If there's one thing Bay Area backyard gardeners can count on at this time of year, it's kale. Our cool, typically damp winter weather is tailor-made for hearty winter greens, ones that can thrive through hard frosts, even snow. And though winter's rains may be passing us by, with a little irrigation, the crinkly kale, dino kale, red or white Russian kale should be growing like crazy in whatever pot, plot, or raised bed you've got planted.

Shop the farmers' markets these days, and while the first, $8/lb sugar-snap peas may be starting to appear, the backbone of the veggie tables are dark-green, iron-rich greens: punchy mustard greens, mellow collards, rainbow-ribbed chard, plus green or burgundy beet tops, the gift of two-veg-in-one that comes free with every bunch of sweet roots.

So: time to love your greens. We served a lot of greens during my time cooking at the Headlands Center for the Arts, yet we were pretty content to do them the same way each time. A handful of minced shallot was flung into sizzling olive oil, chopped greens were added, then the whole was stirred and stirred until just wilted and tender. To finish, we tossed in a quick splash of sherry vinegar or a couple of lemons, sliced into eighths and crushed a little to release the juice and aromatic oils. I do mine at home much the same way, with slivered garlic instead of shallots, and a healthy shake of red pepper flakes for a little burn. Nice with rice and tofu, nice with polenta and sausage, nice leftover cold out of the pan, eaten with your fingers while doing the dishes.

Now, though, during greens' moment in the sun, dinner is not enough. Greens need to find a home at every meal. A lot of farm mornings began with eggs and kale, as we counted down the weeks until the potato harvest. I love green eggs and ham, made from emerald-green minced nettles sauteed and stirred into scrambled eggs with a bit of proscuitto draped on top. And, then, for lunch, there are kale chips, kale Caesar salad, pasta with kale, Portuguese caldo verde with kale, potatoes, and linguica sausage, kale every way.

But have you thought about a kale sandwich? I did, this past weekend, when I was making breakfast and lunch for a staff and board members' retreat, 25 people needing muffins and sandwiches to help them forget that a sunny, beautiful beach was just five minutes' walk away from where they were trapped around a darkened conference table with spreadsheets and PowerPoint. My solution? Quinoa-almond-citrus salad, lentil-beet-mint salad, chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies, apple-cherry cider, turkey sandwiches, and the veggie crowning glory, kale sandwiches. Oh, you may laugh, but they were lively, colorful stacks that turned out to be much more than the sum of their vitamin-packed parts. The elements? Sauteed greens and onions piled on whole-wheat focaccia dabbed with Dijon mustard, layered with thin slices of roasted winter squash, topped with Weirauch Farm and Creamery's Tomme Fraiche or creamy Doubloon cheese, and finished with a smear of tart-tangy plum chutney or punchy arugula pesto.

It takes a while to make a sandwich when you're making everything from bread to pesto from scratch. So, while homemade focaccia is always the best, feel free to substitute any good bread of choice, from Acme's herb slab to the sesame loaf baked by Morell's Bread (pictured here). The chutney, luckily, I'd made earlier in the summer, to rescue a batch of less-than-stellar jam. Boring, slightly-too-sweet stone-fruit jam, it turns out, can make a very successful base for chutney, once it's jazzed up and cooked down with cider vinegar, chopped onions, and plenty of aromatic spices. If you don't have a pantry full of chutney on hand, I'd recommend any of Alison McQuade's excellent, small-batch chutneys, sold under the name McQuade's Celtic Chutney. Or, you can retrieve that slightly shriveled, almost-wilted bunch of arugula from down in the vegetable drawer and buzz it together with a couple tablespoons of walnuts or pine nuts, a couple cloves of garlic, salt to taste, the juice of a lemon, a splash of water and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Puree until smooth, and taste. It will probably taste too tannic from the walnuts, too sharp from the arugula, and leave you wishing for summer's fragrant basil.

No worry, though: a solution is at hand. Crumble in a moist, creamy-mild Doubloon cheese, made by Weirauch Farm and Creamery in Petaluma. Instantly, the spread is tamed, its punch tempered with creaminess. When you're picking up your Doubloons, get another one, this one rolled in herbes de Provence, along with a wedge of their springy, buttery Tomme Fraiche.

Now, onto your squash. Butternut, kabocha, pumpkin, whatever hard-shelled winter squash you've had languishing on the counter since your last CSA box. Not acorn, though; too pasty and stringy. You want dense, sweet and nutty for this. Peel and seed your squash, and slice the flesh into thin half-moons. Oil lightly, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and roast at 400F until tender.

While the squash is roasting, slice up an onion, red or yellow. In a wide pan, saute it in olive oil until tangled and translucent. You can let it go farther and get browned here and there, halfway to caramelization. Keep some texture, though; you want recognizable loops, not onion jam. Wash but don't dry your greens, which don't have to be kale but should be some mixture of sturdy greens, rather than something weepingly delicate like spinach. I used a mixture of collards, mustard, and beet tops, but any tough-ish greens will do. Shred your greens and toss them into the hot pan full of onions. Stir and season with salt and pepper until greens are wilted and just tender. Take a bite; you shouldn't feel like you're chewing on a raincoat, but they shouldn't be boiled to mush, either. Pull off the stove and let cool.

Now, the assemblage. Slice your focaccia horizontally, if using; otherwise, slice your bread. Spread chutney or pesto on the inside of one piece. Add a few pieces of Tomme Fraiche, or crumble on a tablespoon or so of Doubloon. On the second slice of bread, spread a dab of Dijon mustard. Pile on some greens and onions. Layer on some slices of roasted squash, as if you're laying out a row of cards in solitaire. Put the halves together with a firm but gentle squish. Enjoy!

I've been reading a lot about the rising cost of food. The general media is painting a fairly dim picture of the current state of food prices and accessibility, and Jennifer Maiser's recent articles on BAB helped enlighten us about the politics behind these stories and the reactions to them. Anyone who has walked into a grocery store lately, however, doesn't need to read about escalating prices to know they're real. Food is simply more expensive, and feeding one self, let alone a family of four or five, is getting more cost prohibitive each day. So what is a parent who needs to feed a family on a fixed budget to do? Luckily, there are quite a few options out there for the frugal home chef.

Cost-effective home cooking can be simple and the results just as satisfying and flavorful as any high-cost dinner you make. You won't be grilling any T-bone steaks or putting giant prawns on the barbie, but all types of meat are within reach as long as you choose the right cuts.

Following are three recipes that will feed a family of four, and may even provide some leftovers. One costs less than $5 to make, the next less than $10, and the last just over $10. The costs were calculated using a trip to my local farmer's market (where I can often purchase a bunch of greens for only $1.00 or $1.50 each) and a trip to Trader Joe's (which I think is the most affordable place to buy staples like canned beans, pastas, rice, and organic milk). I didn't include prices for dried spices as they are often standard in any cupboard; also, the minor cost doesn't really affect the final dollar amount much, so I opted against the extra math involved in calculating something like how much a teaspoon of cumin will cost. I've included one vegetarian, one chicken, and one beef recipe to cover all the bases (well, except fish).

Under $5
This vegetarian dish was a staple in my house when I was growing up and is something I frequently make for my family now. You can make this traditional Italian peasant dish year round with whatever greens are in season. It's the cheapest meal of the three and probably also the healthiest. Be sure not to drain out all the pasta water as you'll need some to finish off the dish.

Linguine with Greens and White Beans = $4.18

Ingredients
1 bunch of chard, broccoli rabe, mustard greens or any other leafy green ($1.50)
1 12 oz can white beans drained and rinsed ($.69)
2 cloves of garlic
¼ tsp crushed red pepper (if desired)
1 lb linguine ($0.99)
3 Tbsp olive oil
Some pasta water
Top with Parmesan cheese ($1.00)

Preparation
1. Cook linguine in salted water until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat the olive oil and cook the garlic until lightly browned. If using the crushed red pepper, add it now.
3. Add the greens and partially cook until warmed through. If using a tougher green, add about a ¼ cup of water and cover to help cook the vegetable.
4. Add the beans and a little pasta water.
5. Stir thoroughly and cover for one minute.
6. Once the beans are heated through and the vegetables are wilted (but not soggy) add the cooked and drained pasta.
7. Add more water or olive oil if necessary.
8. Add salt to taste.
9. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Under $10
Chicken legs are the least expensive cut of chicken you can buy. As dark meat is far juicier than white, the legs are also one of the tastiest cuts and are great for barbecuing, roasting, or braising. Most kids also love drumsticks as they are easy to pick up and fun to eat. The following dish can be baked or barbecued. If you do the latter, be sure to set the potatoes on the grill in a pan and be careful not to overcook them. With a salad, this dish is a complete meal that is both filling and nutritious. The salad I've included is one of my favorite spring salads as it uses baby arugula, which is so perfect this time of year, and pink grapefruits, which add a lovely sweetness to the entire meal.

Roasted Balsamic Chicken and Potatoes with a Baby Arugula, Pink Grapefruit, and Candied Almond Salad = $9.75

Roasted Balsamic Chicken and Potatoes = $5.00

Ingredients
6 chicken legs (just under $2.00)
¼ cup olive oil (about $.50)
¼ cup balsamic vinegar (about $.50)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
3 large russet potatoes halved and sliced into 1/4 –inch pieces ($1.50)
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley ($.50)

Preparation
1. In a large pan, mix the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and some salt and pepper. Marinate the chicken in the mixture for at least an hour or up to one day in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Add potatoes to the pan with the chicken and mix in the marinade. Top with a little more olive oil if needed.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and top with chopped parsley.
6. Bake another 15 minutes or until done.
7. Serve.

Baby Arugula Salad with Pink Grapefruit and Candied Almonds = $4.75

Ingredients
1 medium bunch of baby arugula ($2.00)
1 large pink grapefruit, peeled and cut into ¼-inch pieces ($1.00)
½ cup unsalted almonds ($1.00)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
¼ cup olive oil ($.50)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ($.25)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
1. Heat almonds and sugar in a dry pan on medium-high heat.
2. Toast the almonds in the pan until the sugar starts to meld into the nuts.
3. Add the water and quickly stir so the sugar melts into the nuts. Turn off heat.
4. Wash and dry arugula and place in a large salad bowl.
5. Add chopped grapefruit (with its juices) and candied nuts.
6. Mix salad dressing ingredients thoroughly and then add to the salad.
7. Mix and serve.

Just Over $10

Beef, Poblano, and Potato Tacos with a Corn and Avocado Salad with a Lime-Cilantro Dressing = $10.53

I've been adding potatoes to my beef tacos for most of my adult life. It all started in my early 20s as an attempt to eat less red meat, while retaining the beef flavor in some of my favorite dishes. A food article at that time suggested cutting the beef in some recipes in half and adding potatoes for extra heft. I tried this with my tacos, and was surprised by how well the potatoes worked with the beef in corn tortillas and how nicely the flavors melded. Later, I decided to add some roasted poblanos to add even more flavor to the dish and loved the results. The salad I serve the tacos with uses fresh corn and avocado and has a lime and cilantro dressing that screams Mexico. Served with some canned black beans, you have a quick, hearty, and healthy meal. Parents should note that my daughters don't like the poblano peppers much, but I think they taste great and so let them pick them out on their own.

Beef, Poblano, and Potato Tacos = $6.09

Ingredients
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
½ lb ground beef (I used Niman Ranch) ($3.00)
¼ red onion chopped ($0.25)
1 medium potato chopped into cubes ($0.50)
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp oregano
1 large poblano pepper roasted and peeled (see directions below) ($0.80)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro ($0.25)
¼ - ½ cup water
10 corn tortillas ($1.29)

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large pan.
2. Add the onion, beef, and potato. Cook until both are mostly browned (around 5 minutes on medium heat).
3. Add the cumin and oregano and mix in thoroughly.
4. Deseed and chop the poblano pepper and then add it to the potato/meat mixture.
5. Add ¼ cup of water to deglaze the meat and potato bits on the bottom of the pan. Add more water if needed.
6. Add the cilantro and stir.
7. In a separate pan (I use a large cast iron pan), add the remaining tablespoon of oil. When hot, brown each tortilla on both sides.
8. Fill browned tortillas with beef mixture.
9. Serve with lime, sour cream, or crema if desired (these will add to the price of the dish, but are not necessary).

Corn and Avocado Salad with a Lime and Cilantro Dressing ($3.75)

Ingredients
2 ears of fresh corn ($2.00)
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro ($.25)
1 avocado chopped ($1.00)
Juice from 1 lime ($.50)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation
1. Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Can of Black Beans = $0.69
I like to serve this meal with some warmed black beans. A can costs 69 cents at Trader Joe's. If you add this, the grand total goes a bit over $10 to $10.53, but it's worth it.

How to Roast Poblano Peppers

Method One: On a gas stovetop
1. Turn a burner on high and set pepper on top of the grate.
2. Roast on all sides until the pepper's exterior is completely charred.
3. Place in a paper bag and close tight for about five minutes. This will allow the skin to steam off.
4. Tear open bag and peel off the outer skin of the pepper (it should now come off very easily).

Method Two: In the oven
1. Turn on your broiler
2. Set your pepper on a pan and place on the top shelf under the broiler.
3. Char on one side thoroughly, and then turn over.
4. Char on the other side and then remove pepper from oven.
5. Place in a paper bag and close tight for about five minutes. This will allow the skin to steam off.
6. Tear open bag and peel off the outer skin of the pepper (it should now come off very easily).

Here are some links to other recipes that I thought looked good and seem to fall in the under $10 range. I have not actually added up the costs for these ingredients, but they look inexpensive to make. About a year ago, I made the falafel recipe and thought it was great. And, although I've never made the chickpea ragout, I completely trust all of Jacques Pépin's recipes.

Falafel from Mark Bittman's NY Times column
Chickpea Ragout from Jacques Pepin's Food Made Fast site
Beans and rice from Recipe Zaar
Tofu and Bok Choy Stir fry from Epircurious