Parsimony in the Kitchen

Risotto in Pita – fast lunch

The other day, I found a variety of leftovers and little bits of lots of stuff. Here’s what was in the fridge:

less than a cup of squash-apple risotto from the night before,
some salsa,
a few tablespoons of red pepper hummus,
two pieces of fresh mozzarella,
two rounds of pita bread, and
assorted greens.

And it made an ample lunch for two growing men. I cut the pita rounds in half and spread some hummus on the inside. Two good dollops in each half and some mozzarella, topped with salsa. I wrapped each stuffed pita half in foil and gently heated them for 15 minutes @300°F. At the table, we had a bowl of shredded lettuces to add a crispness to these delicious, leftover sandwiches. Served with corn chips and sweet lime pickles. The best part: rice and beans (the hummus) make up a perfect protein!

Want to make your own hummus and pita bread, check this out.

Parsimonious Soup

The other night I decided to roast a chicken and the giblets and neck bone in the cavity made me want to make a stock. So into a small pot they went with some other butchered parts and vegetable castoffs. I was already imagining a simple, intensely flavored soup for lunch the next day. In the dead of winter (where we are now in New England), I keep a plastic bag in the freezer of too-good-to-throw-away vegetable trimmings. For this stock, I pulled out the leek greens from a month ago and sliced them thinly. Then I added one carrot, one celery stock, two cloves of garlic, and a piece of ginger. I liked the small collection of chopped flavorings on the counter–fresh, clean, and simple. I reserved the liver from this organic chicken for a quick saute the next day because it often clouds a stock.

For lunch, I gently cooked a minced shallot in one tablespoon of butter, then added two sliced mushrooms, and a good grind of pepper. When they softened, I added a splash of vermouth and let it reduce to intensify the flavors. You might also use cider. Then I added two+ cups of stock, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking, I chopped some parsley and tossed it in. I could have added so many more ingredients–like chicken, an egg, sun dried tomatoes, cream, miso, cheese–but liked the cleanness of what I arrived at so easily. With a piece of toast topped with the chopped and sauteed liver, this was a delightful repast on a winter’s day, quick to prepare, and something I will do again soon.

Chicken stock for soup for one

chicken neck bone, wings, and giblets (except liver)
leek greens (or 1 small onion)
1 carrot
1 celery stock
2 cloves garlic
1″ piece of ginger
parsley stems

Put everything in a small pot, cover with water plus a little more (3-4 cups), and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for an hour or more. Let cool, strain, and refrigerate.

Saving face and saving money

1. Save the veggies. Instead of moving the compost bucket outside for the winter, put it in the freezer. Freezing vegetable trimmings arrests bacteria and when you’ve saved about a gallon’s worth, put it in a stock pot, cover with water, and simmer for 45 minutes to make a delicious vegetable stock. It’s great for adding extra flavor to your homemade soups and stews.
2. Save the harvest. Easy, no-cook “canning” with vinegar and salt is the tried-and-true method of preserving savory treats. Try this Red Salad. Boil and skin five beets. Cut into small dice and sprinkle with two tablespoons of sugar. Thinly slice a head of red cabbage, put it in a big bowl, sprinkle on two tablespoons of sea or Kosher salt. Thinly slice or chop three red onions, place in a shallow bowl, cover with apple cider vinegar (or your favorite). Let your ingredients marinate for a few hours and sterilize pint jars. Combine all ingredients in the big bowl holding the cabbage and mix thoroughly. Taste, adjust to balance the sweet, sour, salty tastes, favoring your favorite. If you like, add some fresh chopped herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme really do work in combination). Pack the jars somewhat tightly and fill with vinegar. Cover and store for up to 5 months or in the refrigerator for a bit longer. A perfect compliment on the Thanksgiving table, a festive hostess gift at a Christmas party, and a special treat for you in deep mid-winter with poultry or pork.
3. Save some seeds. It’s mind-boggling to stop and look at the millions of seeds that Nature provides every year. Sure it’s fun to cultivate unusual or exotic plants with seeds from catalogues. But nothing could be easier than saving your own seeds from plants already in your garden and recently harvested vegetables. As a little science project, look for seed pods on your annuals, like the marigold. Attached to each flower that is now dying is a pod with seeds; pluck the pod, open it, air dry the contents, and you’re ready to start seeds for next year. Or, when you cut into, say, a green pepper, those seeds are viable for more plants next year. Simply fully air dry, store and label until you’re ready to begin your gardening season in the spring.
4. Save garden tools. At the end of the gardening season, it’s a good idea to clean and properly store your tools. First, remove any dirt–try using a crumpled piece of aluminum foil which also sharpens and polishes. For tougher grit or rust, soak overnight in a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar, Listerine, or Coke. Wipe clean and dry thoroughly. Finally, using a clean soft cloth, oil the metal and wood with vegetable or mineral oil (or a cooking spray). For longer term storage, wrap your tools in newspaper.
5. Save the sharpness. Want to double or even treble the life of your cartridge razor? Try this: find a covered container that will accommodate the size of your razor. Blade in first, fill the container with mineral oil just to cover the blade. The oil prevents the blade from corroding, which hastens the dulling process. After every use, rinse the razor and store it.
6. Save your carpets naturally. With all the rain we’ve had, my carpets began to smell a bit musty. Baking soda to the rescue. Sprinkle it on (I put it in a wire mesh strainer), let it set for 10 minutes and it will absorb the odor. Then vacuum. Much cheaper than commercial fresheners and surely better to breathe.
7. Save on soap products. Most liquid soap manufacturers want you to use more than you really need so you’l buy more. The recommended doses are always overkill for normal cleaning tasks. In fact, most dish and laundry soaps should be diluted by at least 40%. Try this for proof: Wash a load of laundry with the recommended dose of soap and then remove a small item (say, a hand towel) from the wash. Fill a bucket or big bowl with water, add the item, swirl it around, and if you see tiny soap bubbles, you’ve used too much detergent. Using less soap is also better for for the environment.
8. Save lint. You’ve probably read about the fire hazard associated with your dryer’s lint trap and exhaust. Keeping it lint-free is a must. But did you know that you can use the lint as kindling? Next time you make a fire, clean the lint trap and add the lint to your preferred pile of kindling (twigs, rolled newspaper). The lint ignites quickly and burns hot. That’s why it’s a fire hazard.
9. Save a sailor! According to a centuries’ old superstition, when a glass “rings” in a bar or at a table, a sailor will be drowned–unless someone puts a finger on the glass to stop the ringing and announces “Save a sailor!”
10. Save face. Want to do some good? Volunteer in your community for one hour/month.  All non-profits welcome, and thrive on, your help. Practice random acts of altruism: let the other car go first; say Good Morning or Thank you and mean it; recognize someone else’s good deed.

Vegetable Sun Stock

Now that summer’s in full swing (and amidst a heat wave here in New England), the kitchen compost pail seems always full, and I’m regularly experimenting with vegetable stocks to can and freeze. This summer I discovered “sun stock” almost by accident.

The herb garden flourishes from some lazy pruning or snipping, so the other day I had a nice basketful of lovage stalks, sage, chive, burnet and basil flowers, as well as savory  and rosemary trimmings. A lovely bounty amounting to about four good handfuls of grass. I brought this pile into the house, harvested a few good looking leaves, and tossed the rest into a large bowl on the counter, normally used for making bread. I intended this to become another compost pail, at least temporarily, but instantly thought: sun tea. So back outside I went with the bowl and a gallon of water in tow, set the bowl on a sunny bench, and poured in the water; this was about 8 am.

easy sun stock

Before lunch, the tea was a healthy, earthy color, and I strained, iced and tasted it. Delicate, savory, slightly bitter. Hmmm, maybe a good base for a vegetable stock. So as I prepared a zucchini soup for lunch, the trimmings went into the big bread bowl and it went back outside for the afternoon with another gallon of water and half the reserved herb tea. I added some radishes and carrots which had softened in the fridge and a ginger root which had seen better days. By dinnertime, the sun stock was ruddy and, I must say, sublime. I look forward to adding roasted tomato and red pepper skins later in the summer for some added sweetness. Just as with sun tea, the slower steeping process creates a more delicate flavor while retaining the nutrients. Of course, you can experiment with whatever herbs and vegetables that might otherwise be tossed into the compost pile. I’d love to hear about your experiments.

tip

Basil flower tea is a favorite summertime treat. It’s a clean taste, quite healthy, and snipping the flowers encourages the plant to continue to grow.

Water, Sun Tea & Ginger Syrup

Next time you run the tap for either hot or cold water, let the water run into a pot or a pitcher. Use the pot of water for boiling pasta, or whatever, and use the pitcher of water to make sun tea.

Sun Tea is so easy. Put tea bags in a clear pitcher of water and place in the sun for a few hours. Use 1 teabag/cup of water. Remove bags or strain; if you like, add sugar (or try Ginger Syrup, yum). It’s usually an iced beverage because it doesn’t get hot enough to be “hot.”

The gentle heat of the sun is especially good for green, white and herbal teas. Black teas brewed in this way also tend to be less bitter.

Ginger Syrup

Hot and sweet, spicy and soothing, ginger syrup is a delightful addition to teas, pancakes, oatmeal, or, of course, ginger bread. It’s also a pleasant substitute for corn syrup.

4 cups fresh ginger root (14 ounces; unpeeled makes a stronger syrup)
3 1/2 cups sugar (24 ounces)
3 1/2 cups water (28 ounces)

Slice the ginger root (about 1/8″ thick) or use the slicing disc of a food processor. Place in a heavy pot (not aluminum, but does anyone use that anymore?) with the sugar and water. Boil over medium high for about 45 minutes or until it reaches 216 degrees F. (You may boil it a bit longer for a thicker syrup, more like corn syrup, but it won’t stir into teas as easily.  Remove the pot from the heat, allow to cool slightly and carefully strain into one or more glass containers. Store in the refrigerator.