Buying Too Much and Carrot Soup

I've been wondering lately how people without much money are handling the rise in...everything. The rising price of gas, of milk, of bread, of cereal, of rice, of bell peppers, of onions even. It seems my food costs have gone up about 20% in the past six months. I've been crabbing and kvetching...but no more.

Last night I threw away a produce drawer full of food. A drawer...you know the one I mean, the one at the bottom of my fridge. I'd gone to the Farmers' Market two Fridays in a row. And bought way too much stuff. Even I knew that at the time. And then I went to Whole Foods. And then I went to WinCo. And after that I did my necessity trips to Safeway for milk and baby food and red wine (which are much cheaper than at other stores...).

In the end, produce never got eaten. It was as though everyone was overwhelmed by the bounty, and when they opened the fridge just thought, Oh. There's nothing in here to eat because I just see a forest of food.

Too bad there aren't any trees.

And so, when the trees began to smell, I finally tossed them.

I made a new rule yesterday. The cupboards and fridge can only be 1/3 full at any given time. I'll do the disaster stash someplace else. I think we don't force ourselves to eat what we have. From now on, I only replenish when we're absolutely empty.

Today for lunch I made carrot soup with all the carrots that made it out of the forest. They were still needing to be eaten, and I had bags and bags of them in baby version, sliced, and shredded (remember, the Bug has two false front teeth and can't bite into his favorite veggie). So I browned some red onion, two cloves of garlic, and a whole mess of carrots with salt, pepper, and a little curry powder. Then I threw in a box of generic chicken broth, a little extra water, and simmered till they were soft. I blended it with an immersion blender (a fantastic baby present!), added about two cups of shredded carrots, let it reduce another 15 minutes, and gave a quick whir again.

After adjusting seasonings, we enjoyed it topped with some plain yogurt left over from our Greek dinner. The Bug, the Baby and I all quite liked it (the Bug and I added more curry powder and I added some red pepper flakes), and then I fed it to my mother-in-law when she arrived mid-afternoon. She wasn't sure about the yogurt, until she had it. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it, too.

I wouldn't have made it today...had I not seen the carrots waiting patiently. I probably would have just opted for a quick canned soup. I'm glad I saw them!

Curried Pork Salad

"Curried Pork Salad"??? What kind of name is that for a hearty, low-fat, Moroccan-inspired salad? Good lord, you'd think someone with a degree in creative writing could come up with something better than "Curried Pork Salad". But I can't.

This is low-fat and a hit with 10-year old and 36-year old boys.

Curried Pork Salad

Marinade/Dressing
2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon honey
red pepper flakes to taste
salt and black pepper
optional: fresh mint or cilantro, chopped

Whisk marinade, taste and adjust accordingly. Reserve one cup for dressing.

Salad
Four boneless pork loin chops, marinated in yogurt marinade for one to four hours.
Your favorite leaf lettuce (I like Costco's Organic Spring Mix)
One cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
One bell pepper, cored and chopped
Half a red or white onion, thinly sliced
One box of your favorite couscous, prepared
About two cups cooked lentils, warmed

Broil or grill the pork chops until cooked through. Assemble lettuce and vegetables in a large bowl, toss with salt & pepper. Place salad on individual plates, top with one cup warm couscous. Top that with 1/2 cup lentils. Drizzle with 1/3 cup dressing (DO NOT USE the marinade--that should be thrown away!). Slice one chop into thin slices and place on top of lentils. For garnish: diced red bell pepper. Makes four servings.

Curried Lentil Soup

Mmmm. What's better than curry when you're crabby? I came home after 90 minutes of bumper-to-bumper traffic, and Juiceboy hadn't even warmed up leftovers. I was annoyed. I left the leftovers to the guys (The Bug totally groved on the Cincinnati Chili on the second night) and waited till I had a glass of wine and they ate dinner.

In a MUCH better mood, I made lentil soup, with The Bug helping out here and there.

Sorry for the non-recipe recipe:

Curried Lentil Soup

1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
1 minced clove garlic
about 1 T olive oil
about 2 teaspoons curry powder
about 1 teaspoon cumin
about 1 teaspoon cayenne
a dash of red pepper flakes
two cans beef broth (chicken or veggie would be fine, this is what I had)
about 1.5 to 2 cups red lentils
One large carrot, chopped
chopped cilantro
plain yogurt or parmesan cheese

Cook onions, garlic, and olive oil on med-low about 4 minutes. Add spices, cook another 2-3 minutes. Add broth and lentils. Bring to high heat until boiling, reduce to low, cover. In 10 minutes add carrot, stir. Check in about 20 minutes. The lentils should be soft and yummy. Test for flavorings.

Spoon into bowls and top with cilantro and yogurt or parmesan.

Picture to be posted tomorrow. Sleepy time now.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

I'm working at home today--not feeling great with an Autumn cold. Needed something fast but comforting for lunch, so I looked in the fridge. Ack--it's the 15th, time to use up the dying vegetables. This is a quick, healthy, low-fat version of the high-fat favorite.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup.

• Spray large soup pot with cooking spray, melt one Tablespoon butter on medium low heat.
• Coarsley chop 2 large carrots (scrubbed, not peeled). Add to soup pot and stir to coat.
• Coarsley chop one yellow onion and two to three stalks celery. (I had leaves left, so in they went). Add to soup pot and stir to coat.
• Clean and cut up a head of cauliflower. I break up chunks with my hands.
• Add one to two cloves garlic, smashed.
• Add one large (32 oz) tin chicken or vegetable stock--low sodium is recomended as this stock reduces. If you don't have low sodium then throw in a potato to take out some of that salt. Be sure to fish out the potato later.
• Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes.
• Take about 75% of the solids with some liquid and blend till smooth. Return to pot, and turn off heat. (It can burn now)
• Add about 1/4 cup 1% milk; more if you like your soup thinner.
• Add 1 tablespoon curry powder and lots of fresh black pepper. No salt should be needed.
• Top with parsley and a tablespoon of grated cheddar or colby jack cheese.

YUM.

Cream Cheese Wontons

What to do when you find out your mother-in-law is coming three hours earlier than you thought--with her best friends who are visiting from overseas? You throw together a plate of quick-to-make food, like cheese & crackers and fruit. But what if you want to really impress them? Make cream cheese wontons with your leftover wonton skins!

The picture is all that was left of about 24 wontons.

Cream Cheese Wontons
Square egg roll wrappers--I used the large ones and cut them into four.
Water or egg substitute for sealing.
Cream cheese or neufchatel cheese, softened at room temperature if time allows.

Add ins. You can make plain cream cheese filling, or add in any of the following:
Crab meat
Chopped scallions or chives
1t to 1T curry powder or paprika

Place about a half teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Dampen two sides and of wrapper and fold to create a triangle, eliminating as much air as possible. Or, twist into a little "purse".
Use a small, heavy frying pan with about 1/2 an inch of corn oil, on medium high heat. Gently place wontons and cook until golden brown, turning over when done. Then, drain on paper towel.

Serve immediately--these don't taste as good later. (And you can plan for two or three per person. They are yummy, but fattening. What did you expect from deep-fried cheese?)