Eating down the Fridge

The Washinton Post's blog A Mighty Appetite with Kim O'Donnel has announced an interesting challenge. Eating Down The Fridge starts on March 9th. The goal: Eat from your staples and your pantry rather than running out and buying fresh.

This is a problem I've struggled with for quite some time. I hate throwing away food; but due to a lack of planning (or an inability to follow the plan once made) I often do throw out food. And I often have a pantry full of small bottles of strange sauces, odd mixes, and ingredients I never eat.

Civil Eats posted today about the challenge, and Jerusha Klemperer posted about her own struggles of the leftovers in her pantry that she's not sure how to cook, or once cooked even how to serve them.

I haven't decided yet if this challenge is for me. About once a month I try to eat from my pantry; and it usually reduces my grocery bill significantly. My tools for this sort of thing include the Food Blog Search Engine, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, and a healty dose of imagination. Some weeks I do quite well, like at the end of January where I was able to use up the last cup of couscous and three kinds of rice, tinned shrimp, and a very old bag of frozen strawberries. I didn't quite finish the bag of frozen cranberries though, and I never got to the can of chickpeas or jar of artichoke hearts. And then there's that old bag of dried chickpeas.

Maybe I should take up the challenge again.

Menu for the week of 2009-02-28

Saturday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, tomatoes, fruit, 2 pieces brown toast, peanut butter
Lunch: Salami, cheese curds, crudités
Dinner: Homemade sushi

Sunday
Breakfast: Fruit yogurt
Lunch: Salami, cheese curds, crudite
Dinner: Leftover everything soup & grilled monterey jack cheese sandwich

Monday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Crab (3 legs), sesame tofu, broccoli, plum, diet coke
Dinner Chicken & black bean questioned with mixed green salad
Snacks Cottage cheese & a small apple, celery sticks & peanut butter

Tuesday
Breakfast: Kashi cereal, fruit & skim milk
Lunch: Samosa (2), Lemon-pepper tuna on rice crackers, asparagus spears, plum, diet coke
Dinner: Chicken curry in a hurry over brown rice & steamed green beans
Snacks Crackers & cheese & salami, Green pepper sticks & hummus

Wednesday
Breakfast: Musli, yogurt, fruit
Lunch: Crab legs (3), Crackers & cheese & salami, broccoli, diet coke
Dinner: BBQ steak, steamed vegetables
Snacks: Yogurt & flax seed, celery sticks & peanut butter

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit
Lunch: Samosa (2), Lemon-pepper tuna on rice crackers, asparagus spears, strawberries, diet coke
Dinner: Hungarian Goulash (Crock pot)
Snacks: green pepper sticks & hummus, taco chips & salsa

Friday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, tomatoes & bacon
Lunch: Hungarian goulash & rice crackers, yogurt & flax seed, strawberries,
Dinner: Out
Snacks: Hummus & leftover veg, Sesame tofu

Everything soup

Summary: Making soup with leftovers. Nothing else tastes this good or is so good for the budget. While I doubt I can ever make this exactly again, the basic idea of beef broth + black beans + meat balls is one I definitely have to remember.

Serves 8-10 (or 6 generously with leftovers for a good lunch)
Time to make: 1 hour (total). 45 minutes prep time;
could have been faster but I was fussy and disorganized.

Equipment:

• Cutting board & Chef's knife
• Pairing knife
• Frying pan & spatula
• Big soup pot & spatula
• Immersion blender

Notes:
It was a circus. Three-rings, no waiting.

Here I stood, in the center of a milling crowd. The stock was chillin' and completely ignorant that it would soon be boiling. There was a lone carrot amidst the crowd. His posse had left him, and while he was a big fellow and pretty tough, he still looked strange all alone. The celery saw him and wilted. It was obvious she had a thing, but he was oblivious to it. The jalapeno was fresh, but no one seemed to mind. The onions were red. With what I never figured out, but they were sweet to me, at least.

The mushrooms fresh while the green onions were old and withered. The black beans were stirring in their own juices, and pretty tough to boot. The potatoes, red wine, tomato paste, and meatballs - frozen. I think they've been hanging out with the stock for too long. The parsley was fresh while the cilantro was definitely on the way out. The tin of tomatoes was just there. It didn't initially interact with anything.

So, how did this crowd of nobodies, forgotten souls, and aging ingredients become Mexican meatball soup?

Simple really, I cleaned out my fridge and freezer, gathering everything that was so low in quantity that it could no longer be the star of the meal or so old it shouldn't be left alone. This meal is definitely an ensemble cast. The recipe is provided more to prove that you really can make a good soup from a disparate set of sources. I doubt I'll casually have all the ingredients again in the same quantity.

• The stock is homemade from beef bones for a Pho Bo. The stock itself was highly aromatic, fairly thick and flavourful.
• The meatballs were homemade following Marc Bittman's Italian Meatballs recipe. They were a bit black on some sides (I cooked them with the pan too hot).
• The tomato paste and red wine were frozen in ice-cube like shapes in my freezer; leftovers from a time of plenty.
• The cilantro and celery were dying in my crisper, and the carrot was the last one in the bag.
• The black beans were homemade with lots of cilantro and cumin.
• The cauliflower was starting to turn, so I cut it up for snacking. About 1/2 a cup wouldn't fit in the container -- so it went into the soup.
• I'm part of a VG and this week I got red onions, instead of yellow this week. What the hey.
• The green onions were well past their prime, but always make a good soup topper.

Everything else was added because I had it. I do actually have other things in my pantry and soup; not everything went into the soup... but it certainly felt like it.

Pros: very tasty, especially on a cold winter night. It also smelled really good and used up a lot of vegetables that would have otherwise spoiled.

Cons: I should have let the mess (beans+tomatoes+broth) cook down for about 1/2 an hour before I started cooking or held off on about 1/2 the broth, or thickened it somehow. Maybe the beans and tomatos should have been strained first? Either that or serve it with a really good (day old) bread.

Ingredients

1	carrot, peeled and finely diced
3-4 stocks	celery, leaves removed & diced
2 cups	baby potatoes, frozen
2 cups	black beans (do not drain or rinse)
1 can	diced tomatoes
1	red onion, finely diced
1 bunch	cilantro, to taste, finely diced
1 bunch	parsley, to taste, finely diced
2 tablespoons	red wine
2 tablespoons	butter, divided
24	meatballs
6	button mushrooms, large dice
6 cups	beef stock
2 tablespoons	tomatoes paste
1	jalapeno pepper, diced fine & seeds removed.
	Salt, to taste
	Black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup	cauliflower, finely diced.
	Romano cheese, freshly grated (topping)
	Green onions, sliced (topping)

Instructions:

1. Put the beef stock into a very large pot. Turn up the heat and bring it to a gentle boil.
2. Add the potatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Remove the potatoes and set aside.
4. Add 1/2 the butter to a frying pan. Dump in the carrot, celery and red onion (mirepoix) and the jalapeno pepper. Mix regularly until the onion becomes translucent.
5. Add the mireaupoix to the soup. Stir to incorporate.
6. Put the remaining butter into the frying pan. When the butter melts, add the mushrooms. Stir to coat.
7. As the mushrooms start to change color add the red wine.
8. Cook until almost all the liquid is gone.
9. Add the mushrooms to the soup. Stir to incorporate.
10. Open the can and add the diced tomatoes to the soup. Stir to incorporate.
11. Add the meatballs to the soup. Stir to incorporate.
12. Add the black beans (and juice) to the frying pan. Bring them to just below a boil.
13. Using the immersion blender, mash the black beans into a paste. Stir to incorporate.
14. Add the paste to the soup. Stir to incorporate.
15. Add the tomato paste to the soup. Stir to incorporate.
16. Add the parsley, cilantro, and cauliflower to the soup. Stir to incorporate.
17. Cover and allow the soup to come to a gentle boil. Cook until the cauliflower is soft (about 5-10 minutes).
18. Serve with grated Romano cheese and sliced green onions.

A hurry-up and Eat dinner (Potato & hamburger fry up)

I try to eat well on weeknights, really I do.

But some nights it's not just my pantry that's against me.

I came home exhausted and never quite did get that nap I wanted. Instead I settled down before the TV with my computer before me. As I did some mindless data entry, I watched home improvement shows. Surprisingly (or maybe not) this combination seems to sap my will to leave the room, go to the kitchen, and cook.

I love cooking, but often figuring out what to cook is the biggest challenge. I'd been out all weekend (coming home only to recharge my computer, load up more books, shower and ... oh yeah, sleep). So I'd not refilled my pantry yet and was getting low on a few staples. In addition, the hamburger I took out on Saturday night had not been eaten; and so had to be used tonight.

So, I had a pound of lean hamburger and no bread, no pasta, no sour cream, no lettuce, and no cheese. This removed the options of: BBQ hamburgers, tacos, enchiladas, or even taco salad. I couldn't use the oven (it's broken), so that took away meatloaf or lasagna. I couldn't make meatballs (no bread, remember?), or bolonaise sauce (no pasta). The beans were either dried or frozen, and I already had 3 cups of chicken chili frozen in the freezer. Frozen being the key word here. I had enough ingredients for hamburger soup, but that tastes best if left in the crockpot for 3+ hours.

The funny thing is - my pantry is almost full and both my fridge and freezer are in a similar state. I try to cook with what I have without buying special things, but I still end up with a fridge full of little bottles and oddities.

Searching through my freezer and pantry, I was able to scrounge a few things. Turning to the Food blog search for inspiration, I found a few similar recipes that mixed up potatoes, hamburger and some spice. They all sounded good, but what I could do was extremely limited by what I had on hand combined with the fact that I only had about 30 minutes to make dinner. Any longer and someone would be ordering pizza. Whether it would be me or my significant other was anyone's guess.

Ingredients

• 5 potato hash browns, frozen
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup hot homemade salsa (or salsa of your preference)
  
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
  
  
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp oregano (dried)
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 bag of mixed Californian vegetables (or any frozen vegetables of choice)
  
• 2 tsp butter, divided (optional)
  
• Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Thaw the hash browns in a microwave (5-7 minutes on high). Then set them aside on a towel to drain. Note that they must be completely thawed.
   
2. Meanwhile, fry up the hamburger and toss all the dried herbs and spices over the cooking meat. Brake the meat up into little chunks and stir often.
3. Once cooked thoroughly, drained the meat well.
4. Dump the hash browns into a big glass bowl and mashed them up with a fork.
5. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the salsa to the mix, and stir well to combine.
6. Add the drained meat to the mix and mix again.
7. Put 1/2 the bag of mixed Californian vegetables into a bowl with a little water and a pat of butter. Cover it. Microwave the bowl for 5 minutes on high or until the butter is melted and the vegetables are warm to the touch and free of frost.
8. Pour the hamburger-and-potato mix back into the frying pan with the rest of the butter. Fry it until everything is warm and somewhat steamy.
9. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste.
10. Serve the hamburger-and-potoato mix with the steamed Californian vegetables while hot.

Review

We both liked it.
It was hot, filling, and spicy. It was almost too spicy for me (but that's because I went nuts when I made the salsa and made it super-hot). The meal was well-rounded-ish and would probably be better with more vegetables added to the fry up. It would have tasted a lot better too if I'd shredded my own potatoes and added a shredded onion to it instead of starting with ready-made hash browns.

I didn't add enough fats or liquids to make it stick together when I fried it the second time--so it was a bit awkward to eat; rather like a plateful of peas.  Tasty, but it takes time.

Half my plate was filled with vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower and a few slices of carrot); while the other half was filled with the fry up, and I still have enough left-over for lunch today.

This is something I'll definitely make again (with only a few minor changes).

The Cooking question

How do you learn to cook.
Where do you start?

I started by calling my mother (I'd just moved out into my first shared apartment) and asking her how to broil a potato. I knew how to do it, I even had books that could tell me the details, but I felt uninspired and homesick. So I called.

I learned to cook from my mother and my grandmother; but if you'd asked me if I cooked before I moved out -- I'd have said no. I baked, but I didn't cook. Not really. Not meals.

It took years before I realized that I do like to cook, and I do know how to cook -- I'm just often uninspired. The realization came when I got into the habit of cooking for others (which is still my preference). I, like so many others, dislike cooking for just myself.

So, what do I say to friends/family who want to lean to cook? Usually something pithy like "Cooking is easy. You already know how." Great help I am, eh?

But, for those learning to cook, I recommend the following:

1. Get a cook book. Not one of the fancy ones, but something that promises to teach you the basics. I learned a lot from reading the Joy of Cooking. Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is equally good. But there are others. Googling "Beginner cooking" turns up 3,100,000 hits; and as many of those seem to be articles as they are cookbooks.
   
   
2. Get started. Pick a recipe, read it all the way through, and then try to make it. Don't be put off by long recipes that take time.
   
   
3. Make a list of the recipes you want to make. Assign one to each night you'll be home and have the time and energy to cook. Make a list of their ingredients and take it with you when you shop. Congratulations! You've just made a menu plan and a shopping list.
   
   
4. Equipment. Be minimalistic. Buy only what you absolutely need at first. Kitchen equipment is like most gadgetry -- there's a ton out there and most is specialized for one or two things.
   

Recipes to try

Here's the list of recipes I've marked on del.icio.us today:

• Tyayuda with Black Bean Puree from Mark Bittman's the Minimalist.
• Key lime tart from Smitten Kitchen.
• Zucchini chocolate cake from Baker's Banter (and I promise, if I make this for you -- I'll never tell you there's zucchini in it).
• Black Bean Salad with Fresh Corn from Cheap, Healthy, Good
• Skate and Salad, Irresistible and Easy From a guest post by Ed Schneider, posted on Mark Bittman's Bitten.

If
I'm lucky, I'll be making one or two of these recipes this week. I've
got over 127 recipes bookmarked on del.icio.us so far; my intention is
always to try them and add them to my cookbook and then remove them
from del.icio.us. As you can probably tell, I'm not doing much on this
project of late.

Menu of March 8, 2008

Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Meat loaf & steamed veggies	Dinner out.		Chicken and soba noodle soup	BBQ Easy Asian chicken parts & hash-browns with corn	Broiled lemon-pepper fish and steamed corn	Take out: Souvlaki pita and salad

Saturday
I did a lot of cooking Saturday.
I made a double-batch of Mark Bittman's meat loaves. I shape them in individual portions. Then I froze two for later. I also made chicken broth (for use later in the week, and oatmeal cookies (from the Joy of Cooking). It was a busy day.

Sunday
The Gygax-memorial was just a small gathering of friends. The cookies I baked the day before were well-received, but Beverely's anytime salsa stole the show. It's a simple layered dip that keeps well for about 3 days in the fridge. There was lots of food at the memorial; so we didn't really have a proper dinner.

Tuesday
Chicken and soba noodle soup
It was a bit strong in the flavorings, but overall delicious.

Wednesday
BBQ Easy Asian chicken parts & hash-browns with corn is one of my all-time favorite meals. We usually cook it on the barbecue. The hash-browns were a simple dish of par-boiled potatoes (diced & sliced) then pan fried with a bit of butter and a couple cups of corn. My hash-browns are white and never really golden with very few crispy bits; but there were no leftovers.

Thursday
Broiled lemon-pepper fish and steamed corn. A classic in my kitchen--it's made exactly like it sounds: fish topped with lemon zest and pepper, broiled until done and served with a side of lightly steamed corn.