Food prices, always escalating, have made our household virtually vegan. As a nutritionist, I recognize that this makes our diet both thrifty and healthy as long as we take our vitamins to make sure of Vitamin B12. After my husband died and his military pension died with him, I lived out of my savings for 100 days while waiting for an annuity’s payments to click in. Then I realized the advantage I had in having been a Great Depression child. I knew about thrift already.
Luckily, my son John Macbeath Watkins, proprietor of online bookstore Twice Sold Tales University, who is my housemate now, likes beans and rice and other whole grains and so do I. They’re much less expensive, and better for you, than a meat-and-potatoes diet.
Can cooking cheap really coincide with cooking healthy? It can, and with the variety of rices, beans, lentils, vegetables and herbs available, meals need never be boring. An occasional can of tuna or clams, bought on sale, or a splurge on wild salmon when a run is on, supplies omega-3 fat. Mineral-rich dried kelp granules added to soups and casseroles fulfill our "something from the land, something from the sea" requirement when fish is too costly or wild fish not available and augments the iodine we get from sea salt.
Pots of marjoram, rosemary, sage, and thyme on our patio, and a well-stocked spice and dried herb rack in the kitchen provide flavorings galore. When given newspaper caps, most of them will survive the winter.
Some people fear to eat beans lest they cause gas. They need not. Taking a tiny bit of time and trouble to sprout beans changes them from flatulence-producing dried foods into fresh vegetables. Cooking them very slowly retains the increased Vitamin E that develops through sprouting. I cook a big pot of beans, freeze some, refrigerate some, and eat some right away. Here’s one favorite dish. Whether you’re avoiding red meat because your doctor told you to, or because you empathize with animals, or just like variety in your menus, this dish is for you.
Red Bean Spaghetti Sauce
Makes 4 to 6 servings
2 Tablespoons canola or light olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
About 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
½ green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 15-ounce can diced or stewed tomatoes
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 to 2 cups cooked large red beans
1 teaspoon dried crumbled marjoram or oregano leaves,
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Black olives, optional
Save the onion peels to add color and nutrients to a soup stock. Remove before serving.
In a wide skillet, stir-fry the onion, garlic, and bell pepper 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, or longer, making sure the consistency is maintained. It’s okay if the sauce reduces slightly. Add a little water as needed.
Serve over cooked, drained pasta into which you have tossed a tablespoonful or two of olive oil. Unfortunately, even pasta has become expensive. Consider rice instead. This sauce is equally good over steamed brown rice. Any sauce left over can be the basis of a minestrone soup.
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