Dinner: Tuesday, January 13

Italian Grinders on Crusty Peasant Bread with Genoa, Red Onion and Roma Tomatoes
Side Salad with Oranges
(Tuna on Pita for the Kids)
Total Cost: $3.80

When I was a teenager I worked in a sub shop and loved every minute--even when the onions made me cry. Now that I have a different full-time job, I don't eat nearly enough sandwiches. Why? Mostly because sliced deli meat is so expensive. When I do make subs, I use Genoa salami and make Italian Grinders. Because Genoa has such a strong flavor you can use a teeny-weeny bit and it can stretch all the way down that fresh loaf of crusty peasant bread that you just made.

My only recommendation for these sandwiches is that you serve them with lots of red wine vinegar. On it. In it. Both.

My kids don't like Italian Grinders and I don't like to waste good food on people who won't eat it. (Did that sound totally rude?) I happily made a batch of tuna on pita for them. They'll come around in a few years.

Dinner: Sunday, January 11

Greek Gyros and Salad
Total Cost: $7.25

Living well means being able to entertain guests. What's the fun of living in poverty if you have to be all alone?

Tonight we had a delightful couple over for dinner. When they asked if there was anything they could bring I suggested salad.

I prepared a large batch of whole wheat pita bread using my artisan ways, cut up three chicken breasts (seasoned with cumin, garlic, salt and olive oil), crumbled the feta, and cut up an onion. I also brought out a homemade batch of yogurt to drizzle on the gyros. We also used part of the salad, that our guests brought, to put in the gyros.

May I say one thing about yogurt? A gallon of milk costs about $2.25. That's about $.14/cup. That means that a 32 oz. homemade batch of yogurt costs about $.56 compared with the 32 oz. container of Mountain High All-Natural Yoghurt that runs about $3.50. That three dollars is going to buy me a nice slender slice of Cambozola to go with my crusty peasant bread. Soon.

Dinner: Monday, January 5

Greek Gyros served in Artisan Whole Wheat Pita brushed with Olive Oil
Total Cost: $6.80

I can get away with saying my bread is artisan because the recipe it came from is from the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day." So, we have artisan pita tonight. I took a dough ball about 1/4 cup and rolled it out very thinly (under 1/8 inch) on a counter dusted with flour. Each pita was cooked in a pan (don't forget to flip it!) that had a drizzle of olive oil. These divine pitas will make you curse the discs of ca-ca sold by the bagful in your grocer's deli.

Before we go further, please go to your library and check out the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day." It will revolutionize the way you do bread. Your family will shed tears of gratitude. (Um, maybe.)

Now, all you need for the gyros are: small patties of ground meat mixed with cumin and garlic, a sliced tomato, a sliced red onion, sliced romaine, crumbled feta, and plain yogurt. (Perhaps we'll make homemade yogurt together soon!)

Save the extra uncrumbled feta for when we do pizza. It actually lasts for a long time in the fridge.

What are you eating for dinner tonight? How much did it cost?