Hello to all hungry Kossacks. Welcome to another edition of The Depressed Kitchen where your friend MaKettle tries to fix satisfying, kid friendly, cheap food and maintain sanity and a positive bank balance. To do this I look into my rather large cookbook collection with publication dates ranging from 1916 to today, along with input from Grandma Kettle who was a child of the Great Depression.
For those of you following the diaries, Grandma is much better this week. She is not yet fully recovered from her surgery of a few weeks ago, but has started showering on her own and is definately eating better. As far as my own situation is concerned I have heard good news on the job front. It looks like my part time employer, (as opposed to my full time employer, it takes 3 incomes to keep the Kettle's above water), has plenty of work for me in the Summer. Hopefully we can build up a cushion so that there won't be anymore hungry months this year. What the fall semester holds is still up in the air. Pa believe's that the new budget and stimulus will help to hire more teachers here. I hope he is right. I am usually the optimist in our marriage, but this time the tables are turned.
As far as the depression that has wracked my psyche and by extension my family, it is still growling around the edges of my mind, and my appetite has not returned to it's full glory. I am not as weepy as I had been the last month or so, and that is good news at least. I have also returned to the kitchen, which makes my family very happy. I know there will be money coming in over the next 4 months, and that has allowed me to "seek the headwaters of pain" as it were, and confront the source of my own personal darkness. I am not healed, but I am working towards that end. I most content right now at least, sitting next to a window, the sun pouring in on me, writing to you about something that I enjoy; good food.
This week at the market I found one of Pa's favorites: Beef Ribs. They were $.77 lb, and for 6 bucks I was able to buy enough to have left overs. Personally, I would rather have pork ribs, I just think they are meatier, and truly I am not in the mood for ribs at all. JaneDoe the dog looks at me as though I am a fool, and asks if she may have my share. They were cheap, they make Pa happy, and I can add some sides that I do enjoy. Since I do not have a smoker I plan to season and roast these ribs for at least a couple hours at 350. When they are tender, but not falling apart, I will then slap them on the grill and slather them with my favorite BBQ sauce. I was thinking I would add something I have not made in a long time, this recipe comes from 1940 "America Cooks" and comes with minimal measurements, as older recipes sometimes do:
German Potato Salad
Add salt, pepper, and bacon drippings to enough water to cover a quart of sliced raw potatoes. Boil until tender. Drain potatoes and add one sliced onion, and two boiled eggs diced. Mix 3 tbs vinegar, 2 tbs sugar separately. Combine all ingredients and let sit for at least one hour.
Now I would not put in either the egg (ick) nor the sugar. I would probably add some ground mustard seed or celery seed, or both.
To go with the ribs I will probably whip out some corn bread. You can see my recipe for that here http://www.dailykos.com/...
Sometimes left overs get used up in strange but yummy ways in the Kettle house. This week I was standing in front of the open refrigerator, hoping for inspiration. I know the muse for history is Clio, is there a muse for cooking I wonder? Anyway JaneDoe http://i326.photobucket.com/...
works very hard at being my muse in most things. She reminded me that we had leftover chicken. Rummaging around I found a whole bunch of mushrooms, purchased for less than a buck, half a container of sour cream, and a bag of frozen cooked noodles. I made
Creamy Chicken and Egg Noodles
I first cooked three lonely slices of pancetta til crispy and set them aside. In the drippings I sauteed the mushrooms with 1/2 onion in 2 tbs butter. I removed this from the pan and then seared of the chicken so it was golden on both sides. I dumped everything back into the pan and added thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, and the little bit of sour cream. Then I crumbled the pancetta over the top and left this on low while the Kettle chilluns finished their homework. When they were done I nuked the noodles and added a salad and bread. There were no left overs.
Another recipe that has made an appearance at the Kettle house comes from the same 1940 cookbook. I make this when I find marked down flank steak. I always have left over croutons, and generally left over fresh spinach.
Rolled Flank Steak
Score the steak. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup spinach (packed fresh, or squeezed frozen), parsley, as much chopped onion as you like, smashed garlic, 1/2 tsp rosemary or any other strong herb that you like. Roll like a jelly roll and tie with kitchen string. Sear this in a deep saute pan with a tight lid in a little bit of olive oil. Use tongs to brown it on all sides. When brown to your liking add 2 cups of liquid (broth, wine or a combination) to the pan and simmer on medium low for about an hour. Remove and reduce the pan gravy. You might also thicken it by adding a little more broth mixed with cornstarch or Wondra. Serve with rice or noodles or mashed taters to catch the gravy.
Some kind soul left a bag of lemons on my door step. I have so far cleaned my garbage disposal, my bbq grill, made lemon ice box cookies, and this fabulous cake. WARNING: Cut it thick because it is crumbly, and it is so easy to make you may become addicted.
Lemon Butter Cake
1 stick of butter (the real stuff is the best, but use what you have)
1 cup sugar (do not use brown here)
grated rind of one lemon
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup milk (any kind)
1 tsp vanilla
Combine by first creaming butter and sugar, then alternately adding dry and wet ingredients. Bake in a greased loaf pan in a 350 oven for about 45 minutes. When down pour this mixture over the hot cake.
2 tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
Let cool, then devour.
So what are you doing with your leftovers that are yummy and cheap?