Apply a little technique to fresh, unfussy ingredients and eat better for less money. 

These simple pupusas (a classic Salvadorean stuffed tortilla) illustrate a very important point about BrokeAss cooking: when you buy whole, unprocessed ingredients and spend just a little extra time preparing them, the result is almost always less expensive, better for you and, most importantly, exponentially more delicious.

Essentially, these pupusas are just like quesadillas, except creamy melted cheese is sandwiched between layers of a just-cooked dough made from masa harina, a coarse corn flour made from corn and lime juice (find masa harina in a good grocery store's bulk section or in the Latin American specialty store) instead of tortillas. As the dough is griddled, the cheese melts and it's time to eat. All you have to do is spend 5 minutes (less, when you get really good at it!) longer than you would on a quesadilla and you'll be on your way to a hot, fresh and unbelievably tasty treat--that's lower in fat and less processed than a typical quesadilla.

It's probably the most important BrokeAss Gourmet principle: apply a little technique to fresh, unfussy ingredients and eat better for less money. 

The tomatoes cook down with the honey and cinnamon, yielding a fragrant sauce that coats each roll with just enough sweetness. 

When I was growing up, my mother sometimes made traditional beef cabbage rolls. She would mix ground beef, rice and spices, roll it up in cabbage leaves, and cook them slow and low, in a spiced tomato sauce. My grandmother made a similar dish. It's a traditional Eastern-European dish, with endless variation possibilities. Some people add sauerkraut, some (like my friend Tori) combine chicken with the beef, and and some even go so far as to add ketchup or molasses to their sauce.

These are not my mother's or grandmother's cabbage rolls (though I'm certain she'd approve of them), and they're probably not your mother's or grandmother's cabbage rolls either. They are, however, pure comfort food.

In my version, I swap out the cabbage for kale, skip the rice, and stir spicy Asian chili sauce into my meat. The tomatoes cook down with the honey and cinnamon, yielding a fragrant sauce that coats each roll with just enough sweetness. 

These are great on their own, or they can be served with buttered egg noodles, rice pilaf or potatoes.

A batch of fresh meatballs in sauce is one of the quickest ways to serve a crowd (or hungry family) a fresh, home-cooked meal without laboring too much. Add a starch if you please (this dish works particularly well with roasted sweet potatoes), and a salad and voila! Dinner is served.

If you're making this for kids or anyone who can't eat spicy food, you might consider opting to use a few spoonfuls of the adobo sauce the chipotle comes packed in, instead of the chili itself, to get smokiness without too much heat. Another great option is to add a few grinds of this incredibly flavorful but not spicy South African smoke seasoning from Trader Joe's. After discovering it a few weeks ago, I want to put it on everything.

Earthy kale, as it turns out, stands up wonderfully to this bold, creamy dressing.

I am loving massaged kale. A few gentle squeezes of these deeply flavorful, healthy leaves, plus a drizzle of dressing that includes an acid like vinegar or lemon juice, yields a softened, antioxidant-rich green. Earthy kale, as it turns out, stands up wonderfully to this bold, creamy dressing. I topped mine with a few fresh croutons, but it'd be great with cooked, cooled veggies like beets or sweet potatoes. It's also be perfect left as is. 

 The Fall harvest can be counted on with certitude

There's something essentially comforting to me about harvest time.

Beyond soul-satisfying fall foods like butternut squash soup, pumpkin mac and cheese, and roasted root vegetables, harvest serves as a yearly reminder that there is much in this world that is a whole lot bigger than I am. That, regardless of me and what I may have done in the previous year, come September, the days will start to get shorter, the wind swifter and the nights colder. The baskets that just recently held watermelons and peaches will start to overflow with crisp apples, sweet potatoes and turnips.

Try as I might to control the world around me, clinging tightly to summer and nectarines and ripe heirloom tomatoes, fall harvest can be counted on with certitude, to show up anyway, right on time, in all its crunchy-leaf glory. And I can protest, but that would be very silly. Better, I can fill sweet little acorn squashes with earthy kale, onions, creamy goat cheese and piquant little cranberries, pour a glass of reasonably-priced Pinot and toast to a vibrant, fruitful fall season.