Still Going Strong at the Farmers Market, and Weekly Specials with Mary Anne

Happy October! Are you ready for Halloween yet? I hope not – it’s much too early, though it seems like the stores have been selling Halloween stuff for ages.

The best deal this week seems to be milk. Aldi has it for $1.69 a gallon, Kroger for 88 cents for a half gallon, which comes out to $1.76 per gallon, but is a better deal if you wouldn’t use a whole gallon before it goes bad. Marsh has Egg-Land’s Best Eggs two dozen for $4.00, which is a good price on that brand. When I was at Aldi on Wednesday, they had regular eggs for $1.29 a dozen. Kroger’s ad says that they have 5.3 ounce Greek yogurt for 29 cents each, if you buy four of them. Butter at Kroger is $1.88 a pound, cottage cheese and sour cream are $1.00 a pound (or pint or 16 ounce), and various kinds of cheese are $1.88 for 6 – 8 ounces. It’s a good price for 8 ounces, not so good for 6 ounces. Kroger also has fresh green beans for 99 cents a pound.

Pumpkins are on sale, too, and they’ll keep until Halloween. Until Thanksgiving and probably until Christmas if you don’t carve them. Marsh has pie pumpkins for $1.99. Aldi has regular pumpkins for $1.99 (I have no idea how big they are). And the Kroger store at the corner of Second and College has pumpkins for 99 cents each through Saturday. It’s part of their Grand Re-Opening sale, and it seems to be only at that store.

Not much on sale in the way of meat. Kroger has 73% lean ground beef for $1.97 a pound in three pound chubs, which cost $5.91 each, and pork chops and spareribs for $1.97 in the large value packs. Marsh has boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.97 a pound in the family size packs.

I’m going to give some more recipes for summer veggies this week. (And by the way, I’ll be serving samples of Moussaka, a Greek dish eggplant casserole) on Friday at the Hub, starting about 4:00 or so. I hope you’ll stop by my tasting table!) Summer veggies won’t last much longer at the Farmers Market. Eggplant was running $1.00 each last Saturday, or sometimes 75 cents each for small ones. I usually get the big ones. The seeds don’t bother me in casseroles. I’m told that the big ones don’t work as well, though, if you’re going to slice the eggplant, like you would for Eggplant Parmesan. Really big zucchini were also $1.00 each, and I could still get the big red bell pepper seconds for 50 cents each. Canning tomatoes were a bit more than they were last week, but still a good price. Check last week’s for more recipes using eggplant and zucchini.

I have tried eggplant over the years, and could never find a recipe that I liked. I kept trying, though, because so many people said it was good. Finally, when I was testing recipes for a cookbook by Judy Barnes Baker, I found a really good recipe. And since then, I’ve found more recipes that I like. Here’s that first “good” recipe, for MOUSSAKA. Moussaka is a traditional Greek casserole made with layers of eggplant and sauce, with a custard over the top. Kind of like lasagna, except it’s Greek instead of Italian, has slices of eggplant instead of noodles, has lots less cheese, and is topped with custard. It's more work than I really want to do most days, what with the slicing and salting and draining and frying of the eggplant and then making multiple alternating layers of the eggplant and the meat sauce. I came up with a SIMPLIFIED MOUSSAKA that has the same great taste but is lots easier and takes lots less time in the kitchen.

A batch of either version of Moussaka should cost about $6.00, and will make six generous servings, at about $1.00 each. Serve it with a salad and or some fresh veggies from the Farmers Market, and you’ve got a complete meal for less than $1.50 per serving.

I think that SAUSAGE SQUASH CASSEROLE is my favorite zucchini recipe. It’s not for calorie counters, but it’s good and it’s inexpensive. And it freezes well, which is important since I like to make lots of squash and eggplant casseroles in the summer and then freeze them. Assuming the sausage is $3.00 and the zucchini is $1.00, this recipe costs about $6.05 and makes six servings at just over $1.00 each. (Aldi’s regular price on mayo is $1.99 for 30 ounces, and their regular price on Cheddar is $1.79 for 8 ounces if you shred your own.) There’s not much texture to it, so you’ll want to add either a salad or some tender-crisp vegetables to it. Another complete meal for under $1.50 per serving.

Do you like Sausage and Peppers? I usually don’t, because the peppers are always way overcooked, at least for my taste. I prefer them tender-crisp, like in a stir-fry. So here are two recipes - ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS for the traditionalists among you who like your peppers really soft, and STIR-FRIED ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS for those like me who like their veggies to still have a bit of bite to them.Take your pick. A lot of people must like the overcooked peppers, because that’s the way most recipes say to cook them! A recipe of either one would cost about $4.50, assuming $3.00 for the Italian sausage. It makes 4 servings, so each serving would be about $1.15. A good sized spaghetti squash is $2.00 at the Farmers Market now and would serve four generously, at 50 cents per serving. The Italian Sausage and Peppers over spaghetti squash would be about $1.65 per serving.

A similar dish from a different part of the world is Fajitas. Since I don’t eat grains, I serve the fajita meat and veggies on a bed of lettuce for FAJITA SALADS, instead of serving it in tortillas. You can add whatever toppings you want. I’ve included the cost for sour cream, shredded cheddar and salsa, but you could also add jalapenos, olives, guacamole, etc. If you’re not going to eat all six servings immediately, put aside the extra meat and veggie mixture before you put it on the lettuce or add the toppings. Then, when you’re ready to eat it, just heat up the meat and veggies, and continue with making the salads. Without the sour cream, etc., this costs about $8.00 for six servings, assuming boneless skinless chicken breasts are $2.00 a pound and allowing $1.00 for all of the seasonings, which is likely quite a bit more than it really is. You could use fajita seasoning instead of all of the individual seasonings, or use taco seasoning instead. Let’s say $1.35 per serving. Two tablespoons each of shredded Cheddar and sour cream would be another 15 cents. Aldi has jars of salsa for (I think – I haven’t checked recently) about $1.20 each, so say another 15 cents for salsa. That would bring the total up to about $1.65 per serving. And these would be BIG servings! 

Moussaka

Moussaka is sort of a Greek lasagna that uses eggplant instead of noodles. Sort of. If this looks like too much work, try SIMPLIFIED MOUSSAKA instead. You cook the meat and vegetables together and make a single layer of that, then pour the custard over the top. It's not quite as fancy, but just as good!

(from a recipe in Carb Wars, by Judy Barnes Baker, 2007)

2 globe or 6 Asian eggplants (about 2 lbs)

5 T olive oil

For the tomato sauce:

1 small onion, peeled and chopped (about ½ cup)

1 lb ground beef or lamb

1 T tomato paste

1/4 t ground cinnamon

1 fresh tomato, peeled and chopped, or 1 c diced canned tomatoes

2 T fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 c beef broth or water (you might not need this if you start with a fresh tomato)

Salt and pepper to taste

For the custard:

2 T butter

1 c heavy cream

Generous pinch of ground nutmeg

2 eggs beaten with a fork

Salt and pepper to taste

6 T grated Parmesan

Peel the eggplant and cut into 3/8” slices.  Salt both sides of the slices and place in a colander set over a bowl.  Put a heavy dish on top to press out the liquid.  Let stand for 30 minutes.  Rinse to remove the salt and blot the slices with paper towels until dry.  Heat oil for frying in a large skillet and sauté the eggplant on both sides until golden brown.  Remove the eggplant and set aside.  (Or brush the eggplant with olive oil and put them under the broiler for about 5 minutes per side instead.  It will be quicker.  Don’t let the thinner slices burn.)

To make the tomato sauce:  Add the onion to the pan in which the eggplant was cooked and sauté until soft.  Add the meat and continue to cook, stirring, until brown.  Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

To make the custard: Heat the butter and cream on low in a small saucepan, while stirring, until smooth.  Add the nutmeg.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Dip out a little of the hot cream mixture and mix it with the beaten eggs to temper. Stir the egg mixture back into the pan and blend until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the moussaka:  Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a 9”x13” baking dish.  Put one third of the eggplant slices in the bottom of the greased baking dish, cover with half the meat sauce, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of cheese.  Repeat.  Use the last one third of the eggplant slices to make the top layer and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Pour the custard evenly over the dish and bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until brown.  Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting. 

Simplified Moussaka

MOUSSAKA is sort of a Greek lasagna, with eggplant instead of noodles. Sort of. It usually calls for slicing, salting, draining and frying the eggplant, then making multiple layers of the eggplant alternating with layers of sauce, before topping it with the custard. This is a simplified version. It doesn't look as fancy, but it's a lot easier! And even though it looks complicated from these directions, it really isn't.

(based on a recipe from Carb Wars, by Judy Barnes Baker, 2007)

For the meat and veggie sauce:

1 lb ground beef or lamb

2 globe or 6 Asian eggplants, peeled and diced (about 2 lbs)

1 small onion, peeled and chopped (about ½ cup)

1 T tomato paste

1/4 t ground cinnamon

1 or 2 firm fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 c diced canned tomatoes

2 T fresh parsley, chopped

¼ c beef broth or water (you shouldn’t need this with fresh tomatoes)

Salt and pepper to taste

For the custard:

2 T butter

1 c heavy cream

Generous pinch of ground nutmeg

2 eggs beaten with a fork

Salt and pepper to taste

6 T grated Parmesan

To make the meat and veggie sauce:  Start browning the meat in a big skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onion and the eggplant and cook until the meat has browned and the onion and eggplant are soft. Drain the fat off if there’s a lot of it in the pan. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

To make the custard: Heat the butter and cream on low in a small saucepan, while stirring, until smooth.  Add the nutmeg.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Dip out a little of the hot cream mixture and mix it with the beaten eggs to temper. (If you don’t do this, you’re likely to end up with scrambled eggs when you put the eggs into the hot cream.) Stir the egg mixture back into the pan and blend until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the moussaka:  Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a 9”x13” baking dish. Spread half of the meat and veggie sauce in the baking dish and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Spread the other half of the meat and veggie sauce over that, and sprinkle it with the rest of the cheese.  Pour the custard evenly over the dish and bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until brown.  Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.