taking the out out of "take out" (the take, too)... okay fine we ate in on a friday night.

well, it was a friday night, and we were hungry.  we were going out for drinks to bid farewell to a friend who has made the logical (read: inevitable) decision to move out of the city to be closer to family and pay rent that equals the cost of my phone bill in brooklyn (WHAT.) so we weren't going to go out for an elaborate dinner.

options, options... and it always lands on... take out?

reasons why take out is optimal for a friday night:

-  it's easy
-  you've been at work all day and you're tired
-  clean up is minimal
-  it's delicious

other things to consider, though:

-  it costs at least $20-$30
-  it always takes longer than they say it's going to
-  you've been at work all day and you're tired and hungry
-  it's usually not that delicious

trader joe's cous cous, trader joe's
indian fare, hummus, pita,
shish kabobs from fresh direct

okay, okay - it's not always as doom and gloom as i'm painting it.  i'm sort of like grandpa joe and charlie convincing themselves that the golden ticket would've made the chocolate taste weird anyway -- i'm trying to stick to a budget and take out, while a valid option, didn't feel like a necessary way to spend $30 last night.

but i was truthfully tired, hungry, and didn't want to spend hours (or to be honest even minutes) cooking.

i opened the cabinets and refrigerator and found three separate - very easy - items that combined to make quite a meal.  you might have even chosen the same items were you perusing a take out menu!

trader joe's, fresh direct, and prepared hummus to the rescue!  using stuff we already had, we made chicken shish kabobs served with punjab choley and couscous with a side of hummus and pita.

it's hard to say what the total cost of this meal was in the end, because i pieced together things i already had.  but it was definitely a lot cheaper than going out, cheaper than take out, and rather tasty.

i'd really recommend trying to cook something easy and a little different on a friday night rather than getting take out before you go out to meet friends for a drink -- at least once and a while.  it was really more satisfying than take out would have been, and $30 more stayed in the piggy bank than would have had some pad thai gotten here on its own.

be a vegetable (once a week anyway).

in the past three days i've heard more than four references to the idea that you should "go vegetarian" at least once a week.   this excited me not because i want to save the animals (sorry, i grew up a suburban carnivore. bbqs are life.)  but rather because it's something i was already doing without thinking about it or categorizing or qualifying it.

i read a lot of "helpful tips" and by a landslide, my favorite tips are ones that describe something i'm already doing.  tips that preach something that i'm already doing are awesome because they make me feel like i was doing something right and/or came up with a really good idea on my own, and because they're really easy to follow.

i eat vegetarian dishes about once a week because they're usually at least two of the following:

1.   cheaper than meat

2.  "healthier" than meat (by healthier i mean mixing it up protein/fiber/grain-wise/vegetable can be good)

3.   delicious

tonight i made something that i have decided was all of the above.  i suggest you try it whether you are vegetarian, you tend to eat vegetarian from time to time, or you too read several times recently that you should really go vegetarian once a week.

polenta and black beans.

to make this dish you need: 

store bought pre-made polenta (it comes in a tube)

a can of black beans

shredded cheese (i used pepper jack)

store bought fresh salsa

lettuce

sour cream (optional)

guacamole (optional)

store bought fresh salsa is a great
time-saver and it tends to be delicious

instructions:

in a pot, cook your black beans on low heat.  i've done this for
anywhere from twenty minutes to up to an hour.  tonight g worked late, so i had some time to kill.  i started the beans and cooked them on a really low heat and walked away.  

you want to let your beans cook a while so that the flavors of what you add have time to seep in.  for this dish, i add some fresh salsa from the grocery store.  it costs $4 at the store near me (but that's a "gourmet market" in park slope brooklyn, so hopefully for you it's cheaper elsewhere) which is less than buying onions, tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, and cilantro - and this saves you time, chopping, and accidentally touching your eye after handling jalapeno seeds (i've literally never not done that).  

add a spoonful or two of the salsa and stir it in.  add more as you desire as the beans start to cook down.  [tip:  if you accidentally let the beans sit too long and they stick to the bottom of the pot, adding some of the salsa will loosen it all up].

slice them like they're cookies.

with the beans cooking, grab a trusty frying pan and start heating some oil. 

pour salsa juice over the
heating polenta rounds.

now, open up your package of polenta and slice it into half inch rounds.  it's pretty much the exact same thing as those logs of cookie dough your mom used to buy - just slice it.

throw those in the frying pan.  you'll want to brown them on each side.  because polenta has no flavor on its own, i like to pour the excess juice from the fresh salsa over the top as they're cooking.  

once the polenta rounds are brown, throw some shredded cheese over them.  lower the heat on the pan and cover the pan so the cheese really melts (think of it like you're melting cheese on a cheeseburger.  oh no! meat! stay focused - this is vegetarian night.)

once your cheese is melted, it's time to plate.  put the cheesy rounds on a plate (five or so will do the trick for each person - you'll be surprised how filling the dish is) and cover them with black beans.  then add your toppings - lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, salsa - anything you want!  it's like a flattened gooey taco.

all in all this meal costs between ten and twelve dollars depending on where you shop and what toppings you want.  it could easily feed four or even six if you added an extra can of beans.  i wish i had thought of this in college!

apparently

me:    well, i guess i'm not going to be a famous actress after all.
g:       did you... want to be?
me:    no, but when i was a kid i always figured it was at least an outside possibility.