A Return! And a Temporary Break.

Readers! Hey there! How are you? I’ve been away for a few days, alternately babysitting and proving myself to be totally florally ignorant. (Remember: life is easy. Wedding flowers are hard.)Beyond that, the last week or so has been chock full of deep, thoughtful, uh … thinking … about CHG. I find myself lacking employment lately, and kind of need to concentrate on the job search for a little while.So. I think we’re going to put the blog on hiatus for a bit, just to regroup and get our collective mojo back. (Note: not this mojo. This mojo. Though the former is nice, too.) There’ll still be occasional posts, especially if there’s a light, inexpensive recipe that screams to be shared. And I expect we’ll be back eventually, but mostly, it’s gonna be slow going for a few weeks.In the meantime,...

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Posted in: About Cheap Healthy Good

Veggie Might: From VM Labs - Miso Mashed Potatoes

Penned by the effervescent Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about the wide world of Vegetarianism.Friday, I went to seen an oral surgeon for a consultation. I left the doctor’s office down two wisdom teeth and up a bolt of gauze. Had I suspected this course of events (and been running less late or less concerned with the doctor seeing clean teeth), I would have eaten breakfast.Cut to two hours later when my entire mouth is numb and I’m starving—like low-blood sugar, kinda woozy, I-need-food-now starving: Grapefruit juice to the rescue. I chugged about a quart and only a cup or so ran down from the corners of my Novocain-paralyzed mouth.Since I’ve been traveling and hosting a ‘tween for the last two + weeks, my cupboards have...

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Posted in: Sides,Vegan,Vegetarian,Veggie Might

Yellow Tomato Recipes, Part 2: Gazpacho and Stuffed Tomatoes

Part 2! Behold...Yellow Tomato GazpachoMakes 5 cups soupAdapted from Suzanne Goin’s Sunday Suppers at Lucques2 1/2 pounds ripe yellow tomatoes1 cucumber1/2 jalapeño, seeded and cut in half4 sprigs cilantro, plus 12 cilantro leaves2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped2 tablespoons red wine vinegar1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil3 tablespoons diced red or orange sweet pepper3 tablespoons diced red onion18 small cherry tomatoes, cut in half (optional)Super-good extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzlingKosher salt and freshly ground black pepperNOTE: I ate this with the red pepper and red onion, but without the cherry tomatoes or extra olive oil drizzled on top. It was good. - Kris1) Blanch the yellow tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Cool the tomatoes...

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Posted in: Mains,Sides,Soups and Stocks,Vegan,Vegetarian

Yellow Tomato Recipes, Part I: Salsa and Soup (Also, Encounters of the Celebrity Kind)

Before we get into our first two recipes from Wednesday’s Tomato-a-thon, I encourage you to check out this post over at The Onion’s AV Club. It’s all about the writers’ favorite/best celebrity encounters, and the comment section is hilarious. My favorite story is from the hopefully-not-aptly named Poodog:I became enraged at a burrito place in Venice, CA in 2001 when friends began talking about Doogie Howser (one of my many high school nicknames) seemingly out of nowhere.Me: F** you, I do not look like Doogie Howser!!!Friend: Neil Patrick Harris is getting a Coke right behind you.NPH (at me): Nice one.To play along, my top three:1) I met Britney Spears at the 1999 Grammy Nominations ceremony, at the very beginning of her career. It was unremarkable,...

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Posted in: Dips and Sauces,Mains,Sides,Soups and Stocks,Vegan,Vegetarian

Veggie Might: I Love Radishes

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.First things first, Kris, you deserve some big love for your massive tomato undertaking. Kudos, fine lady. You are an inspiration. Also, I’m free most weekends for supper if you need help with that. (Thanks, Leigh! - Kris)Now on with the show...Radishes don’t get a lot of love, confused as they often are, along with parsley, as garnish. But radishes are little peppery, crunchy pods of joy.This summer I’ve been experimenting with different kinds of radishes, discovering French breakfast radishes for the first time, and enjoying good, old, regular red ones.Unfortunately, some of my experiments have been less than successful. For instance, my attempt...

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Posted in: 15 Minutes or Less,Sides,Vegan,Vegetarian,Veggie Might

COOKING DAY, PART 7: Ernest Goes to ... I Mean, Yellow Tomato Gazpacho

By the power vested in me as a random person on the internet, I pronounce Cooking Day ’09 … FINISHED. Yes, I missed Obama’s health care speech. But I profoundly believe that after eating this many tomatoes, I won’t need health care anyway.(KNOCK ON WOOD.)Anyzwayz, the final dish was Suzanne Goin’s Yellow Tomato Gazpacho from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. (Is it pronounced “Goyne” or “Gwah”? I never know.) Though the end result is an unnerving yellow-green color, the flavor is mellow, smooth, and deep, and will probs get even more complex after a night in the fridge.Like the previous soup, I doubled the recipe, and scored about 10 full cups out of it. It used nine tomatoes, leaving me with four lonely pieces of produce, which were mercilessly sliced...

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Posted in: Cooking

COOKING DAY, PART 6: Yellow Tomato Soup

First, thank you, Mike the Commenter. Bon Appetit’s Yellow Tomato Soup was/is outrageously good. It’s the Husband-Elect’s favorite dish thus far today, and I doubled the recipe, meaning we have 12-1/2 cups of the stuff to tide us over the winter. And? AND?!? It used up seven more tomatoes. For that, I throw you a party in my head. (See it? Yay! We’re having so much fun. I think it’s because the DJ is David Bowie.)Of course, part of the soup’s inherent goodness is due to copious amounts of bacon. But the portions are so large, you’re getting less than one slice per serving (meaning same taste, less fat). Also, though the original recipe called for heavy cream, I subbed in 2% evaporated milk, making the whole deal about 2,000,000 calories lighter....

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Posted in: Cooking

COOKING DAY, PART 5: Provencal Stuffed Tomatoes

Folks, this is not my picture. In fact, it’s so far from the picture I took, that if pictures were actors, this picture is Laurence Olivier, and mine is Andie MacDowell. (*shudder*) Night hit here about an hour ago, which means the possibility of me taking a halfway decent photo of food, people, or anything besides big blotches of yellow has dropped precipitously. Thusly, this one is bogarted from the Food Network.They're Provencal Stuffed Tomatoes, they come from the aforementioned Network of Food, and while tasty, are very very very very watery. I ate one by itself, and would not suggest it. However, I would suggest placing it on top of a small mound of pasta, because I imagine it would go quite nicely – kind of like breaking a sunny side-up...

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Posted in: Cooking

COOKING DAY, PART 4: Yellow Tomato Sauce

Darkness approaches. Unable – or unwanting - to comprehend the produce massacre it sees before itself, the sun sets over the West, to return anon. El mundo llora. Brooklyn settles, as a lone, perspiring woman drives her scimitar through another juicy, yellow victim. Also, blood.-from Cormac McCarthy’s upcoming novel The Vegetable Butcher (in bookstores, 2025)Woof. It’s been a long day already, and there are still more than half the tomatoes to go. On one hand, this is great exercise for the callous on my chopping hand. On the other hand … Mommy?So far, though, the day is wielding excellent results, food-wise. A reader named Sarah posted her own recipe for Yellow Tomato Sauce in the comment section, and it turned out very, very well. Here’s...

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Posted in: Cooking

COOKING DAY, PART 3: Tomatillo and Yellow Tomato Salsa

Okay, we’re in business. Ingredients have been bought, tomatoes are roasting for Sarah’s sauce (recipe in the comment section), and I’m about to embark on Yellow Tomato Soup, as suggested by Mike.But first, a glance at Tomatillo and Yellow Tomato Salsa from Epicurious, which originally appeared in Gourmet in 1994:Pretty, no? Though it still has to sit for awhile, I liked this right out of the gate. It’s very mild (but can be less so if you add more jalapeno), and the tomatillos are a nice twist. Also, the recipe makes enough to fit into the trunk of a Buick. The Husband-Elect can eat a lot of salsa, but this is gonna last awhile.Next up: Sarah’s sauce.Tomato count: 6 down, 33 to go.(Um … uh-o...

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Posted in: Cooking

COOKING DAY, PART 2: Yellow Tomato Salad with Roasted Red Pepper, Feta, and Mint

Ladies and gentlemen, our first dish of the day is a success. I just ate Yellow Tomato Salad with Roasted Red Pepper, Feta and Mint from Kalyn's Kitchen for lunch, and am way impressed. It came together in less than ten minutes, used stuff I had on hand, was a neat twist on Caprese Salad, and never got boring, even though it was essentially a big ol' bowl of tomatoes. Here's a picture:Unh. Yeah. Unh. I only made two slight changes, which were subbing in jarred red peppers for newly-roasted ones, and reducing the olive oil by a teaspoon.(Full recipes and breakdowns coming Friday and Monday, both on CHG and Serious Eats.)(Hopefully.)Anyway, keep those suggestions coming! Based on your ideas, I definitely have to roast some tomatoes. DEO, I'm...

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Posted in: Cooking

COOKING DAY: 39 Yellow Tomatoes, 11 Hours, No Mercy

Every couple of months, Crystal over at Money Saving Mom does a Baking Day, during which she preps mounds of waffles, muffins, breads, and whatnot. The food is largely healthy and always inexpensive, and the quantities produced are enough to last her family well into 2025 (a.k.a. “Considering Their Farm Team, the Next Time the Mets Have Any Shot at the Pennant Whatsoever”).When I was among the employed, pulling off this kind of awesome would have been impossible, due to time constraints. However, I’m between gigs these days (oh, freelancing), and seem to have a few minutes on my hands. Coincidentally, I also have 39 yellow tomatoes, delivered last night by Rachel. (It was only HALF of her CSA haul, if you can believe it.) Since the Husband-Elect...

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Posted in: Cooking,Frugality

Tuesday Megalinks: Lunch Lady Land Edition

Parents! You’re gonna dig the roundup today, as a ton of posts and articles focus on feeding your brood. In tribute, here are the two most adorable things the Husband-Elect and I heard at the Bronx Zoo yesterday:1) SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY: (to his mom) I am deliciously hungry.2) FIVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL: (to a statue of a lemur) Hello, friend.And with that, the links!Boston.com: Early On, Parents Form Habits of Healthy EatingThe Age of the Fishstick (it was right after the Bronze Age, see) has passed parenthood by. Apparently, y’all are making fresh food from scratch nowadays. Mama likes.Casual Kitchen: Scarred for Life by a Food Industry JobOnce upon a time, a very talented and extremely pleasant food blogger (Dan) spent a summer slinging Quarter Pounders...

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Posted in: Links

Maple Morning Polenta, Chili Corn Pone Pie, and a Review of Mary Ostyn’s Family Feasts for $75 a Week.

(Sorry for the late post, folks. Um ... I kinda bought my wedding dress today. Squee!)Mary Ostyn has ten children, and has managed to shelter, educate, and feed them all on her husband’s $56,000 salary. She blogs regularly about her experiences at Owlhaven, and on September 1st, she released her second book, Family Feasts for $75 a Week. Last week, I got my hands on a (full disclosure:) free copy. I read it and tried two recipes, wondering all the while if a cookbook intended for large families could also help a pair of veggie-lovin’ Brooklynites.And ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. Family Feasts keeps food healthy, inexpensive, and real without resorting to semi-homemade-esque measures. I’m more than happy to recommend it here, and...

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Posted in: 15 Minutes or Less,Breakfast,Chili,Mains,Meat and Fish,Vegetarian

Veggie Might: Golden Delight Egg Salad

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.Moms and dads of the world, I salute you. This past week, I played host, tour guide, and shepherd to my 12-year-old nephew, L (not to be confused with his brothers, 10-year-old L and 7-year-old L). After six days of museums, baseball games, comic book stores, and nonstop kid chatter (Aunt Leigh…Aunt Leigh…Aunt Leigh…), I am slain.But we had a great time. It was L’s first trip to New York City since he was 2 or 3, so we had much to do. Between trips to Chinatown and the Museum of Natural History, we even managed to squeeze in a few home-cooked meals.My initial concern—vegetarian guardian, omnivarian charge—was never an issue. He accepted all my...

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Posted in: Eggs,Mains,Sides,Vegetarian

Reader Replies: “Healthy” Defined! (As Best We Can)

Last week, we discussed defining the word “healthy” in relation to food, and decided it meant … oh, wait. We didn’t decide anything. As it turns out, a universally acceptable explanation of “healthy” is really hard to pin down.But never fear, because it’s CHG readers to the rescue. Quite a few of you guys chimed in with your ideas on “healthy,” and there were a ton of solid points not mentioned in my post. Even better, we might have stumbled over a working definition. (It’s at the end.)But first, in seven easy-to-follow categories, in near-original form, here are your thoughts.(Note: there were some minor edits made for length, but otherwise, reader comments were left largely untouched.)"Healthy" is MODERATION AND BALANCE Anonymous: Healthy...

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Posted in: Health

Tuesday Megalinks

Lots of lists and how-tos in this week's links, including Eat Me Daily’s fall cookbook preview, The Kitchn’s guide to $20 group dinners, and a triumvirate of healthy goodness from Chow. Take it away, internets…5 Second Rule: AdvocateInterview with Dr. Susan Rubin, founder of Bettter School Food, which is at the forefront of the Make School Lunches Less Sucky for Kids movement. Informational. Inspiring. Anti-Monsanto. (Thanks to Casual Kitchen for the link.)Boing Boing: How Many Minutes Do People in Your City Have to Work for a Big Mac?Chicago: about 12.Nairobi: nearly 160.Um … this is one of those times I’m happy I live where I do.Casual Kitchen: The Food Spending Poll - Results and ConclusionsDan ran an informal poll by his readers, and found...

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Posted in: Links