Frugal Feeds | Fresh Gado Gado

Tonight for dinner I was wanting some nuts with my salad and thought about making a dressing using some raw nut butter. When I lived in Indonesia I often turned to gado-gado as comfort food so decided to make a raw version of it out of the ingredients I had on hand. Gado-gado salad dressing is slightly thick and much more dressing is served on the salad than you would normally put on your dinner salad. Think of it a bit like a medium-thick gravy. This version doesn't resemble traditional gado-gado as much as it could, but I wasn't looking to duplicate that flavor so much as be inspired by it. If I wanted to capture a similar flavor of the traditional version I would use raw peanut butter instead of pecan, lime instead of lemon, coconut milk instead of water, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or more to taste) and 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar. But the following version is what I made tonight and I found it to be very good.

Fresh Gado-Gado Dressing

1/4 large Cucumber, cubed
3 Tablespoons Sweet Onion
1/4 Lemon, skin and flesh
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 cup Raw Pecan Butter, unsalted
1/2 cup Water
2 pinches Sea Salt

Fresh Gado-Gado Salad

Cabbage, in bite sized chunks
1/2 Avocado, diced
Red, Yellow and Orange Bell Pepper slices
Sugar Snap Peas
Cucumber, sliced
Spinach
Mung Bean Sprouts

Place all of the dressing ingredients into a blender. Pulse until it is well chopped up and then turn up to the high setting and let it run for a minute or so. Taste and see if it needs a little more salt. Turn off and set aside.

Prepare the vegetables. Arrange on a plate in individual piles, like so, and top with the mung bean sprouts. Serve the dressing on the side. Serves two.

I think you could make this with any unsweetened nut butter and find it to be very tasty.

Frugal Feeds | Making Gravy Six Ways and Create Endless Variations for your Table

Making gravy can spruce up the flavor of left over meats, vegetables and breads. Gravies often use the browned bits from your roasted meat but they can also be made without the meat drippings. Here we will cover the usual gravies and some that you have probably not tried yet.

Beef Gravy
After roasting beef drain the fat from the roasting pan. Using a spatula scrape up the browned bits and place the browned bits into a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in 2 Tablespoons whole grain flour and 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 2 Tablespoons red wine, 2 Tablespoons dried parsley and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. Add 1 cup low sodium beef broth while whisking the whole time. (Or 1/2 cup plain dairy or non-dairy milk with 1/2 cup either low sodium beef broth or water). When mixture begins to boil reduce heat to medium-low and continue whisking until the gravy is the consistency you want. Serve over beef, potatoes, roasted carrots, brown rice or biscuits.

Poultry Gravy
After roasting a chicken or turkey drain the fat from the roasting pan. Using a spatula scrape up the browned bits and place the browned bits into a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in 2 Tablespoons whole grain flour and 1 teaspoon thyme. Add 1 cup low sodium chicken broth while whisking the whole time. When mixture begins to boil reduce heat to medium-low and continue whisking until the gravy is the consistency you want. Serve over chicken, turkey, lean pork, potatoes, whole grain biscuits or use in a casserole.

Sawmill Gravy
Use your Basic White Sauce #2 made with low sodium chicken or low sodium beef broth. Grind in fresh black pepper and stir in cooked minced lean beef, chicken, browned and drained breakfast sausage, browned and drained Italian sausage or lean bacon. Serve over whole grain biscuits, mashed potatoes, oven fried chicken, chicken fried steak, beef, chicken or use in a casserole.

Nut Gravy


4 tablespoons nut butter or ground nuts
1 cup low sodium broth
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
Pinch of garlic
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 Tablespoons whole grain flour

In a food processor or blender ( I use a stick blender ) combine nuts, broth, soy sauce, garlic and onion powder. Whiz until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a sauce pot over medium heat. Stir often until bubbling. Whisk in flour. Simmer for five minutes or until it is the consistency you want. Serve over poultry, mashed potatoes, green beans, whole grain biscuits, stuffing or use in a casserole. Nuts used can be Cashew Butter, Almond Butter, Soy Nut Butter, Peanut Butter, Ground Smoked Almonds, Ground Dry Roasted Nuts or toasted pine nuts.


Nutritional Yeast Gravy

2 Tablespoons corn oil
1/2 cup Nutritional yeast or 1/2 teaspoon vegemite or marmite yeast spread (each will result in a different flavor)
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups low sodium broth
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce (do not add this if you are using a yeast spread--it will be too salty)


Heat oil in sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the nutritional yeast, whole wheat flour, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir until it is all fairly well mixed together. Pour in the broth, a little at a time, while whisking the whole time. When it begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for two minutes. Taste the gravy and either add the soy sauce or don't. Serve over vegetables, mashed potatoes, stuffing, whole grain biscuits, turkey, chicken or pork.


Mushroom Gravy

1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup sliced onions
1 Tablespoon low sodium broth
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
5 Tablespoons white whole wheat flour
3 cups broth

In a medium sized sauce pan over medium-high heat add the mushrooms and onions to 1 Tablespoon low sodium broth. Add the herbs and saute until mushrooms have lost their liquid and the onions are well browned. Stir often. Add the whole wheat flour and stir until all of the mushrooms and onions are well coated. Whisk in the broth. Simmer over low until it is as thick as you like. Serve over vegetables, potatoes, brown rice, whole grain noodles, barley, pork, chicken, beef, biscuits or use in a casserole.


With each of these gravies you can change the flavors easily by changing the type of broth used, the type of flour used, the type of nuts used, the type of yeast used, the type of soy sauce used, the types of herbs used, and what you serve them on.