Cheap, seasonal recipes?

Now that at my local Countdown, capsicum are $3. 50 each, eggplant are $7 each and let's not get started on tomatoes...

Pumpkins are $1. 70 a kg at the local fruit and veg... I've made pumpkin pie, a ton of roast pumpkin, pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin hummus. But a) you can only eat so much pumpkin pie without gaining weight and b) everyone else in the household never wants to see another pumpkin again.

So any other bright ideas? What else is in season? I don't want to go too heavy on potatoes cause they're quite fattening... I know kiwifruit are really cheap this time of year but I really can't think what to do with them besides jam, fruit salad etc.

Cabbage & Carrots.

1 cabbage last this family of 4 a week, we have it as coleslaw, blanched & the balance gets chopped up in vege soup.

Potatoes are not fattening.
You live in AUckland - why are you buying veg at a supermarket? ? Go to a vege stall or a veg market, cheap as dirt.

they are for me, spuds and bread a moment on my lips and a LIFETIME to get them back of my hips...

kitty. I know this is probably too late for this year, but silverbeet grows like a weed all year round. You could perhaps find a wee spot and put in a couple of plants at the end of summer. A couple of meals a week of this delicious veg and you could then afford the occasional, more expensive one to complement your winter diet.

Also, rocket thrives through the winter as does coriander. In January I planted 2 doz leeks (as instructed by uli) and I have a plentiful supply now for winter veg, stews and soups.

I know this is not a huge amount of food, but every little bit helps.

I make sauerkraut at the end of summer when cabbages are just $1 or $2 each. Raw sauerkraut is full of all the B vitamins (except b12) and vitamin C and makes an excellent lunch salad veg. $10 will provide me with salad (with stuff like fresh rocket, carrot, coriander and parsley) for the whole of winter and well into spring till summer salad greens come on-line.

And yes. If you are watching your budget, winter meals can become a bit repetitive unless you are prepared to pay the money. But that is the human condition. For 2 million years we probably ate repetitively every winter.

We are lucky now that we can vary our diet with expensive vegetables but you can still practise good budgeting with some forethought and planning.

Oh I just remembered my neighbours. I made her a big planter, filled it with a good mix of healthy soils and planted her some salad greens like spinach, mizuma, rocket, beetroot and basil. She took charge of her planter and regularly replanted and it is flourishing with enough plant material for her to share around. (only two adults in her family now).

Have you considered growing your own sprouts? I do that when I want a change but this year I am struggling to get through all the food I put aside so haven't done any this year.

I know this may be a little off topic and irrelevant to your question but potatoes aren't actually fattening, it is the way in which we prepare them that makes them fattening. Believe it or not potatoes only have 0. 2 % fat in them. To answer you question you could buy Kumara, Silverbeet, Carrot, Apples, Bananas or Nectarines. Nectarines are just coming back into the grocery stores about now and I just purchased some the other day for only $4. 69 per kg which I thought wasn't too bad. Ideas to use these fruits and vegetables:

Kumara:

-Make a frittata and replace potato with kumara. Kumara have a lower G. I. so keep you fuller for longer.
-Roast kumara or even kumara chips. Cut the kumara into wedges and toss in a bowl or large snaplock bag with about 1-2 Tbsp oil and some mixed herbs or whatever takes your fancy. Cook at about 180-200 til tender. Yum! !
-Make a curried kumara soup

Silverbeet

-Make a basic quiche recipe and add some washed silverbeet along with corn, grated pumpkin (Optional but very yummy, you won't even be able to tell what it is) and Ham steak or bacon.

Apples

-Make an apple crumble. Could add blueberries of desired
-Apple Sponge " "
-Apple and cinnamon muffins
-Apple dumplins
-Apple pie

Bananas

-Banana cake
-Sponge pudding made with 1 banana in the sponge topping
-Banana/ Banana and choc chip muffins (Extra yummy with a streusel topping)

Hope these ideas help :)

Hi Kitty. .

Potatoes make great bases for meals, and are often less expensive than other veges too. .

Winter veges include cabbages ($2 each here), broccoli, cauliflower, leeks ($1. 50 each), swedes, silverbeet ($1. 50 each), carrots ($2 for 1. 5kgs), parsnips, lettuces, yams, etc. .

Kumara finished its season not long ago, however can sometimes be purchased at a good price.

To use the above:

Stirfries - can use any of the above, except lettuce

Casseroles - any except lettuce

Soups, any except lettuce

Scalloped Potatoes - to the usual potato, onion, milk/cream and cheese layers, add layers of leeks, carrots, parsnips, etc. . for more vegetables and extra goodness. Kumara is a nice addition too, as is pumpkin. .

Cauliflower Cheese - make a well-flavoured cheese sauce, simmer or steam cauliflower till almost as tender/crisp as you prefer, place in an oven-proof dish, top with the hot cheese sauce, sprinkle grated cheese on top, plus sprinkle some dried breadcrumbs over the cheese - once grilled till golden, the breadcrumbs will give a nice crunchy texture. For a change, simmer/steam broccoli, carrots, onions, shallots, leeks, etc. . and mix in with the cauliflower for extra goodness. Add hard boiled eggs cut into chunks too for extra protein, or an egg or two can be quickly whisked into the hot cheese sauce.

Sweet sour Pork/chicken/lamb, etc. . Add any of the above veges to the mix when cooking for extra goodies.

Frittata/pies - add lightly cooked veges to these. . any of the above could be used.

Tomatoes, cucumber, capsicums, courgette's, etc. . are often from overseas at this time of year, so more expensive. . nectarine's, peaches and plums too. .