Elisabeth

Good morning all! I'm still hangin' in there, and - holy moly! - am beginning to see some results in my overcrowded fridge/freezer etc. YESSS!!! Made some no-knead bread (a la Jim Lahey) yesterday, but I think I overproofed it: great flavor, but somewhat gummy texture. Actually, it might be better today, it was maybe too fresh to eat last night: I'll try some for lunch! I still have an insurmountable pile of kohlrabi to use up. A surfeit, a plethora, a glut of Kohlrabi. I had received a bushel (count 'em) from my CSA back in October and made a batch of kraut from it (worked quite nicely - but there are still 8 or so of the hefty little guys waiting to be used. So far I've used it in mashed potatoes, soups, veggie-hash type fryups, sliced superthin to give crunch to sandwiches: but is there anyone out there who can help me out? I need some more ideas for my Kohlrabi Abundance.....Thanks in advance!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one left standing! (or sitting....) I just had a bowl of improvised pappa al pomodoro for my lunch, made with homegrown tomatoes, frozen for a day just like this, and a chunk of Iggy's Francese bread that was so hard it could have been used as a bookend. Yum Yum though! - and then I wondered if anyone else is still hanging in. Made a variant on red curry beef last night: even with my farm-share veggies, there was nothing very bright or green in it: kohlrabi, hard green tomatoes, a yellow carrot, red onion, mushrooms - and thin-sliced beef, of course: definitely drab, but very good. I *did* cheat this week and bought some stuff at my co-op's member day, (where I get 30% off my purchases, for updating the website) - and I bought some stuff I really didn't need and therefore shouldn't have: squid (absolutely unecessary, what with all sorts of protein and fishy-type stuff still in the freezer) 'drinking chocolate' (the cocoa of the new milennium) a cucumber (out-of-season guilt) a green pepper (ditto) - but I hope I caught myself in time, before I went way overboard. It's a real addiction, this buying of food. And so much harder to break than I'd ever imagined. Well, two days left in week four, and then on to week five!

(oops, just posted unfinished by mistake.) Ahem: to resume: For some reason, I wanted ricotta cheese and a.) of course couldn't buy any, and b.)didn't have enough milk to make it: so I used a can of reconstituted evaporated milk, a cup or so of leftover buttermilk, and the half cup of half-and-half in the fridge: came out decent enough, surprisingly. But whatever impulse made me want to have ricotta hasn't translated into using it yet (having your ricotta and eating it are not akin): so I've got this bowl of strange ricotta-type cheese in the fridge, a character looking for an author.... But I *did* use the whey for the liquid in my last loaf of bread. A little too tart without being sourdoughy- but edible, especially when toasted. I'm prepared to go forever (well, ok, as long as I can) with this no-shopping challenge at this point. It's actually quite important to me: I've really needed a push to start using up all my stuff (it's just so decadent...) and while one could consider it cheating that I have a farm share for veggies, it's what I've got, hey.... I now must also confess that I get a box of organically raised meat every few weeks from a client (I build websites, and often work in trade) who has a ranch in upstate NY, and another box is due this week or next. And I'm a member of a food coop where, again in trade for web-work, I get a huge percentage discount on everything I buy, and once a month I get an extra 10% on top of that: so I get catfood and coffee and stuff like that. This particular monthly discount day is coming up on Wednesday, and I will replenish my supply of flour (I've just got enough for one more loaf of bread), milk, and butter. Which is way way less than I usually get - hence my insanely inflated stor of food. Who know though - I really would like to make it through the new year like this! Soon I'll be out of anchovies! Syrian Pepper! Pickled Banana Blossoms!

ok! Day One of Week Four. The amazing (somewhat embarrassing, but totally mindboggling just the same) thing is that there seems to be no increase in available space in a. fridge, b. pantry, c. freezer. HOW CAN THAT BE? Is my pantry a bottomless pit? A magic porridge pot? Gulp. In three+ weeks, I've spent $15.21 on bagels, crumpets, milk, cream, and creamcheese (week one). Then, $21.95 on bananas, soft bread, chocolate milk, two packages of udon vacuum-pack soup, shrimp flavor, and a big bottle of ginger ale (sounds strange? M. had a thyroidectomy last week, and those were the things he craved. I've a soft touch for a convalescing man). Other foodstuffs that have come into the house: 1 box of clementines (M), 2 lemons (a guest), 2 installments of my CSA farm share (for the 2 weeks, about 18 pounds of assorted: Sweet Potatoes Radicchio Lettuce Kohlrabi Potatoes Leeks Turnips Rutabagas Onions Carrots Butternut Squash Kale Beets Shallots Onions Spinach Salad Mix Brussels Sprouts Parsnips Marjoram Apples Pears and 3 dozen organic eggs with the yellowest yolks you've ever seen. So it's not exactly like nothing has come into the house - just the same, I've made bread (three times), started sprouting alfalfa seeds (just before the last farm share took care of the fresh stuff craving),

Ok, week 2 is coming to an end and I imagine it'll really get to be fun next week! A quick rundown of this week's meals: Wednesday night: Szegeginer Goulash (sauerkraut, pork, onion, apples, paprika, garlic, sour cream, caraway; all slow-cooked for some 12 hours) over potato dumplings from a mix. I love this sort of thing! (but I suspect M. just played along out of sheer love.....) Thursday (Thanksgiving Day): B: bagels (I bought them the day before), with equally contraband creamcheese and lox from the fridge L: none, 'cause breakfast had been so late and we were going to have TDay dinner at friends'. My contributions - as determined in advance were: 1. appetizers (a. small stuffed pastries made of roti dough saved from the week before. It made really bad rotis - I had bought the package at an Indian grocery and when I went to cook them, the rotis stuck together, didn't puff, and were generally disastrous. I mushed to leftover uncooked rotis into a ball and put it into the fridge. I had planned on wrapping it around meatballs for an appetizer, but instead I chopped a quarter cup or so of cooked ham and mixed it with some chives from the garden, a couple of tablespoons of Vermont Butter and Cheese Quark from the fridge, and a teaspoon or so of half-and-half. I rolled the dough out and cut it into squares, put a scant teaspoon of the filling on, folded it over and baked it at 350. They came out super tasty; perfect appetizer! b. And then I cooked up a package of pork-and-bitter-melon soup buns from the Chinese grocery that had been lingering in the freezer. Not bad, really. 2. A vegetable dish: Since I had a bunch of yummy veggies from my CSA farmshare from the Friday before, I made a pan of roasted vegetables with: one potato, a kohlrabi, one sweet potato, two parsnips, one large onion, one head of garlic, peeled, one small rutabaga, two white turnips; all tossed with olive oil and salt, and roasted at 350 for an hour or so. This was really delicious. Of course we came home with leftovers; our friends had cooked an 18-pound turkey for only 6 people! So we had turkey (white and dark meat), cranberry sauce, a bit of stuffing and a couple of fantastic poached pears with a ricotta filling, for Friday's meals. Friday: B: I had a bowl of leftover Black Bean Soup over leftover brown rice, with salsa and quark stirred in; M. had his usual bagel with lox and cream cheese. L: a handful of corn chips; breakfast had been so much, I wasn't hungry. And it was M's turn for Black Bean soup. It doesn't ever seem to end!

Ok, I'm in the middle of week 2 and barely feeling the pinch. Since my last post, we've had (I can barely remember!) pasta with cilantro chutney from the fridge along with broiled halibut from the freezer, a white-bean-and-ham soup for another dinner; and breakfast for dinner (eggs, bacon, hashbrowns) on yet another night. Then, last Friday, it was my day to pick up veggies from my CSA farm share, so, without shopping, I had a haul of carrots, parsnips, kohlrabi, butternut squash, potatoes, onions, leeks, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, fresh oregano and 2 heads of lettuce. When I took up the challenge, I committed to one full month - at this rate, I may have to extend it for another couple of weeks! I had run out of bread, and only had King Arthur white whole wheat flour and some self-rising flour on hand. I haven't made bread in a hundred years, but since I can't live without it, I had to, ahem, rise to the occasion. Found a recipe by Mark Bitman that takes a total of 40 seconds prep, and then, in my case, almost 24 hours total rising time and produced two very well textured, tasty, but dense loaves with good crust and crumb. Enough for a few days at least! Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday we've had friends over for dinner. Night One: peking ravioli from the freezer; dipping sauce from existing condiments; fried squid (squid from freezer, frying oil saved from a previous batch a month or so ago, squid dipped in self-rising flour since I'm out of all-purpose with salt, pepper and paprika added. Our guest brought 2 lemons, so we had lemon juice for the squid). Salad of fresh lettuce, shredded carrot, diced apple, a bit of grated sharp cheddar, some yellow pear tomatoes that miraculously grew in my New England climate in November. Friends to dinner, Night Two: I had made a Szegediner Goulash with homecured sauerkraut, pork from the freezer, caraway seeds, chopped onion and apples - when I found out that one of my guests would not enjoy Sauerkraut. So I reconfigured and instead made a 3-bean soup with Turkey Meatballs (beans from pantry, meatballs from freezer). For appetizers, very thin-sliced homemade bread (see above) with butter and smoked Norway salmon from the fridge. Dessert was apple crisp with farm share apples and oatmeal/brown sugar topping. Friends to dinner, Night Three: I must be on a soup kick. Plus, I haven't had any time to spend in the kitchen, so the slow cooker comes in handy. Dinner was Black Bean Soup over brown rice, with sourcream, lime, and salsa from a jar to spoon on. For a salad, I grated a butternut squash and a kohlrabi bulb with a dressing of rice vinegar, fish sauce, a sliced chili, sugar, salt, and a bit of hot water to thin the vinegar; added a handful of chopped chives from the garden that refuses to die. Dessert: leftover apple crisp from the night before, in a fresh dish so no one would know. 8^) Oh, and I found some uncooked roti in the freezer, so I tried to make some for an starter - but the dough stuck together, the rotis didn't puff, and it was a mess. We ate what I had cooked anyway, dipping the bread into homemade chutney from the pantry that was made with chocolate, chipotle, and otherwise traditional chutney seasonings. And had some olives with it. Monday: I had formed the leftover roti dough into a dough ball, thinking it might work for a pie crust for those who like tough pie crust. To test it, I pinched off a small piece and rolled it out; I had some lemongrass/habanero meatballs in the freezer and wrapped two of them into the roti dough. Rubbed it with a bit of oil, popped them in the oven. It came out quite good: I think I'll make that for a Thanksgiving Day appetizer - with more of the chocolate chipotle chutney, of course! I had not enjoyed the kohlrabi/squash slaw the night before, though others said they liked it it was too raw tasting for me. But of course it couldn't be thrown out, so I dumped the whole bowl of leftovers - about 2.5 cups, complete with dressing and all - into a hot skillet with a bit of oil and cooked it like hashbrowns. It was wonderful! I'm thinking of molding some of this mixture around the planned Thanksgiving appetizer meatballs before wrapping them in roti dough ...... But for our dinner Monday night we had the Szegediner Goulash that I didn't serve on Saturday. With potato dumplings from a packaged mix in the pantry. This is a childhood memory food for me, yum yum. Last night I went to the movies with a friend and filled up on leftover black bean soup before, Husband seized the time to eat Chinese takeout and watch Toy Story 2. Don't know yet about tonight, and tomorrow, on Thanksgiving, we're going to a friend's house. I will bring my planned meatball appetizers, a dish of roasted root vegetables, mashed potatoes, and some other pre-dinner nibble that I haven't yet thought of...... This is a lot of fun, BTW! Can't wait for week 3.....

Ok, day 3 of no shopping. Monday's meals: B: leftover salad from the night before (I LOVE leftover salad for breakfast); wholewheat sourdough toast w. homemade apricot jam, tea with milk. L: leftover roasted root veggies from the night before, apple D: smoked and fresh haddock chowder with coconut milk instead of regular milk. (made thus: Put a filet of smoked haddock (finnan haddie, bought from the fish guy in SouthWest Harbor, Maine, who sells fish from his truck 3 times a week) in water to cover, bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Use the simmering time to chop an onion and some celery, and saute them in a soup pot in a bit of butter. Remove finnan haddie from poaching water and pull into shreds with your fingers or a fork. Add water to soup pot; add -in my case- leftover very coarse veggie mash from the night before: potatoes, celery root, and carrots. Simmer for another 20 minutes or so, and add the smoked fish. Add any other kind of fish you want (or not, that works too): in my case, a piece of broiled plain haddock and a half a pound of white Maine shrimp. Add as much coconut milk (or regular milk) as you want for the consistency you like, taste for seasoning and enjoy.) Accompanied by a freshly baked thin-crust 'pizza' from Iggy's bakery that I had rubbed with some olive oil and topped with garlic, hot pepper and the last remaining half of my summer tomatoes (actually, a picked-green tomato that made the transition to red and survived till now.) Tuesday: B: toast and jam, tea with milk. L: leftover haddock chowder,leftover flatbread pizza from night before. D: Thai-style red curry beef from the freezer, with some carrot shreds and coconut milk added. Veggie stir fry of quartered brussels sprouts, very thin-sliced rainbow carrot, half-moon cut onion, 6 sliced mushrooms, a slivered yellow chili pepper, and one remaining baby bok choy, sliced up. (made thus: heat a spoonful or so of oil till quite hot, add a goodly amount of chopped garlic and grated ginger, stir and then add the veggies. Stir around for a minute or so, and add a glug of fish sauce, a squeeze of lime juice (I only had bottled) and some more hot pepper if you like. Oh, and a small spoonful of honey.) Steamed jasmine rice. Wednesday: (today): B: toast with really terrible 'lo-fat' President's Brie (but I had bought it and couldn't throw it out....), tea with milk. L: leftover Thai beef and veggies, rice. 2 cookies. D: not happened yet, probably something with squid.....

Ok, I'm all for trying this. But one week just won't be enough for me, I'm a member of a CSA and will be getting my farm share this weekend (2 weeks' worth of winter veggies, plus eggs, plus fruit) - and my meat CSA just sent a box last week, and I've got enough grains and spices and everything else to last at least a month. So I'll commit myself for a month, though in two weeks I'll be getting more CSA veggies..... but I think the exercise will be well worth it just the same. And I will have to buy milk and half-and-half - but will try to limit it to that. So tonight we'll have a chowder with the smoked haddock we bought in Maine last week, as well as some leftover unsmoked haddock from dinner on Saturday. I'll use the leftover mashed potato/celery root/carrot mix from last night's braised lamb shoulder to thicken the soup, and maybe add some of the fresh coconut milk I bought at the Co-op last members' discount day. All sounds pretty good at this point!

So what are the parameters for this new no-shopping week? I want to do it - if only to rid my pantry of stuff so I can fill it with more.And I think the timing is both propitious and challenging, a week before Thanksgiving an' all..... Do we just do it and write about it or what? Are there more stringent rules (i.e., no planning/shopping ahead, etc?)