Basic home economics have always told me that making it myself, from scratch is always more cost efficient that buying it ready made. But there is another side to that coin, since homemade foods do take longer to prepare and not everyone has the luxury of time on their side. My personal food budget would be much higher if didn’t make so much from scratch, and I have to say that in my case, I’d rather be home making things from scratch than working outside the home and paying someone else to do it for me. No matter what your personal thoughts and circumstance on working, cooking from scratch and eating well, everyone can benefit from a little old-fashioned philosophy once in a while, economic food stretchers that don’t take a lot of time, money or know how to put good food in your belly.
When I go to thrift or antique shops, I usually am easily absorbed into the world of vintage cooking pamphlets and books if I’m lucky enough to find them. I try not to buy too many, but sometimes the illustrations and content are too good to pass up. A few years ago I found this one published in 1947 by the Waring Blendor (yes, intentional misspelling of the modern word blender there…). In it, I found validation of a favorite childhood spread that I still enjoy on sandwiches: leftover ham that is finely chopped with pickles and mixed with mayonnaise. Growing up, we called it “Ground Pickle and Bologna”, since my mother used to make it with ring bologna and home-canned dill pickles, but I’ve seen it in numerous delis under the moniker of “Ham Salad”. The Waring Blendor book calls any number of salads made in the same fashion “Economy Spreads”, and I can think of nothing more fitting to stretch a tight food budget into a string of respectable lunches.
I am also an avid collector of little strips of paper, with ingredient lists from co-op delis and natural food stores for salads and sandwiches I’ve eaten (or just eyed) on the go. Something scribbled on those papers reminds me of something I enjoyed enough that I felt the overwhelming urge to make an approximation at home. One such scrap resurfaced late last summer, with the mumblings of a curried tofu salad I forgot about eating somewhere, some time ago. I went through a stretch of lunches with it, altering it to fit whatever veggies were around the house, and even substituting a Thai red curry powder for the yellow curry spice that I’m sure was the base of the original. There was no way to ruin it, and it is now one of my favorite things.
Tofu is a great budget stretcher, it’s reasonably healthy, and a good source of non-animal protein – and it’s really downright cheap even for organic varieties. It takes on the flavors that surround it easily, and I think the texture of it makes wonderful “mock” egg salads and scrambles. To be honest, I don’t measure when I make this salad, I just keep tasting it until I like it. I may add pumpkin or sesame seeds if I feel like it (cashews if I’m feeling flush), or little cubes of red pepper or hot pepper when the peppers are on. Feel free to alter it liberally to your own taste! A half pound of tofu will make about 4 sandwiches or wraps – you can also just serve it on top of some field greens and just eat it with a fork.
Curried Tofu Salad
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) firm tofu (not silken), crumbled gently by hand
1 carrot, finely shredded
1 stalk celery, minced (or use the inner celery core with the leaves – my favorite part of the celery!)
heaping 1/4 c. raisins
1/2-1 garlic clove, minced
2 T. chopped onion, red, white or yellow
1 1/2 t. yellow curry powder
pinch of cinnamon, optional
1/4 t. kosher salt, to taste
coarse ground black pepper, to taste
2-4 T. mayonnaise, Vegenaise, or even thick yogurt will work in a pinch
Mix gently by hand. Serve.
