Roasted red pepper chickpea soup

This recipe came from Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes.  My local 99 cent store sells fresh red peppers (tray of 2-3) and occasionally roasted red peppers in a jar; 30 oz. can of garbanzo beans; rosemary; and tomatoes.  The soup was very good, except for the rosemary was too strong to the point of bitterness.  I would cut back on rosemary next time.

Deals of the Week 1/26/11

What's on sale this week? Most of the grocery stores I frequent have new sales starting each Wednesday (thru following Tuesday). I will attempt to regularly share items of interest and relevant recipes with you.

Ralphs (membership card required- free to join)

• Silk almond milk 64 oz. $1.99 (must buy 10 of this and/or other items in ad to get the deal)
• Kellogg's cereal 8-20 oz. $1.99 (must buy 10 of this and/or other items in ad to get the deal)
• Del Monte corn, green beans, peas 11-15.25 oz. cans 49c (must buy 10 of this and/or other items in ad to get the deal)

Big Saver

• Italian squash 50c/lb.

Food4Less

• La Moderna pasta 7 oz. bag 5 for $1
• Del Monte canned vegetables 48c ea 13.5-15.25 oz. (must by 10)

Bestway (no website, in CA, not to be confused with VA chain- also note ads may be location-specific even within CA, so check local listing)

• bananas 50c/lb.
• Fuji apples 3 lbs/$1
• Roma tomatoes 3 lbs/$1
• kiwi 5/$1
• lemons 3 lbs./$1
• green cabbage 6 lbs/$1 (Wednesday 1/26 only)
• oranges 10 lbs/$1 (Wednesday 1/26 only)

El Super (website not up yet)

• Granny Smith apples 3 lbs/$1
• Asian pears 3 for 99c
• Italian squash 50c/lb.
• broccoli 50c/lb.

Dollar Store Deals- fresh herbs, grape tomatoes

Today at the local 99c store I saw fresh 1 oz. thyme, oregano, Italian basil, sage, and rosemary for 99c each!  Basil is cheaper at Asian grocery stores ($5.99/lb.), but if you absolutely need Italian basil, this is a good deal.  These plastic fresh herb packs are usually ~$2 at other stores.

I also saw fresh green beans for 99c/lb. and grape tomatoes for 99c/pint.  Green beans can go as low as 59c/lb., but I have not seen this price lately.  Instead, green beans have been $1.50+/lb.

I sadly did not see any garbanzo beans, but I hope it is a temporary fluke.  I did see kidney, black, and pinto beans (30 oz. for 99c) and Hunt's diced tomatoes (28 oz. for 99c).

For vegetarian bakers out there, I saw Valentine's sprinkles by Cake Mate as well as a peppermint candy grinder (includes candy) for 99c each.

A lot of recipes from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook and Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes call for these fresh herbs, so time to stock up and experiment!

Deals of the Week- 1/19/11

What's on sale this week? Most of the grocery stores I frequent have new sales starting each Wednesday (thru following Tuesday). I will attempt to regularly share items of interest and relevant recipes with you.

Ralphs (membership card required- free to join)- nothing good this week
Big Saver

• papaya 50c/lb.
• Springfield 8 oz. tomato sauce 4 for $1
• celery 2 for 99c
• cabbage 33c/lb. 

Food4Less

• Roma tomatoes 33c/lb.
• Del Monte canned vegetables 48c ea 13.5-15.25 oz. (must by 10)

Bestway (no website, in CA, not to be confused with VA chain- also note ads may be location-specific even within CA, so check local listing)

• oranges 8 lbs/$1
• roma tomatoes 3 lbs/$1
• pineapple 3 lbs/$1 
• Pagasa pasta 7 oz. 7 bags for $1
• yams 25c/lb.
• papaya 50c/lb.

El Super (website not up yet)

• lemons 50c/lb.
• papaya 50c/lb.
• white mushrooms 8 oz. 99c
• Gala apples 50c/lb.

Stater Brothers

• Quaker oats 42 oz. $1

Bean & Tomato Soup, Lemon Bars, Lemon Squares

What have I made lately using dollar store ingredients?  Using a recently clipped Tuscan bean and tomato soup recipe from the LA Times, a lemon bar recipe from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, and a lemon squares recipe from The Divvies Bakery Cookbook: No Nuts. No Eggs. No Dairy. Just Delicious!, I went on a cooking spree this weekend.

The Tuscan bean soup used celery (sometimes found @ the 99c store; this time I got it at Bestway supermarket), canned tomatoes (from 99c store), dried oregano and basil (99c store or Big Lots), beans (I substituted 99c store black beans for cannellini beans), leeks (Food4Less), carrots (Bestway, Big Saver or El Super), potatoes (El Super) and margarine (El Super). 

The lemon bars and squares used sugar and corn starch from the 99c store, lemons on sale (see previous posts), flour (on sale at many venues during the holidays, from $1-$1.50 per 5 lb. bag), margarine, tofu (99c per 15 oz.  at Fresh & Easy; 99c store also sometimes has vacuum packed Nori brand tofu), agar agar (~$1.30 at Asian supermarkets), and turmeric (~$1 a small bag at Asian supermarkets).

Need I also mention that the metal lemon bar pan was from the 99c store, too?

Appetite for Reduction

I am probably one of the first people in LA County to check out Isa Moskowitz' new book, Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes from the county library system.  What I like so far is that there is nutrition information for each recipe.  Several of the recipes are rehashes from prior books (such as chickpea gravy, cheesy sauce), but there are several that I am excited to try.  Sadly, there are no desserts.  Stay tuned for cheap renditions of these recipes. 

Deals of the Week 1/12/11

What's on sale this week? Most of the grocery stores I frequent have new sales starting each Wednesday (thru following Tuesday). I will attempt to regularly share items of interest and relevant recipes with you.

Ralphs (membership card required- free to join)- nothing good this week
Big Saver

• Fuji apples 3 lbs. for $1
• Small Haas avocados 4 for 99c 

Food4Less

• Van de Kamp hot dog and hamburger buns 98c for 8 count 
• Kellogg Special K cereal $1.78 for 11.4-14 oz.
• Del Monte tomato sauce 3 8 oz. cans for $1  

Bestway (no website, in CA, not to be confused with VA chain- also note ads may be location-specific even within CA)

• cucumbers 8 for $1
• spinach 2 for $1
• green peppers 50c/lb.

El Super (website not up yet)

• Fuji apples 33c/lb.
• Reynaldo's soy chorizo $1.29 12 oz.
• green pepper 50c/lb.
• Small Haas avocado 25c each
• tangerines 33c/lb.
• Asian pear 33c each

Stater Brothers

• Stater Brothers pasta 49c for 10-16 oz. bag