I know, I know.
Several Faithful Minions gave me excellent advice that was backed up by the not-natural-night-shifters I work with. I try to get at least twenty minutes of sunlight a day, flip when I'm off for more than a couple of days in a row, and don't get stressed out about not sleeping: resting is enough.
And I take multiple short naps during the day.
And then I get up and go to the grocery store at about 1 a.m., which affords me the opportunity to see the shelf-stocking guys doing a synchronized dance to some song I've never heard, and hear Yes on the overhead radio. Yes? I'll be darned.
And, of course, I cook.
Auntie Jo's Extra-Cheap, What's On Sale This Week Italian Bean And Sausage Soup
(modified, believe it or not, from the Weight Watchers website)
Take three turkey Italian sausages, or a half pound of the chub stuff, whatever's cheaper, and either squeeze it out of the skins or squish it out into a pan.
Saute over medium-high heat until it's mostly browned. Drain.
Chop a medium onion and three cloves of garlic. Dump it into the reserved sausage grease and saute until soft.
Dump onions, garlic, sausage, and a big can of tomatoes (on sale for 57 cents!) into a big pot. Add two regular-sized cans of white kidney (cannelini) beans and some water, or some chicken broth, or a mixture of both. Or you can use about three cups of cooked dried beans, but I don't keep white ones around.
Add whatever seasonings you like. The recipe calls for sage, but I hate sage, so I used more oregano and some red pepper.
Simmer until it's all combined, about as long as you want to wait plus ten minutes.
If you could get frozen artichoke hearts on sale (rare) or frozen chopped spinach on sale (common), I would bet they'd be good in this. Likewise a sprinkle of Parmesan or some small pasta, if that's your thing.
Oh, and the Annual Spring Shearing has happened. The sweet hippie chick from across the street came and cut eight inches of hair off my head; it's now jaw-length and extremely curly. I look sort of like an angora rabbit who's been on a bender and is beginning to have regrets.
And now it's time to find a decent recipe for flatbread. The roti recipe I posted didn't work for me; be warned.
9 comments:
Another alternative to frozen spinach - frozen collard greens - easy to find, keep their texture & flavor better than spinach (espec if you reheat soup), high in fiber, quite yummy.
I love your curls and am green with envy. I know your hair looks fabulous!
Sounds like some of the stuff I fix around here. Whatever is on special.
If you are what you eat, does that make me cheap, quick, and easy?
When I was single and on summer vacation from teaching, my hours shifted so that I ended up doing most of my grocery shopping at 2:30 a.m. My market blasted Motown on the PA system, and the whole store would be dancing with their carts.
Have you seen the book Artisan Bread in 5min a Day? It has you make up a big batch of dough in the fridge and then just bake when you want it. The flatbread is very nice.
Try this fociacca recipe. I really don't remember where I got it. It's been in my repertoire for years. Makes great pizza crust too!
Fociacca
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
3 Cups flour (or 1-1/2 Cup each of white & whole wheat flour)
2 tsp. yeast
Mix everything together in a mixer. Knead with the dough hooks for 8-10 minutes.
Rub outside of dough with oil, cover and let rise in a warm place 1 hour. Punch down, turn over, rub with oil again, cover, and let rise 30 minutes. Spread on a greased cookie sheet or pizza pan. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, onions, tomatoes, etc. Drizzle or spritz with olive oil. Bake at 400ยบ 20-30 minutes.
For whatever it's worth, that roti recipe looks like most of the ones I've seen. My partner's Malaysian, and says it's difficult to get right and too much trouble to make at home; he and his family would only buy them on the street.
Yum! You are making me hungry! I bet kale would be good in the soup too. (I'm a new convert and rather obsessed!)
Whole wheat naan: http://foodgoodness.blogspot.com/2010/04/whole-wheat-naan.html
So easy and so good.
Post a Comment