As I have stated previously, we Americans, if we want to live successfully in our new America, must become more like our European neighbors. Since I lived first hand in Italy and have traveled and lived as the locals do in both England and France, I think I have a slight bit of an advantage in an adaptation of combining both the American and European flare. The easiest place to start is: the food!
Last night I prepared a passaladiere, which is French Pizza. The crust is the same as the Italian version but filled instead with carmelized onions, anchovy and black olives. You don’t have to stick to the traditional recipe (click here). Once you have mastered this dish, you can become quite creative. In my version I saute the onions in olive oil and a teaspoon of home-made brown sugar (white sugar and molasses). This technique browns the onions quite nicely. I omitted the anchovy. I dolloped with French goat cheese. I substituted the home-made pizza crust with a store-bought version from WalMart (.88!!!! and from a local Bronx, NY bread store.)
A side of a mixed green salad with a vinaigrette dressing, a smallish glass of red wine and our meal was complete. And delicious.
If we are to face a new life with higher taxes and less discretionary income, we should learn from those who have mastered this lifestyle for many decades before us. We have to live on less energy, smaller cars and homes, more mass transit, less ample wardrobes and hold firm to our American heritage (as the French, for example, hold true to theirs). The differences, however, from us and say, Greece, is that The United States prints its own money. It may become worthless in Europe and abroad, but will retain some value on its own shores.
This is the life the majority of many Americans voted for. My advice is to accept it and make do. When I traveled throughout Europe I found most people to be happy and content. I’ve been studying and emulating our European neighbors since I was 16 years old. Now, the facade is over. The concept has become the reality. I welcome the new America.
Next stop: Barcelona. I’m currently working on planning a trip to Spain.
Tapas, anyone?
The pizza looks yummy (well, except for the olives, but that’s something that can be easily changed).
I agree that we can learn a lot from other cultures about how to stretch our dollars. Our family eats more Asian-style than anything, with meat serving mostly as a condiment and vegetables, noodles and rice making up the main portion of our meals. And like either Europeans or Asians, we don’t waste anything!
I agree. I’ve mastered a few top notch Asian recipes myself. My daughter lived in Hong Kong for a year. We have much to learn from many, many other cultures.
I have been working at living simply for 13 years now and it is amazing how satisfying making do can be. Thanks for sharing the French pizza. It is good to expand the concept of pizza away from traditional with tomato sauce and I will definitely give it a try.
You’re welcome. It was very good. I loved it! Especially with a smallish glass of red table wine.
Mmmm!! Now THAT’S pizza!
This looks delicious. Great way to demonstrate how you can still enjoy delicious food while watching the budget.
The dough was only eighty-eight cents, the onion mere pennies, the goat cheese was probably seventy five cents, olives negligible. It was delicious, really!
Thre is no shortage of ideas on the internet but I find this food blog very good for someone watching their pennies- http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/.
You’re doing a great job living the good life on less and I admire you for that.
Thanks Lora. Mind over matter. If you dream it, it comes true. There are many, many ways to get through the maze. As long as you have a goal in mind, somehow the path doesn’t seem so daunting.
Thanks for the link. I’ll check it out.