Save Big on Spices and Herbs

The Topic: Getting the biggest bang for your buck when cooking with herbs and spices with Editorial Assistant Joni Sweet

The Dish: With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I (like many) have cooking on the mind. I can’t wait to heat up my kitchen and fill my apartment with seasonal aromas and that pleasant sizzle of my favorite dishes on the stove top. Trying out new spices and herbs is one of the most enticing parts of cooking—unfortunately, it’s often one of the most expensive parts as well. But between regularly whipping up exciting dishes like Korean bibimbap or Brazilian feijoada, I’ve learned a thing or two about keeping seasoning costs low.

Bigger is Better

First, adopt my favorite three-word principle: buy in bulk. Last year, Indian food was the name of the game for my kitchen, and I couldn’t believe the price of saffron—just a few vivid threads rivals the cost of my college education. On a whim, I decided to check out the bulk section of the grocery store and I found a whole box of American saffron (which works just as well) for less than $10. So began my love affair with buying in bulk. If you’re buying international spices, check your favorite grocery store’s ethnic aisles, where you’ll likely find huge bags of turmeric, cloves, chili powder, and more, for a lot less than the tiny jarred versions in the spice sections. Or, head to cultural neighborhood stores for a similar experience—independent mom-and-pop shops tend to stock an even greater variety of herbs and spices for all your cooking needs.

DIY

No, not do-it-yourself—in this case, dry-it-yourself! The best time to find cheap herbs is when they’re in season, so ask vendors at your local farmers’ market when you can expect to see your favorites. Once you’ve found the tasty treasures, use what you can that week—nothing beats the scent and flavor of fresh herbs. Then, dry the rest before they rot. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has created a great guide on how to dry herbs using materials you probably already have. Using a microwave, dehydrator, or even a paper bag will help preserve your herbs for the rest of the year. I bought a hearty stem of sage, my favorite herb, and dried it by hanging it upside-down for two weeks. Now I can incorporate this earthy herb into my meals for the rest of the year, without the cost of buying a jar of the dried stuff.

GIY

Growing-it-yourself doesn’t require much of a green thumb, or a stuffed wallet. In the springtime, plant seeds in a window box and wait for the magic to begin—basil and mint require minimal care, grow like crazy in the right conditions, and will save you a lot compared with buying packs at the grocery store with just a few leaves at a time. Fear not if you missed planting season, as many grocery and gardening stores stock potted herbs during most of the year. The prices for potted basil are not much higher than the cost of packs of the fresh leaves, so why not put your money towards something that will keep growing the green stuff? In addition to providing fresh herbs year-round, potted herbs also add a touch of green to your kitchen, which is essential during the upcoming grey months.

Learn to Substitute

Amateur cooks tend to focus on every individual ingredient of a recipe, whereas the pros know what to use to make the final dish delicious, regardless of what the recipe may call for. Instead of buying every last spice on a huge ingredients list (and racking up a hefty grocery bill), reconsider what’s already in your kitchen. This guide to substitutions is a great place to start for using herb alternatives, such as parsley instead of cilantro, or substituting basil in place of mint. The Cook’s Thesaurus also has a handy guide for international spice substitutions. Bet you didn’t know you could use nutmeg instead of mace or allspice in place of clove! One final tip: If you don’t have a particular herb or spice that a recipe calls for, just leave it out—once you taste your home-cooked dish, you’ll forget that you omitted the coriander seeds (and your guests won’t even know!).

Cooking spicy, flavorful dishes doesn’t have to be expensive—by learning where to find the best prices, how to grow and preserve fresh herbs, and what works when substituting, using spices and herbs is as savvy as it is delicious.

Good Herb(s)

The Topic: Tasting tasty tastiness with VN Managing Editor Elizabeth Castoria

The Dish: So you know how you can pretty much eat miso every night for dinner without fail because it's there and it's cheap, and it makes you feel good? I'm not here to criticize miso, or any other less-than-exhilarating diet mainstay, because they are staples for a darn fine reason. But I tell you what: even the brokest-as-a-joke-est among us craves the thrill of flavor. Sometimes, a simple soup, even one as tried-and-true as miso just isn't going to cut it. That, friends, is where things get herby.


Herbs are basically little flavor packets just waiting to get tossed into your boring dinner. And then guess what? Your dinner is no longer boring! It's definitely magic. Herbs will run you about $5 for a huge bunch at the farmers' market, and they make just about everything you can imagine taste terrific. Abby's Biscuits are stellar on their own, but with a little boost from fresh herbs, they're even better. So simple, and yet so freaking delicious. Tossing together a quick, weeknight salad? Great idea! Chiffonade some basil and you've turned your salad into something a gourmet would serve. (Not only for the basil, of course, you get extra points for "chiffonade.") 

Want to shop closer to home? Skip the farmers' market and head straight for Trader Joe's, which sells a potted herb garden that can last you through many weeks of mighty fine meals. Or, try out a gardening class at your local Armstrong Garden Center. Not only are the classes free, but you're usually invited to take home the herb of your choice after learning how to not kill your plants immediately.


If, for some unfathomable reason, you aren't able to use all the herbs from your bounty, you should ask yourself two questions:

1. Really? Because once you get a taste of easy, dreamy Tempeh Sandwiches with fresh thyme, Foccacia Pizza with any herb that tickles your fancy, or even just a quick bruschetta of tomatoes, fresh basil, chopped garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, it seems likely that your stash will quickly disappear.
2. If, somehow, you've eaten every delicious thing under the sun and still find yourself rolling in rosemary, take heart. Abby's mom just so happens to have a perfectly wonderful Lavender-Rosemary Scrub waiting to make good use of your leftover herbs—especially if they happen to be rosemary and lavender.

The Final Word: Get ye some herbs. They're abundant this time of year, and there's just no good reason to suffer through a beige, bland dinner. Perk up your most hardscrabble meal with a fresh pop of herbs, and never resign yourself to tired standbys again. Tastiness achieved.

Menu Planning

The Topic: Save time, money, and your precious produce by VN Associate Editor Jennifer Chen

The Dish: Going to the grocery store to me is like the proverbial candy shop. I could spend hours wandering Berkeley Bowl West, checking out new products and exploring the bulk bins. I would toss everything that interested in me in my cart (hello, shiittake mushrooms), rack up a hefty grocery bill, then get frustrated that I loaded up on quality organic produce and ended up throwing out mushy veggies or rotten fruit. I came across a handy menu-planning article in Real Simple that changed my life, and will change yours too!

1) Plan ahead. Using this simple checklist, in the menu column, I write down the recipes I want to make during the week. Then I list any ingredients that I'm missing under the appropriate column so when I'm grocery shopping, I know exactly what I need. While the meal planner does list meat, poultry, dairy, and fish, I simply use those columns for my proteins like tofu, tempeh, or beans, and list my non-dairy products in the dairy column. I usually plan over two weeks so that I don't have to shop every weekend. Bonus! Write down the cookbook and page number or website you got the recipe from directly under the day of the week and you'll never have to scramble for it when you're crazy starving after a long day at work.  

2) Divvy up the work. Got roommates, a partner, or even able-bodied kids? Enlist them in your menu planning! In my household, my husband and I divide up our menu based on our schedules so that if I have a busy Tuesday night, he can tackle that dinner. We use our weekends to make our own seitan, cook beans, or bake up a big veggie lasagna. During the week, we pick simple 30-minute recipes and save the fancy ones for the weekend like this Seitan Bourguignon from the Martha Stewart vegan episode.

3) Grow your own herbs. Instead of buying a small $5 container of sage for Biscuits with Creamy Sage Gravy, I simply go to my backyard container garden and snip some fresh sage myself. I'm not the world's greatest gardener, but my mom is slowly teaching me how to be a better one. I have a simple herb garden of parsley, rosemary, tri-color sage, and Italian oregano growing in containers in my backyard. Rosemary and sage are pretty sturdy plants so if you're a newbie like me, you won't kill them instantly like I used to do with basil plants (sorry, basil!).

The Final Word: Spending some time planning out your meals will not only save you from throwing out valuable produce, it will save you the stress of the 7pm mad dash to figure out what you're making for dinner every night. And with all the money you're saving, you can even splurge on a nice meal out with your cooking partner.

Top 5 DIY Vegan Holiday Gifts

The Topic: DIY holiday gifts, by guest blogger Colleen Holland

The Dish: In my family, there's no question as to who inherited the crafty gene. For as long as I can remember, my gift-giving style has always been more Martha then Macy's—that is, my sister is much more likely to receive a set of handmade note cards than a brand-new handbag (although for the super crafty, this can be made, too). My mom loves to tell the story of me at five years old on Valentine's Day. I had made heart-shaped cards for the entire neighborhood and then set off down the street to give them out. When I returned, my basket was filled with wads of cash; I had sold the cards instead of giving them away. That phase has thankfully passed, but I still love nothing more than turning my kitchen and dining room into an around-the-clock workshop this time of year. Need some inspiration for your own homemade gifts? Read on for my top 5 favorites:

1. Boxes of Vegan Cookies

Okay, so this isn't totally original, but it tops my list every year. I pick up a few dozen colorful Chinese take-out containers, line with tissue paper, and fill with fudge, Mexican wedding cookies, and peppermint bark. I then give them out to fellow VN staffers, my hair dresser, my yoga instructor, my postal gal, my neighbors (free of charge), and whoever else has touched my life this year. Cookies also look great in metal tins or white boxes tied with brightly colored ribbon.

2. Note Card Sets

I could spend hours in paper and art stores, especially when I am on a mission. I always keep my eye open for really interesting wrapping paper that I can use in my signature note cards. I can't tell you how many friends have received these over the years! I start with a heavy stock of paper (corrugated or flat) and cut into note card size (I prefer smaller note cards at 5.5 x 4, folded). Using some spray adhesive, I affix a cut-out of wrapping paper (say an old French luggage tag) against a slightly larger cut-out of heavier, colored paper, and then affix the entire piece to the front of the note card. Purchase some recycled envelopes to go with the cards, tie a ribbon around the entire batch, and voila! Gifts for all.

3. Note Pads

Back when Kinko's first hit the scene, I was in absolute heaven. Not only did they have loads of crafting supplies all available in one handy spot, they had oversized work tables and binding/mounting services that opened up a world of possibility for homemade gifts. As long as I made a few copies here and there, I felt comfortable staying all night long. So I would rent their computers (didn't have my own back then) and create a 4.25 x 11 template in Pagemaker (this was pre-Quark and InDesign) using really cool fonts and clip art. I would then make copies on quality paper and have Kinko's bind the top of the note pad so it looked like the real deal. One year, my dad got a note pad with his name in block letters at the bottom and an old-fashioned type writer at the top. Looking back, I have no idea why I chose the type writer, but I liked it at the time.

4. Bath Salts & Sugar Scrubs

I am no expert in either of these crafts, but tubs of sweet-smelling bath salts and sugar scrubs make wonderful gifts. Last year, I made Savvy Abby's family recipe for lavender-rosemary scrub, purchased a few glass jars, and designed my own custom labels. Place in a pretty bag or tie with a bow, and you have gifts for all the spa-treatment lovers in your life.

5. Fresh Herb Bouquets

Are you a gardener, or have access to some overgrown rosemary or thyme? A bundle of fresh herbs makes a lovely gift for neighbors or the host of a party you're attending. Simply cut long stems of your favorite herbs, wrap in parchment or kraft paper, and tie with a pretty bow. I always like to include a gift tag that lists the herbs I'm giving, and you could even write a vegan recipe on the back that uses one of the herbs.

The Final Word: Do-it-yourself holiday gifts is not only way more fun than navigating insane malls and crowded parking lots, but you'll also save a small fortune. Plus, I like to think that people appreciate the thoughtfulness that goes along with anything made from scratch, especially during this age of mad consumption. Have more ideas for DIY vegan gifts? We want to know! Happy holidays to all.