Lean
Times?
When food
magazine editors send out recipe selections entitled “When There’s Nothing in
the Fridge”, it certainly is a sign of ‘Lean Times’. As our isolation practices
go into another month, even those of us with relatively well stocked pantries
are noticing necessary changes in our normal cooking habits. We tend to look at
what is available at home and find old recipes or improvise.
We tend to
shop less often and concentrate on the essentials in order to minimize our time
at the store. Missing or scarce items on the store shelves also contribute to
the problem. Finding a 5 pound bag of flour these days is considered a miracle.
We are staying home and cooing and baking a loaf of bread becomes an active
creative outlet.
Ironically, early this year those
same food magazines were all featuring yeast breads in their infinite variety.
Their “Nothing in Fridge” suggestions tend to lean on garbanzos and beans,
which in their canned variety are also somewhat scarce. Nevertheless, the
concept of improvising on what is available has a great deal of merit.
This year’s cool spring encourages
hearty soups, although the fresh and tangy flavors of this red lentil soup
would not be amiss even in summer. The provenance of this soup comes via a
friend of mine many years ago, who was involved with a Sudan Relief Task Force.
Since then. the recipe been somewhat modified.
Sudanese
red lentil soup
Place 2 cups of red lentils in a
large bowl, cover with water, stir and pour off the cloudy liquid. Repeat
process 3 more times. Place the rinsed lentils in a 4 quart pot. Add: 3 ½ cups
water, 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped garlic cloves, 1 tblsp. butter, 1 tblsp.
olive oil, 1 heaping teaspoon Coriander and Cumin each, 1 tsp. Sumac
(optional), 1 tsp. dried mint, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper. Bring to a gentle
boil and stir to avoid burning. After 10 minutes add another cup of water and
continue cooking with occasional stirring for 30 minutes. Soup will turn
yellow, creamy and thick, adjust with a bit of water if desired.. Cut up 4 oz
Feta cheese and stir in. Gently cook another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and
stir in juice of 1 lime. Serve sprinkled with chopped chives or parsley. Soup
can be reheated for serving on successive days.
Butternut squash is still
available this time of the year. We like it peeled and cubed together with
potatoes carrots and onions in mixed roasted vegetables, tossed with olive oil,
chopped garlic and balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with coarse salt and roasted for
40 minutes at 400 degrees. The stem is the best part for this purpose, so I
usually split the rest, scoop out the seeds and bake it face down in the lower
part of the oven while the rest of the vegetables are roasting.
After roasting the soft butternut
squash flesh is scooped out, mashed and can be used to make butternut squash
soup or frozen for later use. Another creative use for baked squash are squash
fritters. They make a tasty side dish for chicken or pork topped with Gruyere
cheese. Or even serve as a light
luncheon topped with cottage cheese or sour cream.
Butternut
squash fritters
In a small bowl stir together 1/3
cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp. salt 1.5 tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. lemon-pepper,
½ tsp. ground thyme. In a medium bowl beat together with and electric mixer: ¾
cups mashed butternut squash, 1 large egg, ½ tsp. dried minced onion, 2 tblsp.
melted butter. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended, Fry heaping
tablespoons in vegetable oil 2-3 minutes on the side. Serve topped with cheese
or sour cream.
Versatile use of what is available
in the kitchen is never more timely than in the present days and weeks.
(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)
