If you’ve been in my kitchen lately, you are already aware of the veritable mushroom lab I have going on on the windowsill, thanks to my friends at Back to the Roots.

That’s right, I am growing mushrooms (no, Mom, not that kind of mushrooms) using the super-awesome mushroom-growing kit I picked up on a visit to Back to the Roots’ warehouse about a month ago. Nikhil and Alex, the very young and very adorable founders of BTTR, figured out while seniors at UC Berkeley, that gourmet oyster mushrooms could be grown in used coffee grounds and so a highly sustainable and incredibly cool company was born. Good for the earth and good for our bodies, it’s a win-win. Plus, I get to feel kind of like a farmer.

I cut these ultra-fresh mushrooms from their roots this morning, chopped them up and stirred them into this very easy risotto. A bit of crisped prosciutto gave the dish a bit of extra heartiness. Bacon would work well too.

Note: I provided directions for making your own quick vegetable stock for use in this recipe, but if you already have vegetable or chicken stock on hand, feel free to skip that step and just use what you already have.

• ingredients
• extra virgin olive oil Pantry
• 1 white onion, diced (reserve the peel) $0.50
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped (reserve 2 of the cloves’ peels) Pantry
• salt and pepper to taste Pantry
• 3 slices prosciutto $2
• 1 cup Arborio rice $2 for 1 cup
• 1/4 lb fresh oyster mushrooms, chopped roughly $3
• 1/8 cup half-and-half $1 for a pint
• 1/8 cup shredded Parmesan cheese $3.50 for 10 oz.
• 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped $1 for a bunch

Total Cost of Ingredients $13

Directions

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium pot and add half of the diced onion, the onion’s peel, 2 cloves of garlic and their peels. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring throughout, until very fragrant. Add 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp pepper and stir well. Add four cups water, stir well and cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Strain and discard solids and return stock to the pot until ready to use.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto slices and cook until crispy, 2-3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.

Dice most of the cooked prosciutto, but cut a bit of it into 4-6 thin strips for garnish and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add remaining onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, until very fragrant. Add rice and allow to toast lightly for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Ladle the stock into the risotto, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir constantly.

Just before adding the last 1/2 cup of stock, add the oyster mushrooms and stir well. Add the rest of the stock and cook until the stock has been absorbed and the rice is very creamy.

Add the half-and-half and stir to encourage absorption.

Just before serving, stir in the chopped, cooked prosciutto and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste (careful with the salt—the prosciutto is pretty salty).

Spoon into bowls and top with the chopped parsley and reserved strips of cooked prosciutto. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-4 (2 as a main course, 4 as a side dish).

It just seemed obvious.

I had half of a bottle of Zinfandel left over from last night and dark chocolate on the mind (surely inspired spending Friday afternoon with my friend Julie, owner and chocolatier of Salt Side Down Chocolates), so I did the thing that made sense: I combined the two, studded the result with plump dried cranberries and popped it in the oven. Bliss.

Risotto isn’t one of those dishes (like say, chili) that improves the following day. After a night in the fridge, formerly creamy, delicate risotto becomes gummy and dense. Fortunately, it’s nothing a little cheese and a dip into hot oil can’t cure.

Arancini di Riso is true Italian BrokeAss cooking. Hot, crispy balls of chewy Arborio rice filled with melted cheese, swimming in a simple-yet-decadent tomato sauce…what better dish to make on a dreary, rainy Sunday like today? Serve these as a fancy appetizer or add a green salad and/or a hot bowl of soup and call it supper.

Well, it’s day 2 of the lobster extravaganza and I am going strong. My gorgeous Maine lobsters from OvernightLobster.com held up beautifully in the fridge after being cooked yesterday and so my mission to extend the lobster decadence as long as possible remains hopeful.

Today, one stunning lobster tail made its way into a rich and creamy risotto (made even richer and creamier by a few spoonfuls of luxurious Italian mascarpone cheese) and served to prove one of my favorite budget cooking proverbs, which states that a little bit of an expensive ingredient can go a long way.

This is absolutely not a side dish; this risotto is meant to be savored as a main course, perhaps after starting with a lemony green salad, and definitely followed by dessert.

I had never really thought about making a lobster dish…for obvious reasons. Beyond the fact that lobster is way out of my usual budget, hardshell lobster (the very best kind) comes from Maine, over 3,000 miles away, and the idea of eating a lobster that has been sitting on a refrigerated truck for a week is less-than-appealing to me.

Then, yesterday, I got in touch with Jim and John Sullivan, the Boston-based brothers and co-owners of OvernightLobster.com. I pretty much fell in love with them when they signed their initial email to me “Lobsterly Yours,” but my affection grew as I realized that they were able to ship me live hardshell lobsters from Maine, overnight, as the name suggests, at an absurdly low price. And so, the BrokeAss lobster dream was made reality.

Because lobsters are so special, I’m doing everything I can to stretch their deliciousness out as much as possible and so I used only the body and claws for this soup, which serves 4 (I’m saving the tail for tomorrow). The secret to this, I found, is in making a stock. After killing my lobsters, I made a large batch of very flavorful stock using their shells, garlic, salt, pepper and the seaweed they came packed in. This stock will find its way into dishes throughout the next few days as i experiment with the remaining lobster, and would make a great base for a seafood stew, a liquid for risotto or even the base of a dumpling soup. Parsnips and carrots give the soup body without distracting from the delicate lobster’s flavor. Real butter and cream are essential.