Starry-eyed for you(r fries)

-ancient roman posca: water, red or white wine vinegar, honey, salt, herbs (coriander, mint, thyme)

-switchel: water, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, lemon, salt

-ayran: yogurt, water, salt, mint

-sees the reports of the heatwave in Europe-

1. dried beans and rice are infinitely cheaper than the canned/microwave stuff. just wash, soak (in the case of beans!), cook, and you’re done!

2. on that note, beans and rice, when eaten together, make a complete protein that is easily digestible by your body. if it comes down to it, you can live off that alone for a good long while.

3. when shopping, prioritize ingredients over premade meals. a frozen pizza is just one pizza, but flour, tomato sauce, and cheese can make many pizzas.

4. dry pantry goods will get infested if you’re not careful. adding a dried bay leaf to dried beans, rice, flour, etc. works wonders for keeping out weevils and other nasty stuff. adding a few drops of peppermint oil to a spray bottle filled with water will keep mice away if you spray it on your baseboards, too.

5. canned veggies is veggies. canned fruit is fruit. you ain’t too good for it, so get those micronutrients if you can.

6. potatoes are super nutritionally dense and a good source of fiber. use them to stretch meals. just don’t store them next to onions because they’ll sprout way faster.

7. coupon clip like a crazy person, and get ready to use the math skills you swore to leave behind in high school. saving pennies starts with getting the most for your dollar. if all cabbages are $1.00, get the biggest cabbage you can find. if tomato sauce is cheaper by the ounce in a quart jar compared to a pint jar, get the quart if you can. be smart with how you spend.

8. lentils are a great way to stretch any kind of ground meat. they’re really cheap and if you’re like me and can’t cut meat out of your diet completely for health reasons, they help it last a lot longer.

9. portion control is so key. if a meal is meant to make four servings, make it last four servings. it’s better to be a little hungry four days in a row than stuffed for two and starving for two. weigh it out if you have to.

11. Bullion cubes tend to be real cheap and making things into a soup is a great way to make small portions feel bigger. A serving of beans and rice doesn’t feel like much but when you add a bullion cube and some hot water now suddenly that’s soup and you’ve got a big bowl full + extra flavor

12. If you’re diabetic or insulin resistant and suddenly faced with eating lots of carbs because they’re what’s cheap and available pre cook your food then chill it!! Starches in most everything from potatoes to rice to bread will change form when cooked and then cooled. They start converting to resistant starch and our body basically processes them like fiber instead of like carbs, so you can lower the glycemic index of your rice by quite a bit if you cook it then freeze it overnight before thawing and eating. Is it perfect? No but it helps!

13. Frozen fruit and vegetables can also be a great and less expensive way to get your fruit and veg. Canned is often cheaper but do the price-per-ounce math and check! Grocery stores near me still occasionally do 10 for 10 sales on bags of frozen veg! And if you can get some on sales like that they become a great way to bulk out other foods. Mac n cheese? Add some frozen veg. Hamburger helper? Frozen veg. Top ramen? Frozen veg.

INGREDIENTS Yield: 8 servings 3/4 cup/ 177 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan 1/2 cup/ 118 milliliters Earl Grey tea, or use coffee, dry red wine, orange juice or water 1/2 cup/ 50 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 cup/ 200 grams granulated sugar 3 large eggs, at room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/ 135 grams all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

PREPARATION Step 1: Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Step 2: In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring tea or other liquid to a simmer, then turn off heat. Whisk in cocoa, cinnamon and salt until smooth, then set aside to cool.

Step 3: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, olive oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat for about 3 minutes. Reduce speed and pour in cocoa mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Gradually beat in flour and baking soda until just incorporated.