Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Liquid bliss.
Dinner tonight was a little something I like to call "using up random leftover" fry-up. I had some leftover mashed turnip, leftover zucchini and leftover cauliflower and leftover garbanzo beans. I roughly mashed up the beans, mixed them with the turnip and a little water, a little garbanzo flour and chili sauce. I heated up some oil in a skillet and poured the mixture in to make a sort of pancake. The zucchini and cauliflower I warmed up with more sriracha and some soy sauce. Once the pancake was cooked to my liking I put the veggie mix on top and ate it. It was delicious, and the bonus: clear sinuses!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Know no fear, I'll still be here tomorrow.
What to do with leftovers? I often myself wondering about this - cooking for one can be such a chore. There is always the temptation to make extra portions for later. But if you're me, you don't like eating the same thing more than once in a short period of time (unless that something happens to be cheese, fruit salad or pancakes).
Looking in my fridge I realized I had a fair amount of leftover red wine sauce leftover from a roast I made for Jackson recently which needed to be used up. Fair enough, red wine sauce is delicious on pasta, potatoes, rice, couscous... it also makes a lovely risotto - if one is in the mood. I, however, wanted to transform it completely.
I opted to make soup with it. It doesn't seem like a natural transformation, but it smells hella good and if early indicators are anything to go by - it's gonna taste fantastic.
I started off with just under 3 cups of red wine sauce. To this I added about a half litre of water and a mushroom stock cube (although I did debate using a pot-au-feu stock cube which I imagine would be lovely). I also added one 15 oz. tin of whole plum tomatoes (which I crushed up with my hands) and a carrot. I brought this mixture to a boil and added rinsed and soaked lentils (soaking isn't necessary, but because red wine can toughen the lentils I opted to soak them first to counter this) - I used french lentils, because that's what I happened to have to hand, but I imagine brown or even red would work just as well. Because the red wine sauce had salt in it, and the mushroom stock also had salt I didn't feel it necessary to add more, but I did add a fair bit of freshly ground black pepper. I also added dried thyme (fresh would also work but I didn't have any) and a bay leaf. Toward the end to punch up the flavor a bit I will be stirring in a glug of red wine vinegar and then topping it all off with some fresh parmesan.
Yay for soup!
Looking in my fridge I realized I had a fair amount of leftover red wine sauce leftover from a roast I made for Jackson recently which needed to be used up. Fair enough, red wine sauce is delicious on pasta, potatoes, rice, couscous... it also makes a lovely risotto - if one is in the mood. I, however, wanted to transform it completely.
I opted to make soup with it. It doesn't seem like a natural transformation, but it smells hella good and if early indicators are anything to go by - it's gonna taste fantastic.
I started off with just under 3 cups of red wine sauce. To this I added about a half litre of water and a mushroom stock cube (although I did debate using a pot-au-feu stock cube which I imagine would be lovely). I also added one 15 oz. tin of whole plum tomatoes (which I crushed up with my hands) and a carrot. I brought this mixture to a boil and added rinsed and soaked lentils (soaking isn't necessary, but because red wine can toughen the lentils I opted to soak them first to counter this) - I used french lentils, because that's what I happened to have to hand, but I imagine brown or even red would work just as well. Because the red wine sauce had salt in it, and the mushroom stock also had salt I didn't feel it necessary to add more, but I did add a fair bit of freshly ground black pepper. I also added dried thyme (fresh would also work but I didn't have any) and a bay leaf. Toward the end to punch up the flavor a bit I will be stirring in a glug of red wine vinegar and then topping it all off with some fresh parmesan.
Yay for soup!
Ever since we met you've had a hold on me...
Just home from a weekend splurge at Bay Cities Deli. Oh how I love that place! I do tend to go a bit overboard in my purchases, but it's such a rare splurge for me that I always find a way to justify it. I was actually pretty well-behaved, considering what I am capable of.
Most of what I bought were "staple" luxuries - mushroom stock cubes, creme fraiche, super fancy pasta (fresh as well as dried), olive oil, san marzano tomato paste, bread and cheese.
In addition I picked up a few splurges:
Sour Cherry Jam - why the hell not? Sour? Good. Cherry? Good. Jam? Good.
Ajvar - Nice break from chutney I thought.
Curry Ketchup - because it's a weakness of mine.
Olives - I shouldn't be allowed near olive bars, as a rule.
What shall I do with all this deliciousness? Why, make more deliciousness of course!
The bread shall be used for bruschetta goodness with the cheese, the olives and the ajvar variously.
The fresh pasta will be used with the creme fraiche to make one of my favorite quick pastas.
The dried pasta will be used with my own sauce which incorporates what I love about puttanesca and arrabiata. Mmm. Some of the olives will also be used.
The curry ketchup will be used on roast potatoes, in place of chutney on my grilled cheese, and a secret (and delicious!) addition to my curried cauliflower.
It's going to be a happy food week in Meganland.
Most of what I bought were "staple" luxuries - mushroom stock cubes, creme fraiche, super fancy pasta (fresh as well as dried), olive oil, san marzano tomato paste, bread and cheese.
In addition I picked up a few splurges:
Sour Cherry Jam - why the hell not? Sour? Good. Cherry? Good. Jam? Good.
Ajvar - Nice break from chutney I thought.
Curry Ketchup - because it's a weakness of mine.
Olives - I shouldn't be allowed near olive bars, as a rule.
What shall I do with all this deliciousness? Why, make more deliciousness of course!
The bread shall be used for bruschetta goodness with the cheese, the olives and the ajvar variously.
The fresh pasta will be used with the creme fraiche to make one of my favorite quick pastas.
The dried pasta will be used with my own sauce which incorporates what I love about puttanesca and arrabiata. Mmm. Some of the olives will also be used.
The curry ketchup will be used on roast potatoes, in place of chutney on my grilled cheese, and a secret (and delicious!) addition to my curried cauliflower.
It's going to be a happy food week in Meganland.
Monday, January 04, 2010
It'll be alright.
2010. To be honest, it's difficult to believe I made it. By any calculation, I shouldn't be here. So, what - sheer dumb luck? Seems that way. At this exact moment I feel like anything is possible, and perhaps it is.
In a few days I hit a significant anniversary - 10 years. I wear my scars on the outside; they are visible for everyone to see. But even 10 years later I am still not ashamed of them, because they prove that I survived. I got through it the only way I knew how, and no, it's not pretty to look at, but I'm still standing and I'm only slightly worse for the wear.
In a few days I hit a significant anniversary - 10 years. I wear my scars on the outside; they are visible for everyone to see. But even 10 years later I am still not ashamed of them, because they prove that I survived. I got through it the only way I knew how, and no, it's not pretty to look at, but I'm still standing and I'm only slightly worse for the wear.
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