This pictures shows the 8 ingredients used for the 5 dishes just beneath it. (Oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper are not included in the count, clearly.)
From Left to Right, Up/Down:1) Grilled White Asparagus with a Sliced Strawberry as the garnish
This was my first time eating white asparagus. Um, I don't like it. lol. It might taste a bit better when it is reheated, if not, I'll have to fix it so it tastes better!! It'd doubtful I will purchase it again. (I still have half a bunch in the fridge...) Steamed Asparagus tips are in the tiny container, they're good for being asparagus gum since they're rather stringy...
2) Miso Soup with celery bits
You can't see the celery, but they're in there! The celery was for garnish and I didn't really expect it to stand out much, but I have a ton of celery and just wanted to use it somehow!
3) Garlicky Young Napa
This was my least favorite dish of the 5 (asparagus in a close 4th). It was just boring and wasn't cooked right.
4) Steamed Young Napa Leaves in Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil
My mom seldomly makes this dish as it is very light and she normally prefers to saute vegetables instead. However, when I was at Hmart last night, I tried a dried veggies dish that instantly reminded me of this dish. You can use any green leafy veggies to obtain the same fragrant taste!
5) Tomato, Scrambled Eggs and Fresh Tofu
I've made this dish many times and even posted a version with frozen tofu before. (I still prefer fresh tofu than frozen tofu, texture is the difference between the two.)
A few interesting tidbits about these 5 dishes:1) The entire prep and cooking time took about an hour. Please note: a good chunk of time was spent trying to find little bowls/containers to put my veggies and waiting for water to boil.
2) Math is in cooking too! (I admit all the items were either on sale or in my fridge)
1 bunch of Young Napa = $.34
1 container of 20 oz tofu = $.99
1/2 bunch of asparagus = $1.00
1 tomato = $.30
2 eggs = $.20
2 strawberries = $.10?
2 cloves of garlic = $.10?
My point is that the 5 dishes cost me about $4-5 in ingredients. Of course, I ate the food with brown rice (trying to cut down, so I only ate about 1/4 cup) but the cost of that is rather irrelevant, as are the spices and oils I used. There is enough food for about 3 meals. Cheap? Yes. Nutritious? Yes. Fun? Heck Yes! lol
And yes, I am eating vegetarian because I don't feel like buying meats. My freezer is cleaned out of meats other than salmon (which really isn't meat)!! Nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables! (And less rice...so sad!)
