SobaAddict70

*waves* Kielbasa from Flying Pigs Farm. I had been thinking of what to do with the bunch of Swiss chard that's in my frigo. As much as I love carbs, pasta isn't yanking my chain this time. It'll probably be soup of some kind. This is 1 cup of Rancho Gordo Rio Zape beans in 6 cups of water. On a slow simmer. This went into a pre-heated 350 F oven where it will remain for about two hours. Instead of stock, I'll be using the bean cooking liquid for the soup.

I said you wouldn't see anything from me until this weekend and technically it's already Saturday... Fettuccine with roasted wild mushrooms and pine nuts These were a 1/2 lb. of creminis and a 1/2 lb. of oyster mushrooms I had purchased from USGM last weekend. And a good thing I used them since the oysters were a shade away from drying out to cardboard. wild mushrooms, sliced salt pepper olive oil 2 T. pine nuts, toasted handful of parsley or other herb, chopped pinch of red pepper flakes lemon juice, to taste cooked pasta pecorino or P-R cheese (optional) Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine mushrooms with salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes or until mushrooms have caramelized. When mushrooms are done, add herbs, red pepper flakes and lemon juice. Toss together with pasta and serve. I've hit my first speed bump while making this. I have less than 1/5 bottle of olive oil remaining. I'm sure I can make that stretch over the course of the next eight days. See y'all in nine hours.

As promised, current pix of my frigo: Freezer The package behind the gnocchi is the whole chicken I'm planning on cooking this weekend. I'm thinking maybe roast chicken or something to start. I had forgotten about the smoked kielbasa I picked up from Union Square Greenmarket ("USGM" for short) about a month ago. There's also a monkfish fillet and some extra chicken gizzards from a while back. Hmmmm.... Frigo The plastic bag in the top shelf is a couple heads of garlic. Middle shelf #1: sage, eggs from Quattro, chili paste from a takeout place Middle shelf #2: pickle relish, Italian parsley, ginger Bottom: butter, fromage blanc, non-homogenized milk REALLY late dinner tonight. Pix in a few.

I'm at work right now. If you've seen my Foodblog from last June, you can get a good idea of the interior. Unlike Susan and El Gordo, the freezer is relatively bare. There was a eureka moment a few weeks ago though when I discovered a container of monkfish congee that I had forgotten about. More later.

Pan-seared tilapia Gnocchi with brown butter and sage Roasted carrots with allspice and lemon

Thanks for all the suggestions (some of which are worthwhile for future reference). I think I'm going to go with the brown butter option, sans garlic. There'll be a pic later in the dinner thread. I suppose I should have also mentioned there'll be other things on the plate.

So I thought it'd be helpful if I detailed the current contents of my pantry keeping in mind that there are a few things that I'm in the process of consuming, not to mention there was a big shopping trip last Saturday. I'll be using this as a point of reference throughout the experiment. I'm only listing "must-use" consumables and some dried goods between now and the next shopping trip. I've left a few things off the list such as a couple tins of oatmeal. I could probably survive for the next two weeks on oatmeal alone but that would be boring. Staples like olive oil, chicken stock and spices are a given. gnocchi* fettucine rigatoni tilapia fillets* whole organic chicken potatoes (various kinds) yellow carrots* regular carrots* parsnips turnips Swiss chard* cabbage celery leeks wild mushrooms (oyster, cremini)* regular onions cippolini onions* garlic* ginger sage* parsley eggs navel oranges unsalted butter* milk RG beans (various kinds) lentils (various kinds) rice olives anchovies P-R cheese coffee ice cream fromage blanc Anything marked with a single asterisk is slated for dinner in the next two days. And very likely I won't use all of it in one shot. There's also a pot of risotto that I'm slowly finishing off. One other consideration: I don't have a microwave so you won't see much in the way of leftovers. edit: added a couple of things

I had been thinking of doing roasted mushrooms and cippolini onions tonight but that's another idea. Choices, choices...

Hummm, were you reading my mind? I have everything in my pantry already. Keep the ideas coming.

Less is generally more. Marcella's tomato sauce is an example. It's just tomatoes, butter, salt and half an onion. A bolognese -- well, a good bolognese imho -- falls into the "million ingredients" category. I'm not opposed to making something like a bolognese, except it's not what I want to accompany the gnocchi, if that makes any sense. Puttanesca seems like it could work, maybe. I don't want the gnocchi to be drowned by the competing flavor profiles though....

I'll be participating but as the week's already begun and I normally shop on Saturdays, you won't see anything from me until this upcoming weekend. I also bought a bunch of stuff last weekend so I'm working through that.

I made a bunch of gnocchi a couple days ago. My problem -- I need ideas as far as sauce. I could do Marcella's tomato sauce in a pinch. While that sauce is amazing in its own right, I'd like to go in a different direction this time. My preferences: I don't like sauces that have a million ingredients in them (unless it's a complex preparation like bolognese). I don't care about the cooking fat used. Any help would be appreciated.

Leftover risotto (recipe on the blog) Pan-seared tilapia with brown butter, lemon and capers Coffee ice cream for dessert no pic unfortunately

I've actually been doing this for quite a while now. I food shop twice a month. It's an exercise in creativity and frugality.

I would not be one of your customers, nor would I recommend you to anyone I know. I'm a traditionalist through and through. For the record, I hated Nobu so it's not just you.

Is it just me, or do others find that shopping at farmers' markets is not necessarily a way to lower food costs? If I had unlimited funds I would do most of my shopping at the Berkeley farmers' market--everything there is beautiful. But my husband and I have roughly calculated the price of one bag of vegetables at about $30. I'm talking about onions, beets, greens, peppers, lettuce, beans and so on. Make that lots of tomatoes and a few peaches in the summer and we're talking more like $40 per bag. A dozen eggs from free-range chickens are now over $7. Perhaps south of me on the central coast the farms are local so the produce doesn't have to travel. It isn't exactly making a small footprint to drive a pickup truck from the farm 3 or 4 hours to Berkeley. I appreciate the value of shopping locally and organic, but it costs a premium in many locations and isn't realistic for anyone watching their dollars and cents. ← It depends on what you get and how you shop, and how many you're cooking for. If I were splurging, I might pick up some sucrine or nasturtium petals. These are some of the pricier items at Union Square Greenmarket (USGM for short), for instance. On the other hand, a recent trip to USGM brought in dinner for one week at less than $30: free-range chicken: $15 bag of potatoes: $2 bag of mixed variety carrots: $2.50 bag of parsnips: $2 turnips: $3 winter cress: $3 bunch of parsley: $1 *roast chicken *roasted vegetables *chicken congee *chicken stock *chicken salad *carrot potage *watercress potage *potato galette I'm not including staples at home. I'm also cooking for one.

Too many to pick from. I'd have to say the gnocchi at Craft.

Use in salad as a substitute or addition to lettuce. Also great stir-fried with garlic, tatsoi and a little sesame oil.

They'd better not complain if they have any sense of decency. I know I wouldn't.

Soba's menu so far this week: Saturday (1/25): Roast chicken, colcannon Sunday: Potage de crécy, salad, a baguette Monday: Leftover soup, French omelette Tuesday: Pasta with bacon, cabbage and onion confit Wednesday: Leftover pasta, salad Last night: Chicken and vegetable stir-fry (using leftover chicken and some odds and ends in my vegetable bin) Tonight: Probably leftovers from last night, though I'll turn the rice into fried rice (basically cooked rice, garlic and scallions. I like my fried rice minimalist.) This weekend: There's still a ton of meat on the chicken. I'm thinking chicken congee or something, maybe chicken with dumplings. Then there's the carcass. That will be turned into stock. There's a bag full of leftover smoked bacon, and a container of mushrooms. Probably make bacon and mushroom risotto with a mushroom stock. I have most of the ingredients on hand already. For the stock -- carrots, celery and other aromatics; the most I'd need to get would be some shiitakes. For the risotto, it'd be bacon, mushrooms, rice, butter, onion, wine and the aforementioned stock. All of the meals above cost less than $10. The risotto is likely the sole exception but then you need to consider that I've had the Arborio for a while now and the bacon is a BIG bag of smoked odds and ends. It cost something like $15 but it's good for at least five meals and I won't use all of it at once. You can still eat very well if you buy in bulk and plan ahead, in addition to saving everything/wasting nothing.

By teaching myself new experiences whether by eating out, cooking in my own kitchen or other methods. When I was growing up, one of my favorite things to do (and it still is) was to go to the library or local bookstore and read cookbooks for a few hours. It helped instill a curiosity (and I daresay, a desire) to learn how to cook better. I'm not really sure how to answer your question. I find this process varies according to the individual. FYI, I don't follow recipes much, unless it's something I've never made before....and then I only refer to it for guidance. I think if you cook often enough, you'll eventually develop a well-honed instinct. These things take time, a little self-confidence and some education.

Leftover rice and garlic. Sometimes a beaten egg or Chinese pork sausage, sliced thinly. Minced scallion. That's it.

Congee. It's just rice, water, white pepper and ginger. Some chopped scallions, a little soy sauce or sesame oil, maybe a shred of kimchi and you're set.

Please excuse me if I'm wrong, BUT 1) You're in the cold North East. 2) It's January. So, please tell me WHERE you're getting tomatoes decent enough for a grill cheese and tomato? I'm in Florida, for heavens sake, and even here I can't find a decent tomato! ← Believe it or not, the farmer's market at Union Square had hydroponic-grown tomatoes and basil a week ago. No, I didn't buy any. They were selling for $4.50/lb. Even if cost were not a factor, there's something wrong imho about having access to tomatoes in the middle of winter.

Potage de Crécy (with sourdough croutons) Green salad with a white wine viniagrette A baguette