Better the next day

In doing a casual survey of friends and family, it turns out many people dislike leftovers.

I think this is probably to do with your upbringing, which is why you don’t like brussel sprouts/liver/meatloaf/turnip/insert your own food dislike here.

There’s nothing my Mom cooked which I dislike to this day.  And sometimes, my idea of a great breakfast consists of what’s left of dinner from the night before.

Since Scott and I are big eaters and I leave the door open while I’m cooking so that the neighbours can come and get some, it doesn’t happen often.  But when it does, we don’t mind a bit.

Do you?  Tell me your leftover stories.

A night of endless pulsing

A good friend of mine was telling me she wishes she used her food processor more, but it’s downstairs in a cupboard.  Going and getting it and then setting it up is quite a hassle, so she doesn’t use it.

And with our lack of space, there’s nowhere for me to put one.  I’ve been using this mini chopper my Mom got me about a decade ago to chop, dice and mince my way through.

A couple of weeks ago, a farmer my Dad and I visit suggested I try making kale pesto with the fresh bunch I’d just bought from him.

It only took 6 batches with my tiny little whipper snapper of a machine to do the whole thing.  First I steamed the kale, then chopped it and added it in minuscule increments along with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, sunflower seeds, fresh garlic and salt.

Yes, it was fantastic, but damn exhausting.  It took about 45 minutes.

One day I’m going to have room for every appliance I’ve ever wanted.  And one of those big restaurant stock pots that are too damn big to keep in any cupboard.

Cold comfort

Last weekend I had a weird stomach flu thing.  Now Scott’s got it.

When you are sick, do you crave roast chicken with lemon, like I do?  Or homemade pureed soups like cauliflower, potato leek or lemongrass?

I’m making some comfort dishes for him tonight.  I hope it helps.

Tell me what makes you feel better when you’re under the weather.

I would never get any writing done

With this fabulous pencil/spoon, I would never get any writing done.  I’d just be dreaming about all the soups I’d be making, the meals I’d be creating.  Nice problem to have though…

Super size it

As you know, I don’t bake.

So when I make something dessert-ish, I use a mix.

Recently, I made cornbread for when company was over for dinner.  Normally, I do make this from scratch, but the other stuff I was making was pretty time intensive (top sirloin roast, cabbage soup, layered salad with homemade dressing, sides, etc.) so I went with a mix.

The package instructed me to use 2 cups of the mix, along with water, eggs, and the usual suspects.

After portioning out 2 cups worth, there only remained 1/3 of a cup.  So not only can I not make it again from this package but I’d have to get out the ol’ calculator and figure out how much water, egg (can you do an eighth of an egg?), et al I’d need.

Last night, I make an exceptional quinoa salad (I don’t know how it came out so well or why my meatloaf was “the best ever.” ).

Anyway, I had got it from an organic market so it came in a box with instructions.  Put one cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water…

It left me with less than 1/2 cup of quinoa left!

Argh.

Same with my wild rice.  I always have to buy another package before I can use the last bit up.

I know companies have to adhere to weights and sizes and such, but if you can’t just do one or two servings, don’t do it at all.  I’ve got 2 small shelves in which to keep my pantry stocked.  I don’t have room for 2 boxes or bags of one thing.

I’ve got to wait before making more cornbread or quinoa, which means I’m less likely to make it.

We buy our eggs 18 at a time, so there’s no chance of running out (with all this cooking I’m doing, you wouldn’t believe how quickly they go).

I’d buy these mixes any bigger if they made ‘em, but then, where would I keep them?

All I’m asking for is enough to make it once or twice, not something nasty in between.

Can you imagine if nail polish came only enough to do your nails one and a half times?

‘Nuff said.

All or nothing

My friend Chris went through a time where he had 3 bottles of capers going at once.  He was practically begging for caper recipes in order to get it down to one jar.

Last night I am in the midst of making Rainbow Trout with Horseradish Butter, only to discover that we are completely out of horseradish.  We either have a bottle taking up valuable condiment real estate for f-o-r-e-v-e-r or it goes in 2 nights.

The same goes for many of our pantry essentials.  Olives – all or nothing.  Jam, same thing.

So after getting groceries last night and this morning, I still have a host of items I’m out of.

I’d love to know what you go through like crazy or what’s been hanging around at the back of your fridge since grunge was popular.

I totally fell for it

I am very impressionable when it comes to food.

Not people’s opinions of it or anything of the sort.  But what people are eating.

I don’t eat fast food very often but every once in awhile someone will tell me about this amazing sub they had for lunch and within 2 week’s time, I’m sitting down to an assorted with extra dressing.

I once saw a woman’s cart with a soft taco kit for a kind of taco lasagna.  Three days later, I was assembling one from scratch.

And despite thinking I am smarter than the average public, I totally fell for all of the St. Patrick’s Day marketing.

I haven’t celebrated St. Patrick’s Day since my teens when going out to a bar was an event and I am not Irish, so I don’t have any cultural connection to it.  It’s just another day I don’t go to a bar and I don’t have green food.

And every year, it’s been getting more and more press coverage.  Over the last couple of months, I had to sift through a ton of newsletters, press releases and restaurant menus featuring Guinness-soaked this and cabbage stuffed-that.  Every St. Paddy’s Day email included potato recipes and hearty, hearty fare.

Whatever.

Except that unbeknownst to me, I totally fell for it.

Last night I made Tourtiere and Wilted Cabbage.

Tourtiere is not an Irish dish, but it’s hearty and meaty and for the last 2 days, I’d been wandering around craving cabbage.

Hear that?  Craving cabbage?

Oh good lord.  They got to me.

I wonder what’s going to happen for Easter.

Why you should decide what you’re making for dinner BEFORE you leave the house

So today I head out to get another baking sheet (I spilled some of that egg custard on ours a couple of nights ago and despite days of soaking it in powerful chemicals, it wouldn’t budge) and I’m returning a DVD, picking up library books, when it occurs to me that I should make tourtiere tonight.

I had taken organic ground beef and pork out, thinking I might do a meat loaf or something and it wasn’t until I was all the way across town, hands and shoulders loaded down with stuff that I realize that tonight has just been deemed meat pie night .

So now I need to make one more stop, just enough out of the way that carrying all of these bags is going to be a minor trek.

I am not prepared.  My collar flaps in the intense wind, my e0-friendly bags slip from my shoulder to my wrists.  I make it to the store – just – and pick up the last essential ingredients.

I slough it all home and feel like I’ve just had an hour’s workout at the gym.  My shoulders ache, my neck is stiff and my hands are so sore.

And I haven’t even started the prep, cooking and cleaning up.

Oy.

Reading books about food can be dangerous

Last night I made  an excruciatingly extensive paella and did all of the dishes and pots and pans that go along with it.  That was exhausting.  I sit down to read my food book club book and suddenly I’m up and I’m making Egg Custard Pie.

There are two things you should know about me:

1.  I don’t bake

2.  I don’t like desserts

So how I came to be making this pie after 2 hours of cooking and cleaning is beyond me.  The only explanation is that all of these books about food and cooking are getting to me.  Luckily I have a fella who will try anything I make and does have a sweet tooth.

If, however, I am found at 1 in the morning, trussing a chicken with lemon bars in the oven, take my reading privileges away.

At least temporarily.

Salad days are here again

Last night my best friend and I went to a restaurant with a salad bar.

For $13.99 we could eat as much as we wanted.

And we did.

Can you ever have too much salad?

I think not.

p.s. you can have too many pickles though…