Saturday, August 4, 2012

The Daily Eater ...

... AKA, Adam's new way of meal planning and prep.
Adam and I went to the little grocery store yesterday that's right around the corner (as in, 3 minutes walk). They always have sale items, b/c it's a small store with limited inventory. We picked up an eggplant and some pretty asparagus. Then he said:
"Y'know, they have daily sales here, so the marked-down stuff is a great deal. If I came each day about noon, we could eat here cheaper and avoid that weekly drive to Piggly Wiggly."
(Yes, the grocery we've been using is named Piggly Wiggly. I know.)
So, tonight's supper:
Isn't that pretty? And so delicious. That's eggplant parmesan, sliced so thin and fried quickly. Julia and I were in eggplant heaven. We do "sneaky snacks" at our house, little nibbles of yumminess to whet our appetites for the meal. I ate two of those pieces before dinner. Naughty me!
Adam made a little salad with his homemade croutons.
The asparagus was lightly oiled, sprinkled with parmesan and baked. Not soggy or over-cooked!
And he and Julia enjoyed making homemade pasta this afternoon. He buttered it and sprinkled oregano on it.
Just a delicious meal! And so cheap -- did you notice the absence of meat? One of our goals is to save money by eating meat only about twice each week, but getting good quality meat when we do buy it.  Adam's so good about cooking veggies in creative ways, getting the most flavor for our money, and cooking things we love to eat. Oh, the red sauce on the pasta was just a canned sauce -- Hunt's diced tomatoes with garlic/oregano/basil flavor. We blend it smooth and use it for lots of sauces, especially for pizza.
So, we'll be shopping daily, like the Japanese and Europeans sometimes do. Isn't that fun? I'm looking forward to it. This little neighborhood market is small, so I won't wear my legs out going back for one item in the far corner of WalMart - ugh. And we're supporting local business. And eating fresher and cheaper.

3 comments:

Pom Pom said...

Very fun! Your meal looks yummy!
Sneaky snacks. That's funny!

Sarah said...

Love! We had eggplant for dinner too - in a curry though. We visited friends and cooked Indian food.

melissa said...

This post tickles me, mainly because of Piggly Wiggly. We're in Memphis, the pig's hometown. :)