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
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!