Day 3: the natives are restless

Stardate 200904.3 . The natives are restless and the rumbling of dissent can be heard all around.

Wait: that grumbling is actually my  stomach trying to get used to this new diet regime.

I'm still scrambling to see how I'll pull this off. But that was the idea: I didn't want to prepare in advance and then declare victory at the end. People don't prepare to get on food stamps; it just happens. So, armed with questionable contents of my refrigerator, a $4/day budget and dubious cooking skills, but an ample supply of cookbooks, I took the plunge.

Today I had the usual watery granola for breakfast; a small salad (leftover from yesterday) and some quinoa for lunch; and finished the quinoa off for dinner. I think I got pretty good milage out of that pot of quinoa. (Captain's log, supplemental: we must do something about the granola).

Weekend is here, and with Saturday comes the Alemany Farmers Market. IMHO it's the best farmers market in The City. Two saturdays ago I scored 3lbs of onions; 1lb each of carrots and potatoes; 2 heads of cabbage; 1 large head of broccoli; 2 lbs of tomatoes and some cilantro, all for $6.50 .  But tomorrow I'll be on a real budget, so I'll go there late, just as the stalls are winding down.  That's when you get the best deals, as the farmers try to empty their shelves before heading back. Sneaky, I know. I've never done this before; I prefer to go early, so I can get the best stuff. But these are tough times...

For dinner (tomorrow's dinner, that is), I made a cabbage + peas curry. This cabbage was one of the two I got 2 weeks ago; it was drying out, but I decided to quickly turn it into a meal. It is very simple to make, and tastes wonderful. The only catch is: you need a particular spice that you get only in Indian stores. I had some lying around from a year ago, and it seemed OK (it's called "Sambar masala", or "the masala used to make sambar, a south-Indian curry). Here's the recipe:

1. Chop the cabbage (about a lb) into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Heat some oil, and add 1tbsp mustard seeds. Wait till they stop popping.
3. Immediately, add 1tbsp urad daal and fry it for 30 seconds, or till it's light brown.
4. Add the chopped cabbage, salt (to taste; about a tbsp), 2tbsp sambar masala.
5. Turn the heat to medium and let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. If the masala starts to stick to the bottom, add a few tbsp of water.
6. Throw in a cup of frozen peas (I had half a bag sitting in the freezer, probably since 2007).
7. Reduce heat to low, let it simmer (adding a few tbsp of water makes things cook well) for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.