Clean up dinner #2

A good weekend for cleaning-out meals, with 20 inches of snow on the ground!

Day 2 of Project Pantry:

Soup: found some carrots, mushrooms, onions, and pepper in the crisper – definitely not crisp. Added kale (in the freezer from our summer CSA box), chicken of unknown provenance from freezer, barley. Kale was a bit overpowering but generally well-received.

Bread: 5-grain bread recipe except I didn’t have all 5! Used bulgur wheat, grits instead of cornmeal, oatmeal, whole wheat flour and white flour, plus molasses. Accidentally put the yeast in the too-hot mixture, so fished it out, added an extra packet, and then watched the whole thing explode out of the rising bowl! Very fluffy and good in the end.

Apple crisp: I used the saddest-looking of the apples from the fruit bowl.

C went shopping for perishables today but I suspect will come home with some non-perishables!

 

Clean up dinner #1

Tonight’s the first night of Operation Pantry. We hosted a weekly gathering of friends last night, so that didn’t count, but instead gave us some more leftovers – tabbouleh and falafel. Main dish tonight to accompany those: omelets with onion, red and yellow peppers (in the freezer) and feta (more leftover). Child #1 is complaining there’s no more white bread – maybe I’ll make some, since I have lots of yeast and flour and other goodies to put in. It’s snowing like crazy and we may end up losing power, so perhaps I need to make some other things tonight as well. Tomorrow, power permitting, I’ll make chicken soup with the rest of the turkey broth (leftover from Thanksgiving) I defrosted to use last night.

 

‘Nother Recipe

I was making a vegetarian Moroccan stew tonight and wanted something to go with it. I found the original (with rose water, but I didn’t have any of that in my cupboard) for this recipe on Under the High Chair but tweaked it as follows. It worked well and everybody liked it. I also like that it’s low-fat and really not that much sugar either.

Cardamom and Jasmine Rice Pudding

1 cup jasmine rice

3 cups 2% milk
2 cups water
¾ cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons jasmine extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pale honey (optional)

Wash the rice thoroughly. Combine in a large heavy saucepan with the milk and water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to very low and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for 1-1/2 hours, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed; the texture should be slightly soupy.

Stir in the sugar, the  jasmine and cardamom and cook, stirring, for another five minutes. Taste and stir in more sugar if you want. Transfer to a serving dish and let cool to room temperature.

If you wish, just before serving drizzle a little honey over the pudding and garnish with chopped pistachios.

In other news, I reorganized cupboards today and decided that we have tons of food and no real need to go shopping–except for perishables–for about a month. Maybe I’ll blog about what we eat…could get interesting.

 

Using up stale cereal

I haven’t blogged here in ages (my other, more active blog is at stemology.wordpress.com), but if nothing else I want to be able to find this recipe again (it’s a riff on one I found online). Good, and the Kashi even contributes some protein and fiber. I’m going to experiment some more with the recipe.

Garbage Cookies

Cream together:

• 1 c. shortening
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. white sugar

Add 2 eggs, continue on slow-medium speed.

Add:

• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/8 t. salt
• 1 c. shredded coconut
• 1 c. chopped pecans
• 1 c. stale Kashi Go Crunch
• 2 c. flour

By hand, stir in:

1 c. stale Life cereal

Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

[update on this: I substituted dried cherries for 1/2 the nuts this last time. Good move.]

 

Weekly reason to love Pittsburgh #2

I was walking downtown this afternoon, pondering what “good thing” I could post and having one of those moments in which I couldn’t think of anything (see Eeyore, below). Then I realized that I had just come out of one of the most impressive buildings in the city – and there are many. My appointment was in the Frick Building, a Beaux Arts Classical design (according to the city’s website – make sure you click through all three pictures of the interior).

The name of the building-Frick-sounds like it needs the consonant “n” at its end, and that would probably have been a fitting adjective for its namesake, Henry Clay Frick. Frick was one of the “titans of industry” in which Pittsburgh specializes (eg Carnegie, Heinz, Mellon); his nickname was “The Coke King.” He is best known in the ‘list of important people US History students must memorize’ as a strikebreaker (see “Homestead Strike“). An anarchist tried to assassinate him–no surprise there– but the ornery man survived, finally succumbing more than 25 years later to syphilis. I don’t think I would have enjoyed his company, but he left a marvelous building behind. Compared to some other office buildings in Pittsburgh, the Frick is relatively open to visitors–it’s at 437 Grant Street (click for map). Make sure you ride the elevator and check out the carpeted interior with the custom-woven letter “F”s.

 

Getting my hands dirty

One reason I started this list is a wayward thought that perhaps someday, when I’ve got my blogging groove down, it can be a “city blog” that attracts attention (I know, I know, be careful what you wish for). Particularly, I looked for this sort of blog before I moved here. So many questions! And some of the questions were the patently mundane, things that presumably didn’t seem important to anyone who lived here full-time. Such as–what’s the local media like? Forthwith…

I love the immediacy of the Internet, especially for news. I read newspapers online nearly every day from two towns I used to live in, as well as the Washington Post for political tidbits and Jay Mathew’s column on education.

Still, I love padding down my front steps in the morning in bare feet and picking up the morning paper from the dewy grass. And I’m especially glad that Pittsburgh has a paper worth the effort. There are actually two morning papers, but I’m partial to the Post-Gazette. Solid coverage of national news, good local stories, and (naturally) fanatical coverage of the local sports franchises (how is it possible that the Pirates are headed to their 16th losing season?!). I do wish global news was better represented (is there a paper in the US you can’t say that about, except possibly the New York Times?), and some of the comics leave me cold, but otherwise, it’s a great companion to breakfast.

Pssst: speaking of breakfast, you can get good bagels here too – oops, that’s for another post.

 

Things that go “Boom!”

We attended the Pittsburgh fireworks extravaganza last night, and had a great time. The last time I went to a “big city” 4th, it was at Boston’s Hatch Shell, and for someone who grew up watching the Boston Pops on TV on July 4, it was impressive (gotta love hearing the Church of the Advent bells during the 1812 Overture) but incredibly claustrophobic. Between ridiculous parking (or a long wait for a bus/T), and having to practically camp out overnight to be closer than 1/2 mile…it was literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

It was raining on and off, so that did keep the crowds down, but even so Pittsburgh’s celebration was a much more pleasant experience. We parked across the bridge–downtown, but only a few blocks from the action–for only $5 (at Fifth Avenue Place). Roberto Clemente Bridge (named for the Pirates great, natch) was closed off, with lots of activities and food booths (funnel cakes, anyone?). We escaped the rain into a National Guard trailer to watch a fishing video (who knew they had a team?).

We walked around PNC Park (the Pirates baseball stadium) and down to the riverbank, and found a great spot of lawn, even though it was already after 5 pm. We saw the final of a F1 speedboat race, a bit of wakeboarding, and then after our picnic (see previous post) played a few games of cards while waiting for the fireworks and laser show – which were just as impressive as Boston’s. Next year we’ll try to be closer to the music (and they did play the 1812 Overture, but without the church bells). We were home in under an hour, including getting our car out of the parking garage. Can’t beat it. Can’t wait for next year.

 

Recipe for the 4th

What’s more American than potato salad? At least my mom’s recipe is, which is a 50s/early 60s paean to the wonders of that ultimate convenience food, Miracle Whip. I’m sure you could substitute mayonnaise if you, like my husband, hate Miracle Whip (What’s the difference? See here. If you google, you’ll find lots of evidence of mixed marriages like mine). To me–and to the family members who ask me to make it–it tastes like summer in its purest form.

Cheryl’s Potato Salad

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it instantly converts to the quantity needed. For each person, you’ll need one potato (I usually use russets), one egg, one scallion (my mom always called these green onions – did they change the name?), and one sweet gherkin.

Prep:

Hard boil the eggs. Cut into small (1/4 – 1/2″) chunks. Don’t worry about the yolks and whites separating out.

Peel and cut the potatoes (I cut medium-sized potatoes into quarters, more chunks for larger – the important thing is that the size be consistent and not too big), and boil until pierce-able with a fork but not mushy. Drain and cool. Then cut into roughly 3/4″ chunks.

Slice the scallions thinly (white parts only). Likewise the gherkins.

Put it together:

In a bowl, combine potatoes, scallions and gherkins. For each person, add one heaping soup spoon of Miracle Whip (more or less – you might want to add less the first time you make it and adjust up). Then add 1/2 teaspoon mustard for each person. I use good ol’ bright yellow French’s or the like.

Stir until almost combined. Then add eggs and stir a bit more. You want it to be well-combined but the potatoes should still be chunky. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until serving time – several hours at least, if you like it really cold like I do. 

True confession: I’ve been known to eat a bowl for breakfast.

 

Definitely not 25 (anymore)

I spent today with my 8 year old at Sandcastle, a waterpark here in Pittsburgh (technically, across the Monongahela in Homestead). We had a fabulous time – he’s now tall enough to handle all but the crazy-high body slides (and I won’t be doing those with him anyhow!). There’s a good range of slides and pools, lots of eating options (including being able to bring in a limited amount of your own [cheaper] stuff), lockers, a pretty diverse crowd, and mostly very friendly staff (it must be said that Pittsburghers in general are more like genial Midwesterners than aloof East Coasters). We bought our tickets online this morning at a discount (very nice), and at day’s end decided that it was in fact worth it to upgrade to season passes so that we can go to movie nights and the like.

…and now I think I need to schedule another chiropractor visit. All that banging around in giant PVC piping is not as easy as it used to be.

 

Weekly reason to love Pittsburgh

The town I moved to Pittsburgh from had two grocery stores. The first was a small, family-owned store that had that odd small grocery smell (what is that, anyway?). It was fine for when you were in the midst of making cookies and discovered you were out of flour. The second was an outpost of a large chain but less well-stocked than most of its brethren. Case in point: the only herb reliably in stock was parsley.

Imagine my joy, then, on re-learning to love grocery shopping. I’m not a one-store gal, though. Each of my favorites has its charms:

Aldi, where the shopping carts remind us of the year we spent abroad and the prices can’t be beat. Selection, not so much.

Trader Joe’s, with its wide variety of funky items and very reasonable prices. Current favorites: low-sodium soups in those box things, and frozen potstickers. Now if the state would only get real about wine sales!

Whole Foods, where I almost never actually buy anything but consider investing in lottery tickets once again every time I see the beautifully-arranged produce.

Giant Eagle, my store for “filling in the gaps” in my grocery list after hitting Aldi and Trader Joe’s. My kids have their own “good thing” here: whole wheat bread that tastes and looks like white bread. If the Mayo Clinic says it’s ok, I’m going with it. At least for grilled cheese sandwiches.