Budget Living – Page 3 – A Measured Life

Fun With Food: Ethnic Markets

I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been born and raised (and to continue to live) in southern New Jersey. I grew up going to a multicultural public school, had friends of various ethnicities and got to taste a variety of ethnic cuisines. So for me, the idea of checking out an Asian market or an Indian market seems pretty much like a no brainer. But I figured I’d share a few easy reasons you should check out ethnic markets!

Spices are Cheaper

20160328_140118 — These are ALL dried mushrooms.

You know that big name brand of spices that you can find at virtually every major supermarket? The one that starts with ‘Mc’ and ends with ‘ick’? Their prices have nothing to do with supply and demand. They cost so much because there’s no competition! I will grumble and pay the price if I really need something ASAP, but why even do that when I can run into the ethnic market and get a HUGE bag for half the price? Here’s a hint: do you think the millions of first- and second-generation foreign born cook spice-laden traditional dishes paying mass market grocery store spice prices? Heck no. The grocery store big brand is there for those who care more for convenience than price.

So Many Greens

Do you want more than lettuce, kale and cabbage? Go to an Asian market! You’ll see greens, fruits and veggies just about everywhere.

20160328_135513 — Look at the SIZE of these carrots!

Fruits and veggies you’ve never tried before can be purchased for a fun tasting party.

A Way More Exciting Seafood Department

Whole, head on fish, head on shrimp, seventeen types of squid, huge fish, tiny fish, shellfish, etc. I can’t tell you how much better cod tastes right off the bone with the skin still on. Plus you KNOW it’s fresh because you can SEE it.

Adventure!

There are SO MANY THINGS you can find in an ethnic market you can’t find in your run of the mill supermarket. Special cuts of meat, offal, and alternative proteins. Between our Asian market and our Korean market, we can find silky chicken, quail, pheasant, goat, rabbit, duck and several hundred varieties of seafood. Plus eggs from all sorts of birds, and more noodles than you can shake a stick at.

Delicious Meals

Tonight the Hubs and I decided to wing it, and came home with sliced ribeye for dinner, along with some rice and kimchi. I already had bulgogi marinade in the fridge from a previous excursion so we had a fun tabletop Korean meal!

Do you shop ethnic markets? I love them!

I’ve Gone Bananas Week: Day 3 – Roasted Banana Butter

20160331_063848 — When you’re taking photos for a food blog, it’s probably a good idea to take more than one, so that you don’t EAT THE OBJECT before you realize the photo is blurry. Just sayin’.

It’s Day 3! (You can find Day 1 and Day 2 by clicking these links.) By now, that bunch of bananas is pretty far gone. They’re almost black, but they’re NOT YET DEAD. (Okay, technically they’ve been dead since they were cut from the banana palm but let’s not split hairs here.) But they’re pretty icky looking. So I checked out the amazingness that is Pinterest and discovered something called BANANA BUTTER.

SIDE STORY TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME.

When I was little, my dad *loved* apple butter. I, however, was not a fan. One time he took me to Disney World and we had lunch at the Liberty Inn after yet another forced visit to the Hall of Presidents. (A real yawn-fest, amirite?) Well they served apple butter there (Note to Self: find out if apple butter is actually colonial – apparently, yes) and he had me taste it yet again. It was better than previous ones I’d tried, probably because it was loaded with sugar, so I said I liked it. And from that point on, every time I said I didn’t like something, he would say… “Remember the apple butter!” I REMEMBER, DAD.

/END STORY TIME

I didn’t have enough bananas or any pectin, so instead of following the standard recipes I made my own. Here goes nothin’!

Roasted Banana Butter

Ingredients

250 grams Banana, fresh (very, VERY ripe)
1 tbsp Butter, salted
1 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (in hindsight, if you chose to use rum extract, or better yet, actual dark rum, this could taste just like Bananas Foster, mmm)

Directions

Now pay attention, this is a really difficult recipe. (April Fools! Hey, I had to sneak it in somewhere.)

Roast the bananas at 400 degrees until very soft and browned on the outside, flipping once.

Pour off the watery liquid and mash them. You can use a food processor if you want it to be smoother, but I don’t care about that stuff.

Add in the butter, cinnamon and vanilla extract and mash until fully combined. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. This makes 4 servings at 85 calories per serving.

I ran out of those delicious banana protein pancakes, so I spread mine on a frozen waffle (toasted, of course) and added a dollop of whipped topping. SO GOOD. I will definitely make this again and I’ll use rum extract instead to make it taste like Bananas Foster. MMMmmm. This may appear again at Christmas in gift form!

I hope you enjoyed my GONE BANANAS week! I think I need a break from bananas for a while… 🙂

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I’ve Gone Bananas Week: Day 2 – Chocolate Peanut Butter “Ice Cream” Cakes

I’d been dreaming of a frozen dessert for a while now. Growing up there were all kinds of ice cream tortes with various layers in the grocer’s freezer, often with delicate, shard-like chocolate flakes on top and an airy, sliceable consistency. Some had actual cake in them, some did not. I wanted a take on banana ice cream, without it trying to be an exact substitute for ice cream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SllolGvf5eI

Remember those? Mmmm. A layered frozen dessert was definitely in order, but I wasn’t sure what to use as my bottom layer. Purchased pound cake? Homemade sponge cake? Chocolate wafers? I couldn’t decide. I had an app rebate for a name brand frozen pound cake (you know the one), so I had planned to use that just by default. But it was fate that I walked by the bakery clearance rack at Walmart and discovered sugar free dessert shells FOR A SONG. I’m not kidding, 6 of them were a mere fifty-nine cents. The only way they could be more frugal was if they were free. I gathered the rest of the ingredients and got started!

Chocolate Peanut Butter “Ice Cream” Cakes

Ingredients

250 grams very ripe banana
4 tbsp Jif peanut butter powder
12 servings (24 tbsp) Lite Cool Whip, approx. half a tub
6 sugar free dessert shells
6 servings bittersweet chocolate chips, approx. 3/4 cup

Directions

In a food processor, process the banana until liquid. Add the peanut powder and process 30 seconds more, scraping down the sides once.

Pour into a large bowl. Add the Cool Whip and fold in gently.

Using a pastry bag or a zip top bag with a tip cut off, squirt the filling into the dessert shells. Freeze until solid.

In a double boiler or in the microwave in 30 second increments, melt the chocolate chips until smooth. Using another zip top bag or squeeze bottle, drizzle over the cakes evenly. Return to the freezer until chocolate is solid.

Wrap cakes individually in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the freezer, or CONSUME THEM ALL IN ONE SITTING! (Just kidding.) I had extra filling left over, which I just squeezed directly into my mouth directly from the bag. Don’t judge me!

The banana and peanut butter flavors are pretty mild, but the addition of the Cool Whip keeps the texture soft and easy to eat.

These taste like a chocolate covered banana with a hint of peanut butter flavor, and feels like a decent sized dessert for FEWER THAN 250 CALORIES. Yes, you heard me, this cupcake-sized snack covered in rich, dark chocolate feel decadent, but can still fit into a healthy meal plan. And that calorie count includes the spare Cool Whip, banana and peanut butter powder that I ate separately, so they’re probably even less than that. Bonus.

I hope you give them a try! There’s one more banana post coming this week, so stay tuned!

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