Afternoon Delight (Sky rockets in flight)

Three days a week I work from home. Terry also works at a home office. Since I've got an interview to conduct across town at 4 pm then will have a fight back home through traffic and over the harbor bridge, I decided to have our cooked meal at lunch today. We can have left over risotto or curry at dinner time.

Today's menu includes "Maori" potatoes. Maori Potatoes, also called peruperu or taewa, were brought to New Zealand by Europeans 200 years ago. Maori had kumera, a type of sweet potato, but no potatoes as we think of them. Maori potatoes, have dark purple or red skin, and the flesh is purple to white. When you cut into one, it oozes dark purple. I always feel a bit murderous when my potatoes bleed.... They are small, wee things, knobbly, the length of a man's thumb and two to three times thicker. I found a few in the cupboard that Terry's dad gave us when we were in Kaikohe at Christmas. I never saw purple potatoes in the States, but evidently there are a few varieties available, including Peruvian Potatoes.

Soggy carrots are the sort of item I would have tossed out before this experiment. I had cut carrots into matchsticks a couple of weeks ago, but didn't use them all. These were in the fridge in a Ziploc looking limp and dejected. I soaked them briefly in cold water and they perked up like a frat boy with a beer tap.

Day Three- Zucchini, Onion and "Maori" Potato Tempura with Iceberg and Matchstick Carrot Salad and Honey Soy Ginger Dressing

Ingredients from

Cupboard- Onion, Maori Potatoes, Honey, Soy Sauce, Ground Ginger, Flour, Oil
Fridge- Zucchini, Iceberg Lettuce, Carrot

Clash of the Thai-tans

One of Terry's first reactions to the "Pantry Plan" was "Sure, we can eat for days with what we have in the house, but it will be BORing." As opposed to the other days when I'm totally uninspired and we have stir fry for the millionth time, I guess. In an effort to calm the fear of dull dinners, I used a recipe from the Asian Cooking class we took together last year.

Our teacher, Monica, a petite Chinese lady, did all of the shopping and all we had to do was show up with knife and dishtowel to a local high school. There WERE knives in the home ec room, but cutting butter would be a big ask for anything that dull. Come to mention it, all of the plastic coated aprons in this high school home ec room had large stab marks. Primarily at vital organ height. Obviously the knives used to be sharper. Or the kids came BYO.

She broke us into groups making different dishes. We'd make one and come together for a massive Asian nosh at the end of class. My favorite recipe from the six week class was Thai Green Curry with Chicken. She served it over white rice, but I prefer it with rice vermicelli. It is better with fresh green beans, but I had canned in the cupboard.

Day Two- Thai Green Curry with Chicken

Ingredients from

Cupboard- Coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, canned green beans, fish sauce, brown sugar, lemon, onion, cooking oil

Fridge-Green curry paste

Freezer- Chicken thighs

The Rules of Engagement

I am not Martha Stewart and Wolfgang Puck's love child. I hear enthusiastic cooks waxing eloquent about how cooking helps them relax and unwind and I quietly reach for the nearest garrote. Sometimes I enjoy cooking, when I haven't been at the office all day and I've been watching episodes of "The F Word," but most days cooking dinner is one more chore in a long list of tedious activities. I get through it.

Often I look at what is in the house to cook and there is nothing I want to cook. But if I had to, how long could I cook from what is in the house? The significant other and I discussed the proposition. When pressed for how many days we could manage without a trip to the grocery store, he said, "three days, maybe four." I think we could last several weeks, but he isn't buying it. His main fear seemed to be scurvy. Well, scurvy, boring meals and a lack of cookies.

So, we made a deal. We would see how long we could cook out of what we had in the house, but with $20 a week for fresh fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs. Cat food, cleaning products and toilet paper not included. Occasionally, I might even bake some cookies.

Day One Dinner
Bleu Cheese and Pea Risotto

Ingredients

Fridge: Bleu cheese remnant
Freezer: Frozen green peas
Cupboard: Fresh onion, arborio rice, vegetable stock powder, olive oil

The Gauntlet is Thrown

"There is nothing to eat in the house." Three nights a week my boyfriend is in charge of cooking. Guess whose night it was to cook when I heard those words. No gold star for the right answer; it was his.

I'm a bit surprised at this comment, as he can normally cook up fabulous creations seemingly out of air. But there it was, "nothing to eat in the house." I explain that there are, in fact, one or two ingredients available between the refrigerator, pantry and freezer. Mentioning the protein options in the freezer elicits an unblinking lizard-like stare. Moving on to the cupboard, risotto is offered as a possibility. Nothing. Off he goes to get fried rice, leaving me on the couch with my grocery shopping reputation besmirched.

Tomorrow, I'm cooking out of the pantry. I'll show him.