fava bean salad with mesculin greens

I have a particular aversion to leftovers. After putting so much effort and love into the original dish, I feel as though there is no way that leftovers can compete with taste memory. I'd rather let leftovers wilt into a nutrition-less mess in the trash can than re-heat and re-eat.

But honestly -- can I really afford to throw out food? No. Moreover, I feel ethically responsible to eat all of the food I purchase, not only for economic reasons, but for environmental reasons as well. After reading an article in New York Magazine about subsistence farming in Brooklyn, I became extremely conscious of the incredible amount of effort and resources it takes to grow, say, one pod of fava beans. Throwing away food is more of a waste than you may realize.

So to discard leftovers is, for me, a truly ethical dilemma. On one hand, I loathe the idea of eating food that has lost its nutritional value and taste from both the elapse of time and re-heating. Yet on the other hand, I lack the peace of conscience to throw away perfectly good food. The solution? One can begin by making smaller quantities from the outset. Otherwise, you can follow Darren Darlin's advice on saving money and make enough of a meal to take as a brown-bag lunch the next day. Not only will your conscience feel great about saving money and the future of food, but you will also become the envy of the office.

The trick is that you need to refresh your leftovers with new ingredients. Here's a simple example of how to do turn last night's side dish into this afternoon's lunch.


FAVA BEAN SALAD WITH MESCULIN GREENS

Serves one very happy employee

Leftover Fava Bean Salad
Half a dozen fresh grape tomatoes, cut in half
Fresh parsley leaves

Mesculin greens

Feta cheese, optional


Re-using the storage container in which you have refrigerated your fava bean salad, toss in grape tomatoes and some more fresh parsley leaves to the leftovers. Re-seal container and plop in your lunch box.

In a separate container large enough to serve the salad bowl from which you will eat, add a handful of mesculin greens. Seal container and add to lunch box.

Cut off a portion of feta cheese, and put it in yet another container or plastic bag to go in the lunch box.

At the office, remove containers. Top mesculin greens with leftover refreshed fava bean salad. Crumble feta cheese on top. Bring to conference room, kitchen, or your cubicle. Revel in your co-workers' compliments -- and don't forget to tell them about that it came from the gourmet dinner you had last night.

would you eat lunch from this man?

Photo credit: Ben Stechschulte, New York Magazine

Would you eat a lunch from this man?

Me? Hell no. No offense, Esquites Man (located on Fifth Ave nr. 53rd Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn), but I don't trust your esquites. Even though New York Magazine calls your fare "irresistible Mexico City street snack of corn kernels sautéed in butter and lard or vegetable oil and flavored with fresh epazote", I can't help but notice you're serving them out of a pilfered shopping cart from Lowe's. It irks me that epazote means "dirty skunk." I might be on a budget, but I'm not so broke that I'll eat a ladlefull of soggy corn served in a styrofoam cup from an old orange watercooler. Yikes.

(Not that I don't love how -- in such quintessentially New York fashion -- the Esquites Man got a shout-out as one of the 20 Best Food Carts in the city. ¡Bravo!)

Enter the Calexico Cart in SoHo on Wooster Street near Prince. Three SoCal brothers prop up shop on one of the cities most bustling and hustling street corners, bringing along with them the sweet, spicy flavors of Cal-Mex cuisine to us Eastcoasters, so far from the southern border:

In the middle of the California desert, about 2 hours from the coast, you’ll find twin cities straddling the border of California and Mexico. The city on the Mexican side is called Mexicali; the one on the California side is called Calexico. Everything about the place is a mix of California and Mexico – especially its food. Equal parts Mexican taqueria and American Barbecue Pit, Calexico’s cuisine is down-to-earth and full of flavor, familiar and unique at the same time. When we came to New York we were blown away by the food. But for all its great restaurants, we couldn’t find anything that quite matched the flavors of Calexico. So we took it upon ourselves to introduce NYC to Calexico style cooking.

So finally, after passing by the cheery orange-and-yellow cart dozens of times and lusting after the meaty aroma coming from the grill, I decided to try it. Armed with my colleague from work and another friend who recently moved here from Mexico, I figured that we -- the two frugal gourmets and the authentic connoisseur -- would be ready to determine whether or not these guys were the real deal, or just another bunch of wheeler-dealers-on-wheels.

We discovered that the Calexico Cart is a little gem. The grill is manned by one guy, another one plates and garnishes, and the third takes orders from customers on a little waiter's pad. The wait time for food is anywhere from 5-10 mins because everything is made fresh for each customer's order. Street diners choose from three different formulas: soft corn tortilla tacos ($2.50 - $4 each), quesadillas ($4 - $7 each) or burritos ($4 - $7 each). Each formula can be made with pollo asado, calexio carne asada, chipotle pork, or vegetarian black beans. The chicken and the steak are dressed with pico de gallo and avocado sauce, while the pork and the vegetarian are dressed with tomatillo salsa and mexican crema. For about $2 extra, you can turn your meal into a full plate, complete with mexican rice and beans and a scoop of guacamole. Sides are also available for an extra, small charge. There are daily specials available too that take adventurous culinary liberty with the menu's taco/quesadilla/burrito formats.

Between the three of us, we sampled the pollo, carne and vegetarian tacos. (I regret not tasting the pork... definitely next time!) The meat of the chicken and the steak was fresh, juicy and deliciously flavored by the smoky grill. The beans were rich and creamy, made spicy with lots of chipotle chili. The soft corn tacos were remarkably fresh, and their grainy tang of corn complemented the simple flavors of the meat. I can't help but wonder if they are hand-made. The pico de gallo was refreshing, and the tomato salsa was mild. I would have loved to have more of the condiments to brighten up the flavors a bit, but overall, I thought these bitty tacos were muy delicioso.

The taco is served with two tortillas in a small hot-dog-like carton. I couldn't help but question the necessity of two tortilla flats. But as I kept biting hungrily into the meat, the bread gave way to the juices and began to tear. Thanks to the care and attention of the Calexico Cart chefs, I had another tortilla to rescue the chicken from the boring fate of being eaten politely with a fork.

The boys of the Calexico Cart have something special going on. They pride themselves on making good food and go the extra effort to give it a gourmet touch and a charming presentation. Waiting for "street meat" may seem initially antithetical to the whole dining-cart experience. But the wait time creates a little community around the cart as the regulars say hey and get their usual orders, and newcomers scan the menu slowly, everyone waiting with hungry anticipation for their meal to be cooked. With its convivial atmosphere, high-quality food, and friendly staff, the Calexico Cart is an outdoor restaurant and a neighborhood phenomenon. Reservations are not accepted, and seating is limited on the steps of the Apple Store and J. Crew.

One taste of a taco tells you that these SoCal boys love to cook -- and we New Yorkers are so glad they've expatriated from the California Republic to set up cart on these streets that are as much our dining room as they are our home.

The Calexico Cart
Wooster Street, nr. Prince
SoHo, New York
http://www.myspace.com/calexicocart

MexiCali cuisine, $2.50 - $8



Speaking of Mexican Food and California, see this article from the 5/2/08 online edition of The New York Times: Hungry Angelenos Rally Around the Taco

the perfect pantry

Spice table at Saxe-Breteuil market in Paris, 2005

The one thing that distinguishes a frugal gourmet from the rest of the hungry masses is a well-stocked pantry. Having a pantry full of ingredients, rather than snacks, paves the way for culinary innovation under any budget. The perfect pantry is an investment, and may initially cost a bit more than your regular trip to the grocery store. But once your pantry is stocked, your weekly grocery bills will decline, and the majority of your spending will be on fresh, seasonal produce, which is not only fresh and nutritious, but inexpensive.

As Michael Pollan writes in his book, In Defense of Food (Penguin Press, 2007): "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." This dietary trope has become an increasingly popular credo for cooks and eaters who are becoming more conscious of the importance of knowing the origins of their food. According to Pollan, a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, grains and the occasional animal protein, feeds the human body as it was meant to be fed, with food food, not cellophane-wrapped synthetics.

The additional benefit to this earthy way of eating is that it costs comparatively less. Anything that comes in a box can be sold at a higher price point than things that come in crates. Consider this: not only are you paying for the producer's name-brand label on the box, but you're also paying for the cost of packaging materials. So if you're trying to "make ends meat" and your shopping cart is regularly filled with grocery items instead of things from the produce section, try the following experiment. Take note of how much you spend on a regular grocery trip. Sometime in between shopping trips, go shopping for the items to put together The Perfect Pantry. Next shopping trip, only visit the produce, meat, and dairy sections (according to your taste). These items will become the main focus of your dishes, and your perfect pantry will supplement each meal. You'll see that your grocery bill will be significantly lower. Just remember that the items from your pantry trip are an investment, which in the long run cost you nothing. In economic terms, this is your deadweight loss, which ultimately is your culinary gain.

So what to buy for the perfect pantry? I've divided the contents of the pantry into seven groups: Grains, Legumes, Flours, Canned Goods and Butters, Nuts and Dried Fruit, Oils and Vinegars, and importantly, Spices. These will provide the backbone to any dish, allowing you to be creative with your fresh ingredients.

Here is a starter grocery list of my favorite and trusty items that will transform your snack cupboard into a chef's stockroom.


THE PERFECT PANTRY

Grains

• Bulgur
• Couscous
• Rice
  
• Farro
• Quinoa
• Oats
  
• Pasta (a box or more each of long form pasta, ribbon pasta, and tubular pasta)*

Legumes (canned or dried)

• Chick peas
• Cannenelli beans
• Black / pinto / butter beans
• Lentils
  

Flours

• Unbleached white flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Whole wheat / unbleached white pastry flour

Canned Goods and Butters

• San Marzano peeled tomatoes (look at cans to be sure that the variety is San Marzano)
  
• Tomato paste
• Capers
  
• A nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew, etc)
• Tahini (sesame butter)

Nuts and Dried Fruit

• Raw Walnuts
• Raw Almonds
• Pignoli (pine) nuts (can be quite expensive)
  
• A variety of seed, like pumpkin
• Raisins / currants

Oils and Vinegars

• Olive oil (for cooking)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sesame Oil
• Nut oil (i.e., pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil)
• Balsamic vinegar
• White wine / champagne vinegar
• Rice wine vinegar

Spices**

• Peppercorns (use only freshly ground pepper)
• Salt (kosher salt for cooking, and a sea salt variety in a grinder for flavoring)
  
• Cumin
• Cinnamon
• Bay Leaves
• Chili powder
• Nutmeg
• Saffron
  
• Curry powder and/or Garam Masala
• Coriander
• Mustard
• Tumeric
• Dried oregano
• Dried rosemary
• Dried thyme
  

*Alternatively, you can make your own delicious, inexpensive, homemade pasta using the flour from your pantry if you have a pasta machine.

** Instead of wasting your money and your potential for flavor on dried herbs, garlic power, onion power, and powdered ginger, buy these ingredients fresh, when available. However, if the availability of fresh herbs is scarce, dried herbs are just fine, such as the ones I've suggested. Try to avoid buying dried leafy herbs, such as basil, cilantro, and parsley, as they dramatically lose their flavor and utility when dried.

beginning advice

Photo © 2006, Conor Dubin

In 2006, New York Times reporter Darren Darlin wrote an article for soon-to-be college graduates about how to save money. His advice was: "Let's Start With That Daily Latte Latte". So often, especially here in New York, we get ripped off for things that become "luxury items" because of name brands, popularity, or even the affluence of the neighborhood in which you are purchasing. A coffee at a bodega in Harlem costs far less than a coffee at a bodega in SoHo. It's no surprise then that many of us in this food-obsessed city pay out the majority of our income on food-related items, whether on groceries, a fine meal, or your Starbucks addiction that only got worse since the corporation went coffee house.

In order to make ends meat, you have to start by being savvy about your consumption practices. Don't compromise quality, but do make what you are paying for count. I demand quality in what I eat, or else eating isn't worth it to me. I buy organic when available and reasonably affordable, and I eat at restaurants that serve quality food that is worth the price demanded. It isn't worth the dollar less to buy discount produce, nor is it worth it to me to buy a plate full of rice (origin unknown) from the Halal cart that could feed a small family for $6.

There are simple things that you can do to maximize the value of your food. For example, shopping at Citarella might be fun because their bags are so tote-able, but Fairway Market right next door is much less expensive, even if their double-bagged paper/plastic bags are hard to carry. Buying lunch at work is certainly easier than preparing something you can carry on your subway commute, but (especially in Manhattan) you'd save an astounding amount of money if you took the extra effort to prepare your own lunch. Getting ripped off on food is something that can easily be avoided. To begin the first of many tips to come, here is Darren Darlin's advice on economic eating:

Make your own coffee You probably know you spend a lot at Starbucks, a company that collected $6.4 billion from coffee drinkers last year. You probably don't have any idea how much of that total came from you. A calculator at www.hughchou.org/calc/coffee.cgi let's you figure that out and also forecast how much you will spend over a decade of coffee breaks. (This Web site contains a treasure trove of financial planning calculators.) Say you spend just $3.50 every workday for your latte. If you drank the free office brew instead, you'd have more than $11,500 to play with after 10 years.

Does coffee shop coffee taste better than the free stuff? Probably, but ask yourself, do you want to live in a roach-infested studio apartment with two roommates your entire life?

By the same logic, if you smoke, now is a good time to quit. Doing so will save you on average $25,600 over 10 years.

Learn to cook Unless you have learned the art of sneaking into conferences at hotels to snag a breakfast croissant or cocktail-hour shrimp, you need to reduce your dining budget. A twice-a-week kung pao chicken takeout habit can easily drain you of about $10,000 over 10 years.

At the very least, learn how to pack a lunch. Taking your lunch to work may seem like the equivalent of sitting with the nerds in the school cafeteria, and going out to lunch with colleagues can sometimes be a smart career move. But bringing your lunch lets you be more choosy about who you are eating with and saves money. How much? Back to the online calculators (www.hughchou.org/calc/lunch.cgi) and you'll discover that the savings could be as much as $23,000 in 10 years.

The tally so far: $34,500 (for the nonsmokers), or enough to make a down payment on a $172,500 house. That won't get you much in most big cities, so you really need to exert yourself.

From Darren Darlin, "Advice to All You Graduates: Let's Start with That Daily Latte", Your Money; The New York Times, June 10, 2006.