No Frills, the monthly shopping expedition

Photo by Gary Wood

It's the beginning of the month, which means it's time to head to the supermarket to stock up on the basics.

No Frills is a popular chain for thrifty shoppers here in Canada, as their approach is, well, no frills. They forego all the usual advertising, marketing, and fancy displays in order to keep prices down. It's not a warehouse, like Costco or Sam's Club, so you won't be buying a jar of salsa that will last you six months, but they are all over the city and accessible by foot or public transit.

No Frills generic corned beef
Photo by Danielle Scott

They stock their own generic, no name brand of many basic food items. You can find thousands of no name grocery items -- pasta, canned veggies, sauces, canned meats, frozen foods, cheese, household cleaners, pet food and litter, and more.  I'm a big believer in buying the generic brand of foods -- I'm told it all comes from the same factory, anyhow.

Although No Frills is cheap, they are NOT always the cheapest in town.  And here's where the web comes in.  No Frills has a price comparison website: Won't Be Beat. You can enter your local No Frills store, and then ask the site to compare the No Frills price against the other supermarkets in your town.

Dried Apricots - the inspiration
for the Armenian stew

I like to cook based on what's fresh at the veggie store, and what mood I am in that week. Am I craving Thai food? Curry? Soups?  Did I find an interesting veggie, new to me, that I want to try?

I am often trying new recipes, based on the ingredients I bring home, which I think is the opposite of many thrifty bloggers who rotate a standard menu of favourite dishes.

Yes, I have favourites, but there are so many new recipes to try out there! And new ingredients to explore!! Why limit myself?

So here's how I figure out what I need at No Frills -- I ask, do I need:

• flour
• sugar
• butter or margarine (whichever is on sale)
• tinned tomatoes
• pasta and rice
• salsa (cheaper at No Frills than making my own, except for summer)
• dairy
• pet food
• pet litter

On a weekly basis I go to the veggie store, and around the corner to my local health food store, The Nut House, for small amounts of spices, herbs, and nuts. I only buy a small amount as spices and herbs lose their flavouring after a very short while, and why spend $3 or $4 on a jar of spices when you only need 1 or 2 tsp.

So here's what's I will be cooking this week, based on the ingredients I have on hand:

BREAKFASTS

• toasted bagels with green onion and chive cream cheese
• scones
• oatmeal

LUNCHES and DINNERS (I cook on the weekend, and reheat during the week)

• lentil apricot stew w sesame rice (never tried this one before, but have lentils, rice and dried apricots in the cupboard)
• carrot ginger soup (big bag of carrots in the fridge)
• cornish pasties (with the rutabaga i bought last week, plus lentils, potatoes, carrots, and herbs)
• jamaican patties (winter squash and hot peppers)
• braised celery and mashed potatoes
• quesadillas (winter squash, refried beans and cabbage, with salsa and sour cream)
• eggplant and lentil chile mole (never tried this before, either)

SNACKS

• apples
• brownies

I will post the recipes, with photos, as I cook these items.

Cabbage Rolls

Last Saturday's shopping

This is the haul from last Saturday, and it will feed me for 10 days or so.  You can see: 2 cauliflowers (they were on sale at 2 for $1.00 so I got both), large bag of mushrooms, a small butternut squash, a buttercup squash, an eggplant, fresh tomatoes, apples, an onion, a green cabbage, dried apricots, raisins, a rutabaga.  I have the staples -- flour, shortening, vegetable oil, tomato paste, spices, brown rice and pasta already in the cupboard from an earlier shop.

Total cost for the veggies and fruit? $11.00

So far I have made cabbage rolls, cauliflower and lentil soup, and a vegetable curry from my haul. Here's my recipe for veggie cabbage rolls.

Cabbage Rolls

For the stuffing

1/2 c brown rice

1/3 c raisins

3/4 c white beans

1 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp. mixed italian seasoning, or to taste

1/2 tsp. hot pepper flakes, or to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

For the roasted veggies

4 cloves garlic

1 cup tomatoes

1/4 onion 

1 c. eggplant

1 T oil

For the sauce

1 tsp oil

1/2 onion

4 cloves garlic

1 red pepper

6 tomatoes (or a tin of tomatoes if you don't have fresh)

1 c mushrooms

1 tsp each basil, oregano, thyme

1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes, or to taste

1 tsp sugar

8 cabbage leaves, blanched

My brown rice and roasted veggie cabbage rolls,
served with a lovely, spicy tomato sauce.
These were delicious!!

1. Add 1/2 cup brown rice to 1 cup cold water. Bring to boil, and put a lid on your saucepan, and reduce to lowest heat. Cook until water is absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. I know my rice is done when there are little dimples on the top of the rice.

2. Dice ingredients for roasted veggies into about 3/4 to 1 inch pieces (except the garlic), toss with 1 T oil, and roast on a flat tray in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 F.  Inspect from time to time, flipping as necessary so that all sides are roasted.  Allow to cool, and at this point chop or smush the roasted garlic (it will be very soft).

3. While rice is cooking and veggies are roasting, prepare the tomato sauce. Saute onions and garlic in oil for 4 - 5 minutes, over a medium heat, until softened. Dice red pepper and tomatoes, slice mushrooms and add to pan.  Add herbs and spices. As the sauce cooks the tomatoes will begin to break down and the sauce will thicken naturally. If it is too watery, you can add a little tomato paste, and if it seems too dry, add a little water, 1/2 cup at a time.

4. When the rice and oven roasted veggies are done, toss these together in a large bowl with raisins, white beans, red wine vinegar, italian seasoning, hot pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. 

5. Blanch 8 leaves of cabbage. I read that the best way to do this is to put the whole head of cabbage in a large pot of boiling water, but as I was only making 8 cabbage rolls I elected to blanch the 8 leaves separately. Carefully "peel" the outer leaves from your cabbage. It gets harder, the closer you get to the centre. Drop one at a time into a large pot of boiling water, and cook for 3 minutes. Fish out with a pair of tongs. Let cool, and now you are ready to assemble!  If you are struggling with peeling the cabbage and know that you will use the rest of a boiled cabbage within a few days, go ahead and dunk the whole thing! I wanted to save my cabbage for coleslaw, later in the week.

6.  Watch minutes 3:01 to 4:00 on this youtube video to see the best way to stuff and roll your rolls (remember, our recipes are not the same!!)

 

7. Now that your rolls are assembled, place nestled up against each other in an ovenproof dish, an 8" x 8" dish should be large enough.  Pour the tomato sauce over the top, and cover the dish with foil.

8. Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes.  Your ingredients are basically already cooked, you are just allowing them to blend together in the oven.

9. Enjoy!!