Free Guide: Real Food Special Collection

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

P

icture 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 No-Knead, Dutch Oven Bread 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 11⁄2 cups warm water 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.

11⁄2 tsp salt Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

1

In 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.

2

The 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.

3

Using 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

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,

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 con-

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.

4

At 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.

5

Cover 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 11⁄2-pound loaf.

Adapted from The New York Times.

ditions 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

Dijon Mustard Recipe

Chipotle 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.

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.

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

Makes 2 8-oz jars

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

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

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, 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 with Mustard Seeds Add 2 tsp brown mustard seeds during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

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.

• 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.

• 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 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 In Season

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, and many CSAs also offer meat, eggs, dairy, honey, flowers and Buy Locally herbs. Some offer free or lower-cost subscriptions to those WHY? When you spend $1 on supermarket food, not much of it goes to the actual who donate time or qualify for lowproducer. Some of your dollar goes to the person who grew it, while some goes to the perincome shares. son who picked it. Some goes to the companies who processed, packaged and transported HOW? Find a CSA program it, and some to the firm that designed the packaging and advertising. Finally, some of in your area through the Robyn your dollar ends up in the hands of the grocery store owner, and also in the hands of the Van En Center or Local Harvest 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 (www.l.ocalHarvest.org). resources on our website. In addition, locally owned specialty shops can often help you WHAT’S NEXT? Now that find things that local farmers can’t grow, such as fresh-roasted coffee. you’ve acquired so many great ingreWHAT’S NEXT? Money spent locally stays in your community, which is ripe with dients, you’d better believe you can resources to ...  start saving big if you ...  Tim Nauman (2)

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-

Cook Your Own Food

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 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 ...  Tim Nauman (2)

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

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!

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.

40 Mother Earth News XXXX/XXXX XXXX

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

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.

this way. Check out these recipes for delicious, homemade bread: “Easy, No-Knead Crusty Bread”: goo.gl/VVBY “Five Minutes a Day for FreshBaked 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

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 ... 

Choose Wisely

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.)

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

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 ... 

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

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

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 ... 

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.