No I haven’t been ignoring my blog. How can you ignore your baby?

It is just that I have started a new day job 3 weeks ago and it is draining me out. I’m getting back home with barely any energy left and no intent to go back behind the screen again. I work in graphic design and my new job is in books design. Back to the challenge, this is the 3rd recipe and 2 more to go.

Cooking on a budget requires a little more effort. You shall not buy ready-made and frozen food since it is so out of the daily budget, and health wise, home cooking is way better. And tastier. 

Is it better making things from scratch? Not always. Sometimes all you need is to open a can, pour it in a plate and eat. But once you get used to cooking at home, you wouldn’t be that keen. I for example, unlike my sister, cannot open a can of tuna, top it with lemon juice and olive oil and eat it. It has to have something more.

Since we were on a budget, I had to add some low cost substitutions. Instead of buying canned beans, I bought a bag of dried cannellini beans. It’s cheaper and has less or no preservatives. Since I have never cooked dried beans myself, I tried the most intuitive method: soak, wash and boil. Only later did i find out that dried beans should be soaked overnight, washed and rinsed well, then cooked without salt. They took forever to cook and gave us stomach pain. I had to start over, this time soaked for more than 12 hours.

A lot  better.

I pureed the beans in the food processor with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. It got to a nice rich and creamy texture. I served the bean dip on day three of the challenge along with a green salad, toasted bread and soujok omelette for a filling low cost homemade lunch.

cheap and tasty i tell you.

Soujok Omelette & White Bean Dip

White beans spread
2 cups dried Canellini beans
1/4 Cup lemon juice
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
More olive oil for garnish

Soujok Omelette
4 eggs
2 soujok sausages
1 small Onion
2 tablespoon flour
your favorite cheese, preferably hard & strong cheese. as much as you want.
salt & pepper to taste

Procedure

• Soak beans in water the night before. Make sure water covers the beans by over 2cm.
• The next day wash and rinse the beans well a few times
• Boil for 40 minutes in unsalted water. Do not salt the water, otherwise the beans won’t cook.
• Drain and let cool for 20 minutes before processing and seasoning with lemon juice, salt and olive oil.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning to your desired taste and consistency.

• Dice the soujok sausage.
• Crack the eggs and add all the ingredients and whisk well. Don’t worry about the lumps of flour, they’ll be gone after baking.
• Pour in a baking tray or an oven-safe deep dish and bake for 20-30 minutes in 190° oven depending on the thickness of the omelette.
• Take out of the oven and sprinkle with cheese and broil until the top is golden.

What are the things that you’d rather make than buy?
If you’re a fan of ready-made food, what’s your favorite substitute?