Creative Commons

Photographer/cook Harald Walker provided a link to the recipe for his dish, and wrote this about the polenta and eggplant Napoleons:

What a tasty recipe this is. It comes from Joanna Vaught’s Yellow Rose Recipes, Over 120 Quick and Delicious Vegan Creations with Kick (available via Herbivore and Amazon). She called this an appetizer, but we each had 2 Napoleons, which made a nice main meal.

The recipe requires a bit of making, but it can be done ahead of time. She used pre-made packaged polenta, which we don’t have, so we made ours from scratch, and as it was hardening, we laid it out on plastic wrap and rolled it up, so that I could have nice round slices for the Napoleons. The flavor of this basil tomato salsa was lovely. This will definitely be done more often around here.

Coffee Smiley Face | Photo credit: Ballistik Coffee Boy, Flickr, Creative Commons

Vegetable and Shrimp Tortilla | Photo credit: Joana Petrova, Flickr, Creative Commons

Summer Vegetable Garden | Photo credit: Di the Huntress, Flickr, Creative Commons

Japanese Bento Box Lunch | Photo credit: Route79, Flickr, Creative Commons

Mother's Birthday Cake with Chocolate Swirls | Photo credit: Terri Goodwin, Flickr, Creative Commons

East African Groundnut Soup | Photo credit: Ruthie Hansen, Flickr, Creative Commons

Soups and stews are similar — to make this frugal-minded dish into a thicker stew, decrease the water or increase some of the ingredients.

Recipe for East African Groundnut Soup, provided by Ruthie Hansen —

From The Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special. This soup is deeply-flavored and delicious. It has peanut-butter in it, too. My roommates raved about this one.

East African Groundnut Soup

Ingredients

* 3 cups chopped onions
* 3 celery stalks, diced
* 1 T. oil
* 2 bell peppers (any color), diced
* 1 dash cayenne powder (more for hotter)
* 2 T. curry powder
* 1 cup brown rice
* 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
* 6 cups water
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
* 1 T. sugar
* Juice of one lime
* Chopped cilantro, chopped scallions, and/or ground peanuts for toppings (optional)

Directions

In a large pot, sauté the onions and celery ~10 minutes on medium heat. Add the bell peppers and sauté ~5 minutes more.

Add the cayenne and curry powder.

Add the rice, water, tomatoes and salt. Stir well. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook ~40 minutes, until rice is tender. Whisk in the peanut butter, lime juice, and sugar. Add water if soup is too thick. Taste it, and add more salt or sugar as needed.

Serve topped with chopped scallions, cilantro, ground peanuts, lime wedges, etc.

This recipe makes approximately 12 servings.

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Previous Fab Food Friday Fotos posts:

Gorgeous but Thrifty Casseroles, Cheeseburger, Lamb Meatballs with Quail Eggs, Tropical Tri-Color Cake, Chicken Divan, & More

Asian Meats, “Happy” Bread, Tempeh Pizza with Artichoke Hearts, Beef & Red Wine Casserole, Chili Peppers, Teddy Bear Tea Party Cake, Makaronilaatikko, and More

Chinese Pig Dumplings, Hot Pastrami, Chicken Pot Pie, Pepperoni Pizza Soup, Tiger Bento Box, Spaghetti with Mushrooms, & More

Watermelon-Infused Vodka Balls, Chocolates, Peppercorn Beef Filet Steak, Cauliflower Cheese Soup, & More

Categories: Business & Economy, Conservatism, Food, Drink, Social and Political Climate
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