Cheap Eats: Fried Rice!

The Topic: Leftover Love

The Dish: At my house, brown rice can be a healthy, inexpensive meal on its own (buy in bulk!)—a little Braggs Liquid Aminos and gomashio sprinkled on top and I'm a happy girl. Another benefit to whipping up a batch in the trusty rice cooker is guaranteed leftovers, which is really just code for "fried rice." It's hard to say no to a dish that combines salty and spicy flavors with whole grains and vegetables. Follow a recipe one time, and for the rest of your fried rice-eating days you can improvise, turning the most random veggie combinations into takeout-worthy dinners. While the restaurant version often gets its kicks by throwing in a ton of oil and a very un-vegan dose of egg, this at-home version is animal-friendly and makes the most of whatever you have on hand. And since you're running the show, you can give or take the oil to your liking.

Get started with this easy recipe, courtesy of VegWeb. This version calls for a bag of frozen veggies, which is super simple if you have one in the freezer, just waiting to be used. If not, may I recommend seeing what frozen wonders are on sale at your local supermarket? A peas-and-carrots medley works great here, or go with a classic cauliflower-broccoli combo. If you have odds-and-ends veggies hiding in your crisper, be resourceful and chop them all. Everything tastes great in fried rice. As for the hot sauce, I'd probably go with Sriracha, but I put that stuff on everything.

Instant Fried Rice

Serves 2

What You Need:

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 medium onion, sliced thinly

1 14-ounce bag frozen vegetables, thawed slightly

2 cups cooked rice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce

Salt to taste

What You Do:

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add garlic and onion, and stir for one minute. Add vegetables and continue to stir for two minutes. Add soy sauce and hot sauce, and continue to stir, cooking continuously for 5 minutes.
2. Make a hole in the middle of vegetables, and drop in cooked rice. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until heated, and add salt to taste. Serve immediately.

The Final Word: Oh, and speaking of VegWeb, you're signed up for the newsletter, right? It's a free way to stay updated on what's happening on the largest veg recipe website, as well as get awesome seasonal meal ideas from everyone's favorite webmistress, Laura Hooper Beck. It doesn't hurt that her commentary is hilarious and will brighten up any day.

Mint & Money Management

The Topic: Spending and Saving

The Dish: I like to think that all of the little things I do, whether it's making coffee at home, thrifting, or dining out less, have a positive impact on my bank account. A lot of my daily choices are more affordable than they could be, but is it really helping me save? Or am I just spending the extra dollars on frivolous purchases? A few weeks ago, I couldn't tell you for sure (although I have a sneaking suspicion that I was). Now, I'm singing the praises of Mint and changing my ways.

To prevent myself from overindulging, I signed up for the free, web-based, money-management software Mint. It's been all over my radar lately, from friends becoming dedicated users to blogs and newsletters featuring rave reviews. "Why not?" I thought. Once I felt comfortable with its security precautions (I mean, entering all of my bank information did feel a little risky), I gave it a try. First revelation: Over the course of eight months, taking out money for San Francisco's notorious cash-only restaurants and bars has cost me $50 in fees. FIFTY DOLLARS? Just because I'm too lazy to plan a trip to my bank ATM ahead of time? Ouch. I mean, vegan Thai fried rice is good, but not that good.

In addition to pointing out nasty hidden fees and late charges, Mint provides a helpful breakdown of my spending, tracking transactions into categories. I can also set goals—pay off that debt, take a veg vacation—and come up with a real strategy for reaching them. Mint also sends weekly email updates to warn me of upcoming bills, low account balances, and all sorts of other sobering grown-up information that I may not want, but certainly need to know.

The Final Word: There are tons of features to help control spending, build up savings, and stay financially afloat. It may not be for everyone, but when it comes to balancing my penchant for on-the-fly spending and weak justifications ("Well, I didn't buy Starbucks this morning so I'll get a happy-hour special"), it's just what I need.

Cheap Cookbooks

The Topic: Veg Bargain Books

The Dish: I may have mentioned before that I'm a bit of a bibliophile. It's a problem, really, when you live in a small city apartment and the majority of your square footage is taken up by books. That's what all that vertical space is for, right? Regardless, I can't help myself, especially when it comes to vegan cookbooks. It's hard to say no to a reasonably priced (read: cheap) page-turner that could potentially hold my new favorite recipe.

Sure, there's always used bookstores, thrift shops, and even mainstream chains' used collections. But they can be a bit of a grab bag, which I'll admit is half the fun. The other alternative is heading online, where Amazon has made it possible to find almost any veg cookbook at a bargain price, both new and used. New to veg cooking? One of my first cookbooks was How it All Vegan! by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard, and you can grab a copy for only $3.99 used. If you still haven't jumped on the vegan brunch bandwagon (what do you do with your Sunday mornings?), then Isa Chandra Moskowitz's stellar Vegan Brunch can be yours for $4.99.

A great seller on Amazon is HalfPrice VeggieBooks.While all books are not vegan, there's a great selection of veg and health-related books. Narrowing down the crapshoot that is used-book shopping, it still has a wide enough selection to make the search fun. From cookbooks to animal rights to green living, there's something for everyone.

Wanting a title but out of storage space, like me? Check out Swaptree, which allows you to make a trade list (your offerings) and a wish list. Peruse the books other swappers have to offer, and trade up! There's more than 150 veg books listed right now, which of course can change daily. It's free, minus shipping charges, which will run you about $2.20 when sent using the media mail option at the post office.

The Final Word: I rarely feel regret when buying books. They're a worthy investment, especially when they're cookbooks that can lead to more eating in, less dining out— of of my favorite money savers. Oh, and as a bonus, I have to share that KitchenAid appliances are on Rue La La (a discount shopping site with free sign-up) today! Score a sweet stand mixer on sale (a very worthy investment, says Mom) and put those cookbooks to good use. The sale ends in two days, so shop while all of the great colors are still in stock. If anyone wants to send me the fancy yellow mixer, I promise to bake you cookies for at least a year.