My house is now representative of many other households in California and other parts of the United States.  One of us is working and one of us is not.  I am the working mate, but have had my hours reduced as well. We are behind on payments and hoping to hold things together long enough to get through this.  My husband should be back to work in a couple of weeks but we cannot be sure of how long he will be able to work.  We are spending more time at home, not eating in restaurants, and not spending money on outings.  We are not shopping for new clothes or paying for entertainment.  We are hunkering down, and draining our savings as things quickly went sour the last couple months, compounded by veterinary bills for a dog we dearly love.

     We have little idea of the long term effects of this recession/depression, but the short term effects are a mixed bag of anxiety and opportunity.  Eating out and cooking at home have  resulted in a better diet, lost weight, and the enjoyment of fresh produce from our garden.  Living in California, many of those greens can be enjoyed in winter.  We are eating legumes, vegetables, fruits, and very little meat.  I like a Mediterranean, Middle Eastern diet, and this agrees with  me.  We are walking more to the the neighborhood grocery store and to complete other errands nearby.  We are walking for stress relief and for enjoyment.  My husband who would not walk anywhere before is walking and biking on almost a daily basis.  I have lost almost 20 pounds since June.

I am quite happy with this lifestyle, but would like to be able to pay off my debts sooner, and would like to have some wiggle room for cheap outings and to buy some clothing even at a second hand store.  I am weary of wondering if we will  have money to make it through the next two weeks.  Fortunately, we have health insurance through my job, and I try not to think what life would be like if I were to lose my job next year.  I am truly learning to live day by day without spending like there is no tomorrow.

The recipe that follows is one we both found very tasty.

Lentil and Kidney Bean Curry Soup

Ingredients

• 1 cup kidney beans
• 2 cups of lentils
• 1/4 of an onion
• 1 whole pasilla chile pepper chopped finely, seeds removed
• 1 serrano chile finely, seeds removed
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 2 cardamon pods
• salt
• pepper
• bay leaf
• 3 whole garden ripe tomatoes, chopped

Method

1. Sort and wash legumes. Put in a crock pot with the onion, chiles, celery, cardamon pods, bay leaf, curry powder, salt,and pepper and plenty of water if you have not presoaked the kidney beans.  Let this combination of ingredients cook until well done before you add the tomatoes.  If you do not wait until the legumes are well cooked, the tomatoes will halt the cooking process for the legumes.
2. You can leave the chile seeds in for more fire in the dish.  I remove them as well as the tomato seeds because I am trying to avoid a flair up of diverticulitis.
3. This is a very tasty dish which you can adapt to your own tastes.  The kidney and lentil combination produces a more subtle and interesting taste than either alone.  You can either cook this recipe longer to let the tomatoes cook, or you can just serve it with the tomatoes warmed.

Serving suggestion: Nice green salad with cotija or parmesano cheese; chilled watermelon for dessert.

Shopping hints:  Pasilla chiles and serrano chiles are widely available today, but you might try a Mexican market. Cotija is a Mexican cheese reminiscent of parmesan.

Regarding spices: want to save money? Buy your spices in the little hanging bags at small specialty stores or Mexican and ethnic markets. They are much cheaper because you are not paying for the brand name advertising.  Save your smaller glass and plastic condiment jars to store the opened contents.