That'll Be Five Dollars

This afternoon as I was passing through Union Square, I decided to stop by the Greenmarket to look for something to make for lunch. I had only been to the market on weekends, and was pleased to find that a Friday early afternoon was much less crowded than a Saturday early afternoon.

Having spent multiple occasions weeping while tossing out shriveled greens and molding squash, I knew better than to buy more than what I'd eat today, tomorrow, and maybe the day after. The Union Square Greenmarket is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, so it's worth making more than one trip a week, and only buying what I plan to make that day.

from Bodhitree Farm

I entered the market not knowing what I was in the mood for, but was immediately drawn to a pile of produce the color of eggplant, but the size of a hot pepper. The sign read "Fairytale Eggplant". I couldn't resist. 

I found some yellow and green squash further into the market, that could be roasted alongside the eggplant. I also picked up a bundle of broccoli raab, and an ear of corn (I realized that I hadn't had corn on the cob all summer, and somehow that felt very wrong).

I left the market with a wallet only $5 lighter than what it had been when I entered–not bad for a bag of produce that was certainly going to last me more than one meal. At home I discovered that I had a good amount of brown rice, a little bit of chicken in the refrigerator, and a hefty supply of spices and oils.

I washed the skins of the squash and eggplant, then chopped each one into bite sized pieces. I spread the produce out inside a casserole dish, and then added a little bit of pepper, salt, and olive oil. I opened the oven, which was preset at 400 degrees.

The smoke alarm went off immediately.

After a small battle with the smoke alarm (has anyone else found a more effective method for turning off a smoke alarm than taking it off the wall and giving it a few good smacks?), I reduced the temperature to 300 degrees and placed the dish in the oven. While the vegetables were roasting, I cooked the rice.

After 15 minutes I checked on the vegetables: still too hard. I sprinkled dried basil and some balsamic vinaigrette over top, and then left the vegetables to cook a little longer.

In another ten minutes or so, the squash and eggplant were ready. I mixed them in a bowl with the rice and heated chicken, and then sat down to enjoy the meal. It was easy, quick, and the vegetables were fresh and flavorful. Next time I would probably add tomatoes, and definitely some more eggplant, as my squash-to-eggplant ratio was a little off.

I have enough roasted veggies left over to have for lunch tomorrow, as well as the corn and greens that I can use for dinner. Combined with the abundance of legumes and grains I found in my cabinet after cleaning out my shelves last week (I am embarrassed to admit I couldn't even remember buying half of what I found), I can make it through the weekend without spending more than that $5 on food.

I think that's a price that I can come to terms with.

If you're interested in checking out a Greenmarket but Union Square is a little too far, never fear. There are many locations throughout NYC, open various days and hours. There is more than one market located in every borough, featuring local farmers from upstate New York, New Jersey, etc. If you have a question about what something is, how to tell if it's ripe, or how to cook it, don't hesitate to ask the sellers! Everyone I've talked to has been more than helpful in their recommendations.

P.S. You can now find The Penny-Pinching New Yorker on Instagram! Look for @pennypinchingnewyorker, or #pennypinchingnewyorker.

Would You Like Fries With That?

If you live in New York, you've probably been there. If you haven't been there, you've at least heard of it. If you haven't heard of it, Hollywood certainly has.

From the movie Something Borrowed

Shake Shack's lines are long for a reason. If you're looking for a burger that doesn't break the bank, but also doesn't come with a side of hormones and antibiotics, this is the place to go. The burgers are delicious, the fries are delicious, the shakes are delicious, and the fact that you can have dinner for ten dollars is even more delicious.

Last night I went to the outdoor Shake Shack in Madison Square Park with a friend. This location is my favorite in the city, since waiting in line in the park is much more pleasant than waiting in line in by Times Square, for example. I ordered the Shack Burger ($4.60), my vegetarian friend ordered the 'Shroom Burger ($6.75), and then we ordered a side of fries ($2.70) to share. Oh, and we couldn't resist splitting a Chocolate-Strawberry Shake ($5.00). Thanks to the shared sides, my meal came out to be around $10, which I found very reasonable.

In addition to serving vegetarian-fed and hormone-free beef, the company also constructs each location from recycled materials. "Stand for Something Good" is their motto, which speaks to their green efforts, food safety efforts, etc.

A few things you should know about Shake Shack:

1. There is always a line. Shake Shack is delicious, inexpensive, and popular, so a crowd is unavoidable. Non-meal times will of course be less crowded, but if you plan to go during lunch or dinner time, then know that the line will be long. Don't worry though, it's worth it. 
2. The 'Shroom Burger is vegetarian, and really good. It's a fried portobello mushroom filled with cheese, and though it's not exactly the healthiest vegetarian dish ever, it's worth the occasional indulgence.
3. The Madison Square Park location is the original Shake Shack, but there are lots of other locations in the city. Shake Shack is also located in Connecticut, Florida, Washington DC, Massachussetes, Pennsylvania,  the UK, and the Middle East. Although if you're in the Middle East, I'd probably recommend eating something a little more native...
4. Shake Shack is also known for its hot dogs (though I've never tried one) and concretes (frozen custard). Check out the full menu on their website.

We chose a very hot evening to visit Shake Shack. Despite having to battle a few rather aggressive mosquitos, though, the wait in the heat was worth the meal. Plus the Madison Square location looks really pretty at night. 

Breakfast of Champions

On days when you've been running around all day, it can be pretty tempting to grab a quick lunch from the deli, or order in dinner rather than taking the time to make a home-cooked meal. Breakfast, however, is a meal that I can count on making at home every morning.

Because really, the thought of making myself look presentable to the world early enough to go out and buy breakfast? Not an attractive idea.

Today I'm going to share with you my favorite breakfast recipe that is affordable, healthy, and super easy to make. It is oatmeal, and the secret? Melted bananas. 

The Penny-Pincher's Morning Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup of oats (quick-cooking preferred) 
• 1/3-1/2 cup of water 
• 1/3 cup of milk of your choice (dairy or non-dairy)
• 1 small banana, or 1/2 a large banana (sliced)
• cinnamon
• vanilla (powder or extract) 
• 1 tbsp nut butter (peanut, almond, etc.)

Optional:

• 1 tbsp of flax seed
• blueberries (fresh or frozen) 

Instructions:

1. Combine water, milk, and oats in a saucepan over low-medium heat. 
2.  Once oatmeal begins to simmer, add banana. 
3. Stir banana into oatmeal (very exuberantly) so that banana melts into oatmeal. The banana won't melt entirely, but try to make the chunks disappear. 
4. Once the liquid has been absorbed to your desired consistency, remove pan from heat.
5. Add a generous dash of cinnamon, and a small amount of vanilla. 
6. If desired, melt in frozen blueberries. You could also add fresh berries as a garnish. Add flax seed.
7. Pour oatmeal into bowl, and stir in the nut butter. 
8. Enjoy!

Melting bananas into oatmeal makes it taste like dessert (the riper the banana the sweeter the oatmeal). A standard package of oats should last you over two weeks, as should the nut butter. Bananas are cheap, as are most frozen blueberries (especially from Trader Joe's). This recipe is really filling, so you'll be good to go until lunch! 

This picture is my roommate's version of the same recipe. She added sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and a little bit of chocolate (who can blame her). The basic recipe lends itself to a lot of combinations. Experiment with different garnishes but keep in mind that the more ingredients you add, the more expensive it will become. 

I would love to hear your own versions of this oatmeal, should you choose to make it. I'm not going to lie, it's just as delicious when eaten at lunch or dinner, especially if you're craving something sweet!

We all scream for (how much we pay for) ice cream

I have a pretty serious sweet tooth. Unfortunately, in a city where a slice of cake is $6.00 and a frozen yogurt can easily be $5.00, the cost of dessert adds up. My sweet tooth is dangerous for my wallet, and dangerous for my waist line.

Alas, I have a solution. My friend PJ (check out his band Manner Effect) introduced me to a dessert that is cheap, easy to make, vegan, gluten-free, and tastes exactly like ice cream. Oh yeah, and it's good for you. The secret? Frozen bananas. 

Peel them, slice them, put them in the freezer, and then blend them in a food processor until it looks like ice cream. If you want, you can stop right there and eat it as is. I highly recommend adding peanut butter, or any other kind of nut butter; it tastes like peanut butter ice cream and it is fantastic! 

Since the ingredients are just bananas and nuts, you can eat it for breakfast and not have to feel guilty about it; when I told my friends at ballet that I had eaten ice cream for breakfast, they did not mask their shock! If you don't like nuts, you can add other ingredients too. I think it would be good to add fresh fruit as a garnish, or maybe you could try adding things like cinnamon or vanilla to the mixture as you're blending. I'd love to hear your comments if you've tried something out that you liked.

The best part is that bananas are cheap. Stop by a fruit cart and grab two bananas for 50 cents, and you've got yourself a big bowl of ice cream (depending on the size of the banana, one might even be sufficient). That's looking a lot better to me than that $5 cup of frozen yogurt...