the strategic shopper, wk 2/pt 1

so...  this week's ingredient is... (insert drumroll here)

tada!  boca meatless ground crumbles!

i know they might seem like sort of a "blah" choice, but they were on sale (2 12-oz bags for $6) and i like meatless crumbles so there!  :-P  LOL.  as you all know from week one, i am in no way a vegetarian, but my kitchen gives space to veggie-loving elements (meatless crumbles, soy milk, tofu) and carnivore-friendly ingredients (actual meat, cow's milk, the occasional pat of butter) equally.

a note on price:  i know that $6 for 24 oz of protein is a pretty high cost per ounce ~ $0.25 ~ but i justify the purchase b/c soy protein has zero shrinkage.  in a nutshell, shrinkage is an food inventory-management term that takes into account mass lost in the cooking process.  a food-shrinkage equation illustrates the ratio of price per unit of raw product versus price per unit of cooked, edible product.  basically, it helps chefs calculate cost-effectiveness and profit margin on different foods.  every animal-based protein has shrinkage:  the fat melts and the water evaporates, while the bones and cartilage are left on the diner's plate.  i don't want to get TOO nerdy on you right now, but basically the best way to avoid throwing your money down the drain ~ literally ~ is to buy lean meats.  sure, fattier meats almost always have a prettier price tag, but buying 80/20 ground chuck (80% protein, 20% fat) guarantees a minimum of twenty percent of it is getting thrown out.  and a lot of sale meats have an even higher fat content than that.  i try to use as much lean meat as possible, but i also recognize that some things are just better w/ fat:  pot roast, meat loaf, duck, etc.  ok, enough geek-speak for one post!!! (PS:  sorry i couldn't post a link to illustrate this point better, but wiki doesn't have an entry for food-related shrinkage.  i just put it the way i remember it from culinary school, but comment questions are welcome.)

sorry.  ^_^  now on to the fun(ner) stuff, LOL.

in addition to the boca crumbles, i spent about $10 more dollars this week at publix for:

~  1 can kidney beans

~  1 can garbanzo beans

~  1 jar salsa

~  1 3-pack of romaine lettuce

~  1 16-oz bag of vegetable gumbo frozen veggie mix (onions, red pepper, corn, okra)

for boca crumbles part one, i decided to make a meatless vegetable beef soup...  the warm weather is creeping closer and although i am ready for it, i also know that my soup-making days are numbered, LOL.  vegetable beef soup is traditionally broth-based, but i like thicker soups, so mine has a veloute (light roux + water/stock) base instead.

vegetable beef-less soup

~  1 T butter

~  1 T oil

~  1 cup of mirepoix i had left from last week's chicken

~  2 large cloves of garlic, smashed

~  2 T flour (pastry is best, but ap is fine, too)

~  1/2 cup tomato paste dissolved in:

~  2 qt hot water

~  1 cup vegetable gumbo mix

~  2 T salsa

~  1/2 can each of kidney and garbanzo beans, well-rinsed

~  1 cup frozen corn

~  1/2 tsp cumin

~  1/2 tsp coriander

~  1 tsp powdered onion and garlic

~  1 T porcini flour

~  1/2 tsp chili powder

~  mrs. dash, kosher salt, black pepper TT (to taste)

~  6 oz boca meatless crumbles

1.  heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat.  add the mirepoix and garlic and saute until slightly browned.

2.  add the flour to the pan and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes.

3.  whisk in the tomato paste/water combination slowly (see "today's notes"), ensuring that there are no lumps.

4.  once the soup base is smooth, add in all the other ingredients EXCEPT the meatless crumbles.  bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

5.  once the soup is boiling, put the lid on and turn the heat down to low.  cook for 30 min to an hour, stirring every once in a while.

6.  add the boca crumbles, stir, and cook, covered, for 15 more minutes.

TODAY'S TIPS:

1.  roux.  what can i say?  it can be a bitch to work with sometimes, but it is ALWAYS worth the effort...  the roux i used to thicken the soup ~ blonde ~ is the easiest of the three types (blonde, brown, and dark), but if you're unfamiliar w/ the process, it can be troublesome, so...  a good rule of thumb for light roux is to use a one to one ratio of flour to fat.  the darker the roux, the less thickening power it has, so the darker the roux, the higher the ratio of flour:fat.  another point to remember is that room temperature liquid should be incorporated into hot roux (or vice versa).  also, i don't care which recipe says what, i always add my liquid in small stages.  in this soup's case, it was four increasingly-large additions, whisking the base until completely smooth before adding more.  the thing is, if the roux lumps up before all the liquid is added, those lumps will NEVER come out.

2.  pastry (aka "cake") flour is the best when making roux b/c it has the highest starch content.  not only is the starch the thickening agent in a roux, but it is also what browns, adding intensity to darker roux.  again, because i made a blonde roux, flour choice isn't all that important, which is why all-purpose flour is fine for this recipe, too.

3.  this recipe is very versatile:  the tomato paste/water combination can be removed and replaced w/ wine, stock, cream, or some combination thereof; actual meat can be replaced for the crumbles; any vegetable can be replaced w/ any other (except in the case of mirepoix) as the cook sees fit.

this recipe made a LOT of soup ~ almost three quarts worth ~ which is a good thing when you're feeding a big family or want leftovers.  i garnished mine w/ scallions b/c i love them, but this soup has a slightly tex-mex tang, so i would also encourage a cornbread accompaniment.  :))

TUNE IN ON WEDNESDAY FOR PART TWO...

until then:  thanks for reading, bbs!!!  xoxox.