This is sort of a Westernized version of couscous that makes a great summer side or main dish. It’s from James McNair’s Beans & Grains cookbook. Ready to get your groove on?

What you need:  3 cups cooked garbanzo beans, 2 cups quick-cooking couscous, 2/3 cup dried currants (soaked to plump, then drained), 2/3 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper, ½ cup sliced green onions (including tops), ½ cup chopped fresh mint, ½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley, ½ cup pine nuts, ripe tomato wedges for garnish. For the dressing you’ll need ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 tsp minced or pressed garlic, ½ tsp ground cumin, harissa to taste, salt and pepper added sparingly.

What you do: Prepare couscous according to package directions and set aside to cool. Mix all dressing ingredients together, whisking until combined, and set aside. Combine drained beans, cooled couscous, remaining ingredients except for pine nuts and tomato wedges, and dressing. Toss well and chill. Toast pine nuts  in a heated skillet and set aside. When ready to serve, garnish the salad with tomato wedges and toasted pine nuts.

This recipe has a great deal of flexibility. Serve it solo, along side lamb chops, with a rotisserie chicken or mix in some pre-cooked chopped chicken leg meat from an assembly cooking marathon.

Related Readings: Ideas for Pineapple Recipes, Summer Menus, Backyard Barbecue Meals, Summer Cocktails.

Photo Credit: Tyger Lyllie

As you know, I love to find recipes that are tasty as well as frugal. Those of you who caught my lentil recipe round up over on Wise Bread know that beans and legumes are on my list of healthy frugal fare. This recipe comes from a cookbook I bought years ago called Beans & Grains, by James McNair.  It is best served over couscous, bulgur or wheat berries.

What you need: 2 cups dried Egyptian fava (ful medames) or garbanzo beans, 3 tbsp olive oil, 3 cups chopped yellow onion, 1 cup chopped carrot, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches long), 3 whole cloves, ½ tsp saffron threads, 6 fresh cilantro sprigs, 6 fresh sprigs of flat leaf parsley, 2 quarts of unsalted chicken or vegetable stock (optional), 1 cup peeled and chopped tomato, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

What you do: Clean and soak beans overnight. In a large pot, heat the oil to medium high and add onions and carrots. Saute until soft, about five minutes. Add garlic, cinnamon, cloves and saffron. Saute about one minute more. Drain the beans and stir them into the pot, adding cilantro, parsley and stock (or water) to cover the mixture by about ½ an inch. Bring to a boil and keep it rolling for about 10 minutes. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, checking frequently. When nearly done, add the tomato, salt and pepper. Depending on the size of your beans and depth of your pot, this can take up to two hours. (Which is why you may want to do this in a crock pot, reducing the heat part way through the process.)

What I like about this recipe is that aside from the saffron threads, the ingredients are all super affordable. Add some flat bread and chai to the mix and you’ve got a sit-around-the-campfire type of meal. It’s also completely vegan, if that’s your thing. So light a fire, pop in some North African music and get psyched for your next trip.

Photo Credit: Dlisbona

This is similar to a Thai dish we enjoy quite often. Its seasonings are slightly different of course, giving it the Chinese flavor required. Because the protein in this dish is used so sparingly, it definitely saves you some meat money on your grocery bill. The recipe as a whole is low on ingredients, making it a great full-flavored dish to help you save bucks and stay psyched for your next trip abroad.

What you need: 2 cups long grain white rice, 1 pound fresh thin green beans, ½ cup low sodium soy sauce, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 ½ tbsp corn starch, 2 tbsp plain rice vinegar, ½ cup water, 2 tbsp high quality vegetable oil, eight ounces finely ground or minced  lean pork, ¼ cup chopped garlic, 2 tsp crushed dried chile peppers, ½ cup sliced green onions (including green tops).

What to do: Cook rice and set aside. ( A rice cooker is an excellent way to keep it hot for serving.) In a small bowl combine, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, corn starch and water. Set aside. Pre-cook the pork in a tiny bit of the oil until opaque and set aside in a separate bowl. In the same pain, heat remaining oil and add beans, garlic, chile powder and a tablespoon or two of water. Stir until beans are tender-crisp, then add pork, whisked sauce and green onion. Cook until sauce starts to thicken and serve over the rice.

This is a very simple way to feed several people with only a small amount of meat. It also uses only one main vegetable, keeping the produce budget in control. Purchase the rice in bulk and you are really saving some cash. This helps divert otherwise used funds to the travel budget. For even more cool info on traveling in China, check out Wanderlust and Lipstick’s own Dim Sum Diary blog. Start packing!

Photo Credit:   Luo Shaoyang