WIS, WWA | Delayed by the TEAS

@becky,

Apparently you can pickle it by just slicing/peeling off the hard green outer part and then cutting up the white parts to your preferred size and pickling in your favorite vinegar. I've never tried it, but if you like pickles, it might be worth a try.

I usually compost my rinds, and my composting worms and black soldier fly larvae make very short work of them. I added the worms to my outdoor bin, but the soldier flies came on their own. At first, I freaked out because they looked so gross, but then I identified them and realized they compost even faster than worms and apparently keep away other flies by outcompeting them, so I'm pretty happy with them. Supposedly chickens really like them too, but I don't keep chickens.

@Samosa, I'm so glad you posted. Your meals all sound absolutely delicious.

@Samosa,

Thank you so much for those spice recommendations! Yum, yum, yum! My husband is allergic to tamarind (no Worcestershire sauce for us!) So I'm especially pleased to read about amchur as a substitute! I'll have to look for a good Indian grocery near me. The mother of a former boyfriend once took me to one in Ohio (where she lived) and bought me one of those metal spice canisters and some spices as a Christmas gift. She was white, but lived in India as a young adult and learned how to cook there. She was the one who taught me how frugal cooking food from other cultures can be-she was an at-home mom to three boys and fed them on her husband's pastor salary by making everything from scratch. She gave me the spices almost fifteen years ago now, but I still have some of them and when I open the canister it smells like heaven and all the memories of cooking with her come flooding back, so I know what you mean about memories and kitchens, and especially smells! Thank you again for sharing your menu and your recipes, ingredients, etc!

@Becca, hi! clam sukkha recipe is here https://thespiceadventuress.com/2016/01/24/kube-sukkhe-mangalorean-style-spicy-clams-sukka/. I am from coastal southern India and seafood is mostly what we eat. I buy coriander seed, cumin seed, dry red chillies, turmeric and this is enough for most dishes. I toast the spices and grind them in a coffee grinder. To take it further, you can sizzle mustard seed or cumin seed in oil and pour over sabzi or rice or chutney. Food from my hometown relies heavily on tamarind and fresh shredded coconut. I buy both from indian stores - tamarind concentrate works or amchur (raw mango powder) for the sour element. Frozen shredded coconut is cheap (less than $2 in NYC) and i can blend it for spice pastes or I can toss it into warm salads or sabzis.

@Heidi Louise,

Yes, and it's interesting to me that foods from around the world tend to start with similar staples-rice, flour, beans, eggs, etc, but can taste so incredibly different depending on cooking techniques and spices. To that end, Kristen, a fun idea for an ask the reader post might be something like "what are your top ten frugal spices and your favorite splurge spice(s)?" I would particularly absolutely love to know which are the best spices to use if I wanted to make Indian food at home or really any type of food that isn't the standard American fare. I've found that the cuisine in other countries is generally very frugal but tastes so much better because of all the spices! I feel like spices are the secret frugal weapon. ;)

@Samosa, I rarely get a chance to eat foods from cultures other than my own but like to read the names and descriptions, often looking them up. Food is such a basic part of each person's world.