Potato, Leek and Bean Gratin
Less than $3 for a savory, satisfying vegetarian meal for two. Or a high-protein vegetable side dish for four. A great Way to reduce your meat consumption and get more vegetables into your diet.
Grilled Cheese & Soffrito
Yes, another totally delicious meal-in-a-sandwich to help you get ready for next month's celebration of National Grilled Cheese Month. You really should make this. It'll make you happy.
Pop. Punch. Soup.
Ginger Punch. Goes Three Ways. A delicious soda; just squirt in some sparkling water. Cold fruit soup - a great first course or dessert. Or a delicious non-alcoholic punch, though you could do something about the alcohol and make a fourth Way.
Sunny Side Up: Vitamin D, Sun and Food
This isn't about the egg. It's about you. And the egg's Vitamin D. One of the few things you can't get enough of from a healthy diet. But it's something your skin synthesizes when it's exposed to sunlight. Ten minutes a day during Spring and Summer may do the trick for the whole year.
Sardinian Grilled Cheese Sandwich
$1 for a great, great sandwich. Sheep's milk cheese and toasted pasta "pearls" from Sardinia. And a few slices of orange that could have been grown there. All melted between two slices of crusty bread. I really don't know if they make grilled cheese sandwiches in Sardinia. But if they do, this should be the Way.
Shrimp on a tomato-fennel sofa
A big, satisfying and intensely flavorful meal for less than $2.50. Just 150 calories in a luscious dish with a near-zero glycemic load. A perfect example of "eat more vegetables, olive oil and fish". Walk off the whole meal in 30 minutes.
Lasagna Bolognese: The Ecstatic Mouthful
Your tongue is dazzled. Your whole mouth is thrilled. So many flavors and textures. So deeply delicious and so completely satisfying. It's a project. The focus of a weekend afternoon that ends with the big bang of a spectacular dinner.
Stock Up: Compost-Poached Shrimp
You can't really compost in a New York apartment. But there's a great alternative use for throw-away vegetable trimmings. Instead of a compost can, put them in the freezer. Then convert them to fragrant, flavorful vegetable stock. Compost Stock. Maybe you want to call it something else.
Thin, Crisp Bottom. Juicy, Sweet Top.
Scrambled eggs in between. The most beautiful and delicious scrambled egg dish in a long time. Lightly sautéed vegetables on top. The lightest, flakiest, buttery "pie crust flatbread" on the bottom.
Tuna-Mango-Rice Salad
A savory-sweet warm salad with rice and tuna for all seasons. Mango from far away in time and space. Summery cucumbers and cold-weather carrots. A refreshing and satisfying meal that comes together in 30 minutes.