Made mushroom risotto this morning, using the last of the vegetable stock I had made.

And then I finished and strained a new batch of stock. Whee!

I’m working on a pot of red beans and pork, but after several hours of cooking over two days, it’s still not coming together right. I think that’s because this is my first time trying to use canned beans instead of dried. I don’t know - I’ve just had an urge to use up my canned goods lately. Eh, even if it doesn’t develop the proper gravy-ish base, it’s still coming out with the right taste.

Tonight, I need to develop a plan for the broccoli rabe (rapini).

And then I’ll just have the copious amounts of winter squash to figure out. I think I’ll break into the sweet roasting squash first - mainly because it’s big, and I have no place to store it. I’m thinking cutting it in half and roasting it with some butter - then I’ll eat some right away with cinnamon and sugar. Make soup out of most of it. And then reserve some to make ravioli with the thai basil and then cook it in a browned butter sauce.

That’s the plan, at least.

I bought and made so much food this weekend.

First, there was the farmers’ market out by my parents’, which I had to go to because I’d bought very promising looking butter there last weekend, but found it had gone off, when I tried it as soon as I got home. So I took it back in hopes of swapping for fresher butter, but they hadn’t made any this past week - so I swapped for two butternut squash, instead. And I bought a 4 pound sweet roasting squash on impulse.

And then I bought stuff for the Roman cooking workshop. And some broccoli rabe that looked gorgeous. And what’s a couple (or 7) beets for a buck?

So then I met up with my parents so we could try breakfast at an “authentic British pub”. And, yes, they had sourced the right kind of bacon and there was both black and white pudding. And beans from a can. But the eggs were standard tasteless American eggs and there was no grilled tomato… and the tea was only halfway in between the two countries’. I may sound a little down on it, but that’s less because of the quality of the food and more because the entire breakfast run had only one waitress, so the food wasn’t quite as hot as it could have been.

And then my parents wanted to go to a large, indoor farmers’ market. And there was a gorgeous, large, pristine, beautiful head of cauliflower. Locally picked. And some huge white mushrooms picked locally the day before. And we split 3 dozen eggs (I only took one of them) from happy, pasture raised chickens (with flavor!).

And then… just to tempt me further, they wanted to stop and show me their new fancy supermarket, which was very much like a small, off-brand whole foods. I bought an environment-friendly dish soap so that I can finally declare the Dr. Bronner’s experiment a failure. And then I binged on comforting grains - two kinds of oatmeal and some barley. Also, for you doubters of the corporate benefits of social media - I totally impulse bought an unnecessary jar of salsa because I enjoy following the guy’s twitter feed.

Then I went home.

I had completely run out of frozen leftovers for lunch, so last week I had made some desperate bulk quantities of dinner food:

• leftover pasta salad suddenly turned into dinners
• mexican-ish rice with chicken and beans
• macaroni with (homemade) pesto, chicken, and zucchini

You don’t want recipes for those, do you?

This week - There was the Roman Cooking workshop.

We made a pork loin roast boiled in salt water and bay leaves (now I’ve heard of brining, but there was no mention of roasting this meat or any cooking method other than boiling. So I left it in until it started to shred, but I pulled it out then because it was already quite salty. It makes an okay sandwich with mayonnaise (almost tasting like canned chicken). But this morning I started a pot of red beans on the stove, and I used the pork with no additional salt for the beans.

And then we make the barley stew with pork - it turned out almost like risotto, and despite only having two people come to the workshop, there were no leftovers. I might need to make it again soon.

The mushrooms were very tasty (as almost always) and made a great companion to the barley.

Because it wasn’t entirely clear whether the cabbage was to be made with fresh cilantro or dried coriander seeds, I did each half differently - there was a preference for the coriander, but neither one was really exciting, and I do have a lot of leftovers for those. I’ll need to think of a way to repurpose it into something that will freeze.

The fried carrots in wine and fish sauce smelled like ass - fishy ass - while cooking, but ended up tasty enough that I didn’t get to try the finish product.

And then I was pretty much done, especially with only having two people over. SO I handed over the book, and let them select the last recipe. And sweet egg cakes were chosen. Well, it was 4 eggs to 1/2 a pint of milk (with an ounce of oil) to be cooked in a shallow pan (I don’t have the recipe in front of me for the specifics, but it was distinctly not supposed to be custard because that was the recipe above). Because the mixture was so thin and I happened to have a brand new nonstick skillet, I suggested that we could pour many thin layers and treat them as crepes. While not a single one was removed as a flat sheet, we kind of had to bundle it together into a central pile to move it successfully. Oh, and then it’s dressed with honey and black pepper before serving - and it is some tasty! Well chosen!

And then after they left on Sunday, I made two more dinners that I could pack up for lunches:

• Smitten Kitchen’s pasta with Cauliflower, walnuts, and feta - for which I did substitute regular pasta for whole wheat because I have boxes sitting around that I’m using up before I buy more pasta - and I’m not 100% sure that either the walnuts or the feta will take well to freezing, but the recipe was too tempting to pass up. I did taste a small portion that was didn’t fit evenly into the containers, and it was amazing fresh. I’d almost forgotten the few drops of lemon juice and vinegar (apple cider), but they really brought the flavors together.

  ETA: when she says this reheats well as leftovers, she wasn’t kidding. I was seriously dubious about freezing this one on account of both the nuts and the feta - but thawing it before microwaving has produced consistently tasty leftovers

• gobhi bharta - inspired by the recipe in my favorite Indian cookbook, but then I took a left turn with the seasonings when I saw an opportunity to use up more of my mother’s extraneous Penzey’s spice mixes - so I used Rogan Josh seasoning with sumac instead or pomegranate powder to tartness and some extra hot pepper. The recipe also called for mustard seeds, so I toasted them in a little bit of my mustard oil I keep meaning to experiment with more. For all of that, it still wasn’t particularly strongly flavored, and it might have been a mistake to put up with rice, but I’d started making it when I started cooking, and I didn’t want to have to think up another use for it.

And then this morning I made one more: pasta with stuff

First, I cooked down a diced purple onion, 2 large mushrooms having been diced, and a bunch of (homemade) turkey meatballs I have in my freezer. Once everything was softer and the meatballs were browner, I splashed some sweet red wine in the pan.

As soon as the pan was dry again, I added 2 small-medium zucchini and some cauliflower (all diced small). Cook cook cook. As soon as it started to soften, I poured in 1/3 cup pasta sauce from a jar. Stir, cook, cook. And then I added macaroni (the pasta box in front, not my first choice of shape) and another 1/3 cup of sauce. And then I took it up into containers. Would be good with cheese.

Oh, and I also did laundry this morning.

And then I pondered whether I wanted to make another set of lunches or whether I wanted to start turning over dirt for restructuring the flower bed out back. And I decided to take a nap, instead.

Now I want soup, and tea, and hot chocolate. And another nap.

I think I’m going to use the remaining stock to make risotto to use up all the surplus mushrooms, so I need to also put on more stock so I can make soup with some of these winter squashes.

I also need to make the brussel sprout and beef stir fry before the brussel sprouts go off.

And I need to figure out something to do with the beautiful broccoli rabe before it starts to taste like nail varnish remover, like the last few bunches I bought did because I didn’t use them right away.

Anyone want to come over for random dinners at 10pm this week?

Food I Have
Produce
1 onion
dried tomatoes
2 apples
1 roasted sweet potato
tomatoes (red, green, and in between)
moldy carrots
kale
ginger
roasted garlic
5 small-medium zucchini
brussel sprouts
apple cider
orange juice

Meat and the like
1 jar of vegetable stock
2 oz chicken breast, cut up
carnitas
bacon
5 eggs
a whole bunch of stuff in the freezer (including freezer-tasting beef)

Dairy
Only 3 creamers (pick up more from work)
lots of 6oz containers of yogurt
tail end of a sour cream container
cheese (cream, cheddar, smoked cheddar, sharp stuff from Milk’n'Honey)

Prepared food
pie crust
4-6 servings of butternut squash soup
green tomato salsa

Scheduling that
Monday, October 19
breakfast: kale and tomatoes cooked down with sour Thai curry paste - poached egg on top
12:30 go to work
dinner: soup - pretzels and cheesy dip made from carnitas, cheddar, cream cheese, and salsa
tasks: vacuum bedroom and kitchen
watch Criminal Minds

Tuesday, October 20
8:30-9:45 yoga
tasks: gardening - continue tying up the roma tomato plant and harvesting from it.
food prep - cut herbs and fill up jar of herbed mayonnaise
make roasted garlic and parsley cream cheese
breakfast - bacon, egg, and bagel
tasks: take lunches in to work
2:30 go to work
finish menu planning for Roman cooking workshop
claim missing issues of Economist, Newsweek, Time, and Jet
steal more creamers from work
7:15-8:15 belly dancing
dinner - chicken, last of the carrots, and a zucchini with some curry paste (start a new can) and rice noodles. Without coconut milk? (divide out a portion to freeze for lunch)
prep laundry
pull out a steak to thaw
put away any miscellany on the kitchen or bedroom tables
watch Criminal Minds

Wednesday, October 21
ETA: wake up before dawn and see if there is any of the Orionids meteor shower visible in the city
tasks: get laundry washed and hung on the line (without stepping in crap from the new neighbor’s dog)
breakfast: zucchini, pork, and tomato in scrambled eggs
watch Criminal Minds
buy produce from the truck (onions, lemons, limes, peeled garlic - anything else?)
11am Karate (yeah, probably not)
12:30 go to work
email PhilCon guests
research bus tours in Rome
dinner: beef, brussel sprouts, and onion stir fry
bring laundry in and put away
move pork roast from freezer -> fridge
watch Criminal Minds

Thursday, October 22
8:30am go to work (pack bag with yoga clothes, hip scarves, veil, towel, and water bottle)
9:30am go to free breakfast
bind more periodicals
sort the microfilm ILL slips
5:14 bus to yoga
6-7:30 yoga
8-9 belly dancing
dinner: soup, smoked cheddar on the last of the saltines, apple
clean bathroom
watch last of the Criminal Minds

Friday, October 23
8:30-9:30 pilates
10-11:30 yoga
vacuum
wash out cat’s water bowl
buy groceries - peanut butter, dish soap, crackers, pasta sauce (anything else?)
12:30 go to work
9:05 bus home
have people over to watch Carnivale
dinner: soup
1am - drive out to West Chester

Saturday, October 24
9am - West Chester farmers market - exchange butter
go back home and go with parents to British pub for breakfast
Booth’s Corner
drive home
Any groceries still needed for Roman cooking workshop?
house clean?
Is there any Criminal Minds left unwatched? Supernatural? Merlin?
4-5:30 yoga
dinner: soup, carnitas quesadilla

Sunday, October 25
9:30 - put pork loin in water with bay leaves and start cooking on low/medium
10-11:30 yoga
11:45-12:45 pilates
1pm - make bed, tidy things
2pm Roman cooking workshop
6pm kick everybody out
clean
sleep

Monday, October 26
6:45-7:45 yoga?
wash dishes
10-11:15 yoga
12:30 go to work

I have three meals of food in my fridge - if only I have three nights of energy to make them.

Meal #1 - stir fry
beef, already cut in strips (but I haven’t added a marinade)
kohlrabi
onions
snow peas
fennel

Meal #2 - quesadillas
Mexican chorizo
leftover sauteed onions & peppers
summer squash
cheese
tortillas
salsa (not yet made)

Meal #3 - imam bayaldi
eggplants
leeks
tomatoes
parsley
olive oil

food in fridge not accounted for:
chicken leftovers
the rest of the summer squash
green beans
melon
more tomatoes

Tuesday, August 4
9pm go home promptly
line a baking sheet with foil
split green tomatoes in halves and set to roasting (350F)

clear off sewing table and pull out sewing machine

turn roasting pan

get out sewing machine, plug it in, and find white thread

wash japanese eggplants. Peel in strips and place in soup pot until the base if covered, no more (if there is eggplant left over, it’s going in the stir fry). Add olive oil to the soup pot and brown the eggplant, turning as you go.

Mark up the pants, and pin them while you are standing around turning the eggplant.

put roasted tomatoes in a container in the fridge.

Microwave cooked leeks, chop up tomatoes, chop garlic, chop parsley, squeeze lemon into a teacup and mix in sugar and some water

fill eggplants, pour liquid over, close up pot, lower heat, and let cook for 45 minutes.

hem pants

Wednesday, August 5
If pants are not hemmed yet, hem them OMG!
if pants are hemmed, vacuum floor.

breakfast: slice up the rest of friend’s bread and toast it. Mix together diced fresh tomato, roasted garlic, basil, and balsamic vinegar. Eat bruschetta.

toast some blueberry muffins and top with blueberry jelly.

set out work clothing

pack to take to work: peach chipotle jam

on way to karate, see if the thrift store has a bit canning pot

10:20am - karate!

1pm-9pm work work work

2pm - pop head out to the farmers’ market and offer to trade jam for more free peaches

9pm - leave work promptly (hopefully, lugging peaches home)

wash and slice all the summer squash, sautee it with fajita seasoning

pull the green tomatoes out of the fridge and remove the skins. Make salsa out of them.

stir a marinade into the stir fry beef

Pull the squash out and sautee the sausage. Add the onions and peppers in at the end.

make a salsa from fresh tomatoes?

pre-treat laundry?

make quesadillas and eat them - nom nom nom

save leftovers bits that didn’t fit in quesadillas.

Thursday, August 5
remove pie crust from fridge

8:30am take laundry to laundromat

slice open melon and eat it.

put pie crust in pie plate and prick

retrieve laundry and hang to dry

bake pie crust

plant cherry tomato plant?

buy dairy product?

put into crust:
- leftover chorizo
- leftover cooked squash
- parsley, lovage, thyme, savory
- leftover chicken
- any leftover cooked leek
- cheese
- eggs
- dairy

Make a quiche!

Don’t have time to eat the quiche, so pop it, loosely covered, in the fridge

go to work

work work work

9pm - come home promptly

remove clothes from line and put away

make stir fry!

read book for book group

Friday, August 7
cut a slice of quiche and take it to work for breakfast! Be smug.

pack to take to work: exercise clothes, grey yarn, roma tomatoes, a few regular tomatoes

9-5 work

5:30-6:45 yoga

7pm - dinner - of quiche!

8-11pm book group

come home and cut up some peaches and sugar them - put in refrigerator

Saturday, August 8
wake up early and cut and sugar the rest of the peaches

10-11:30 yoga
11:45-12:45 pilates

1pm go home and bathe, OMG! (yes, theoretically this has happened a few more times in the schedule, but still)

possibly eat - bagel and cream cheese? With a fried egg? Or maybe, just maybe, there might be some quiche left.

get character sheet and take a jar of peach sauce over to gaming group for hanging out and experimental food.

~*~

Chances of all of that happening with none falling by the wayside? Approaching 0%, but we’ll see.

Food I have
Produce
1 apple
1 pears
6 radishes
spinach (5oz baby, 5 oz adult)
collard greens
2 cucumbers
snow peas
1 yellow squash (aging)
1 red bell pepper
4 rhubarb stalks
lemons
limes
carrots
several pounds of pecans

Prepared produce
roasted eggplant
4 heads roasted garlic
2/3 can of tomato sauce (transferred to a jar)
chipotle salsa
chipotle in adobo sauce
tahini
hummus
orange juice
lemonade
soy milk

Dairy
sour cream
tzatziki
labneh
2/3 quart whole (unhomogenized) milk

Bread
end of a cheese/pepperoni bread
pita chips
tortillas

Meat
beef strips marinated in black pepper sauce and pineapple juice

Meals from that
Thursday, June 25
breakfast: cereal with sliced apple on top w/ soy milk; 2 pears
dinner: out at an Indian restaurant (acquire mint clippings)
prep: set meusli to soak for Friday’s breakfast; candy rhubarb

Friday, June 26
breakfast: meusli - oats, milk, orange juice, dried fruit, pecans
lunch: at conference
5:30 dinner: quick spinach salad (grab tzatziki, hummus, pita chips, snow peas, and a serving dish)
7pm party

Saturday, June 27
breakfast: yogurt
10am yoga
11:45 pilates
1pm - second breakfast: greens on a bagel w/ cream cheese
(*hand off bridge table to its owner)
go to parents’
dinner: make dinner for parents - no idea what to make, since my father has been having trouble keeping food down lately

Sunday, June 28
breakfast: yogurt w/ candied rhubarb
10am yoga
noon: try breakfast at new cafe
2pm - D&D, dinner with those folks. Possible pack up some spinach for a side salad

Monday, June 29
breakfast: greens on a bagel
11am - meeting with home ownership services to see about programs to help me buy a house some day
1-9 work
dinner: turn roasted eggplant into Baigan Bhartha

Tuesday, June 30
breakfast: omelet w/ herbs
dinner: stir fry - marinating beef, yellow squash, red bell pepper, onion, carrot

Wednesday, July 1
go to produce truck

I may have gone a bit overboard at my produce truck and the farmers’ market and berry picking.

Oh, yes, I went berry picking. Food in Jars had a post about local Pick Your Own berry farms, and I was totally sold on the idea. So a friend and I went out to Rowand Farms (no website?) in Glassboro, NJ to acquire cherries and strawberries. I’ve only picked apples before, and cherries are definitely harder - but then moving on to strawberries was like leveling up once more because you really had to look hard to find the pretty ones… plus stooping, but we knew that going in.

Now I have to make plans for all of this food:

Produce
1 nectarine
4 tomatoes
2 bunches of small asparagus
handful of shelling peas
radishes
slightly less than 1lb lettuce
2lbs cherries
3lbs strawberries
3 lemons
5 limes
2 grapefruits
4 rhubarb stalks
turnips galore
1 yellow squash
1 red pepper
1 carrot
1 parsnip
3 rutabagas
1 celeriac root
7 oz kale
1lb spicy mustard greens

ready to be harvested from my garden
radicchio
swiss chard
nasturtium flowers

processed produce
tail end of a jar of salsa
vodka pasta sauce
1/4 cup rice with turmeric, clove, and sundried tomatoes
Thai sweet spicy garlic sauce
chipotle in adobo sauce
jarred crab apples
pineapple juice
orange juice
fermenting peaches

dairy
sour cream
cheddar cheese
1% milk

protein
beef fajita leftovers (about enough for 3-4 quesadillas)
3lb beef roast
4 eggs

So now I need a plan
Monday, June 8
breakfast: 2 quesadillas with leftover fajitas

~*~

roast: foil packets of root vegetables with various spice mixes and garlic; asparagus

dinner: salad w/ half the lettuce, shelling peas (try one to see if they are good popped out, or if they need to be blanched), roasted asparagus, radishes, and nasturtium flowers - dressing: something mild and sweet - white balsamic and apricot jelly?

prep beef: 1/3 slice into thin strips and marinate with pineapple juice, jalapeno, black bean sauce (for stir fry); 1/3 slice into thin strip and marinate with salsa, chipotle, and lime juice (for something involving tortillas); prep the thickest third for roasting (studded with garlic cloves and tuck in some rosemary) and wrap for freezing

Rhubarb - make candied rhubarb and rhubarb syrup for camping

dessert - strawberries and milk

Tuesday, June 9
breakfast - try Kenyan collard green recipe with kale (uses a tomato); eat some strawberries

9am - meet real estate agent to go see a house I can’t afford

~*~

dinner: stir fry marinated beef with asparagus, red pepper, jalapeno, ginger, radishes; also saute some of the spicy mustard greens with garlic to have one the side. Make rice.

strawberries - try making small batch strawberry jam w/ shredded fresh ginger and 1 ground black cardamom jam

salsa - try making salsas from strawberries and cherries

Wednesday, June 10
meet friend for coffee; take radishes and sexy butter.

do I still want breakfast? - rest of the spicy mustard greens made like roman kale

take any remaining berries in to work

~*~

dinner: (psst: you still haven’t eaten your theoretical packets of roasted root vegetables, the yellow squash, maybe a tomato or two, nor the Mexican-ish beef) That could be an interesting start to a cottage pie…

cream cheese - cut some of my fresh herbs to make a cream cheese spread

pack to go camping - take

• candied rhubard
• rhubarb syrup
• limoncello
• rum
• scotch?
• camping cups and dishware
• herbed cream cheese
• hot sauce (but not my salsas)
• if I feel really ambitious I’ll make a batch of raita, but looking at this schedule - I doubt it
• again if I’m feeling ambitious, perhaps some of this ginger syrup
• fig newtons

Food I Have
Produce
kale (needs to be used soonish)
3 beets + greens
3 large leeks
1 eggplant
5 winter tomatoes
1 cauliflower
4 pears
3 scallions
jalepenos
carrots
potatoes
16 small persimmons
vegetable stock

dairy
generic cheddar cheese
fine eating cheddar cheese
generic pepper jack
cream cheese
sour cream

bread
nothing - need to buy tortillas & bagels

Meals I shall make
Wednesday, January 28
dinner: Kale & tomato with poached egg on top
*make scallion cream cheese

Thursday, January 29
breakfast: muffin & butter
dinner: coffee out with friends

Friday, January 30
*buy tofu and set it to marinating in sambal olek
breakfast: sauteed onion, kale, and tomato w/ egg poached on top
dinner: spicy tofu with beet greens

Saturday, January 31
first breakfast: blueberry yogurt & pear
- buy pita bread from halal grocery
second breakfast: kale & tomatoes (on half a bagel?)
- buy cilantro and cucumbers from produce truck
- buy quart of yogurt from supermarket
*make pita chips
*make tzatziki
dinner: aloo gobi

Sunday, February 1
first breakfast: peach yogurt & persimmons
brunch: bagel & scallion cheese, bacon, fried egg
*roast eggplant & beets
*fry leeks
*make pork & bean chili
-buy more veggies at produce truck?
dinner: grab something quick by yoga studio
supper: pita chips & tzatziki, reheated aloo gobi?, ??

So I didn’t look through my fridge for a proper food list, but I need to make sure I have no perishables by Dec. 24th.

What I think I have
Produce
3 plums
2 oranges
several green tomatoes
10 apples
2 potatoes
1 lemon
3 limes
bunch of scallions
pint of fresh cranberries
kale (possibly getting too old)
most of a smallish head of napa cabbage
2 carrots
1 mini romanesco
3 butternut squash (only 1 is in danger of not lasting until January)
roasted onions
syrup from poaching quinces
hot peppers
various dried fruits (cranberries, dates, figs)
roasted garlic

last of the tomatoes from my mother’s garden, cooked down into sauce
orange juice
vegetable stock

Meat
Beef leftovers that might be too old
<1 pint perky beef leftovers
4 slices turkey bacon
deli meat ends (pastrami?) sliced thick

Dairy
qt 2% milk
1/2 pt light cream
6oz cheddar cheese
last of the prima donna

Meals I can make from that
Tuesday, December 16
2pm lunch @ Mad Mex
Cabbage, Apple, and Walnut salad - uses napa cabbage, walnuts, cider vinegar, 1/2 lemon, 2 tablespoons creme fraiche or heavy cream (I have a small container of plain yogurt), 2 apples, and maybe some of the prima donna. Maybe add cranberries…

Also, split the squash in half and roast it.

Wednesday, December 17
ETA: Go to grocery store: salad, pork loin on sale

Put most of the roast onions in with the butternut squash goody for soup. With a couple apples.

*also roast green tomato and make salsa

Reserve some to make quesadillas with the beef leftovers, cheddar cheese, and kale. And hot peppers.

prep Thursday’s breakfast

Thursday, December 18
breakfast - meusli - shred 1/2 and apple into it
Dinner - Vegetarian Hoagie from Fuh Wah
Supper - ice cream topped with heated up quince syrup, maybe also apple slices & peanut butter

prep more meusli for tomorrow!

Friday, December 19
breakfast - meusli - shred 1/2 apple
dinner - pack food for D&D? Buy lettuce for a backup salad? My lettuce is on sale, but that’d be a challenge to get through before I left. If backup salad, you can put romanesco & a carrot in it.

Saturday, December 20
make scallion cream cheese - eat a bagel for breakfast
going to Baltimore

Sunday, December 21
Baltimore
supper - butternut squash soup

Monday, December 22
breakfast - cold cereal & milk
Hash - 1 Potato & the rest of the beef leftovers - freeze directly into lunches
cook the rest of the turkey bacon - put in a salad with sliced onion, cheddar, and tomato. Soup on the side.

Tuesday, December 23
breakfast - bagel & cream cheese
Dinner: Mashed potato (finish off the milk, if possible)
Apple & prima donna & almond salad

Wednesday, December 24
flight leaves at 6:55 - full vacation day from work.
breakfast - bagel (finish off the cream cheese)
lunch - soup (freeze any not yet finished)
pack a dinner to eat in the airport - dry salad + any cheese still left over & container of balsamic vinegar

I ended up acquiring an abundance of food over the weekend (leftovers from my mother, a tempting farmers’ market, and a delightful cheese exchange - oh, and amazing fruitcake in the mail), so roasting is postponed.

Well, at least the part where I crack open the butternut squash… I am still looking longingly at the uncaramelized garlic and onions and things. Soon.

But my larder has an abundance, so that calls for a list to make sure everything is properly savored.

Food I have
Produce
1 hachiya persimmon
2 quinces
6 large red potatoes
cherry tomatoes (from neighbor’s tomato plants)
2 red and 3 green tomatoes (from mother’s tomato plants)
mixed tomatoes (adopted from friend’s refrigerator)
1 green cauliflower
4 radishes
1 sunchoke / Jerusalem artichoke
3 carrots
carrot greens
arugula
2 small leeks
hot peppers galore
4 limes
small chinese cabbage
3 parsley roots
1 rutabega
ginger
kale

orange juice
vegetable stock
most of a can of coconut milk (full fat)

leftover cooked vegetables (from a restaurant)
creole seasoned creamy corn sauce (from a restaurant)

dairy
smoked aged local cheddar
Prima Donna
a blue cheese
store brand extra sharp cheddar
cream cheese
2% milk
plain yogurt

meat
filet mignon leftovers
chicken raft leftovers
and one of the leftover containers from my mother looked like she accidentally gave me some of her concentrated ground beef cooked down with onions and tomatoes for filling lasagna.

chicken stock

red beans made with pork

Meals to make with that
I’ll make some carolina rice and freeze up the beans in lunch-sized portions

And then I want to make a bunch of small batches of soup -

• I bought the carrots for the carrot greens so I could see what they were like in my standard asian pork, greens, and noodles soup ETA: Done. Ummm… not as exciting as I’d hoped. It just tasted like its component parts and the greens never melted into the soup flavor. I have a leftover portion, so maybe they’ll end up better.
• While this recipe for Jerusalem artichoke soup with lemon and saffron sounds exciting, I think I’d rather try my first introduction to this tuber more simply… I’m a little worried, though, that most recipes seem to call for 3 parts potatoes to 2 parts jerusalem artichoke. Do you think that’s because the flavor is too strong (probably not, since they can be eaten raw) or because of the expense? I’ll let you know how it goes. ETA: Oooo - or I could turn it into risotto!
• Carrot Ginger Coconut Milk Soup (inspired by Orangette’s travels, possibly with this recipe as a starting point)

I still want to roast the cauliflower. I think that would tumble well with some of the tomatoes.

And I have a hankering for pasta. Possibly tossed with blue cheese and toasted pine nuts. But that’s not an efficient use of ingredients. I might have to use some of the blue cheese with the roasted cauliflower to make sure I get to it while it’s still tasty… hmmm.. or the cheese and cauliflower could add to the list of soups.

These Poached Quines will finally give me a use for my vanilla sugar.

I’ll probably make a colcannon type think with the parsley root and the kale. Or maybe the rutabega.

And as soon as I finish gobbling up the rocket with nibbles of the local smoked cheddar cheese, I’ll start making kale, tomato, and poached egg breakfasts.

So there are ideas maximizing the combinations, but now I have to figure out a schedule and get to it in time.

Which means I need to head home and make myself some dinner.