It seems like such a simple thing..
We all have to eat, and nobody can afford to eat out every day, so ultimately SOMEONE has to cook, right?
There's cooking, however, and there's COOKING. Some folks aren't content unless they're making a 4 star meal, and others are content if the can opener doesn't jam as they're opening up the soup-du-jour.
Some of us live in an entirely different group however, one that dances around in the light somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.
I have always loved to cook, and I'm always on the hunt for new recipes and new ways to twist on an old favourite. Every once in a whlie life gets busy and it gets away for me for a while but then like an old friend, it comes back around again.
Years ago, I spent an inordinate amount of time laid up in hospital after surgery. As I struggled to get back on my feet, I did a lot of reading and research. Nurses laughed at me because I was researching recipes and things I wanted to make for my family when I got back home even though I was in hospital and not being able to eat anything. I guess the Mom instinct kicks in and stays lit.. at least that's what I told them when they bugged.
I was going through some things and found my notebooks from that time period. So many thoughts, notes, tips and tidbits written on the pages and at random in the margins. Almost like a time capsule of sorts.
I have been getting back to keeping a promise I made myself some time ago to make something new every week. Sometimes that takes the form of taking a meal we eat all the time and changing it up just a little bit, other times it's adding an item to the grocery cart I've never tried before, or choosing a new-to-me spice from my Epicure shelf and buiding a recipe around it, and of course quite often I'll go surfing on Pinterest. The trick, however, is actually going back to actually TRY some of the things you've saved there. Baby steps, right?
I've taken to taking pictures of some of my creations in progress but things get busy and it's always my own "stuff" that goes by the wayside. I will endeavor to do better..
I seem to have levelled up in my quest to alleviate the amount of food waste in our household lately. I was introduced the concept of CORN night years ago from an article I'd read where the author had referred to one night a week as "Clean out the Refridgerator Night" and I adopted it. The kids thought that was hilarious.
Last night I made something I've dubbed "Corn Soup" for the same reason. I'd set about cleaning out the fridge and decided to re-invent some leftovers after first getting the OK from my teddybear that he was OK with having me use him for a guinea pig.
Normally I'd take a leftover piece of beef, pork or ground meats and turn that into a soup. This time I'd gone in a different direction.
Given that I was using leftovers that might have died in the fridge, I've seen some call it "Garbage Soup" but nobody likes the idea of eating garbage.. so CORN Soup it is! The key being is that all food is still in good shape, nothing spoiled, nothing that would make anyone ill. The challenge is in the creativity of reinvention.
So into the crockpot goes..
First there was the beef broth I'd saved from the roast I'd made last week. I found 2 cups of leftover chili. Then I diced up a leftover steak. I used my beloved ceramic slicer and chopped up two celery stalks, and fried up some mushrooms.
I had amped up Dad's Swiss Steak that we'd always eaten as kids and after having it for dinner, and then lunch the next day there was still a little left over. Diced up the steak, and put the vegies through the food processor. (It looked a little like a marinara sauce by the time it was done).
I added half a freezer bag of rice that was left in the fridge from the night before. I'd never added rice to a soup before so that was new (and a little scary).
At this point I had a thick stew-chili like mixture, to which I added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of peas and corn and mixed it all up.
It spent the afternoon in the crockpot on low to marry all the components (it was already cooked). I'd planned to save it for the following day, but we ended up testing it out Sunday.
The result was a soup that tasted JUST LIKE cabbage rolls. We'll definitely try to recreate this one again!
I forgot to take a photo when I'd first made it but got this photo the next day. You can tell it's been popular around here!
We all have to eat, and nobody can afford to eat out every day, so ultimately SOMEONE has to cook, right?
There's cooking, however, and there's COOKING. Some folks aren't content unless they're making a 4 star meal, and others are content if the can opener doesn't jam as they're opening up the soup-du-jour.
Some of us live in an entirely different group however, one that dances around in the light somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.
I have always loved to cook, and I'm always on the hunt for new recipes and new ways to twist on an old favourite. Every once in a whlie life gets busy and it gets away for me for a while but then like an old friend, it comes back around again.
Years ago, I spent an inordinate amount of time laid up in hospital after surgery. As I struggled to get back on my feet, I did a lot of reading and research. Nurses laughed at me because I was researching recipes and things I wanted to make for my family when I got back home even though I was in hospital and not being able to eat anything. I guess the Mom instinct kicks in and stays lit.. at least that's what I told them when they bugged.
I was going through some things and found my notebooks from that time period. So many thoughts, notes, tips and tidbits written on the pages and at random in the margins. Almost like a time capsule of sorts.
I have been getting back to keeping a promise I made myself some time ago to make something new every week. Sometimes that takes the form of taking a meal we eat all the time and changing it up just a little bit, other times it's adding an item to the grocery cart I've never tried before, or choosing a new-to-me spice from my Epicure shelf and buiding a recipe around it, and of course quite often I'll go surfing on Pinterest. The trick, however, is actually going back to actually TRY some of the things you've saved there. Baby steps, right?
I've taken to taking pictures of some of my creations in progress but things get busy and it's always my own "stuff" that goes by the wayside. I will endeavor to do better..
I seem to have levelled up in my quest to alleviate the amount of food waste in our household lately. I was introduced the concept of CORN night years ago from an article I'd read where the author had referred to one night a week as "Clean out the Refridgerator Night" and I adopted it. The kids thought that was hilarious.
Last night I made something I've dubbed "Corn Soup" for the same reason. I'd set about cleaning out the fridge and decided to re-invent some leftovers after first getting the OK from my teddybear that he was OK with having me use him for a guinea pig.
Normally I'd take a leftover piece of beef, pork or ground meats and turn that into a soup. This time I'd gone in a different direction.
Given that I was using leftovers that might have died in the fridge, I've seen some call it "Garbage Soup" but nobody likes the idea of eating garbage.. so CORN Soup it is! The key being is that all food is still in good shape, nothing spoiled, nothing that would make anyone ill. The challenge is in the creativity of reinvention.
So into the crockpot goes..
First there was the beef broth I'd saved from the roast I'd made last week. I found 2 cups of leftover chili. Then I diced up a leftover steak. I used my beloved ceramic slicer and chopped up two celery stalks, and fried up some mushrooms.
I had amped up Dad's Swiss Steak that we'd always eaten as kids and after having it for dinner, and then lunch the next day there was still a little left over. Diced up the steak, and put the vegies through the food processor. (It looked a little like a marinara sauce by the time it was done).
I added half a freezer bag of rice that was left in the fridge from the night before. I'd never added rice to a soup before so that was new (and a little scary).
At this point I had a thick stew-chili like mixture, to which I added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of peas and corn and mixed it all up.
It spent the afternoon in the crockpot on low to marry all the components (it was already cooked). I'd planned to save it for the following day, but we ended up testing it out Sunday.
 |
| "CORN" Soup ~ Sometimes the surprise is in just how fabulous it turns out! |
The result was a soup that tasted JUST LIKE cabbage rolls. We'll definitely try to recreate this one again!
I forgot to take a photo when I'd first made it but got this photo the next day. You can tell it's been popular around here!
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