Fair frugal fare

Frugal food tastes better if it looks good. This poverty meal was too beige, so I inserted a strip of warmed-up leftover spinach (Trader Joe's) down the middle. And leftover food tastes better with butter, so I stirred a pat of same (Aldi) into the spinach before serving.

On top, a quarter bag of gnocchi (Aldi) seasoned with a splash of olive oil (TJ), half a cut-up tomato (TJ), and a handful of asiago cheese (Aldi).

Below, nearly half a can of white beans (Caputo's), drained and rinsed, cooked in olive oil with half an onion (Aldi), a sprinkling of dried parsley, and a small spoonful of prepared garlic. Salt and pepper too.

For dessert we shared half a container of blackberries (TJ) and a dollop of plain yogurt (Mountain High from Jewel, on sale for $2.50 a quart, really good).

Three days to go. I shopped at TJ and Aldi this afternoon. I'm already starting to pick up items that we'll still be using after Easter. That's fair, though, since I didn't start Lent with an empty pantry. For $11.46 at Aldi I got 8 oz colby jack cheese that I'm going to use in tostadas and in a quiche, three avocados (69 cents each, and they're lovely), six bananas, four lemons, four tomatoes, a pound of butter, and a gallon of milk. For $7.40 at Trader Joe's I got peanut butter, wild arugula (enough for six to eight servings), and 12 oz of wonderful blackberries--our Lenten treat.

I'm going to have to shop once more before Easter, mostly to pick up items needed for Easter Sunday. My conscience has not yet told me whether or not to include that shopping trip in Lenten expenses.