GUEST POST: C. Everett Co-op ‏

Kris and Leigh (that’s us) are on vacation this week, so we asked some hilarious friends to pen guest columns for CHG. Today’s post comes from the most excellent Federico.If you are interested in good, healthy food at cheap prices, you've probably at least considered joining a food co-op. It takes more effort than belonging to a CSA, (I think joining a CSA is best only for those with the culinary imagination to make appealing meals out of one month of tomatoes and broccoli and eleven months of turnips and sand.) and isn't as convenient as shopping at the nearest grocery store, but gives members access to a wealth inexpensive, high quality food and an inexhaustible well of self-satisfaction.Unfortunately, many would be co-op members are put...

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Posted in: Buying Food

GUEST POST: Chicken Shawarma (Insert Shawarma Pun Here)

Kris and Leigh (that’s us) are on vacation this week, so we asked some of our most hilarious friends to pen guest columns for CHG. Today’s post comes from occasional contributor and fabulous cook Rachel.For real, now: have you guys seen the August Food & Wine? Because sweet Alice Waters on a soapbox, it's awesome. Deeply, wonderfully, guy-who-founded-Le-Pain-Quotidien-spills-his-guts awesome.With that said, I need to backtrack a little. I read the August issue before getting around to July's F&W. July is good, but after August's wonderment, anything short of Eric Ripert standing in my kitchen and being all, "After we eat this dinner I've lovingly crafted, let's make zee amour," would have been disappointing. (C'mon. You know you've thought about it, too.)July still had a few things...

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Posted in: Mains,Meat and Fish

GUEST POST: Rest in Peas - A Working Mothers Guide to Not Making Baby Food

Kris and Leigh (that’s us) are on vacation this week, so we asked some of our most hilarious friends to pen guest columns for CHG. Today’s post comes from the talented and wondrous Michele.For the last seven months of my life, I’ve been taking care of a child. To be more specific, I’ve been taking care of my child. The one I carried around for TEN months in my belly, and the one I have wanted since I was, oh, 13? The one I waited to find the perfect dad for. The one that came at the just the right time and is absolutely perfect. To me. Obviously.Anyway, he’s seven-months-old now, and I can’t rely exclusively on the food I’ve been making for him from the ol’ feed sacks. (A.k.a. my bosom.) It’s one of those things you don’t think about when you’re...

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Posted in: Cooking,Frugality

GUEST POST: White Sangria - I Am a Thoughtful Hostess

Kris and Leigh (that’s us) are on vacation this week, so we asked some of our most hilarious friends to pen guest columns for CHG. Today, we’re kicking everything off with the lovely Cindee.Who doesn't love throwing a party? Good friends, good food, good drink. Those few minutes of pure adrenaline right before the first guests arrive...I love it all.I'm currently planning a housewarming party. My boyfriend and I recently moved into an actual adult apartment, which we have furnished with actual adult furniture. We are now required to have an actual adult party. A celebration of good fortune and adulthood!If I put every party that I have ever had on a timeline, it would go something like this:1980's Theme: Parents away!Guest List: Andrew Warde...

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Posted in: Drinks,Vegan,Vegetarian

Stuffed Eggplant and Some (Good) Housekeeping

You guys! Things!1) Both Leigh and I are on vacation next week. Leigh will still be checking comments, and we’ve recruited a few hilarious friends to write guest posts for us. There’ll be at least two entries, and they don’t necessarily adhere to the cheap/healthy/good theme, but they’re super-fun. We’re excited to have them, and are sure you’ll dig them muchly.2) A few weeks ago, I solicited reader suggestions for leafy green recipes. And then? On Wednesday? I posted a 246-link compilation that ignored those ideas completely. I’m an idiot. The Escarole and White Beans comment thread has some, but beyond that, here are two fantastic reader submissions, with gigantic apologies.From Anna:1) Raw Tuscan Kale Salad with Pecorino from The New York...

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Posted in: Mains,Vegetarian

Veggie Might: Carrot Top Scramble — No Joke!

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a regular Thursday feature about all things Vegetarian.Twice now I’ve gone to the farmers’ market and they’ve asked if I want them to remove the greens from the root vegetables I’m about to purchase. “No,” (in a kind of huh?/duh! but more polite tone of voice) I’ve replied. Who would give up perfectly gorgeous turnip, radish, or carrot greens?But the stand workers must be asking for a reason—either they want them for compost or they’ve been asked by enough people that they started offering.I guess the latter wouldn’t be that crazy, especially in a city, where people have 1 ft x 2 ft counter tops and refrigerators under 10 cu. ft that you still have to defrost. But I love greens (as you’re well...

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Posted in: Breakfast,Vegetarian

Cheap, Healthy Leafy Greens: 246 Recipes for Cabbage, Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard, and Beyond

The Husband-Elect and I have been really into leafy greens lately, since they’re some of the cheapest and most nutritionally sound vegetables in the supermarket. We were running out of ways to prepare them, so, in the grand tradition of CHG, I made a recipe compilation. (First it was out of felt and glue, but then sending it via the internet just seemed easier.)As always, there were some rules I set before beginning the hunt:The leafy green itself had to be a/the star of the show.To limit the scope a bit, the leafy greens chosen were: arugula, beet greens, bok choy, cabbage (green only), collards, escarole, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and Swiss chard. We'll leave turnip greens and watercress for next time.If a recipe came from an aggregate recipe site, it had to have at least 4-1/2 stars...

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Posted in: Cooking,Frugality,Health

Tuesday Megalinks

Wow. It’s feast or famine here, folks. After last week’s 24-link funfest, this week only yields 14. Still, they’re pretty great: Lifehacker’s covering coffee, the Kitchn comes through with tips galore, and Newsweek has a provocative article on momblogging’s wavering indie cred. Enjoy!The Atlantic: How a Cruise Ship Feeds 4000 PeopleNeat little travel essay in which the head chef of the QE2 is interviewed. Did you know “the crew alone goes through 400 pounds of rice per day”? Where do they put it all?Being Frugal: My Foray Into Nourishing TraditionsLynnae’s attempting a total overhaul of her family’s diet with the help of whole foods-centric book called Nourishing Traditions. So far, the food is delicious and her grocery trips have been much...

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Posted in: Links