the last sad denizens of my fridge were black beans, rice, half a sweet potato and chopped onion. i made a tasty cumin flavored black bean soup over rice, and baked the last few sad freezer tortillas into some tasty tortilla chips. leftovers never tasted this good. i'm slowly but surely eating through the contents of the freezer.
feeling proud of myself!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
memorable holiday foods
1) hard cider. my roommate and i accidentally ordered two bottles of this great hard cider from a local cafe, thinking we were ordering two glasses. Mind you these were about the size of wine bottles. needless to say, we got very cheery and had a tipsy walk home.
my next crazy project will be to make hard cider, a la the instructions from thepauperedchef.com. hilarity should ensue
2) homemade eggnog, cooked lightly to be careful about salmonella since these eggs were from costco and who knows how old. the milk tasted a bit scalded but the overall effect was good.
3) meringues made with leftover egg whites. my sister and i covered the kitchen with white froth and the meringues turned out excellently
4) sour cream pancakes. i did not know such a thing could be done. pancakes with only 7 tablespoons of flour (and a cup of sour cream).
5) popovers for breakfast this morning, another first.
6) homemade tomato soup for christmas eve dinner, made from frozen tomatoes from my parents garden.
7)and not food related, but i'm proud of myself for exercising at least 45 minutes every day for the past week. even in the sodden rain on Christmas day.
my next crazy project will be to make hard cider, a la the instructions from thepauperedchef.com. hilarity should ensue
2) homemade eggnog, cooked lightly to be careful about salmonella since these eggs were from costco and who knows how old. the milk tasted a bit scalded but the overall effect was good.
3) meringues made with leftover egg whites. my sister and i covered the kitchen with white froth and the meringues turned out excellently
4) sour cream pancakes. i did not know such a thing could be done. pancakes with only 7 tablespoons of flour (and a cup of sour cream).
5) popovers for breakfast this morning, another first.
6) homemade tomato soup for christmas eve dinner, made from frozen tomatoes from my parents garden.
7)and not food related, but i'm proud of myself for exercising at least 45 minutes every day for the past week. even in the sodden rain on Christmas day.
leftover fun
What do you cook when you have just random bits and pieces in your fridge?
I had a leftover bag of veggies scavenged from a vegetable tray that included cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and peppers. Pickings were slim in the fridge today--mostly leftovers and odd bits from last weeks meals before Christmas. Both my roommate and I left for a few days at Christmas, so we haven't had a chance to replenish the larder.
I decided to make a fresh tomato sauce with the tomatoes, some chopped onion and my last clove of garlic. Meanwhile, I cooked the last few ounces of spaghetti in the house and sauteed the broccoli and cauliflower. The result was a tasty meal that would have only been improved by the addition of some shredded cheese.
Later, I went to the coop to redeem a $25 gift card. I got the fixings for a light but indulgent meal of fresh bread, local goat cheese and olives, as well as salt, red pepper flakes, vanilla beans (!) and a hunk of parmigano reggiano cheese to improve future pasta endeavors. I should have gotten eggs too, as that's my new favorite food to make when I'm by myself. Eggs would be great with some sauteed kale on the side and a sprinkle of freshly grated cheese. Oh well.
Leftover endeavor part two is to use up the last black beans, rice and old old corn tortillas from the freezer without the addition of tomatoes. Should be interesting trying to make that tasty or at least palatable. I can always fry the tortillas but frying things seems to be cheating.
I had a leftover bag of veggies scavenged from a vegetable tray that included cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and peppers. Pickings were slim in the fridge today--mostly leftovers and odd bits from last weeks meals before Christmas. Both my roommate and I left for a few days at Christmas, so we haven't had a chance to replenish the larder.
I decided to make a fresh tomato sauce with the tomatoes, some chopped onion and my last clove of garlic. Meanwhile, I cooked the last few ounces of spaghetti in the house and sauteed the broccoli and cauliflower. The result was a tasty meal that would have only been improved by the addition of some shredded cheese.
Later, I went to the coop to redeem a $25 gift card. I got the fixings for a light but indulgent meal of fresh bread, local goat cheese and olives, as well as salt, red pepper flakes, vanilla beans (!) and a hunk of parmigano reggiano cheese to improve future pasta endeavors. I should have gotten eggs too, as that's my new favorite food to make when I'm by myself. Eggs would be great with some sauteed kale on the side and a sprinkle of freshly grated cheese. Oh well.
Leftover endeavor part two is to use up the last black beans, rice and old old corn tortillas from the freezer without the addition of tomatoes. Should be interesting trying to make that tasty or at least palatable. I can always fry the tortillas but frying things seems to be cheating.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
I'm tired of reading articles about chefs who cook a single meal for under $25. My weekly grocery budget is $25. Which is why I made fried rice out of my leftover Chinese food and why dried beans, sweet potatoes and cabbage are always on my shopping list. End of rant.
Tonight I was going to make sweet potato pie after reading a long article about pies of the Triangle. Alas, I didn't have enough butter to make a crust...so I ended up making cinnamon spiced mashed sweet potatoes. I added a hint of lemon juice for a little zing.
I still have two or three more pounds of sweet potatoes left, so I am trying to be inventive. Possibly sweet potato latkes for Hanukkah? There was an interesting lime-flavored sweet potato salad on Serious Eats earlier...Sweet potato biscuits? Or I could revive the sweet potato gnocchi recipe from summer!
Finals are nigh which means...I cook a lot instead of studying. Good times.
My current list of food projects includes
+baking bread
+opening the scary door into making candy with caramels (need to buy a candy thermometer)
+start a jar of vanilla extract, which means...a trip to the liquor store!
+roasted cauliflower something
Tonight I was going to make sweet potato pie after reading a long article about pies of the Triangle. Alas, I didn't have enough butter to make a crust...so I ended up making cinnamon spiced mashed sweet potatoes. I added a hint of lemon juice for a little zing.
I still have two or three more pounds of sweet potatoes left, so I am trying to be inventive. Possibly sweet potato latkes for Hanukkah? There was an interesting lime-flavored sweet potato salad on Serious Eats earlier...Sweet potato biscuits? Or I could revive the sweet potato gnocchi recipe from summer!
Finals are nigh which means...I cook a lot instead of studying. Good times.
My current list of food projects includes
+baking bread
+opening the scary door into making candy with caramels (need to buy a candy thermometer)
+start a jar of vanilla extract, which means...a trip to the liquor store!
+roasted cauliflower something
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