Lesson Learned....

....when adding garlic to any recipe it is pertinent to comprehend the differences between garlic and roasted garlic......it was somewhere on an island in Canada where I developed the love for roasted garlic......garlic bread, caesar salad dressing, sauteed green beans, and heart-attack mashed potatoes were a few of the regulars that roasted garlic would be added to.....even though it has gotten lost somewhere in between teaching, coaching, and grad school, I have recently found a regeneration in the use of roasted garlic in my cooking.....then one day I attempted to use fresh garlic in the dollar menu pesto.....it appears as though 7 cloves of garlic was WAY too much....at it's current state, with an entire bunch of basil and some of the partly dried bunch.....it burns...I have learned how much fresh garlic is too much garlic....however with the high quality ingredients that I have already added, it can be fixed....this will force me to attend the Marin County Farmer's Market yet another Sunday in a row....I love when I have excuses to go to a farmers market, they are oh so inspirational for peeps whom like to cook, much like myself....at any rate, this "experiment" has brought me to a "base" state where more freshly picked basil will be added....and never fear I still have more pine nuts....already roasted.....

....food for thought....

....well after nailing the RRP soup I had the comment that 1 more bouillon cub would not hurt anything....ok, I can accept that and it would still leave it at less than a dollar a serving....I had a thought.....perhaps I need to add more and part of the goal is to make it exactly $1.00 then it would be a true "dollar menu".....I will need to come up with some clever frugal sides....in fashion this would be the accessories...similar to what merchandising does for sales....so excited for pesto making.....bought some seriously strategically shredded parmesan cheese, and what is better than the smell of pine nuts toasting in the oven?...I have to admit that I have sampled some.....what can I say it's all about quality control....questioning the potential for this one to make the dollar menu as the pine nuts are $32.00 a pound....yes that's right....thirty-two dollars for a pound of nuts*....


*insert joke here

Thank you Marin County Farmers Market....

....today I picked up some the the best smelling basil.....bunches (huge) are only $2.00 that is enough basil to make 4 "servings" of pesto....a "serving" in this case is the amount you need to cover 1 box of pasta....bow-tie works nicely as there are lots of crevices for the pesto to get stuck in....gnocchi works nicely as well.....at the local market you can get 4 servings of gnocchi for a dollar something....I will check out for sure....one of the added bonuses is the fact that this dollar menu meal I am working on will take 5 minutes to prepare....from start to serve....I also splurged on some fresh lavender.....I heart cali.....

Roasted Red Pepper Soup Recipe....

...well I did it! I have to admit that I was a little worried when I was at the grocery store and came upon red peppers for $1.28 a pound instead of the 88 cents a pound I was promised....ah well.....even with that against me I was still able to make the soup for $0.69 a serving.....the recipe I am about to share makes 17 servings....not too shabby considering that I busted out the canning supplies and jarred the soup by serving size....perfect for lunches!....Now, I know that I could go to a certain fast food restaurant and get more food on their dollar menu....but we need to look at the quality of what we are putting into our bodies....cheap is not always better.....I want frugal....classy, but cheap.....I am proud to say that I still have $.31 left for a side...for me it would be saltines....but alas I have not calculated their unit cost....but I am guessing that 31 cents worth would be a decent amount....future research will lead me to an answer....2 pieces of toast would work nicely as well....hmmmm now to calculate butter....


The Recipe:
- 13 roasted red peppers....................................$8.70
- 2 white onions............................................$0.92
- 1 tsp salt................................................$0.01
- 3 TBSP olive oil..........................................$0.33
- 4 cups of water...........................................FREE SPACE
- 2 bouillon cubes (chicken)*...............................$0.24
- 1 tsp salt................................................$0.01
- 1 tsp pepper..............................................$0.04
- 1 can of tomatoes.........................................$1.00
- 6 cloves of roasted garlic................................$0.13
- 1/2 tsp anise.............................................$0.27

Total: $11.65

17 servings = $0.69 per serving

*could easily substitute veggie....do they even make veggie bouillon cubes?


.oh yeah...I guess I should explain what in the heck to do with all those ingredients....first you need to roast the red peppers....takes 30 minutes....wash, cut, and spray with pam first....400 degree oven.....let cool, then peel the skin off....saute the onions in olive oil and 1 tsp of salt....when browned add water and cubes....allow it to begin boiling...then reduce heat and add red peppers & tomatoes, roasted garlic, s & p, and finally anise.....puree with hand blender and enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

...this recipe was given to me by my brother....then I lost it.....and since then have made it about 3 or 4 times and for some reason I continue to lose the recipe....I think it might have something to do with all the moving....at any rate, I plan to take the plunge and make it sans recipe.....goals: 1. delicious 2. dollar a serving....