Tuna with pancetta weapped asparagus

Super-easy dinner! 


Pancetta from Whole Foods, about $4 worth, and still have some left.
Organic asparagus from my CSA, about $2 worth.
Wild-caught hormone-and-nasty-stuff-free tuna from Trader Joe's freezer section, $3.94. 
Organic lemon from the tree over the fence, free.
Olive oil for the tuna pan, maybe 15 cents worth. Also a bit of salt and pepper.
Total cost for 2 people: $10.25, with a bit of leftover fish for Gabriel's lunch salad. Compared to what we usually would spend at a fast food place, that saved us $4. Compared to a restaurant, about $25 saved, aside from drinks and tip. Total prep and cook time: 18 minutes, or about what it would take for me to get to a restaurant and get my drink, but not yet place my order. 


Makes you think, huh? 


I'll be doing how-to's on simple, delicious dinners like these. I hope you will find them helpful.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Swordfish dinner with homemade fries

Not pictured: baby greens salad. Total cost for dinner for two: $7.50. For freaking swordfish. Long live Trader Joe's! 


The potatoes were part of the CSA delivery this week, greens purchased inexpensively at the farmer's market, the pan-fried lemon was pulled from the tree branch over the fence in the yard, and the wild-caught swordfish was in the frozen section for a few cents under $6. 


The potatoes were cooked in organic, hormone-free lard which I rendered from free trimmings saved by the butcher at Whole Foods. The trimmings also yielded about a pound of free pork bits, which are ideal for stock or stir-fry. Can't argue with free! 


Yes, lard. Animal fat gets a bad rap. 

-- Sent from my Palm Prē