| Marble[wo]man Blog March 6-24, 2011 |
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Terrible Result, But Something Had to be Done
Weeks before being admitted to the hospital, I had purchased
two bricks of firm tofu. The expiration date was well into the
future. I felt confident that I would use the tofu in a dish before
the time-stamp indication. Into the refrigerator, the tofu went
until called upon by inspiration.
When I returned from the hospital, I was greeted by a refrigerator
full of "Best Used By..." products at or past their prime: milk,
sour cream, pork chops, ground beef, steamed chicken, mushrooms,
croissant dough, clementines--all in need (Indeed!) of some form
of esculent solution. These wasting foodstuffs required some special
effort; however, the milk was most simple: cereal, pancakes. I
wanted something different to ingest since I had been "blanded"
by six days of stringent, yet highly nutritive, delectables.
A menu change was what I desired. Anticipating a hectic week,
adjusting to my revised schedule by adding the task of dressing
my leg (wounded by the surgery), by altering my sleep pattern
(due to a change in my medicine regimen), I was able to compose
and prepare lunch and dinner menu items for the week. The results,
while organized, were not as I would have liked, yet abundantly
satisfactory. "Cleaning out" the refrigerator with recipe after
recipe, I noticed the tofu (and the clementines). The date of
expiration was nigh; the future was now! Something had to be done.
What I wrought was a fiasco.
Charred Fiasco Stew
Tofu (firm, coated, marinated, fried)
-- mustard oil
-- sweet soy
-- curry powder
Almonds (fried)
Dried Hot Chili
Shrimp (medium)
Peas
Rice Cake Ovals (boiled in Sea Salt)
Onion
Marinate (remaining for stew)
Soy Sauce
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Charred Fiasco Stew
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Slump Sump Fiasco
Clementines (boiled, peeled, pulped [liquified])
Wings (fried drumsticks [flour, salt and pepper, cayenne sauce])
Enoki and Crab Mushrooms
Rice
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Slump Sump Fiasco
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Having eaten my mistakes of progression, I decided to try making
something less messy.
Early Easter Ham with a Mardi Gras Glaze
Potato (soaked in Sea Salt)
-- bake, cut in half, scoop out
-- toast shell, mash middle
-- Boiled Carrot [bits] and Shallot [slivers]
-- Lemon (juice)
-- Mozzarella (cubes melted)
Ham (hunks)
-- pressure cooked, divvy cut, baked, then broiled
-- Marinate and Glaze: dark brown sugar, filtered water, butter, arrow root, molasses
Cabbage (pressure cooked in ham stock, chopped)
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Early Easter Ham with a Mardi Gras Glaze
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This dinner was not a fiasco. A triumph. Unfortunately this meal will not last in refrigeration until Easter.
Spoils!!!
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This (Last) Week(end)
Last weekend, I spent most of Saturday (March 12, 2011) running errands, looking for sales on food, finding ideas for recipes that I would then combine to make meals for the week. On Sunday (beginning at midnight), I began my combine-cooking adventure. Here is the documentation of my findings.
Taste-Test Soup
Porgie (scaled and gutted [Swai fillet in pieces recommended])
Shrimp (frozen)
Crab Mushroom
Soup Vegetables (frozen)
Filtered Water
Miso
Arrowroot
Crisp Bread (multigrain)
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Taste-Test Soup
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A Sumptuous and Astounding Pursuit
Chicken Escalope
Olive Oil with Crushed Garlic (bathed)
Blood Orange (thin wheels [at room temperature])
Broccoli Rabe (sauteed)
Filtered Water
Gravy (groovy)
-- BR Stock
-- Cardamon Seed (toasted, mortared)
-- Chrysanthemum Bud (pestled)
-- Flour
-- Filtered Water
-- Butter
Soy Sauce (dashes)
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A Sumptuous and Astounding Pursuit
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Parmigiana: Finger Nuggets
Chicken Breast (slices)
Coating
-- Bread Crumbs (plain)
-- Oregano (dried)
-- Pine Nut (pestled)
-- Lemon Juice
-- Olive Oil
[Chill in fridge, then fry crispy, but not crunchy]
Campanelle Pasta (al dente)
Tomato Paste [olive oil, balsamic vinegar, filtered water]
Parmesan (grated)
Mozzarella (shaved)
Finger Nuggets
Mozzarella (shaved)
[Bake]?
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Parmigiana: Finger Nuggets
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Offal Fine Soup
Lamb Tripe (diced sloppily, boiled, fried)
Beef Sirloin (cubed, braised)
Brown Rice
Snow Peas
Filtered Water
Miso
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Offal Fine Soup
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Lunacy Fecundity--A Scientific Mythology
This week, I find myself less inspired, wanting to sleep in during
the start of this Spring season. I am inclined to believe that
this lack of lucidity is due to the fact that this Spring has
begun with what have should of been a Harvest Moon
wrought with a cornucopia of crops, providing provisions that
would last throughout the entire Winter. However, with this Perigean
Moon, there is a turn in the tide that is having a ripple
effect across the land. I wonder how should I consider, spend
my daylight savings.
Perigean Moon Soup
- Chicken (steamed, mangled)
- Pigeon Peas
- Poultry and Bean Stock (sieved)
- Corn Niblets
- Filini (Fedelini Tagliati)
- Parsley
- Cocoanut (shaved)
- Mustard Seed (pestled)
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Perigean Moon Soup
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Suppression is the new oppression: hopefully not as a harbinger for this Summer--a chilling effect, a prospect too close for comfort. Lethargic, I have got the jitters and I am feeling kind of queasy. The weekend grocery shopping was a "blah." Whatever is in the freezer, in the refrigerator and pantry will get me through the week. As Winter recedes, I attempt to endure this idyll, and withdrawal into my parenthetical successes and failures.
Faulty Tummy Pastry
- Porgy (boiled, deboned)
- Fish Stock
- Sea Salt
- Peanuts (pestled)
- Great Northern Beans (squashed by hand)
- Rosemary (ground manually)
- Butter (melted)
- Filo Flakes (bottom layer toasted; top layer crisped with
shaved Parmesan)
- Non-stick Spray
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Faulty Tummy Pastry
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