I'm having fun cooking on a budget and, because I can smell the difference between quality salt and not-so-quality salt (its true...and a bit ridiculous), cutting costs without cutting ingredient quality has become an exciting little game. Here are a few of the secret rules:

1) Meal plan for 15 days at a time.
2) Buy everything with cash. Only allow yourself to take out so much cash for a set period of time.
3) When you meal plan, use recipes with overlapping ingredients. Don't waste anything. Not even broccoli stems. They become veggie broth.
4) Make sure your key ingredients are less expensive items (i.e. potatoes, beans, chicken).
5) Thank God for the nice supply of spices and oils built up before being laid off.
6) Learn to make your own bread and become a temporary teetotaler if you don't like Chuck Shaw.
7) Break any rule except rule # 2, because that rule is the most exciting.

The winning recipe of this 15 day stretch is insalata di farro medievale (Medieval Farro Salad)
Serves 10. Key ingredients - borlotti & farro. Source: A Culinary Traveller in Tuscany by Beth Elon.

1 1/4 cps cooked cranberry beans, soaked overnight
2 cps farro
1 cp capers, preserved in vinegar
1 large bunch thyme or summer savory
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & fresh ground pepper

Cook the beans over a very low heat until they are totally soft but still holding their form. Reserve.

Cook the farro in boiling salted water (substitute chicken or beef broth for lower sodium) for about half an hour, until it is cooked through but still al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain the beans and mix well with the farro.

Wash the capers well, and add to the farro along with the cooked beans and chopped herbs. Dress with a good olive oil, add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and serve warm or at room temperature. You may add more oil at the table.

Useful knowledge:

cranberry bean = borlotti bean = saluggia = shell bean = salugia bean = crab eye bean = rosecoco bean = Roman bean = fagiolo romano Notes: These have an excellent, nutty flavor, and are commonly used in Italian soups and stews. Substitutes: fresh cranberry bean OR tongues of fire beans (very similar) OR cannellini bean OR Great Northern bean OR pinto bean OR chili bean. (Source: foodsub.com)

Other substitutes: Farro could be substituted with barley. Dried thyme can be used in place of fresh, though it isn't as good. (I had to because my thyme plant had died.) Other foods that mix well with farro include sliced cucumbers, sliced black olives, slivers of red onion, arugula, minced garlic and chopped tomatoes.

For the DASH diet, use low-sodium chicken or beef broth to boil the farro. Instead of seasoning with salt and pepper, consider using a little vinegar (1 tbs?) and pepper or garlic and pepper.