Special K

We are fortunate in Seattle to have a very good recycling/yard & food waste program. Under the kitchen sink I have a recycling bin, a food waste bin (which includes paper towels, bones, and scraps), and a very small trash bag (all I need), which hangs on the inside of the cabinet door. When I begin a meal, the dishwasher is always empty (I run a load at bedtime and empty it out in the morning while the coffeemaker is doing its thing) and the doors to those bins are open. I chuck items into the appropriate bin or bag as I go (no garbage bowl middle step). I also put away things as I "meese" them or as I measure ingredients right into the bowl or pot (very little counter space), and I keep a bowl of soapy water in the big single sink for tools I will reuse (otherwise they go straight into the dishwasher). A while back I started searching in thrift stores and bought a bunch of loose 1 cup and 1/2 cup measuring cups. Each staple, be it rice, flour, sugar, etc., has its own dedicated measuring cup, kept right in there with the goods. Saves time and water. The canisters are arranged on the bottom shelf of one of those round lazy-susan things in the lower corner cabinet next to the sink. Handy, but out of the way. I don't have a dog, and I try to keep the cats out of the kitchen when I'm cooking, because they have a habit of either begging or plopping themselves down in the middle of the small room and getting stepped on (I drag their tower to a spot just outside the work area so they can sit there and supervise), so no crumb-snachers for between sweeping/moppings. This is probably bad form, but I often brush fine crumbs right into the dishwasher - it seems to be able to handle them just fine so far. I just make sure I clean the trap every every load. My folks had an even smaller kitchen than I have now, with even less counter space (and they fed a family of six), so "clean as you go" has always been the family mantra.

Oh, yeah. Condiments galore here, too! Our local QFC closed a couple of weeks ago, and by the time I got to the sale, the only things left were spices and condiments - the rest of the place was stripped bare within hours - prices were rock-bottom). I loaded up on these things (well, as much as I could considering I was on foot), and now I have to figure out what to do with it all.

Can't do it, because I'm using up all the fresh vegetables this week, and I do want a turkey (although I did order it last week, so maybe that would count as pre-challenge shopping? Hmm, we could have turkey and . . . potatoes six ways). But I'm really happy about the timing of this no-shopping challenge, because the fridge will be practically empty, ready to receive the turkey when I do pick it up on Wednesday, and then there will be room for all the T-day leftovers!

Well, we were going to start this on Monday, with Sunday night's leftovers, but old friends were in town, so we went out with them. Just had snacks (Palisade's wonderful calamari strips), but it was enough for us to skip dinner and just keep snacking when we got home (corn ships and salsa). Then last night Doc had a meeting where they supplied dinner, so I just had a roast beef/cheddar sandwich on sourdough and a bit of salad. Tonight we'll have the Sunday roast chicken and butternut squash risotto, finally. For Thursday, I found a package of frozen meatballs in the freezer, but of course I'm out of spaghetti sauce. I do, however, have cream and beef stock and some egg noodles, so Swedish meatballs it is. Friday night has become pizza night again after a long hiatus; it'll be a long, busy day so I'll pull the Trader Joe's wild mushroom and black truffle flatbread with mozzarella cheese from the freezer and we'll have that with a nice salad and some of the good wine. Saturday we'll have fire-roasted tomato soup (I buy the boxed soup but jazz it up with whatever's handy - nuthin' fancy but we like it - this time I saved a bit of the salsa to add to it) topped with goldfish crackers if I can keep Doc and the cats from eating them all before then, and another salad (we ended up with two large containers of salad, not used on a field trip - I did what Fat Guy did, washed it all up and portioned it out - thanks for the idea!, and I've been piling it on the lunch sandwiches). Sunday will be a challenge, since I usually like to make a big dinner. Hmm, I think I have everything I need for a nice big meatloaf, and there's a ton of small yellow potatoes. That, with something from the frozen veggie bin, along with the weekly no-knead bread, should do nicely! I'll save a couple of the apples and make a tart for dessert. Breakfasts all week are scones or waffles from the freezer, or eggs (I learned from the last challenge to buy my eggs in the 18-pack!), and lunches are sandwiches (from the cold cuts we overbought for the field trip (don't worry, we paid for all this food ourselves!)or the rest of the chicken, and apples. Since Monday and Tuesday probably shouldn't count, I think I'll keep this up thru next Mon. and Tues., and then Wednesday's the start of the Thanksgiving sides and dessert prep (Tuesday will be the big shopping day for that). I think that Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which I always take off work to cook up a storm so the day itself is not rushed, is just about my favorite day of the year. This year it will be just the two of us, but I'm doin' it all anyway!

I read this just after I got back from my midmorning walk, during which I bought a couple of odds and ends (cream for Doc's coffee and a small container of sour cream). When I got back to work, I was putting together sandwiches today using the coldcuts we keep in a little fridge here, but we had no mayo or mustard - so I used a little of the sour cream, and I'll be danged if it wasn't really good! So there's my first substitution already (if using the sour cream is allowed). I usually make a big Sunday supper just for the two of us (but I cook for about six), so tonight I'd already planned to have leftover roast chicken, shredded onto a big salad, and reheated butternut squash risotto (I always make a ton of it because it's sort of labor-intensive but quick to reheat, and anyway I think the reheated leftovers are even better). I had planned to buy some salmon for tomorrow's supper, but instead I will forage in the freezer, where I'm sure there is plenty to put together main dishes for the week. I know I have plenty of lettuces, so there will be lots of salads, and there's also plenty of bread, rice, couscous, tomatoes, frozen veggies, eggs, etc. This is great! Now I won't feel bad blowing some extra grocery money next week for Thanksgiving. The only think I think I will need to buy during the week is tea; I bought a new kind recently and it's not to my liking - I donated it to the school.

I just went to Lowe's (or maybe it was Home Depot) and bought a marble floor tile. Can't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't much. Works perfectly. Mine lives in the fridge unless I'm using it.

Thank you, Beccaboo.

Good point, Karen. I guess I was hoping to hear from anyone knowledgeable about these particular turkey brands. Oh, well. My other options are the local grocery store that lost my order last Thanksgiving or the new Whole Foods, which would probably be fine except that they're so new I wonder if the same thing might happen. The QFC I really liked closed recently; they would have been my first choice. Anyway, thanks for your input. I'm sure I'll find something. It turns out the guests I was expecting cancelled, so I don't need a huge bird for the two of us anyway.

LuckyGirl, you don't sound like a S.A. at all; that is a very reasonable question. It's just that I've been thinking of trying Amazonfresh out, and this seemed like a good place to start since they're offering me 20% off on the first order.

I am thinking of ordering a fresh turkey for Thanksgiving from Amazonfresh. The choices are Diestel Free Range hens or toms, Northwest Natural hens or toms, and Heidi's Hens hens. My questions are: What's the difference between hens and toms? (well, I know the difference between a hen and a tom, but you know what I mean ) Are these reliably good brands? Or can you recommend something better? Thanks.

Mmm, mmm! BLT on toasted onion rye bread, with a dab of mayonnaise and plenty of mustard! I don't think I could eat it with one hand, though.

Really? Not to me. Not at all. I would go out much more often if these rules were followed at restaurants.

Was there fruit in it? I wonder if it fermented? Did you give it the sniff test?

This probably isn't really what you're looking for, but if you haven't read Kingsley Amis' On Drink (now included in a re-issue of his writings on drinking called Everyday Drinking, I think), you should.

This is the blog of one of my husband's star high school Chemistry students. She's now a junior at Haverford College, and we are extremely proud of her! Those of you with a scientific bent will find it interesting. http://empiricurean.blogspot.com/

Ohhh, maaaaan, you are so right! Thank you! I think.

Hmm. Never thought to use that whey for baking! Thanks, Andisenji.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the link, but Amazon has a list of top Southern Cookbooks that looks pretty good. Edna Lewis is definitely a good starting place, and Pat Conroy's Recipes of My Life is a very good read.

Yipes! I have tried to make bit pots of chili and spaghetti sauces at the same time, and added the cumin to the wrong pot, pretty much giving me two big pots of chili sauce . . . multitasking in the kitchen is just not good a good idea for some of us!

Oh, yeah, I remember that stuff - tried it once. It was nasty. But I suppose if you had problems chopping chocolate it might seem like a godsend - until you remembered chocolate chips!

I dutifully do what Doodad does (say that three times fast!). Also, why bake only two chicken quarters when you can bake six or eight at the same time and use the extras for all kinds of other dishes later? I do the same thing with baked potatoes. Oh, yeah, I'm always thinkin' about tomorrow!

We love carbonated water, and we buy it in the larger plastic bottles. Here in Seattle we can recycle them, but we also use them as plant-waterers. You cut the bottom off the bottle and fit the neck into a little spike that you fill with sand and stick in the ground by the plant. Then you can fill the bottle with water if you're going to be away for the weekend. I've also seen bird-feeders that use these bottles. Also, there's the classic: popsicle sticks for plant markers.

Pizza! We make the dough ahead of time (but you could certainly do that together, too, if there's time) and put out a variety of toppings - there's almost no limit to what you can put on a pizza. Because I now have a convection oven (I will stop raving about it one of these days) I can do quite a few individual-sized pizzas at once. It's really quite a lot of fun!

It's a tie-in to his new show, "Jamie's American Roadtrip," to be shown in the fall on Channel 4. There was an article about his stop in Huntington, West Virginia in the New York Times Magazine's October 6, 2009 Food Issue. Edited to say that I just watched the YouTube review - boy, that is a positive one! I'm convinced, and as an American, I'm interested to see his take on our food, especially the recipes from Georgia and Los Angeles, where I have lived.

A surprising number of kids at the high school where I volunteer like to bake. Well, maybe it's not so surprising - they're my husband's chemistry students! I bring in cookies, brownies, etc., for study hall, and a bunch of kids always ask for the recipes. I love it! I'm trying to get the Doc to incorporate some real cooking in his class. Maybe I'll get to do a guest lecture one of these days.