The After Easter Ham Bone Proves Its Worth

This year for Easter dinner, we  bought a smoked pork picnic shoulder with a bone.  I made   a glaze of currant jelly, coarse mustard and brown sugar, and a chutney of rhubarb, dried cranberries, vinegar and spices.  Incredibly good. 
Ham, Glaze and Chutney recipes

The only changes I made was parsley instead of watercress, which I couldn't find, and I substituted craisins for currants in the chutney because I was out of currants.  We loved the chutney.  We had a 7 pound ham, as we were only four people .


Rhubarb, by the way,  can be hard to find in some supermarkets.  The clerks don't know what it is and even the people in the PRODUCE department may be unfamiliar with it.  Chances are your grandparents grew it if they had a garden..

The reason I got a ham with a bone (besides flavor) was that a ham bone with bits of meat is a wonderful flavor enhancer for bean, pea or lentil soup.  I made bean soup, using the ancient Better Homes and Garden recipe from an old cookbook I found at the book drop at the recycling center.  It was straight forward and I added fresh thyme instead of dried, and added a few tablespoons of chopped parsley.  Did not add potatoes.  Aren't beans starchy enough?  Used some leftover chicken broth and the rest water.  Cooked the beans (after soaking) with the ham and thyme, as well as a bay leaf, then added onion, garlic, carrot and celery and cooked for half an hour until the beans were done. I browned 2 strips of thick cut bacon and added it to the soup for extra flavor.   Add parsley before serving.  I could have added the ham skin when I first cooked the beans if I hadn't already ditched it.  I'm sure it adds a lot of flavor and never knew about this possibility because so few hams actually have the skin anymore.  Another virtue of the old fashioned ham.  Naturally we had ham sandwiches and ham and eggs before the soup

I was out of Bisquick, so I made biscuits from scratch, using buttermilk.  Yesterday to serve with the soup on the 2nd day (it was even better), I bought a package of "baby grands" biscuits at the supermarket.  Yikes!  Those suckers are pricey.  We decided we actually like the Bisquick biscuits best.  Maybe I'm just used to them. 

The soup tastes better on the second day.  Made salad out of the leftover asparagus and green beans and even garnished it with a leftover hard boiled egg.  You can never eat too many veggies.  The leftover chutney tasted wonderful on cottage cheese. 

The ham extended Easter another few days and gave good value.  I got 14 servings out of a $9.00 ham or 64 cents for a serving of quality protein.  Not bad. 

The Cheeseparer

Chicken Enchilada Bake

I ran across this recipe--think I followed a link to the blog, and thought:  This looks cheap!  This looks easy!  This looks quick!  Can't get much better than that.  I had all the ingredients except the enchilada sauce.  Normally, I would have made my own taco seasoning, but I actually wanted to try it to see what was in it and how it tasted.

Here is the original recpe:  Chicken Enchilada Bake By the Country Cook

The old saying, haste makes waste came into play.  I actually didn't read "10 ounches mild green chili enchilada sauce."  Nope.  Read "10 ounces of  mild green chilies."   I bought 8 ounces because I didn't want to buy 3 cans  and  when I came  home with the taco seasoning and the chilies, then, and only then, I realized (with a few expletives) that I should have bought 10 oz. mild green chili enchilada sauce.

I wasn't going back to the store, so I decided to wing it and make my own.  My neighbor had recently given me some hot red peppers that came with her weekly produce (one of those co-op deals), and I needed to do something with them.  Soooo....

Sauteed  1/3 onion and one small seeded red pepper (removed the pith, too, as that sucker was HOT!).   Once the veggies softened I added  a clove of chopped garlic, the 2 cans of mild green chilies, and a little chicken broth.  Salt and pepper.  I sampled a bit,  and it tasted wonderful-spicy, but not too spicy.  Added the taco seasoning and the chicken and the soup and the cheese (I always have a bag of shredded Mexican cheese in the fridge) and  mixed it all up.

I mixed the Bisquick with water and dumped it in the casserole.  I could tell it was going to be hard to spread, so I got out my offset spreader and sprayed it with PAM and made short work of spreading the base.

The Food Network has provdided good hints over the years, and the offset spreader (great for frosting) and spraying Pam or its equivalent on any tool or measuring cup likely to  become sticky are cool things to know about. 

Sprinkled the rest of the cheese on top and baked the casserole.  This was GOOD, moderately spicey and it provided two dinners and a main course lunch for the two of us.

I try to keep chicken pieces in the freezer as well as having the soup on hand and always Bisquick.  Bisquick can save your life.  The dish was not keep-a-box-of-kleenex-on-the-table spicy.  You get the picture.   If I made it again in the summer when the herb garden was in full flower,  I'd sprinkle a bit of cilantro or chives on the casserole for color.  The little bits of red pepper did look nice on the inside.

Once the weather gets cool again, I'm making a pot of chicken and dumplings.  Right now, New England has been in the 70's and there's no call for hearty fare yet.

Happy Cooking!

The Cheeseparer

Smoked Pork Chops on the Grill

Sometimes pork chops are dirt cheap.
Did you know your grill can become a smoker?  Build a modest fire on one side of your grill, add some wet chips (your choice of flavor) thgat you've soaked.  Put the chops on the side of the grill with no fire.  Put the lid on, and barely open the vents.  We also used a bit of apple wood which is particularly good with pork.

To start with, I put a rub on the chops.  We're having a German meal, so I used carraway seeds, granulated garlic, white pepper, a pinch of ginger and some paprika.  Stash the the "rubbed" chops, covered,  in the fridge for a couple hours.

The pork chops take about 2 hours to smoke, and when I sneaked a bite---heaven!

I'll cook some carrot and onion in a bit of oil and then add some white wine,a big jar of saurkraut, drained, and a grated potato.  Usually grate in an apple, too, but we have none so I'll use a bit of agave nectar.  Add more wine, cook a while, and serve the chops with the saurkraut, mashed potatoes and a green salad.

Major yumminess.     We're having an Indian Summer Day, so it was perfect to watch the Ryder Cup and smoke the pork chops.  Now the Red Sox and Yankees are playing the last game of a disappointing season, but the new Red Sox rookies are tremendous.  Really inspiring.  I expect good things in 2015.  From worst to first to worst to first?  Now that will be historical.

Bon Appetit! 

The cheese parer. 

Going Bananas with Banana Waffles

Come home from a rare week out of town and the milk is sour.  I recall tossing a ripe banana into the freezer before we left.  Looks like we'll be eating banana waffles.  Sour milk makes great pancakes and waffles.  I always assume everyone know this, but maybe not.  I thawed the banana gently in the microwave, peeled it, and tossed it into the batter.  Mashed around a bit until pieces of banana were distributed.  Heat up the waffle iron, fry some bacon and get out the maple and strawberry syrups.  We're weird.  We like cottage cheese with our pancakes and waffles.  Quite yummy.   No one was ready for lunch before 1:00.  #1 son makes banana-chocolate chip pancakes and waffles, but that's too decadent for me.  And remember, you just pop the overripe banana into the freezer, skin and all.  When  you have three of them, you make banana bread.  We waste nothing in this household. 

Even the Wall Street Journal Carps about Food Prices

I couldn't believe the WSJ, a publication that prints a section called "Mansion" every Friday, had a story last week complaining about food prices.  After I read a bit, I realized the woman involved was entertaining 200 guests and serving lots of expensive booze, so naturally the price would be a concern if one is not "made of money" as the saying goes.  Sticker Shock at the Supermarket?

Meat prices are  high, cereal is high, honey will be going through the roof.  What's a shopper to do?  Eggs are still a bargain, and a good omelet (try spinach) or quiche is always within reach.  The Boston Globe's recipe section today (September 3rd) had a quiche with tomtoes and basil featured.  We're going to eat one of those tonight.  Tomatoes and basil from the garden and shredded mozzarella from the grocery story.  The grated cheeses are frequently on sale.  Don't get carried away, as they don't last forever.  Never tried freezing them.  If you've done this successfully, let me know. 

It really pains me to pay $4.00+ for a loaf of decent bread.  I have a good recipe for food processor bread that is easy (just 10 minutes max of total concentration) and tasty.  I invested in a special bread pan for it, as it makes two loaves.  Eat one, freeze one.  Food processor French bread

We're been using tomatoes from the garden in many recipes, and I've tried some new kebab meals that have been successful, both with chicken and with pork.  There was also a fab orzo salad with eggplant, fennel and zucchini.  I'm not a big fan of zucchni which is basically tasteless, but it was o.k. in the salad and also in a vegetable crostata the next night with a whole wheat crust. 

The recipe was for tomatoes,  zucchini and eggplant, and I added some spinach.  It called for fresh mozzarella which I didn't have quite enough of, so I added feta.  Unless you are baking, use the ingredients as a guide.  Of course I made the crust exactly according to instructions. and it was tender and tasty.  Keep your whole wheat flour in the fridge and it will stay fresh. 

Hope this gives you some new ideas.  Think Quiche, Crostata and Kebabs.  Less meat and lots of flavor.  And if you cater a party for 200, serve chicken not beef!  

Bon Appetit! 

Fresh Corn Griddle Cakes

Now that fresh produce season is in high gear, this recipe is cheap.  I always buy stone ground corn meal--so healthy and delicious.  One of the things I like about this recipe is that the corn meal mixture is NOT gunked up with a lot of sugar.   Here is the way our dinner looked.

I had problems chopping the onion (crying jag) so dumped all the coarsely chopped ingredients into the food processor.  This makes for a soupier salsa, but still good.  Couldn't find quesco fresco  but did find a very reasonable grated mixture of REAL Mexican cheese for chump change, and it will be perfect for the pork tacos we're having on Monday.

My garden has fresh mint, basil, parsley, chives, sage, oregano (great to Mexican cooking), tarragon, thyme and rosemary.  Orange cherry tomatoes we have to pick daily.  I dumped a few of them into the salsa.  They're little pops of color and flavor.

Here is the recipe from the New York Times.  Make the salsa early, and you can also prep the batter and dump the wet and dry together when  you're ready.  Really tasty.  Filing, too.  And cheap.

Fresh corn griddle cakes

I use Bob's Red Mill stone ground cornmeal.  Makes all the difference. I like the yellow, but the white is good, too.

Mediterranean Bread Salad

With the produce coming in fast and furious, consider making a bread salad.  You will need half of a baguette,  and if you can find a reduced price day old one, so much the better. cut in 1/2 inch cubes and toast with a bit of olive oil in a 425 degree oven for 5 - 10 minutes. 

6-8 tomatoes, from the garden (or someone's garden) if possible, cut into one inch chunks.
4 oz. baby spinach, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced really THIN!
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/4 cup chopped basil, fresh, of course.
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese


Mix tomatoes thru basil in a large bowl.  Save all tomato juice from chopping.  Dress with 2 T. balsamic vinegar (I use white) and 3-4 T. olive oil.  Toss in bread cubes and toss well to miss ingredients.  Salad can sit a few minutes for bread to absorb juices.  Just before serving, sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan.

Serves 4-6. 

Although it seems counter-intuitive, the salad can be eaten with sliced bread.  Serve a soup or a hearty dessert.


Enjoy!    I like to eat the soggy salad the next day. 

Fruit desserts, especially home made pie

Now that cherries and berries and peaches are in season, we can have some wonderful desserts.  Long ago, in Cambridge, MA, there was a restaurant called The Woven Hose because it was housed in an old building where woven hoses (whatever they are) were formerly made.  At noon, there was a buffet, and sometimes they had homemade peach pie.  Whatever the pastry chef was doing, he/she was doing it right.  I come from a long line of pie bakers, and this peach pie had wonderful flaky crust, juicy peaches, not too much thickening or filling.  It was sweet with a bit of the tang of ripe fruit.  OMG it was so good.

And lo, one day there was no pie and when I asked, the pastry chef was gone!  They never had it again, and the only decent peach pies I've had since were if I made it myself (rare) or a friend did (also rare).  Guess I'll make one this summer.  They do look lovely with a lattice crust.  My grandma must have made a million of them, because she got bushes of peaches from "Old Zelick".  The woman had such a light hand with pastry.  Bread, too.

As a kid, you never REALLY appreciate these things until they are gone.  How many people do you know who make peach pies?  How many restaurants do you know that serve it?  I thought so. Damned few.

My uncle had a restaurant/variety store in Hesston, Kansas, back in the day, and every morning a few old ladies with round stomachs and arms would arrive early, don aprons and hairnets, and get to work on the pies.
Cherry.  Apple.  Peach.  Custard.  Apricot.  Chocolate.  Each one indescribably delectable.  Of course they always sold out.  They were so close to heaven.

This  recipe looks pretty close to what I remember without being gunked up with creative touches.

Lattice crust peach pie

The Blue Room now occupies the spot where the Woven Hose used to be.  Great creative food.  Good wine, too.  A pleasant place to pass an evening.

The cheeseparer.

Steak on the Grill for Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day.  We never go out to eat then, because it's crowded, noisy, frenzied, even,  and the food deteriorates accordingly.  We have a Mother's Day meal on Saturday at a restaurant of my choosing.  This year it was the Garden Restaurant at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA.  Always a treat with decent food at reasonable prices and lots of good exhibits at the museum. 

For THE DAY itself, I had some sale-purchased $5 each strip steaks which we grilled.  Also grilled Vidalia onions and I made cherry tomatoes Provencal and a salad of baby spinach and avocado.  Delicious, and husband did the grilling and set the table.  The onion recipe is a keeper: Grilled Vidalia Onions

We each ate half a steak (plenty, believe me) so there's steak-fried-rice tonight.  I'll cook some Basmati rice and add scallions, the rest of the spinach and some Asian spices, garlic and a bit of cilantro.  Easy, delicious and now bordering on cheap. 

Baby lettuces have sprouted.  We eat the thinnings in salads, too, and the chives are rampant.   Sage, hit hard by the winter is recovering, and oregano is coming along.  Thyme also took a beating from winter.  Will have to replace. 

The hummingbird is back, and lots of nesting is going on right now.  The titmice are pulling the stuffing out of my wire planter and using it for nesting materials.  They are so cute (and the liner is so old) I can't be angry.


The Cheeseparer 

Hummingbird at feeder with Clematis in background

Real Men DO Eat Quiche

We had a classic quiche Lorraine for dinner the past two nights.  I make a shortbread crust of 1 cup flour, 1 stick unsalted butter, 1/2 t. salt and 2 T. half and half  Use  your fingers to blend the flour and shortening, then add salt and half and half.  Press into a 9 inch pie plate.

I used the classic bacon and swiss cheese filling.  Used more like 1/4 lb of bacon than half of pound which seems excessive although delicious.  That (sauteed until done but not crispy) goes into the bottom of the chilled crust  which you have pierced with a fork a few times.

On the bacon, add 1/2 pound grated (or cubed) Swiss cheese (I use Emmental or Jahrlsburg).  The recipe calls for 2 oz. Gruyere, but I had some leftover Mancheco and Iberico (both from Spain) and used that.  Put it on top the bacon. 

My filling calls for 4 eggs and 1 1/2 cups half and half, beaten together with a little more salt, some pepper and a pinch of cayenne.   Pour on top the cheese. 

For ease of cleanup, I line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper, and put the quiche into the oven on that.  400 degree preheated oven.  Bake about 40 minutes or until done in the center.  A bit of parsley or chives on top the filling add a bit of color but are not necessary.  Serves 4 or maybe 6 for lunch, but not at our house.

You can experiment with broccoli, spinach, mushrooms and any number of veggies, although I draw the line at zucchini.  Onion is good.  Combos are better.  With a salad, it's a complete meal.  We had salad AND broccoli last night.  Yummy.

I made a dessert of ricotta
cheese, a soupcon of sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder and instant espresso coffee powder, thinned with a bit of cream.  This is a South Beach Diet dessert and quite good.  You can use artificial sweetener if you like.

The weather is warming up and thoughts of main course salads and grilling are upon us.  Put up the hummingbird feeder yesterday.  Ah, spring! 

Classic Quiche Lorraine with a short bread crust

End of the month meals

Yikes!  Four days to go before some money comes in.  I had about forty dollars to spend at the grocery store.  The menus were two days of Chinese rice noodles with  ground pork, seasonings and baby bok choy.  Just needed the bok choy. Checked the pantry and decided on ramen for Monday and Patty Melts on Tuesday.  Off to Trader Joe's.

The Chinese meal (really delicious) will serve two for 2 meals.  What else?   Ah, the ever popular ramen, but I  never just open a package.  First of all, for a meal we need two packages, which were in house.  There are grape tomatoes, ginger and carrots and a few leaves of spinach can be plucked out of the salad mix.  And!!!  I have  a few ounces of cubed roast pork in the freezer.  All the Asian spices we keep around like soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and Sichuan pepper corns.  It will be a feast and hey, we're big into a latish celebration of the Chinese New Year, right?  With leftover for lunch.

What next?  A small package of lean ground beef in the freezer.  Just enough for two burgers.  I bought cheddar cheese, and patty melts it is.  Found a can of baked beans.  Bought more grape tomatoes and some nitrite-free bacon (so good) and spent all told, with bread, cold cuts, more cheese, onion, bananas, etc. $34.00.  A little over $8 a day for two people.  Not bad.

The night before, I had been busy writing all day and had no plan for dinner.  A quick peek into the freezer.  Ah!  A bit, but not much frozen turkey white meat.  A turkey neck and a turkey backbone.  I made stock out of the latter, using carrot, celery, onion, bay leaf and salt and pepper.  I also had some frozen turkey gravy and a frozen pie crust.  Leftovers from Thanksgiving. Hmmm.  Can we do a turkey pot pie? 

Took the meat off the neck and back, and strained the stock.  In a pan, I browned more onion and carrots and the celery, then added the stock and cooked the veggies a bit.  When they were almost tender, in went the gravy.  Made a nice thick sauce, and I dumped the turkey into the pot, too.  After I cut it up, it seemed like more, a kind of miracle of the loaves and the turkey.  Added a handful of frozen peas.  So handy for impromptu cooking.

Lots of pepper and a bit of salt.  The gravy had been homemade and well seasoned.  I put the turkey/gravy/veggies mixture into a glass pie pan and laid the crust on top.  Crimped it and slashed a few holes.  Put the whole business into a 400 degree oven until the crust was golden brown and the gravy was bulbbling up thru the vents. 

We ate this with some fresh broccoli from the vegetable drawer and it was really delicious.  The moral of this story is that it pays to save leftovers, label and date them, and freeze.  Just like the pork that will go into the ramen.  A well-stocked pantry is a cook's best friend, and those bits and pieces of leftovers can become a meal.  

You can make a good fruit salad out of apples, oranges bananas and dried cranberries.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sugar.   Of course berries or fresh pineapple will make it even better, but you can "make do."

"Making do" is something my parents who both survived the depression learned to do.  Not a bad idea for our times either.  

We gobbled the pot pie down before I could take a photo.  By the way, if you don't have a pie crust, mashed potatoes will do, either homemade or from a box.  Here's a photo with cut up pieces of pie crust if you have a dish too big for one crust.  Be creative. 

The Cheeseparer

Earla's Old Time Potato Stuffing

Earla's Old Time Potato Dressing (may also be eaten as we did in my childhood, as a stuffing). Ready in one hour.  Serves six or more.  From allrecipes.com by Lauren Buckner with a few changes by moi. My mom made this.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup (or more) butter
1/4 turkey or chicken broth (or veggie broth)

8 slices day old white bread, cubed with crusts removed
3 cups mashed potatoes (you can cheat and use prepared dry potato flakes to make 3 cups)
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 t. poultry seasoning  (I'll used fresh thyme, summer savory, and the herbs that constitute poultry stuffing).
1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t. ground nutmeg (I always do fresh)

Directions:

1. In a skillet, saute onion and celery in butter until tender.  Remove from the heat; stir in broth.  In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, prepared potatoes, egg and all seasonings.  Sir in onion mixture.  If mixture seems dry, add more melted butter or broth. Transfer to a greased  2-qt. baking dish.  Cover and bake at 325 degrees F. for  40 minutes.  Uncover and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the top is browned and a  meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.  You can also put a little extra butter, salt and pepper on top and place under a broiler until browned and bubbly.

Bok Choy with Beef

Sometimes I find myself with one smallish (less than a pound) steak in the freezer and two hungry diners.   The best thing to do with this is a stir-fry dish, and we're particularly fond of baby bok choy which cooks quickly and offers the nutrition of the cabbage family.  I'm providing a link to the recipe, but I never cut my meat that finely.  I tend to leave it in 1/2 inch cubes and   by the way, cut the extra fat off.  We always have dry sherry and Asian sesame oil in the pantry (two staples of Asian cooking), so except for the bok choy, you''re home free.  Sometimes I have fresh ginger, but if not, a smallish piece does not break the bank.  I like to serve this with a salad of lettuce with fresh oranges and a mild oil and lemon juice dressing.  We always have fresh oranges, too.  A well-stocked pantry is a cook's greatest asset.  Well, maybe some kickass recipes and her cast iron skillets.

The lone pork chop can also provide a stir fry entree, as can a few random shrimp or even some left over tofu.  A paltry amount of chicken will also work.  We keep Basmati rice on hand, as well.  If you don't have quite enough meat you can always scramble an egg into the mixture.  If mushrooms are on sale, they will work well, too, as will green beans or broccoli.  Spinach, too.  Combinations are endless, so you are not always repeating yourself and everything is cooked up fresh and tasty without the expense of a Chinese take out meal.  I have been keeping Siracha sauce in the fridge, too.

By the way, keep your sesame oil refrigerated to keep it fresh.  Tip compliments of the food network.

Tonight we're having the third evening of potroast.  I mis it up by varying the starch and the veggies.   We still have a few tomatoes ripening on the kitchen window sill, but alas, the end is in sight.  Don't ever recall a summer where the tomatoes multiplied for four whole months.

So here is the recipe, and for heaven's sake don't think you have o use filet.  Any tender cut of steak will  do.  Ye gods!  Tenderloin.

Bok Choy with Beef 

Here's the skinny on bok choy:  Nutritional value of bok choy

The Cheeseparer
 

Lunch for two for 26 cents!

Do you eat Ramen?   The noodles are my granddaughter's favorite lunch and we by them 12 packs at a time.  By themselves, with just the noodles and flavoring mix, they aren't much, but zowie, can you make them super-tasty.

I like to use part chicken broth if I have any in the fridge for a richer broth.  We chop scallions and mince ginger for the broth.  Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered.  Thin, thin slices of carrot and/or celery.  Mushrooms, if you have them and like them.  Herbs like cilantro and chives do well.  Little bits of chicken, pork, beef or shrimp can be added.   I chopped a little kale into ours yetserday.  Baby spinach works well, too. 

The end result is a really delicious soup with plenty of healthy veggies.  I always beat the package with a meat mallet to break up the noodles so they are neater to eat, but if you like to slurp them, well, omit this step.  A few frozen peas work well.  Use your imagination.

A hint of curry or red pepper is not amiss.  Sesame oil and soy sauce add resonance.  Hey!  You can cook!

If you're broke at the end of the month, ramen is cheaper than cold cuts  or the salad bar, even cheaper than boxed mac and cheese.   

27 Better Ways To Eat Ramen

Taco Salad Always Pleases

We are eating through the contents of the kitchen freezer this week.  All the ice cream is gone.  I had some frozen steak leftovers, good quality stuff, some from a restaurant meal.  What do make?  Somewhere, I thought I had a steak salad recipe calling for red peppers and black beans.  I couldn't find nothin'.  Grrrr.  What I did find was my ancient taco salad recipe using ground beef, onion, iceberg lettuce, kidney beans,tomatoes, grated cheddar and avocado. 

Hmmm.  Substitutes!  The steak for the ground beef, Boston lettuce and romaine for the iceberg. Black beans for the kidney beans.  The pantry provided the cheese  and the makings for the dressing (dynamite) which was 1/4 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream, and a 3 oz. tin of chopped green chilies which I drained.  Mix together and chill.  Very tasty. 

I had already purchased a smallish red pepper and an avocado.  Had leftover red onion.  I roasted the pepper and the onion for a few minutes to take the rawness off of them.  We also had tortilla chips.  And homegrown tomatoes, small yellow cherries and bigger red ones. 

Looked like a lot of ingredients when assembled.  The recipe said serves 4 and there were two of us.  I served the lettuce separately and also the crumbled tortilla chips.  Used only 1/2 the avocado, and yesterday we had a second meal that tasted as fresh as the first.  Cut the meal up into 1/3 inch cubes.  It went a long way.  This is meat as flavoring, not meat as main course.  Dressing on the side.

Having a well-stocked pantry saves lots of trips to the store:  we had on hand
1)  the beef
2)  onion
3)  cheese
4)   all ingredients for the dressing
5) tomatoes from the garden
6) some cilantro which I forgot the first time and added the second meal.  
7) I chopped up a couple scallions, too.
8)  tortilla chips
9)  black beans 

I bought one smallish red pepper and one avocado and got 2 meals out of the taco salad.

Forgot about a jalapeno in the veggie drawer, but the dressing gave the salad a nice pop of flavor.

This would be a delicious vegetarian meal without the steak.  

I always have onions, cheddar, tomatoes, tortilla chips and black beans.  Also mayo and usually sour cream.  The diced chilies were a serendipitous pantry item.  

Main dish salads are "da bomb" in hot weather, like soup is to cold weather.  No issues with getting enough veggies either.  Shrimp, chicken, beef--all are ideal for summer salads.

Next we travel from Mexico to Italy. Stay tuned for my chicken pesto salad.  

The taco salad looked pretty much like this:  I didn't go overboard with the cheese.

Too Much Month Left At the End of the Money

Ten weeks of house guests can eat into the food budget.  Worse yet, when the quarterly months roll around, there are property taxes, health insurance, life insurance and newspaper (we read a lot of papers) bills to pay.  All this can lead to, well, diminished cash.  There are, of course, option:  credit cards and dipping into savings are two.  This only aggravates the problem.  We decided to make do on the ridiculously small amount of available cash.  It worked pretty well.  Coupons!  Remember coupons!  I had a $5 cat food coupon.  The kitties have to eat, too. 
The piggy bank, alas, had been raided the prior month.  There was, however, a treasure trove in the freezer.  Meat for a week, and then . . . mystery meat.  What might it be? 

We found out.  Create recipes and meals from what's on hand.  This is when a well-stocked pantry is your best friend.  There were turkey cutlets, which we gussied up with capers, white wine and lemon juice.  There was chicken which was made into a delicious salad.  A couple frozen pizzas, small ones.  Dr. Oetker's.  Have you tried Dr. Oetker's pizza?  Kind of pricey, but we buy it with coupons when it's on sale.  Very good and just right for two people for lunch or a light dinner.  

The garden  gave us fresh herbs, tomatoes and cukes.  Lots of salads and the wonderful appetizer, Insalata Caprese, with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, olive oil and salt and pepper.  This can be lunch if you have some bread.  Oh yes, the mozzarella was dirt cheap, made fresh in one of our local supermarkets and totally delicious. 
Yeast and flour?  Bake a loaf or two of bread.  So tasty. 
 We found a can of corned beef hash left from the winter stores.   We ate it with some found-at-the-back-of-the-fridge English muffins.  Even stale bread tastes o.k. toasted.

Walmart had wonderful big fresh heads of iceberg lettuce for $1.14.  They (and Trader Joe's) have cheap bananas, too.  Just because every meal is a scrounge doesn't mean you can skip fruit and veggies.  Of course you read the weekly fliers for bargains.  We even had some blueberries. 

We discovered the "mystery meat" was half a small round beef roast and two (count 'em, two) short ribs.  They made two wonderful meals when cooked up with onions, some oldish celery, two big freshly purchased carrots, and red wine and garlic. (Home grown).  I cooked them for hours.  Served with some barley that has been in the cupboard for ages.   Cucumber salad, natch! 

At the end of the week, the freezer was bare, really bare.
 I also made lemon-lime ice milk, because we had bags of lemons and limes.  Bought a small container of heavy cream and we had delicious desserts.  Again, a well-stocked pantry.              

Some money finally arrived, and we went shopping, because by now, there was really no food in the house, the canned soup having been consumed for lunch.  I could have eeked another meal with pasta, bacon and tomatoes, but that wasn't necessary.  Before winter comes, I'll stock up on some Spam and corned beef and canned soup.  You never know when a power failure will hit for a few days.  We have a gas stove, and can cook on the stove top, and a Weber kettle for grilling (and baking).  Our parents and grandparents knew how to "make do."  Do you?  

This was a busy summer and I haven't posted.   How do YOU "make do?" 

Summer meals

On hot days like today, I raid the freezer for ...whatever looks easy and cool.  Shrimp salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, salads with veggies and fruits and grains.  We ate at a Lebanese restaurant on Friday, and enjoyed tabouli salad.  With the grill and a salad, it's hard to go wrong.  Last night, we skipped the starch part of the menu and had grilled pork chops, grilled onions, broccoli and carrots.  You haven't lived until  you've eaten grilled vidalia onions.  A large one is enough for two people.  Pork chops are delicious on the grill.  I   just used salt, pepper,  grated lemon zest and a bit of olive oil and minced garlic.

Here is the recipe for the onions, from the disgraced Paula Deen, but this recipe makes you want to forgive her.
 Grilled Vidalia Onions in Foil


It's strawberry season and I went all out and made a strawberry shortcake  with a sponge cake instead of a biscuit recipe.  To Die For.  Well, see for yourself.

Strawberry short cake with whipped cream -

The recipe is right here: Strawberry short cake with lemon pepper syrup

The tablecloth, so summery, is an old one from the Simon Pearce outlet in Quichee, Vt.  It's so old and soft that it barely needs ironing, a good thing.  Made in India, by the way.

The garden is gifting us herbs for cooking:  chives, thyme, rosemary,  sage, parsley, and huge batches or oregano.  Basil, too.  Can't wait for the tomatoes.  I already ate the first Insalada Caprese.    Summer is wonderful.  The farm down the street has "Pick  your own strawberries."    I'm taking two young ladies along next week.    We will probably eat as much as we pick.  My grandmother had a huge strawberry patch, and by the end of the summer, I was actually tired of them, although now I cannot conceive of such a thing.

What do YOU like best about summer foods?             

Swiss Steak in an Iron Skillet and other delights

Swiss Steak chez Cheeseparer

My mom used to make something called Swiss steak.  All I remember is that she pounded round steak, browned it after dipping the steak in flour, and did something with onion and tomato and simmered the whole business for a while.  Served it with mashed potatoes and a salad.

As a bride, I tinkered with the recipe a bit, first browning the onions (one large) and removing them from the skillet (note cast iron--ugly but so cook for serious cooking).  Brown round steak, floured, pounded, and seasoned (lots of salt and black pepper) in  fat.  I usually use canola oil and a bit of butter, but all oil is  all right.  When the meat is browned, smother it in the sauteed onions, sprinkle with dried marjoram, and pour an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce over the whole business.  Cover and simmer until tender.

Eat and enjoy.  Don't know if I've ever seen a recipe for Swiss steak.  Round steak is fairly lean (cut off extra fat) and fairly cheap, and has a good beefy flavor.  Oh, I usually saute a garlic clove or two with the onion.  A green vegetable like broccoli, beans, or even Brussels sprouts goes well.

Did your Mom make this, too?  

Old Time Swiss Steak


This is very close to my mom's recipe.  Enjoy!

When the power goes off

The woods behind the house

We live in New England, a  locale subject to hurricanes and snowstorms and alas, power outages when nature gets mad.  Our first experience was  not long after we moved here.  I actually drove downtown to work the day of the hurricane, to find the office closed and the doorman telling me to go home.  We survived the storm, although a huge paper wasp nest was dislodged from the maple in front (we didn't even know it was there.).  After the storm the neighbors came out and walked around and a little boy came by and (as little boys will) kicked the nest.  Ouch!  The worst was that the power went off and stayed for four days.  My neighbor had just filled her freezer with hors d'oeuvres.  We had a camp stove and a Weber kettle and  as stuff in the freezer defrosted, we ate it.   We had some really weird meals, but nothing spoiled and we were fed.

When we moved further out into the 'burbs, we bought a place with a gas stove, gas hot water heater, and it had, like our earlier house a wood-burning fireplace.  We've had two major power outages here and life has not been too bad.  The first was Hurricane Irene (3 days w/o power).  We can cook on the stove top if we light to pilot light, bypassing the electronic ignition.  And  we still have our Weber kettle, so as usual, we cook and eat the food as it thaws.  Showering is done in one bathroom, because the other has no windows, and gee, it does get dark.

In the big storm a year ago October, with a foot of snow before the leaves fell, the branches broke and hit the power line.  That was  4 days with no power.  It got dark early and it was cold.  We had the fire place going almost 24/7 and it heated the living room.  We could cook (Weber kettle was buried in snow) on the gas stove top and shower.  We always have candles, battery powered lanterns, kerosene lanterns, (ancient) and flashlights.  I have a special little light for my Kindle.  Our sons left us with two down sleeping bags.  It never was so cold that we couldn't wear heavy pjs to bed and nestle under the down duvet, but had it been, the sleeping bags in front of the fire would have been toasty.

During the blizzard of 2013, we didn't lose power, nor did we during Sandy.  Truth be told, it's a pain in the ass, and it takes all one's wits to cope, but you can cope.  We always have a few days worth of food in the house, winter and summer.  If a big storm is forecast, for heaven's sake make sure you have staples and things which will help you see in the dark.  Don't forget pet food. 

We visited libraries of various towns that did have power to read email, and there was always Starbucks or Panera.  Neighbors help neighbors.  And you'll have some good stories.   Be prepared.  

Do You Shop the Weekly Specials?

With newspaper flyer or online flyer, do you shop your favorite supermarket's specials and plan meals around them?  Do you shop several local (gas is still pricey) stores?  If not, you may want to reconsider. 

We're in the enviable position of having new Trader Joe's and Walmart within easy driving distance. The Walmart has an expanded food section, and I'm quite pleased with it.  The salad offerings are fresh;  the Polish ham is cheap; bananas are cheap, too.  Bread at $1.68 a loaf!  When was the last time you saw that price?  Dairy is also good, and I'm crazy about the Triscuit, the Shredded Wheat and Bran and the granola bar prices.  

Walmart doesn't have everything.  Cheese selection is poor.  Not a lot of organics (salad excepted).  You probably won't find radicchio and fennel.  We like Trader Joe's for cheese and dairy, wine, and the odd delicacy or frozen item.  When I asked whether the peppercorns could be removed from the peppermill they came in, the clerk demonstrated  by opening it up that they could.  

What is it with peppercorns?  I have two pepper grinders that I LOVE, and do not, repeat, do not want to buy pepper in a grinder, but that seems to be the latest thing.  I had to return a jar that didn't indicate except in small print that it was only a grinder.  One could not open it.  Phooey!  

Yesterday, we shopped the specials, spent $79.00 and saved $ 29.00.  These savings add up fast.  We don't buy a lot of heavily processed food, so I'm pleased to find avocados, strawberries, pears, pork chops, pasta, orange juice and cheese marked down.  Pizza dough!  Never see that on sale.  Good prices is the dairy aisle always welcome.  Savings on laundry detergent and seltzer.  BTW, I don't like seltzer but other family members do. 

We had a dynamite vegetarian stuffed shells this week.  The shells were stuffed with fennel, radicchio, red onion and ricotta bound with egg.  Somehow, this turned into a meaty concoction that was extremely satisfying and I am not always "satisfied" by vegetarian food.  I bought the pasta, and eggs and the cheese at Walmart, the veggies at Whole Foods, sort of the Yin and the Yang of grocery shopping.  The veggies had to cook forever,  but was the dish ever good and it made enough for 4 meals, which makes it economical even with the trip to Whole Foods.  The recipe came from Food and Wine.  

What are you making for the SuperBowl?  Meatloaf is out traditional  offering with bean dip and chips to nibble during the game.  Maybe Brussels sprouts and baked potatoes as sides.  It has to be something easy to eat in front of the TV, although we can usually time dinner for half time.  Everyone in Boston is bummed that the Pats lost to the Ravens, but whatchagonna do? 

It got so cold this week that I had to haul my ancient sheepskin coat out of the cedar closet.   It must weigh 10 pounds and is as warm as toast.   Patriots fans can be  glad the playoff was last weekend in mild weather rather than this weekend in the freezer compartment.  

Latkes with sour cream and apple sauce make a delicious cheap vegetarian meal

What do you eat on Superbowl Sunday?  Significant Other doesn't like chicken wings, or I would make them.   We have to journey to Stop and Shop because it's impossible to find Bean Dip anywhere else.  Some things just don't make any sense.  

Shop well and you'll save a bundle.  Now that's sensible!  


The Cheeseparer