Wow on your prices. Now I remember why I am so happy in SE Asia. I get purple onions these days in Kuala Lumpur and I think I pay about 20 cents for 10 small ones each time I get them. That is enough for 2-3 meals with leftovers, as I am cooking for one.
I miss farro, though. I have not seen that here, and if I did, it will be imported and expensive. I can get very good and cheap barley, but I'm mostly eating rice now until I am blue in the face. My other choice is noodles, and I am not a fan.
Is that all you do to your beans? I think mine would be hard if I cooked them that way. I usually soak for a day and then sprout them. I'm not too good with cooking beans, but that seems to work.
Good luck for the contest!
Wow, that is inexpensive! Though I guess wages differ, as well. It is very interesting to see how much difference there is in the cost of fruits and vegetables depending upon where you are in the world.
Sometimes I do sprout my beans, but this time I just soaked them overnight (about 12 hours) then cooked for the hour and 20-25 minutes in the pot with everything else. They seemed to come out fine, but sometimes if the beans that I have are older they may take longer. In certain recipes I like them softer, but this one the texture was good. :)
Oh I see. I did not catch that you soak in advance - reading too fast lol. Maybe I will try again but beans and lentils are very prevalent in the street food and much better than I could do :)
A good wage for locals is about 1000 a month here in a big city. A lot of people live communally or with family and rent is very cheap anyway.