Menus, March 26, 2014

"The greatest achievement of the human spirit

is to live up to one's opportunities 

and make the most of one's resources"

Marquis de Vauvenarques

Last week, there were an internal several of these-

that led to an internal one or two of these-

as a few beloved activities surrendered time to a few other just as beloved activities.

After a week of being immersed in innumerable bits of paper and tubes of paint, eating only when eating was more interesting than the project at hand, the need to resume a regular dinner schedule pulled me to the surface, blinking like a mole in the sun.

Just this blind and lost looking,
but probably not this cute.

Dinnertime?
I wasn't even sure it was daytime!

All at once, a dreadful certainty loomed: 

there was nothing in this house to eat.

Which, though it seemed true for a moment, was no more true in this kitchen that it is in most other American kitchens, and to prove it, I cleaned out the fridge and freezer....

and made a little inventory:

 Right off the proverbial bat, you can see two or three important things-
1. Blueberries are an awesome snack, the Sharpie was actually in drawer where it's supposed to be, my calendar is so cool that even the used page backs are fun to write on,  and
2. I did not have nothing to eat.
In fact, there is so much to eat that it may be possible to spend this week in places other than the grocery store. Nothing wrong with grocery stores, it's just that they're not often

as interesting as other places.

Although that could depend entirely on your grocery store.

This is a real grocery store in Moscow.
I am not making this up.

Here's the line up that (I hope) will make effective use of the resources on hand, giving me time to catch up on a few  things I've been neglecting.

Thursday:  Leftover pork fried rice and stirfried cabbage

Hiding in the freezer was a zip bag of cooked rice, a zip bag of leftover pork roast, and half a bag of frozen peas. Put that together with the broccoli and carrots that are in the fridge, and dinner's nearly done! 

There's a head of cabbage in the fridge too, and though the outside leaves have yellowed, but cabbage is pretty hard-headed, and I'll bet there's enough good stuff for a side dish side dish.

I wonder what to call a meal made of two side dishes...

I'll think of that while I slice up the leftover pork as thinly as I can- some for tonight's fried rice, and some for sandwiches tomorrow...

If you don't have leftover pork, think of using a couple of pork chops, or some rotisserie chicken or some shrimp.

Friday: Carrot ginger soup and Asian pork sandwiches

In this fridge, which at first glance held nothing dinner worthy, there are two very large bags of carrots. I do not know how or when this happened. But I do know that carrots deserve more main course roles than they're given- this soup looks like a good try for the last chilly days of spring. These sandwiches, which look so great, may not adapt well to cooked pork, but I'll be giving it a try anyway.

Saturday: Mascarpone Risotto and Pan fried Salmon

Pan fried salmon may seem pretty basic, but it's a thing I have yet to master, so we'll keep trying it until I do. The risotto will be the highlight of this meal though- risotto and mascarpone on their own are wonderful- the idea of combining them is very exciting. The mascarpone in the fridge was relatively inexpensive at Trader Joe's; if you want to try the recipe, and don't want to shop for affordable mascarpone, consider using ricotta or a mix of cream cheese and cream as a substitute. And since substitutions are almost always acceptable, I might use bacon instead of pancetta.

Sunday: Shepherd's pie

There's a zip bag of leftover lamb roast in the freezer that will combine with a few of the surplus carrots and the gotta-go potatoes in the pantry and make a pie. Ground beef or ground lamb would be a great substitute though- and isn't the idea of making shepherd's pie in serving size dishes fantastic? This is an Australian recipe, and so may require a little bit of translation- fir the purposes of this pie,

this is not tomato sauce.............................this is tomato sauce

Monday: Black eyed pea salad and blackeyed pea fritters

Thanks to my mother's generosity, and the prolific kindness of her garden, there are about 4 zip bags of frozen purple hull peas in the freezer. What a pity to have such an abundance, and cook them only one way! A wealth of resources makes for a freedom in experimentation, doesn't it? The salad looks like a sure winner- it's the fritters that are a bit of a gamble. And it may not be a good sign that the picture of them won't copy itself next to the picture of the salad. But fritters made from ground black-eyed peas are popular in lots of cultures and, well...crispy fried protein sounds like a good idea.

And a great way to use my available resources.

This week, I hope that if (and almost certainly when)

you find yourself up against 

a moment or a mountain you feel unequal to

you take a breath

and in the space of that breath

you make an inventory

of all the resources you hold.

Your strength, your soul, your heart, your mind.

The love within you and the love around you.

And I hope that as you exhale you know

 that what you have and who you are

right now
 is enough.

And just maybe, even more than enough.