Tag: leftovers

Cornbread Chili Eggs Zip up Breakfast or Brunch

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Necessity is purported to be the mother of invention, but we contend it is leftovers. A couple of nights ago we whipped up a batch of delicious chili, accompanied by the requisite cornbread. Of course the chili can always go in the freezer, but the cornmeal muffins had been sitting on the counter, begging to be used. Because they’re a low fat version, they didn’t stay “moist” with a heavy dose of oil, like some types.

Breakfast provided a perfect opportunity. We sliced the muffins and put them on plates. Meanwhile, we heated the chili until it was bubbling, and dropped in an egg for each person. We let them simmer until they were nicely done, and served on top of the muffins. To quote the man, “yummy.”

How Can We Use this for Lunch?

January is a time of renewal in our family – and frugality of a multitude of sorts. Most of us who aren’t already abstainers (shout out to the in-laws) give up “the drink”. We also usually get back on the horse (or treadmill, bike, road, pool, or trail) if we have been lax of late. In our house we’ve decided to take a tip from our old East Lynn Danforth friends and try not to spend money on non-essentials as well. We were inspired when the Daughter and Son and their loves showed up with a plethora of handmade and homemade things at Christmas.

It calls to mind an old poem, really words to live by in this consumerist age:

Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without

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On that note, our lunch quest was, “what have we got in the house to eat that doesn’t require going out for supplies?”

We made this awesomely delicious pasta:

For two:

Cook 1c/250ml multicolour veg pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, dice 2 very ripe tomatoes (ok, ours were VERY ripe) and 1/2 head of broccoli, stems and florets (or either)

Drain a can of salmon.

Chop up a hot pickled pepper languishing alone in its jar (clean and save jar for next year’s canning).

Dig out that 30g/1oz end of herbed goat cheese from the fridge.

Chop a couple of anchovies.

When the pasta is done, strain it. Put the pot back on the stove and dump in the other ingredients except salmon. Stir until the cheese melts in, then add the pasta and the salmon, quickly mixing to coat.

Give thanks for leftovers and good things hiding in the fridge!

Date Night

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Sticking with a healthy eating plan means making good choices, but for those of us brought up to not waste food, sometimes the food prompts the menu, rather than the other way around. In this case, four rapidly-ripening bananas and a bunch of leftover dates from holiday baking needed to be used or thrown away. There was only one solution: banana date muffins. We started with a basic whole wheat muffin batter and added four mashed bananas, a cup of chopped dates, and half a cup of ground hemp seed (thanks Mariposa!)

Just one of these tasty muffins has enough calories, fibre, protein and fruity goodness to carry us through the morning. The rest are in the freezer for one of those days when shoveling takes precedence over breakfast making…we know they’re coming!

Huevos, olé!

20121021-073119.jpgLast night we had visitors at the little house by the sea, a nice barbecue and plenty of reminiscing. We also had plenty of leftovers.

What to do on day two with the barbecue potato thing, a combination of peppers, onions, and potatoes? The time was right for a Spanish omelette. After reheating the potato dish in a skillet, I whisked in some eggs and bacon bits, and topped it with a sprinkling of aged cheddar. In a perfect world I would have had some Serrano jamòn and Manchego on hand, but that’s the joy of leftovers…using what’s on hand.

It's Beginning to Taste a Lot Like…Christmas?

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Back from a long walk in preparation for a busy day, I thought some French toast would be nice. But alas we were out of bread. My resourceful husband seized on an idea. Why not use up that leftover panettone that has been lurking in the freezer since Christmas? If you live in an Italian neighbourhood, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll receive one of these eggy breads over the holidays, and frequently, multiples. They’re often studded with raisins or dried fruit, and hold together beautifully when dipped in egg and cooked. We had ours with a bit of sliced banana and some Canadian maple syrup. Today’s gonna be great!

Salade de…Boeuf?!?

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When we had a houseful of teenagers, “leftover roast beef” was an oxymoron. But our home is emptier now, and our eating habits have changed as well. Today at lunch we needed to use some roast beef. But not too much. Also on hand: a couple of roasted beets, some arugula, and the last ounce of Shropshire Blue from our New Year’s party. We sliced the beets on a bed of arugula, then the beef. Next, a vinaigrette using a tablespoon of grainy mustard (ours was Kozlik’s), a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, and the zest and juice of half an orange. A grating of the cheese and we split about a tablespoon of pecans over the two plates for extra crunch.

Smokin' Bean Salad with Sprouts

Many years ago, when our kids were young, I copied a recipe from Lucy Wing for a delicious bean salad. Over the years, it’s been changed, adapted, and adjusted (and lost!) to the point where it doesn’t even resemble the original recipe any more. But I think fondly of the days when we were discovering our “family foods”. This one gets tweaked a little every time. Here’s today’s version:

Whisk together in  a large bowl, 15ml Dijon mustard (1T), 30ml cider vinegar (2T), and 15 ml olive oil (1T). Trim and blanch very slightly, a good handful of green beans. Plunge into cold water, and cut into bite-sized piecees. Rinse about 500ml (2c) of bean sprouts and add to the bowl. Then dice a large tomato and put that in. Pit and chop (large or small, your choice) some black olives. Add 500ml (2c) of cooked white beans (I used Great Northerns, which I had cooked with onion and rosemary, earlier in the week). Lastly, cheese. something sharp. Feta works, or an aged cheddar. In this case, Plank Road had some delicious applewood smoked cheddar. For a large bowl of salad, you don’t need much – 60g (a couple of ounces) will do. Grate it in. Stir everything together, and let stand in the fridge for about 1/2 an hour (although it gets better overnight!). You can serve it as a side, but it’s really a meal. Add some homemade wholegrain bread, and you’re set!

We did have a little trouble finding bean sprouts on short notice. Next time I might just pick up some mung beans or lentils from Better Bulk and sprout my own.

You Can Never Have too Much Curry

Really, you’re thinking? Didn’t we just have curry yesterday? Well yes, that’s true. But today’s curry is a far cry from yesterday’s cousin.

In this case, it’s a “use it up” curry. There were a few veg going begging in the fridge, that needed to be used up. Sometimes the amounts you can buy at the grocer do not equal what you need for your meal plan, and you just have to recalibrate.

In the beginning, we got some brown rice cooking. We like to make a big batch and then portion it out in the freezer where it can be reheated by steam or microwave, when we don’t have a lot of time on our hands.

The curry began with a pot, a little oil (olive, in our case) an onion and some garlic. Then 4 or 5 button mushrooms, quartered. They were about to go over the edge, but still edible. We broke up the stalks of asparagus that had been sitting around for a day or two longer than absolutely ideal, and pared and chunked in a carrot.

To this, a tablespoon of the same Patak’s curry paste we used for the lamb yesterday. A little bit of white wine (also something that doesn’t register as a leftover in some households) went in the pot next.

We had two cups of cooked kidney beans and a cup of cooked chickpeas (all from Better Bulk, see our blogroll) which we tossed in. You can also check our recipes page to see how to cook dried beans of all kinds. These tipped in, juice and all.

The whole thing was set to simmering until it looked stew-y or curry-ish. Served over rice, it was awesome, vegetarian, and tasty!

Leftover Lamb Curry

I know, some of you who still have teenagers (or who are young enough that you’re not weight-conscious) are thinking, “what is this leftover lamb of which you speak”?

But really, truly, I assure you, someday you two may have leftover delicious roast lamb in your futures. Sure, you can just eat it cold, in a tasty sandwich, with some Dijon and lettuce, and maybe some sliced pears and goat cheese. Another great way, is a tasty curry with whatever veg you have on hand.

In this case, I sauteed an onion, some bell pepper, and a bit of celery (the holy trinity), a couple of diced carrots, along with a clove or two of garlic and about a teaspoon of minced fresh ginger. When that was soft, I diced up the lamb and tossed it in.

Immediately I added a heaping tablespoon of curry paste (I used Patak’s but in a pinch you could use curry powder; I just don’t think it would be as flavourful). Then about a cup of vegetable broth, beef broth, lamb broth, or wine – really, any will give a great taste. Come to think of it, beer would work, too.

Chop up a couple of tomatoes and stir them in. Let the whole thing simmer til the carrots are nice and soft.

Delicious comfort food, the second time around.

Leftovers for Lunch

Chili Braised Beef and Kitchen Sink SaladOne of the things about shopping and eating as locally as possible is (1) you need to learn to menu plan and (2) you have to be willing to adjust the menu plan.

We were all set to have a nice big Kitchen Sink Salad (more on this later!) for lunch today, because we’re working in the home office. But we had this great Chili Braised Beef  last night, and there was some left over. You can’t just let a batch of slow-cooked deliciousness go to waste, so we halved the salad and used up the reheated beef. I admit it isn’t quite as pretty as yesterday…but like chili, it sure tastes great on the second day.

Now as for the Kitchen Sink Salad, it’s just what it sounds like – a big bowl of vegetable yumminess. Here’s what we featured today:

Start with the dressing – an acid, some mustard, and oil. In our case, the zest and juice of 1/2 an orange, 15ml/1 tbsp. sesame oil, and 15ml / 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard. Whisk this together. Then I grated in 1/2 a red and 1/2 a yellow heritage carrot I bought at Kelly’s. Next, some artisanal lettuce – curly endive and a bit of butter lettuce. There was a bit of broccoli – not enough for two, but enough for salad. I steamed it for a minute to take the edge off the crunch, but when I’m in a hurry I’ll just chop it a bit more. Peel and dice the remainder of the orange, and throw in a few black sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and almonds for good measure.

Toss it all together and start imagining – you can change the ingredients every time. Beans instead of nuts – sure! Vinegar instead of orange? Why not? Olive oil, or canola…yum!