On Thursday, local news and weather pundits were warning of a weekend snow storm. A Winter Storm Warning was issued with 8-11 inches of snowfall predicted. Even in Michigan, 8 inches is a heck of a lot of snow. On Friday night, I hatched a plan to do some late evening grocery shopping and hunker down for the weekend.

James accompanied me to the grocery store, where I immediately delegated the cart pushing duty to him. Normally, I grocery shop alone, so I am left to manuver the cart. Unrestricted by cart duty, however, I found myself meandering and weaving though foot traffic, looking for inspiration and goodies on sale.

Apparently, when I am not tethered to a cart, I roam like a bison. James had an increasingly difficult time keeping up with my wandering. He eventually gave up and stayed in place while I fetched items and returned to the cart. It began to occur to me that this erratic shopping style was leading to a strange combination of items in the cart: beef strips for stir-fry, quick-cook barley, asparagus, fresh rosemary, and pickles to name a few.

Now, maybe there is a delicious recipe out there for beef stir-fry with barley and asparagus with a side of rosemary pickles, but I doubt it. I attempted to seize this opportunity and added items to the cart to make full meals: goat cheese for pasta with asparagus, vegetables and saffron rice for stir-fry, green beans for vegetable soup with barley, turnips and apples for roasted vegetables with rosemary. Other items made their way into the cart as well: chicken, wild rice, and red onions for baked chicken and wild rice pilaf. When I got home, however, there were already two jars of pickles waiting.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why you should never go grocery shopping without a list. Random grocery shopping will usually lead to extra trips to the store for missing or forgotten items. I usually excel at individual meal planning, but when it comes to planning for the entire week it’s a little hit-or-miss. Meal planning is definitely an art, one of which I am yet to master. If you too struggle with meal planning, here are a few Sweet sites to check out:

7 Secrets to Easy Meal Planning

Healthy Meal Planning Made Simple

Everyday Meal Planning

50 Tips for Grocery Shopping

Creating a Weekly Meal Plan

Are you an eggplant lover who constantly faces ridicule for your superior tastes? Join the Eggplant Crusade! This is my fight to win over the eggplant ney-sayers of the world. Recently, I commented on the battle James and I have regarding The Misunderstood Eggplant, and I refuse to go quietly into the night.

To join the Eggplant Crusade, hope over to the Discussion Board and pledge your support for this unappreciated purple vegetable. Let me know how you serve eggplant in your kitchen, and if you have to wage any battles of your own in order to get eggplant on the table.

I will start things out by listing a few of my favorite things about eggplant:

1. Eggplant are cheap! Usually $1/pound. 
2. Eggplants are beautiful, especially the jewel-toned skin.
3. Speaking of the skin, it is packed full of antioxidants.
4. Eggplant is an easy vegetarian/vegan substitute.
5.  I’ve never seen reports of E. coli in eggplant, have you?

To keep the Eggplant Crusade going, I will continue to post recipes as part of the Frugal Nation project as well as post more information here on Bitter/Sweet about how awesome eggplant can be. Go ahead and join, it is Sweet to stand up for a cause (no matter how silly).

CNN’s Sean Callebs is spending the month of February on a food budget that is the same as what people receive on food stamps (although, apparently they are no longer called food stamps but the SNAP Program: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Read his blog for more details on his experiment and how he is surviving on a $176 food budget for the month.

One thing Sean touches on is that food prices have risen dramatically, mostly due to energy prices. He also points out that this program is meant to supplement income, though usually for a family and not just an individual. Either way, it still makes it difficult to afford a healthy, balanced diet.

There is something else he has not mentioned (yet), that a friend brought to my attention: many markets and grocery stores raise prices and reduce sales during the first seven days of the month because that is when many fixed income people receive their checks for the month. This is apparently prevalent in urban/inner-city areas.

The part of me that attended courses on advertising understands this. It is an obvious opportunity for grocers to increase profits at the beginning of the month because certain populations are forced to shop during that time. In a way, it would be foolish not to rise prices based on demand.

Now, I understand we are a capitalist nation, but part of me takes serious issue with this practice. These stores are taking advantage of some of the most vulnerable populations, including those on “food stamps,” disability, and social security.

My evidence for this practice, however, is anecdotal and I cannot track down an official source to prove this is happening. I even tried a few urban legend sites and did not come across any information to prove or disprove this assertion.

Not too long ago, I wrote about Greek Seasoning and how many common seasonings are blends of dried herbs and spices most people probably already have in their pantries. Greek Seasoning, for example, is usually a combination of salt, oregano, garlic and onion powders, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg (among other variations).

Two popular blends I did not include are Herbes de Provence and Italian Seasoning. Both are fairly basic mixtures, mostly of dried herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, and/or parsley along with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, and occasionally dried lavender. Again, most home cooks probably already have these items on hand and need not purchase yet another bottle of dried herbs or spices.

Unlike some other spice blends and rubs, however, Greek Seasoning, Herbes de Provence, and Italian Seasoning are mostly comprised of dried herbs and salts or powders. Many cooks will contest that dried herbs do not have near the flavor of fresh herbs, and many of these flavors could be achieved through the use of using actual onions, garlic, and fresh herbs along with simple salt and pepper.

Spice blends such as Curry Powder, Chinese Five Spice, and Ras el Hanout have more complicate compositions, sometimes including a dozen or more different spices. In this case, it might be wise to purchase the already-made spice mixture rather than make your own, unless you already have all of the ingredients on hand.

Then again, spices have a surprisingly long shelf live, so it may be worth the investment to purchase the individual spices and create your own mixtures (check out my post The Scoop on Spices for shelf lives and storage tips). Spice blends also tend not to last as long as individual spices, but spices and dried herbs do not “go bad” or spoil. Over time, they simply lose flavor and potency.

At $3 or more a bottle, it can feel like a large commitment to purchase a new or seldom used spice. Most ground spices will last 2-3 years when properly stored, so while it may seem like a gamble to purchase an entire bottle for one recipe, chances are if you continue to cook you will want to use it again. If not, the price per year is about $1, which is not bad a bad price if the spices inspire you to create new dishes and push you to try new types of cuisine. The results can be pretty Sweet.

Sometimes, it is easy to get bored with chicken. This recipe infuses the flavors of sage and lemon into chicken, creating an intriguing flavor that is earthy yet bright. Green onions and lemon give this dish a taste of spring before most spring vegetables are available. Sage, along with pasta and broccoli, keep the dish hearty and savory while the weather is still chilly. In Spring, basil and asparagus would be good substitutions for the sage and broccoli.

Sage & Lemon Chicken w/ Broccoli

4 bonesless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage  
1 lemon
1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
3 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
2 cups uncooked orzo or other small pasta
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire rack on top of the baking sheet.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a large ziplock bag, combine chicken, garlic, and sage. Zest lemon into bag, then cut in half and squeeze half of the juice into the bag, reserving the other half. Arrange chicken on wire rack and bake 15-20 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli. Cook an additional 4-5 minutes until pasta is al dente and broccoli is crisp-tender. Drain and toss with olive oil.

In a small amount of olive oil, saute green onions in a large skillet over medium heat until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add broccoli and pasta to skillet and squeeze remaining half of lemon juice on top. Season with pepper.

Remove chicken breasts from oven and place over broccoli mixture. Serve immediately.

Frugal Breakdown:
4 chicken breasts: $3.20
salt and pepper: negligible
2 garlic cloves: negligible
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage : $0.75 
1 lemon: $0.60
1 head broccoli: $1.67
3 green onions: $0.25
2 cups uncooked orzo: $0.75
olive oil: negligible
TOTAL: $7.22

Verdict: An easy success, considering the deal I found on chicken breasts. Most of the other ingredients are pantry staples, so this was not an expensive dish to make.