by Linda Hewitt
I am a bad vegetarian, meaning I mostly eat a plant-based diet, however I still eat fish and occasionally poultry.
I’ve cooked for a family of five, three of whom were always-hungry growing boys and later men, for many years. I cooked meat when they were young, and let them decide whether they would include meat into their diets as they grew up. One is vegetarian today, so – not a bad rate of conversion.
Whether eating meat or not, home cooking has always been an essential value in the family, but often my budget was tight. As a result, I learned to make things stretch. Now, faced with the responsibility of social distancing and the perils of going to the supermarket, it is time to realize more-than-ever how to make our supplies last.
For example, I recently had a rotisserie chicken and prepared the following meals:
Night One
Warmed Chicken
Baked potatoes stuffed with sour cream, butter and chives*
Carrots in lemon, honey and tsp butter sauce
*Potato Note: You can do any kind of stuffed baked potatoes, adding things like cheese, yogurt, raw or cooked vegetables. In England, they are called “jacket potatoes.” I baked the potatoes in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. Then, while hot, I took out the meat of 3 potatoes by slicing them in half (lengthwise) and removing with a medium-sized spoon, before whipping with diced chives, butter, and sour cream (also could use yogurt) to taste. I then returned the mixture back into the skins to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Night Two
Warmed Chicken with arugula (and other greens, mixed lightly with Mayonnaise) Sandwiches
Large Salad with greens, carrots, radishes, grapefruit, grapes, grated cheese, and vinaigrette dressing
Night Three
Warmed Chicken
Beans and White Rice (both great pantry staples)
Left-over salad
Night Four
We were tired of chicken and so skipped a night and instead ate vegetarian hot dogs with homemade sauerkraut.
Night 5
Linda’s Chicken Soup
I put the remaining chicken carcass in a huge pot filled with water to make a rich stock by cooking on a low light for a couple of hours.
Then I added finely chopped celery and onions, cooking on a low light for an additional hour or so. I put in carrots, cut into pieces, a few quartered onions, pieces of celery, (one stalk should provide at least 5 pieces), and the secret ingredient, trimmed brussels sprouts. I finished by adding fresh herbs from my garden--chives, rosemary, and sage, as well as chopped carrot leaves and salt and pepper to taste.
I served over cooked egg noodles.
Soups and stews are meant to use up the leftovers in your refrigerator. Clean out your refrigerator and have some fun. We should always get the most from our food purchases by saving vegetable scraps from the trash can.
Linda Hewitt is the Circulation Supervisor and the Adult Programming Manager at the Red Bank Public Library.