Making Due

Post vacation first day home involved 4 loads of laundry, 3 levels vacumed, 2 bathrooms cleaned, 1 fridge and the pantry sorted, organized and cleaned. which led us to making due and using up.

What an uninspired way to intro a #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge hey? The crappy ends of fridge stuff and whatever we find in the freezer. Its snowing and blowing and blinking cold and neither of us felt like going to get groceries so…

Lunch was carrot soup which included a partially frozen parsnip, limp celery and a couple of hunks of dead onion. A few bendy carrots and a piece of red pepper almost at its best before date. I didn’t have a can of coconut milk so it just got regular milk and some Asian flavors added. I used a “little” Thai pepper but it packed a punch.

While cleaning out the fridge, and yes I know I should have done that before we left and the house sitter arrived, I found the last bag of garden beets. Before I went downstairs for my cardio snack (more on that in a subsequent post)and weights routine I peeled, chopped, and threw the beets in the oven with some olive oil and sea salt. After my work out I headed to the storage room and grabbed some potatoes (sadly way too many are sprouting for the 1st of Feb) and chopped them into the cast iron skillet with some seasoning salt and butter. About that time, the Engineer, who loves to stir things, arrived, and he took over to cook the pork chops. This was the second last package of these, and I am not certain if pigs are on the agenda for our daughter’s farm this year.

I did note that there is still lots of frozen corn, green beans, and greens downstairs in the freezer. Also, an abundance of rhubarb to turn into stewed rhubarb with saskatoons for yogurt plus pesto waiting for pizza nights in the spring and zucchini ready to hit some muffins. It’s not slim pickings in the freezer. It’s just a matter of designing the menu around what there is.

So making due with what we have is actually not a hardship. It’s also environmentally friendly not to throw away less than stellar items. These items often get frozen and go into making chicken, beef or veggie stock. Which then goes into soup like the freezer stock I used today. All these actions also decrease our food costs as does the garden. Making due means we eat well.

How about you? Any tips on “making due” and re creating interesting food from the leftovers and less than stellar fridge items?

The “What’s on Your Plate” monthly challenge is hosted so graciously by Deb at The Widow Badass and Donna at Retirement Reflections. Those two know how to throw a party!

Bernie

Ps sort of sorry for two posts in one day but the first one only needed one thing once we got home before I could hit publish. Then this one just wanted to be written today!