You know what they say. When the going gets tough, the tough get cooking. I’m making bread today, and that’s the only kind of uprising I want to think about.
Our freezer is pretty full right now, so we’re making an effort to put a dent in that. Not like it’s a problem, because we have the best freezer food in town! Last night we had the leftover Kabocha Squash Red Curry from the freezer.
This curry is one of my new favorite recipes. The coconut milk held up in the freezer and didn’t separate when I reheated it, but the squash almost disappeared. Taste was great, though. I also used the pomegranate seeds I froze, and that was a huge success.
We had a pomegranate tree when we lived in Texas, and we never ate them. Boy, do I regret that now. While they are a PITA to clean, pom seeds are delicious and add such a punch to this curry, along with chopped roasted peanuts and cilantro.
I remember the first time we tasted cilantro – 1978. We bought it at a small Asian market, because we needed it for a recipe, and the big grocery stores didn’t sell it. We thought it was awful, and I know there are plenty of people who still think that. Or they have that genetic thing that makes it taste like soap. We love cilantro now and can’t get enough.
I’m also defrosting a tub of my stuffed cabbage rolls for dinner tonight. I’m making rye bread to go with. I use the basic no-knead method, but I add a tablespoon of caraway seeds. This time, I also substituted pickle juice for half the water. We saved the juice from a jar of Kosher dills.
The bread is still rising, but I sampled the dough, and I love the taste of the pickle juice in there. I may tinker with quantities, but I’m betting this is a keeper.
Since we’ve been eating reasonably healthy the last couple of days, I told Dale he could make something decadent Monday if he wants. Of course, I have an ulterior motive. I’m playing golf, and I love coming home to one of his kitchen creations.
I strongly suspect he’ll go with burgers, which he has been craving. In my view, they aren’t really all that indulgent. We make ours with bison. I guess the issue is that not a lot of vegetables are involved.
Dale roasted a whole chicken late last week, and we have leftovers from that. We already had chicken tortilla soup and froze two servings. I volunteered to make chicken divan, a retro casserole made with broccoli, chicken, canned cream soup, cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs.
I thought about making it without the canned soup, as we generally avoid processed food. But seriously, if we have it twice a year, I can’t think the canned soup is the worst thing I’ll eat. Plus, I know it tastes great the way I make it, so why mess with a good thing?
As far as death by food goes, I’ve been reconsidering cold cereal. I loved cereal when I was younger, but it’s not as healthy as you’d think. I try to mostly eat real food that doesn’t come out of a package. Plus, there’s the issue of acrylamides, which is a carcinogen that is actually in many foods. A lot of boxed breakfast cereals are packed with acrylamides.
I gave up cereal about 15 years ago. About the same time I gave up sodas. I don’t miss either one of them, but lately I’ve been thinking, oh, would a bowl of Cheerios kill me? Something else is probably going to get me first. Upon further reflection, I see no reason to start up again. If I want some cold cereal-like thing, I eat my homemade granola, which is basically oats and nuts.
The rest of the week is up for grabs. The weather is turning slightly warmer for a few days, so I want to take advantage of that. Golf, walking. We’ve both become so wussy about cold. Low 50s, and we can barely force ourselves to go outside.
Dale, being from Maine, used to advertise himself as the cold weather model, but he’s gone California now.
I often say “leftovers” —whether from the freezer or just from the day before yesterday, are one of my favorite things to make for dinner. You get something yummy for little to no effort. Many dishes even taste better the second go round.
I was fortunate to learn from a good friend who was a few years older and a good cook and frugal homemaker (we all were in those early days), to never make a dish for just one night, when you could for hardly any additional effort, make something for two or more meals. It not only saved money but also time and effort….a real plus when you have a full time job and a family to feed and care for.
Years later, after we were empty nesters, I still liked to make extra and enjoy leftover or ‘planned over’ meals. A ‘planned over’ was what I called it when we had a different meal, from the same dishes or ingredients. If we had a beef roast and vegetables for Sunday dinner, it was easy to have beef stew, later in the week, with no one in the family feeling bored with the same meal.
I felt sorry for an office manager I worked with for a number of years, who frequently commented that her husband didn’t really care for leftovers, so she often threw out extra food. What a waste of food, time and energy!
My sister’s husband has similar sentiments. While I know that simple difference is far from the only thing we did to stretch our budgets, I do believe it is one of the reasons why we are enjoying a much more financially comfortable retirement. Little things over weeks, months and years add up.
We certainly don’t need to eat leftover food anymore, but as I already stated, leftovers are one of my favorite things to make for dinner—easy and tasty!
We love leftovers! And I agree — waste not, want not. I love the idea of a planned over. It’s like Chopped! They had free K-cups where I worked, so I always drank that for coffee. The young ones always went for Starbucks for $10 a day or more.
As for weather, I’m amazed to report that I met my sister, brother in law, nephew and his wife, for lunch today at a brewery that has an outside patio with some propane heaters. We chose today because we also are having something of warmer weather, though slightly cooler than CA. We are having sunny weather and no forecast of rain/snow until Friday, and with today’s high of 35 degrees, we sat on that patio for 2 hours! We have taken encouragement from some folks in Norway who advise that it’s all about the layers, and I’ve gotta admit, I was comfortable. We hadn’t seen each other since October, so it was worth it.
A brewery lunch sounds great!! But a high of 35 degrees — that might be a bridge too far for me. I’m glad you had fun!! Yes, layers are key. I also read about the Norwegians and am trying to move in that direction.
If I were to eat cereal, I think I’d go for peanut butter Cap’n Crunch. Low 50s–just like a Californian. 🙂 I get excited about low 50s during the winter, hey, I’m excited about a high of 47 this week. Looking forward to hearing how the pickle juice rye bread turns out. My husband made tartlet shells (with the mini tart pans I bought him for Christmas) with a lemon curd filling today, and yesterday I made a chocolate torte with coffee buttercream frosting. That’s my kind of comfort food. A little goes a long way, though, so luckily we can freeze the torte.
Hell, yes, to peanut butter Cap’n Crunch! If I had to do it, I’d go for Lucky Charms. Those tarts sound fantastic. I’ve made savory mini-pies for the freezer, and they are fantastic. Turkey pot pie and broccoli sausage pie. Although that doesn’t compete with coffee buttercream frosting.
Pickle juice in bread?! My granddaughters are big fans of pickle soup, which is basically potato soup flavored with diced dill pickle and juice. Yum! The comfort cooking this weekend was cinnamon buns. i need to master the caramel sauce. My neighbors are my tasters from this test kitchen. He’s known to say – it won’t be as good as your mom’s. Reports are that he eats what’s dropped off so it can’t be that bad. The temps have hovered around -10C (14F) and I call that a nice winter day in Alberta. The goal this month is 50 mi (boots on the road). I have to get outside and move if I’m going to eat all those cinnamon buns!
I’ve never made cinnamon buns, but they sound wonderful! The soup sounds good, too. I also have to move a lot to make up for what I eat. But those temps!! I’d need some serious layers.
The pickle juice in the bread was fantastic. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it adds a tartness that intensifies the flavor of the rye. That’s how I’ll make it from now on. Maybe to go with that soup!
Thank goodness for leftovers! Plus grilled cheese, BLT’s, and Trader Joe’s Cowboy quinoa veggie burgers, my other go-to’s for nights when I need a break in the kitchen.
The key to palatable leftovers I’ve learned, is the oven. I reheat in the oven about 90% of the time, which restores the food’s original crispness. Or the stovetop of course, for soups. I think about the only item that goes in the microwave for reheating here, actually, is leftover rice, and leftover lasagna. Both seem to better retain moisture that way.
We are actually on a run of leftovers due to having workers in the house, meaning we’re vacating each day. Last night I reheated an 80% beef/20% pork meatloaf loaded with panko crumbs and fresh herbs – so good, and definitely comfort food. Tonight I’m reheating pollo asade with grilled onions and bell peppers, plus rice, and pinto beans I soaked and cooked myself. Would you believe I just started doing my own beans due to the food shortages when the pandemic started? So easy, and so much nicer than canned, can’t figure out why I didn’t do so all along. Plus loads of cilantro- we love it also!
If not for leftovers a lot more takeout would most likely over occur here!
Another leftovers fan! I’m also quite careful reheating in the microwave. Quick way to ruin perfectly good food.
We almost always start with dried beans. We use the Instant Pot and do not pre-soak. For “refried” beans, he puts in two cups of dried beans, some chopped onion, a whole jalapeno, a few 1/4 inch thick lardons of salt pork and water to cover by an inch or so. A sprinkle of kosher salt. He pressure cooks them at high for 45-50 minutes, depending on how old the beans are. When they’re done, he strains them and mashes them up in a pan using some of the liquid from the pressure cooker. An alternative if you don’t have or don’t want to use salt pork is to add some bacon fat when you mash them.
The beans usually keep a couple of weeks in the refrigerator and are great for burritos, etc.
I NEED that No-knead rye bread with caraway seeds and pickle juice recipe! I also make cabbage rolls, and sometimes borscht..a good rye would be soooo yummy.If you have time to send me a link I would be soo appreciative!
Here’s a link to the basic recipe:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/no-knead-bread-56389453
For rye, mix together 2 1/4 cups of bread flour, 3/4 cup of rye flour, 1 1/4 tsp. of table salt, 1 tblsp. caraway seeds and 1/2 tsp. of instant yeast. Water is the same at 1 1/3 cups, but substitute about half of it with pickle juice.
If you prefer to weigh your flour, it’s 300 grams of bread flour and 100 grams of rye.
I usually find it needs a little more water than it calls for, but we live in a dry area. Also, after the first rise, I lightly flour a Silpat mat and drop the dough onto that. Then I wash the bowl the dough was in and dry it well. I follow the instructions otherwise, but I put it back in the bowl for the second rise.
Let me know how it turns out! We loved it.
I love cilantro. There are many things I‘ve grown to love as I’ve gotten older. Mushrooms, avocados, black beans. Things we never ate growing up. I try to eat as much real food as possible but it’s tough at times. And when my husband cooks, which is more these days, his favorites require lots of cans. I am the one who eats leftovers, mainly for lunch. I think living alone all those years made me appreciate the convenience of leftovers!!
I love pretty much everything except the offals. Liver is fine in some forms but none of the rest of the innards. My husband claims he likes vegetables, but he defaults to comfort food, so I have to lobby hard for veggies.