FORAGING IN MY KITCHEN

Foraging in my Kitchen

          Keeping New Year’s resolutions can be a challenge! In my last column, the month of January was to be “Boxing Day Re-Imagined”, as a means of using accumulated items in the kitchen, pantry and freezer. Half-way through the month, foraging in my kitchen for meals as a means for fulfilling Ben Franklin’s dictum “Waste not – want not”, has become quite interesting.

          It is embarrassing to admit to a supper of hotdogs on a roll with a dab of habanero salsa and sauerkraut (it was actually tasty), even if the Maine blueberry pie from berries in the freezer made up for it very nicely. Faced with a collection of vegetables and a half a pound of frozen hamburger I fortunately recalled the German version of a meatball soup my mother made years ago and we still serve at our table.

          Meatball soup does not have a very gastronomic ring, yet it’s appeal must be widespread as it is found in different cuisines with somewhat different ingredients and usually a more appealing name. Mexican ‘albondingas soup’ has meatballs with beef or turkey and rice.  Italians call it ‘the wedding soup’ with beef meatballs, escarole and egg/ cheese ribbons in the soup. Germans have a hearty version with lots of vegetables and beef meatballs, which they call by different names: Klops soupe or Eintopt or my favorite ‘Frikadellen Suppe. Actually the word Frikadellen means meat patties and was the origin of our today’s hamburger.

                                      Frikadellen Suppe

          It is possible to cook the meatballs directly in the soup, but baking the meatballs briefly first, browns the meat slightly and improves the flavor of the soup.

Meatballs. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with baking spray. In a small bowl soak ¼ cup fine bread crumbs with 3 tablespoons milk and 1 beaten egg, 1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. onion powder. Mix thoroughly with ½ lb. of lean ground beef and roll the mix with your hands in 1 inch balls. Place on the baking sheet well separated and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Soup.  Sauté 1 chopped onion and 2 chopped celery stalks with leaves in 1 tblsp. olive oil in a 4 quart pot for 5 minutes, stir in 3 chopped garlic cloves and sauté for an additional minute. Add: 4 cups beef broth, 3 cups water, 1 cup tomato juice, a bay leaf, 1 tsp. thyme, 7 cloves, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. salt, the rind of Parmegiano-Regano (optional)  and bring to boil. Add diced 3 small parsnips, 1 large potato, 2 large carrots, 2 cups coarsely shredded cabbage and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Add 1 cup frozen peas, 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, 2 tblsp. balsamic vinegar and the meatballs, heat for 5 minutes, if needed add a bit more water, adjust seasonings and serve. Soup flavor improves with reheating.

          Local farmer’s market apples were wonderful last year, but several months cool storage takes toll on the crispness of even the best. They still make wonderful baked apples, which can be served any time of the day.

                             Raisin-Pecan Stuffed Baked Apples.

          Wash and carefully core 4-5 large apples from the blossom end and place in an 8x8x2 inch baking dish. Place the cored apples in the baking dish and fill them with chopped pecans and raisins, ½ tsp. sugar and pour over each 2 tsp. apple juice or cider. Pour ½ cup cider or juice in the bottom of the pan and bake in a 375 degree oven for 50 minutes. The apples should be soft and just starting to break out of the skin on the top. Serve plain warm or cold, with or without ice cream.

          Taking inventory and having a sale is a common practice for business at this time of the year. A cook’s kitchen is the cook’s business, so edible inventory may be both a benefit and a challenge.

                            

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)