In yesterday’s New York Times,Andrew Scrivani has written such a good piece about creatively using leftovers that it’s worth featuring all by itself on this post. Scrivani gives so many good tips that I’m tempted to print his piece so that I can refer to it whenever I like.
His point is simple but requires a bit of planning: Stock some basics—frozen pizza dough, won ton wrappers, panko bread crumbs—and you have the means to not only use leftovers but also to turn them into a meal that is worthy in its own right. Something to relish rather than to endure because it’s the right, green thing to do.
Now that the children are grown, except for the odd bag or two of chocolate eggs, Easter is no longer a big celebration in our house. Therefore on Sunday, my husband, Clif, and I decided to go to Portland Stage Company to a matinée performance of Heroes, a very witty play adapted by Tom Stoppard. As the house was nearly full, it seems that plenty of other folks had decided this was a good way to spend an Easter afternoon.
Because our daughter Shannon and her husband, Mike, live in South Portland, we dropped off our dog, Liam, with them before going to the play.
“Do you want to come for dinner afterward?” Shannon had asked earlier.
“Sure!” I had answered, never one to pass up an invitation to dinner.
Keeping in mind my recent decision not to eat meat, Shannon found a Martha Stewart recipe called Easiest Indian Stew, and she made this for our “Easter” dinner. Readers, Easiest Indian Stew is fast food at its best. It doesn’t have many ingredients—chickpeas, tomato sauce, ginger, curry, garlic, onion, and rice—it is quick to make—less than a half hour—and it is good for you. As a bonus, the whole house is fragrant with garlic and spices as the stew simmers.
Shannon made corn bread to go with the stew. A perfect accompaniment.
The stew was a hit—Clif could have easily gone back for thirds—and we all agreed that it would be good for any day. I could certainly eat it once a month, and I will be adding it to my repertoire of quick but healthy dishes.
Now, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that other ingredients could be added to this stew: peanuts, roasted cauliflower, peppers, broccoli, to name a few. A bit of allspice could be added to give it “dimension,” as Rosa at The Flaky Tart puts it. We added red pepper flakes to give the dish a little heat.
However the stew was good as is, and I’ll be making it sometime soon. Very soon.
As I noted in yesterday’s post, it’s a busy time for me right now, and during these times, even a homebody must have a few tricks up her sleeve, so to speak, so that she can prepare quick, tasty, yet nutritious meals. As a rule, my husband, Clif, and I eat out once a week at some local restaurant where the food is fresh but can still only be considered a treat. (I also slide in a solo lunch trip to The Flaky Tart once a week.) Often we go to The Red Barn in Augusta or to Bolley’s Famous Franks, also in Augusta. Both places feature delicious fried seafood, just perfect for our weekly treat.
The other six days, I cook dinner, and because I am a homebody, I usually have time to make meals that require lots of chopping and simmering. But not right now. So for the next week or so, the emphasis will be on fast food at home, but homemade rather than overly processed.
One of my absolute favorite quick meals—so good that I could happily eat it once a week—is something I’ve dubbed Asian wraps. In brief, here is what I do. I cook 1 cup of rice as directed on the package. Since I use organic white basmati, this only takes 10 minutes or so. I know that brown rice is better for me, but I can’t help it—I like white basmati better. While the rice is cooking, I steam about 1 cup of broccoli and grate one carrot. I grind some peanuts. There is a bit of a cheat with this dish as I use packaged tortillas and a ginger soy sauce from Trader Joe’s to finish it off. Dedicated cooks could make their own tortillas as well as a ginger soy sauce, but then the meal wouldn’t be quite as quick, and that is today’s emphasis.
Despite the store-bought tortillas and the bottled sauce, this is a tasty, nutritious meal that can be made oh so quickly. I hardly need to add that many other vegetables and even meat could be added to this wrap, and when they are in season, we use veggies that we either grow or get from Farmer Kev. Sugar snaps are especially good and so is sautéd zucchini. A chopped fried egg would be a nice addition as would sautéd peppers or onions. Whatever suits your fancy.
Recently we had those wraps, and I photographed the assembly process as Clif made a wrap. Note: The corn in the photos was used as a side, but the corn could have easily been added with the other vegetables.
A busy time for me. Spring, with all its attendant chores, is here. With my family’s help, I’m in the process of tweaking Maya and the Book of Everything, a young-adult fantasy novel I recently finished writing. And, Earth Day will soon be here, which for me means organizing a Mostly Maine Potluck Dinner for Winthrop. (Earth Day also, coincidently, happens to be my daughter Shannon’s birthday.)
Still, I did find time to go to The Flaky Tart for lunch yesterday. I go there once a week and spend about $5, which, in my opinion, is money well spent. The Flaky Tart has really jazzed up Winthrop’s main street, which, truth be told, had become a little ragged over the years. (It was much more vibrant when we moved here 28 years ago). A snappy little café can really add heart to a community, and even though our budget is modest, I feel as though The Flaky Tart is worth supporting. I feel the same way about other places in town—Mia Lina’s, Tubby’s, and, when I was eating meat, Pete’s Roast Beef.
Other people must feel the same way as I do because the little café was busy as can be when I was there yesterday. How nice it was to sit at a table by the window, eat a tuna sandwich made with delectable fresh whole wheat bread, and watch the comings and goings. Richard, the library’s director, came in, and we had a chat about all things library.
After lunch, I did some shopping. I went to Foshay-Carlton and bought some birthday gifts for Shannon, and I went to Becky’s Second Time Around and got some “wicked” good deals—$14 for four tops that were in excellent condition. Good thing I brought my knapsack because it was stuffed full when I left.
After a quick trip to the library, I rode by the lake. Above, the sky was a deep blue, and Lake Maranacook was a perfect reflection of this. What a pleasure to ride my bike into town on a spring day, have lunch, and do a little shopping.
You might even call it a Winthrop kind of day.
Still life at The Flaky Tart
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