I was thinking that there must be so many fashionistas out there starving themselves to a pair of designer shoes or that IT bag. As I like to cook and to eat well, I would never give up on good food for a nice wardrobe. In stead I have found a way to make food I love for as little money as possible. I will post some of the recipes I turn to when there are expencive shoes I’m dying for.

Soup

First out is an indian soup with lentils. I make a huge batch which will feed two people for two days (four-five days if you’re just one). It can be frozen or put in the fridge if you don’t feel like eating the same thing several days in a row. What’s with this soup is that it’s actually filling and it’s of course very good.

350 grams of red lentils
2 tbsp butter
1 finely sliced onion
1 inch of ginger, finely chopped
2-3 finely chopped potatoes
1 can of tomatoes
1 can of coconut milk
1 liter of chicken or vegetable stock
Spices like coriander (fresh), cumin, tumerick, chili, salt, pepper and what ever else you feel like.

Boil the lentses in a big pan of water until they are about soft. Heat butter in a pan and fry the onion on medium heat until it’s deep brown. (Do not fry them too hard, let this take the while it has to take!) Put the tomatoes and potatoes in with the onion and cook this for a few minutes. Add spices and coconut milk. Pour the water off the lentes and put everything in with them. Add water and let it boil until the until the potatoes are starting to fall apart. Remember to stirr often or it will burn. Serve with lots of fresh coriander on top. The soup also needs some extra salt when eaten (makes it taste ten times better).

Rolls

For this some nice rolls will be good. And I’ll share with you my secret recipe for rolls. They are the best I’ve ever had and they’re super easy to make (nearly no work at all). When I have the time I try to always have some in the freezer to heat up in the oven when needed. They actually taste best when they have been frozed and are heated. This recipe usually gives me 16 rolls, but I always make twice as much. Be aware that you’ll need a big bowl cause it get’s quite big, and if you’re making twice as much you will need two big bowls.

1 tbsp of honey
25 grams of yeast (half a package, not the dry kind)
5 dl of lukewarm water
1 dl of milk
12 1/2 dl of flour
2 tsp of salt

Mix the water and milk with salt and honey. Put in the flour. Mix this together fast. It’s supposed to be quite loose. Let it stay for an hour and a half. When ready pour the dough out on a table with flour. Squeeze it until it becomes kind of flat, but very carefully! Do not brake the bubbles. With a knife cut about 16 pieces. They are not supposed to have the same shape or look very pretty, but the taste makes up for that. Put the rolls in the oven right away on 240 celcius until they are starting to get nice and tan. (About 15 minutes.) As I said; nearly no work at all!

If you need any help on measurements I can help you convert the numbers, and if anything else is unclear just ask!

While eating this I’ll think of these Mary Janes by Paul and Joe and hope I’ll manage to save up for them:

(Thanks Rachel for posting about these gorgeous shoes!)