Real Food Special Collection - Mother Earth News

Real Food
SPECIAL COLLECTION
• Easy, No-Knead Crusty Bread
• Homemade Ketchup & Mustard
• How to Afford Better Food

Eat in Season:
Easy,
No-Knead
Crusty
Bread
Story and photos
by Roger Doiron
Picture a bowl of soup
or a salad without a
slice of crusty bread
to go with it. Worse still,
imagine a deliciously tangy
piece of Camembert cheese,
served with a glass of red wine,
but no accompanying hunk of
baguette. Quelle horreur! as
the French would say.
Much has been written over the centuries
about bread’s importance in global
cuisine. Legendary American chef and
food writer James Beard called it the
“most fundamentally satisfying of all
foods” and referred to bread served with
fresh butter as the “greatest of feasts.”
True to form, the Italians are even more
dramatic in describing bread’s essential
role. “Senza il pane tutto diventa orfano,”
they say, which means “without bread,
everyone’s an orphan.”
About six years ago, I felt orphaned
myself. I had just returned from 10 years
living in Europe, where artisan bread
is so common you almost trip over the
stuff in the streets. The same cannot be
said of my native state of Maine, where
Wonder Bread still leads wonderful bread
by a comfortable margin. If you trip over
anything in the winter-worn streets of
Maine, it’s more likely to be a frost heave.
Bread had become so fundamental to
my culinary happiness that I realized upon
returning to the States that I needed to
knead some of my own. After five years
playing around with different recipes and
techniques, I reluctantly came to terms
with my limits as a home baker. I could
produce zucchini and banana breads to die
for, a decent sandwich loaf in both white
and whole-wheat varieties, and a perfectly
respectable focaccia.

seasonalrecipes
What I couldn’t produce, unfortunately,
was the type of bread I craved the
most: a hearty, round rustic loaf with a
moist, chewy crumb (inside) and a thick,
crispy crust.
Fortunately, my return proved to be
well-timed in that it coincided with an artisan
bread-making revival making inroads
in Maine. I became a regular customer of
Standard Baking Co., a Portland-based
bakery that turns out breads and pastries
that rival Europe’s finest. What I couldn’t
bake myself was available just a few minutes
and a few dollars away.
But for people like me who grow some
of our own food and cook from scratch,
No-Knead, Dutch Oven Bread
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1 ⁄2 cups warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for
dusting. You may use white, whole
wheat or a combination of the two.
1 1 ⁄2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting
1In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in
water. Add the flour and salt, stirring
until blended. The dough will be shaggy
and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably
12 to 18, at warm room temperature,
about 70 degrees.
2The dough is ready when its surface
is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour
a work surface and place dough on it.
Sprinkle it with a little more flour and
fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover
loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest
for about 15 minutes.
3Using just enough flour to keep the
dough from sticking to the work surface
or to your fingers, gently shape it into
a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel
with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the
seam side of the dough down on the towel
and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal.
Cover with another towel and let rise for
about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the
dough will have doubled in size and will
not readily spring back when poked with
a finger.
4At least 20 minutes before the dough
is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees.
Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot
(cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in
the oven as it heats. When the dough is
ready, carefully remove the pot from the
oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand
under the towel and turn the dough over
into the pot, seam side up. The dough
will lose its shape a bit in the process,
but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake
or two to help distribute the dough evenly,
but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will
straighten out as it bakes.
5Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake another 15
to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully
browned. Remove the bread from the
Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for
at least 1 hour before slicing.
Yield: One 1 1 ⁄2-pound loaf.
Adapted from The New York Times.
close foods can never be quite close
enough. I remained committed to being
able to produce the loaf of my dreams in
my own kitchen. On a Saturday morning
bread run to Standard, I asked one of
the bakers her secret to a crusty loaf. She
replied “quality ingredients, time and a
$10,000 professional baking oven.” Ugh.
That was not what I wanted to hear.
She went on to explain that the secret
to a loaf that is soft and moist on the inside
and crusty on the outside lies in the careful
balance of heat and humidity. Professional
baking ovens achieve this balance via high
temperatures and blasts of steam during
the cooking process.
Over the years, ingenious home bakers
have tried to replicate the humid conditions
of a commercial oven by placing
a pan filled with water at the bottom of
the oven or by spritzing their loaves with
water from time to time. My own experiments
in moisture management, however,
left me frustrated. The quality of my
loaves just didn’t do justice to the time and
work that went into making them.
Just when I was ready to give up on
crusty, peasant loaves altogether, I came
across an article in The New York Times
that described a new bread-making technique,
the results of which sounded too
easy and too good to be true. Dubbed “noknead
bread,” the method involves using
wet dough, letting it rise over a very long
time in lieu of kneading it, and cooking it
in a hot Dutch oven (heavy covered pot).
While the recipe calls for a slow fermentation
process, its popularity proved an

seasonalrecipes
Wonderful bread needs
nothing more than flour,
yeast, salt and water.
instant success. The recipe was shared and
devoured by foodies all over the world via
the Internet.
Excited at the prospect of finally creating
a crusty loaf of my own, I couldn’t wait
to try the technique myself. I was also curious
to see if it really was possible to come
up with something new in a field as old as
bread-making. As if that weren’t enough, I
had indulged myself the year before with a
$120 cast iron Dutch oven that had thus
far not seen much action. I pictured myself
cranking out one crusty loaf after the
next, and did some quick math to calculate
how many loaves I’d need to make before
recouping my investment.
From the first attempt, my results — like
those of others who’ve used the technique
— have been nothing short of miraculous.
Not only are my loaves delicious,
but they are drop-dead gorgeous, every bit
as pretty as the ones I was tripping over in
Europe. The long, knead-free fermentation
process allows the dough to develop
good flavor, while the Dutch oven creates
the humid conditions needed for a crisp
crust. Those of you who have been foiled
in your home-baking efforts in the past can
find new hope in this technique, which is
as forgiving as it is flexible.
Although I may still be a loaf or two
shy of paying for my fancy-pants Dutch
oven, I’m getting close and am even starting
to think about new challenges. Next
time I make a Saturday morning bakery
run, I think I’ll ask the baker the secret of a
buttery chocolate croissant. With my baking
confidence at a new high, I just might
be up to the task.
Roger Doiron lives on the southern
coast of Maine where he’s a sustainable
agriculture consultant, passionate organic
gardener and recreational clammer. He digs
good food — literally — on land and at sea.

Homemade
Ketchup
Mustard
&
Featuring everything
you need to know to
put up the seasons’
bounty, The Art of
Preserving (Weldon
Owen, 2010) by
Rick Field, Rebecca
Courchesne and Lisa
Atwood illuminates
how to savor your favorite fresh produce
year-round. From beginners looking to
learn, to those familiar with the technique,
everyone will appreciate this contemporary
and comprehensive approach to preserving
the wealth of fruits and vegetables from
backyard gardens and farmers markets. In
this excerpt from the chapter “Condiments
& Sauces,” learn how to make homemade
ketchup and mustard that will put the
store-bought varieties to shame.

Classic Ketchup Recipe
Make this ketchup when tomatoes are at
their summer best. Sweet, juicy gardenfresh
tomatoes are reduced to a gently
spiced, lusciously thick condiment. Your
favorite purchased ketchup will never taste
the same after you sample this irresistible
homemade version.
Makes 6 8-oz jars
12 pounds tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
3 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
3 small red bell peppers (capsicums),
seeded and coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 cinnamon stick, crushed
1 tbsp celery seeds
11/2 tsp whole allspice
11/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
11/2 cups cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
11/2 tsp salt
• Have ready hot, sterilized jars and their
lids.
• Blanch, peel, and core the tomatoes,
then cut into quarters. In a large nonreactive
saucepan over medium-low heat,
warm the olive oil. Add the onions and
peppers and cook until tender, about
5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook
until tender, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the garlic and the
spices on a square of cheesecloth (muslin),
bring the corners together, and tie
with kitchen string. In a small nonreactive
saucepan, bring the vinegar and
cheesecloth bag to a boil over mediumhigh
heat, cover, and remove from the
heat.
• Pass the tomato mixture through a food
mill into a clean nonreactive saucepan.
Disc ard the cheesecloth bag and pour
all but a quarter cup of the vinegar into
the tomato mixture. Stir in the sugar and
the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat,
reduce the heat to medium, and simmer,
stirring often, until the mixture is
reduced by more than half and mounds
slightly on a spoon, 45-60 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt,
sugar, and the remaining vinegar.
• Ladle the hot ketchup into the jars, leaving
1/4 inch of headspace. Remove any
air bubbles and adjust the headspace, if
necessary. Wipe the rims clean and seal
tightly with the lids.
• Process the jars for 10 minutes in a
boiling-water bath. The sealed jars can
be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1
year. If a seal has failed, store the jar in
the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Dijon Mustard Recipe
The famed mustard associated with Dijon,
France, is easy to make. Some versions
require grinding whole mustard seeds and
spices. This one champions simplicity by
combining dry mustard with a few essential
ingredients. The result is smooth and
creamy, and not too hot.
Makes 2 8-oz jars
1 1/3 cups dry mustard
2 cups dry white wine or flat
champagne
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
Honey Dijon Mustard
Omit the sugar. Stir in 2 tbsp honey before
transferring the mustard to the jars.
Tarragon Dijon Mustard
Add 1 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon before
transferring the mustard to the jars.
Dijon with Mustard Seeds
Add 2 tsp brown mustard seeds during the
last 5 minutes of cooking.
• Have ready hot, sterilized jars and their
lids. In a bowl, stir together the mustard
and half a cup water until smooth. Set
aside.
• In a small nonreactive saucepan, combine
the wine, onion, and garlic. Bring to
a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to
medium, stir in the sugar and salt, and
simmer, uncovered, stirring often, until
reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Pour
the wine mixture through a fine-mesh
sieve into the mustard and stir until combined.
Transfer to the saucepan and cook
over medium heat, stirring frequently,
until thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Spoon the hot mustard into the jars,
leaving 1/4 inch (6 mm) of headspace.
Remove any air bubbles and adjust the
headspace, if necessary. Wipe the rims
clean and seal tightly with the lids. Store
the jars in the refrigerator for up to 1
year. For the best flavor, let the mustard
stand for at least 2 weeks before using.
Chipotle Ketchup Recipe
Pairing chipotle chiles and tomatoes yields
a perfectly balanced accompaniment
especially suited to grilled meats such as
hamburger, flank or skirt steak, or pork
chops. The chiles, jalapeños that have been
dried in a smoke-filled chamber, have a
deep, sweet flavor.
Makes 6 8-oz jars
4 pounds tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
Salt to taste
• Have ready hot, clean jars and their lids.
Blanch, peel, and core the tomatoes,
then cut into chunks. In a large nonreactive
saucepan over medium heat, warm
the olive oil. Add the onions and cook
until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add
the garlic, coriander, and allspice and
cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes
longer. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, and
sugar and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally,
until the tomatoes are tender,
about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut the chiles in half and
remove some or all of the seeds, depending
on how spicy you want the ketchup.
Reserve the adobo sauce and chop the
chiles. When the tomatoes are ready, stir
in the chiles and a quarter cup of the
sauce. Let cool briefly.
• Working in batches, transfer the tomato
mixture to a blender and purée until
smooth. Return the puréed mixture to
the pan and bring to a boil over high
heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low
and simmer, stirring often, until thickened,
about 20 minutes. Season with
salt.
• Ladle the hot ketchup into the jars,
leaving 1/4 inch (6 mm) of headspace.
Remove any air bubbles and adjust the
headspace, if necessary. Wipe the rims
clean and seal tightly with the lids.
• Process the jars for 15 minutes in a
boiling-water bath. The sealed jars can
be stored in a cool, dark place for up to
1 year. If a seal has failed, store the jar
in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Cut Cost, Not Quality
how to afford
better food
Buy In Season
WHY? Like most goods and services, foods cost less when they’re abundant.
Eat foods during their peak season for scaled-down price plus amped-up quality.
Foods that get to you quickly lose less flavor and nutrients, and you can
enjoy varieties of produce that can’t survive long-distance shipping. Buying
in-season foods directly from farmers
is the easiest way to save money
on great produce — especially at the
end of market day, and especially if
you’re willing to buy less-than-perfect
items. Buying in season is also
the best way to get good prices on
more-expensive organic produce.
HOW? Arm yourself with
strategies for eating fresh during
any season with the comprehensive
resources we’ve
compiled for you on our website at
www,MotherEarthNews.com.
WHAT’S NEXT? If you eat sea-
There’s growing evidence that industrial food just ain’t what it oughta be.
Lucky for us, the path to super-nutritious food at affordable prices offers
many entry points. We’ll pilot you through the diverse options in this
guide to shopping smart and eating well. by Tabitha Alterman
Buy Locally
WHY? When you spend $1 on supermarket food, not much of it goes to the actual
producer. Some of your dollar goes to the person who grew it, while some goes to the person
who picked it. Some goes to the companies who processed, packaged and transported
it, and some to the firm that designed the packaging and advertising. Finally, some of
your dollar ends up in the hands of the grocery store owner, and also in the hands of the
store’s employees. The fewer middlemen, the less the seller will have to charge you.
HOW? Find farms, restaurants, co-ops, farmers markets and other great local-food
resources on our website. In addition, locally owned specialty shops can often help you
find things that local farmers can’t grow, such as fresh-roasted coffee.
WHAT’S NEXT? Money spent locally stays in your community, which is ripe with
resources to ...
Join Forces
WHY? Community supported agriculture (CSA)
programs used to be charming novelties in certain
neighborhoods that enjoyed eco-abundance,
but their huge surge in popularity in recent years
means CSA programs
are now available nationwide
— more than
4,000 are listed in the
Local Harvest database.
A CSA program
is essentially a localfarm
subscription service,
in which a group
pays the farmer directly
for the food she
delivers. You can save
money on super-fresh,
high-quality produce,
Tim Nauman (2)
and many CSAs also
offer meat, eggs, dairy,
honey, flowers and
herbs. Some offer free
or lower-cost subscriptions to those
who donate time or qualify for lowincome
shares.
HOW? Find a CSA program
in your area through the Robyn
Van En Center or Local Harvest
(www.l.ocalHarvest.org).
WHAT’S NEXT? Now that
you’ve acquired so many great ingredients,
you’d better believe you can
start saving big if you ...

Cook Your Own Food
WHY? The absolute fastest route to
grocery savings is the path to your kitchen.
Avoid eating out or buying packaged
foods by cooking your own meals from
whole, unprocessed ingredients. Simple
breakfasts of whole grains, fruit and eggs
eaten at home will kick-start your day
with long-lasting energy. Take your own
lunch to work or school for a meal guaranteed
to be much more flavorful than
fast-food or vending machine fare. Save
time at dinner by spreading the work
among family members and prepping
double batches of dinners that freeze
well. And save money all around by
making your own staples, such as stock,
pasta sauce, butter, condiments, yogurt
and many others.
Did you know you could save at least half the cost of
fancy fresh cheese by making it yourself? Plus it’s fun,
I promise. And what about fancy artisan bread? Whoa
Nellie! Delicious rustic loaves from fine bakeries can
cost up to $7 a loaf, but you can make your own loaves
of comparable quality — again, I promise — for about
50 cents each. You’ll also be
able to use more nutritious
flour made with whole grains.
Really serious about getting
high-quality food at awesome
prices? Grind your own grains
for peak freshness and flavor.
Grain mills start at around $25
(though some nicer ones are in
the hundreds), and if you buy
50-pound bags of whole grains,
you could make that back with
your first grain purchase.
HOW? Just search for
“whole grains” at www.Mother
EarthNews.com, for links to
several fabulous homemade
bread recipes, plus easy tips
to keep more lunch money
in your pocket. Check out a
long list of our reader’s excellent
grocery budget tips in
“How Do You Save Money
on Groceries?” at www.
MotherEarthNews.com, and
while you’re on our website,
visit www.MotherEarthNews.
com/Real-Food for all kinds of recipes and cooking information.
WHAT’S NEXT? If you want to get in even closer
Grow Your Own Food
WHY? A sure way to rock your world with superior flavor and better
nutrition, and still save money, is by growing your own food. Rosalind
Creasy, author of Edible Landscaping, saved $700 on groceries in 2008
when she grew a simple, 100-square-foot garden. Roger Doiron, founder
of Kitchen Gardeners International, saved $2,000 from a 1,500-squarefoot
plot in 2009. Just think — grocery
prices are even higher now.
Accumulating evidence is revealing the
sad truth that today’s commercial fruits,
veggies and grains contain fewer nutrients
than their counterparts of yore, and many
heirloom varieties are nutritionally superior
to modern hybrids. Growing food
yourself — with time-tested heirloom varieties,
in healthy soil — is the best way to
get those nutrients back into your diet.
If you’re unsure, start small! Try radishes,
greens, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers
and potatoes to start. Even a modest herb
garden could save you big bucks, as fresh
herbs are usually pricey. If you’re adventurous,
start big! You can grow whopping
quantities of food by using your front
yard, too (if your community doesn't
forbid it). Many edibles, such as rainbow
chard and climbing beans, are as beautiful
as they are useful. No sun? Join one of
the 18,000 community gardens dotted
Tim Nauman (2)
all over North America. Live in an apartment?
You may be lucky enough to find a
rooftop garden sprouting up near you.
HOW? Learn to grow food and find
gardens that need you with our deep archives (see http://goo.gl/aC4zq).
WHAT’S NEXT? Whether you grow it or buy it fresh, you can make
that garden goodness last all winter long by learning to ...

Preserve Your Own Food
WHY? Even if you’re not growing food yourself, you can save up
to 75 percent on home-canned and up to 80 percent on home-frozen
foods if you buy the produce fresh during peak season. They’ll taste
better than store-bought convenience foods to boot.
Drying foods is another way to concentrate flavor and nutrition.
Dried fruits and veggies make wonderful, easy snacks, and you can
save quite a bit on pricey mushrooms by buying them when you spot
a sale, then drying them yourself to reconstitute later.
HOW? Search for “canning,” “drying” and “freezing” at www.
MotherEarthNews.com to find plenty of articles about the basics.
Download our canning app for smartphones and tablets at http://
goo.gl/B8ymJ. You can learn how to ferment delicious beverages at
home, too (see http://goo.gl/Z3brK ), and you’ll find a neat kit for a
hybrid solar/electric food dryer at http://goo.gl/zGZr6.
WHAT ELSE? Just as you can preserve fresh foods for out-ofseason
eating, you can purchase seasonal dry goods at deep discounts
and store them for later use. So why not ...
One of the Quickest Ways to
Grocery Savings? Pack Your Lunch!
The grocery budget is the third
largest money hog in most
household budgets, after housing
and transportation. While it
can be difficult to reduce your
expenses on the latter, saving
money on food is easier than you
probably think.
You’re in luck: There are
plenty of easy ways to save a
bundle on food. The surest
way? Don’t eat out. Just don’t
do it! Reducing the cost of
lunch may seem like a drop
in the bucket, but it’s a drop
you can make every single day,
and those drops will add up to
buckets of savings.
Make Your Own
Savory Staples
Taking any kind of lunch will
save you a ton over eating out,
but don’t stop there. Get creative
and enjoy the adventure,
because you can save plenty
more by making your own
staples rather than settling for
factory-made, flavorless and
nutritionally inferior standbys.
Think flavorful sandwiches on
home-baked bread with fresh
mayo; easy-to-make soups that
freeze well; yummy, easy-tobuild
wraps; and delicious green
and whole-grain salads. To find
recipes and instructions for
each step of these budget lunch
ideas, visit this article at www.
MotherEarthNews.com.
Bake Your Own Bread. Follow
the wildly popular, super-easy
no-knead method to keep readyto-use
bread dough in your fridge
at all times. You can bake amazing
loaves for just 50 cents each
Stockfood/Smend; Above Left: Tim Nauman; Above Right: Fotolia/Sapsiwai
this way. Check out these recipes
for delicious, homemade bread:
“Easy, No-Knead Crusty
Bread”: goo.gl/VVBY
“Five Minutes a Day for Fresh-
Baked Bread”: goo.gl/Mu1u
“Healthy, No-Knead Bread
Recipes”: http://goo.gl/ZC1x2
“Homemade Bread:
Truly Easy and Delicious”:
http://goo.gl/43ps4
“Almost No-Knead Bread:
Also Worth Trying”: http://goo.
gl/8iqfg
Roast Your Own Meats. Roast
your own beef, chicken and
turkey for significant savings,
not to mention way better flavor.
Just once a month, schedule a
meat-roasting day. Slice it up,
refrigerate a week’s worth, and
freeze the rest to use as needed.
Use Seasonal Vegetables.
Whatever’s abundant at the
farmers market or grocery store
will no doubt cost the least, and
it’ll be at its nutritional peak to
boot. Many veggies you may not
consider sandwich and salad
staples — zucchini, squash, bell
40 Mother Earth News XXXX/XXXX XXXX

Buy In Bulk
WHY? The price differences between packaged foods and plain,
whole foods sold in bulk can be astounding. For example, you can
save about 50 percent on pasta and peanut butter, and up to 70 percent
on oats and popcorn. You may be surprised at how much you
can find in bulk sections these days — everything from spices, herbs,
tea and coffee to beans, grains, flour, olive oil and more. Buying clubs
and food co-ops also offer tremendous savings to grocery shoppers
who don’t mind planning ahead and working with others.
HOW? Look for the bulk section in your grocery or natural foods
store. Connect with a food co-op or buying club through www.
CoopDirectory.org or www.UnitedBuyingClubs.com. Go to http://
goo.gl/WJyFK to see a detailed look at the cost savings of bulk items.
WHAT ELSE? Buying food in bulk is a great way to save grocery
dollars, but when it comes to the smartest money savings, you’ll
want to ...
Snack Attack
If snacking on vending machine buys throughout the day is your budget
(and health) enemy, be sure to toss fresh fruits and nutrient-dense nuts,
raisins and dried veggies into your lunch pail, too!
peppers, eggplant — work perfectly
between two pieces of bread, in
a whole-wheat tortilla, atop crisp
greens or with nutritious quinoa if
they’re sliced, roasted with a bit
of olive oil, seasoned with salt and
pepper, and then refrigerated.
Forgo Factory-Sliced Cheese. Is
it really that much work to slice
or grate your own cheese if it will
save you money? Nope, didn’t
think so. And if you’re out for
super-fresh flavor and want to cut
the cost of gourmet cheeses, try
making your own with our recipes:
Go to www.MotherEarthNews.
com/Cheesemaking.
Make Your Own Condiments.
Mayo, mustard, ketchup, hot
sauce and more — they’re all
simple to make, and homemade
condiments are most definitely
tastier and more nutritious than
anything in those jar aisles. (Find
a recipe for homemade mayo on
our website.)
Choose Wisely
WHY? Supporting a reduction in our nation’s
pesticide dependence by choosing organic foods is
worthwhile — the effects of industrial, chemical-based
agriculture reach much further than what we ingest as
individuals and the effects it has on our personal health.
But sometimes we must make strictly budget-conscious
decisions. If you can only access organically grown food
some of the time, you’ll want to make the best choices.
For example, fruits with permeable skin, such as strawberries,
absorb more chemicals than thick-skinned onions
and eggplants. And did you know that apples and
celery top the list of pesticide-laden foods, while mushrooms
and sweet potatoes are consistently clean?
HOW? The Environmental Working Group maintains
the most up-to-date list of which conventionally
grown foods are likely to be contaminated with pesticides
and which are safest to eat: www.FoodNews.org.
WHAT ELSE? While we’re considering the health of
our bodies and of the soil beneath our feet when making
purchases, we should also consider the health and wellbeing
of the animals that offer up their eggs, dairy and
meat products. This means you’ll want to ...
Follow Your Own
Soup Adventure!
When you tire of sandwiches, mix things
up by taking piping hot soup to work in a
trusty thermos. It’s easy to make a different
soup every day if that’s what you fancy, and
it’s a superb way to use inexpensive staples.
The first step is to learn the building
blocks. Usually you’ll start by sautéing some
version of mirepoix — a mixture of celery, carrots
and onions — then browning any meats,
especially the cheap cuts. Next, add stock,
which is easy to make at home in order to
save over buying pre-made products. To this,
you can add bulk with nutritious beans and
grains, plus whatever vegetables you’ve got
on hand (fresh or frozen). Finally, you can
get fancy by adding herbs and seasonings, as
well as flavor boosters such as mushrooms,
nuts, miso, cream or even coconut milk.
From cabbage to cashews, it’s hard to
imagine a food that can’t go into some soup
recipe somewhere. Search by ingredient for
recipes online, or visit http://goo.gl/vWjw2
and http://goo.gl/UYHcC to learn the basics
of soup-making.

Go Grass-Fed
WHY? Foods from animals
that were raised humanely on
healthy pastures are no doubt
more expensive than their
factory-farmed counterparts,
but that cost is coming down
as more consumers become
aware of the multiple benefits
(tell your friends!). Along with
top-notch flavor, pastured
products offer better nutrition
than industrial animal products.
You can save money by
choosing cuts of meat that are
less expensive but still healthy
and flavorful, such as bone-in chuck roasts,
shoulder and shank cuts, round roasts, stew
meat, and organ meats. You can also save a
bundle by buying larger portions directly
from the farmer, or by choosing to pay for
what you value and simply eating meat less
often. You might also consider investing in
a deep freezer so you can store that quarter
of a cow, half a pig or whole lamb that will
provide many meals. Or split a large meat
purchase with friends.
HOW? Use www.EatWild.com to find
farms and butchers in your area, or check
with your local county extension for potential
sources. For more information on sourcing
and cooking all cuts of grass-fed meat,
check out Good Meat by Deborah Krasner
and Pasture Perfect by Jo Robinson.
WHAT ELSE? You can save money on
meat by buying the right cuts, but you’ll save
even more if you ...
Raise Your Own Animals
WHY? Pastured meat, eggs and dairy are tremendously more nutritious than
their industrially farmed versions. The meats are leaner and have a fatty-acid
profile that helps combat heart disease rather than contributing to it. Pastured
eggs also contain these beneficial omega fatty acids, plus vitamins and minerals
that are deficient in factory farmed eggs, including vitamin D, which many
Americans may not realize they are lacking. Most importantly, homegrown meats
usually taste better than products that come from the animals raised in crowded,
stressful conditions in feedlots and factory farms.
Taking care of chickens is not much more complicated or expensive than taking
care of a dog, and many urban and suburban areas are now allowing residents
to do so. Plan on harvesting about one egg per hen per day. Sustainable agriculture
expert Gwen Roland has raised her own flavorful broiler chickens at a cost of
only $1 per pound of meat produced. If you decide to keep a dairy cow and calf,
you’ll spend up to a couple grand, but will recoup between $4,000 and $6,000
in delicious, healthy grass-fed milk and beef. Plus, you’ll be among the lucky few
who truly understand all that is required to bring meat to our tables.
HOW? Learn about grass-based farming at www.MotherEarthNews.com/
SafeMeat and www.MotherEarthNews.com/Eggs. You’ll also find a wealth of
information about raising pastured animals through one of our favorite magazines,
The Stockman Grass Farmer (www.stockmangrassfarmer.net), and via
the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
(www.ATTRA.org).
WHAT ELSE? We hope you’ve found many of these
tips and tricks for spending less on food helpful. And now
that you’ve grown or sourced healthy, delicious produce at
great prices, made your own bread, cheese and mayo, raised
your own nutritious, flavorful and affordable meat and
eggs — and more! — we hope you’ll …
Fotolia/Springfield Gallery; Above: FOtolia/Ruben Joye
Share Your Ideas
Submit your tips for saving money on food to RealFood@
MotherEarthNews.com with “Save Money” as the email subject
line, or post comments to the online version of this story
at www.MotherEarthNews.com.