Something Out of Nothing: Roundup

Many thanks to all who sent me their favorite recipes for low funds, empty cupboards, and hard times. When I set out to gather these goodies last month, I was a bit nervous about doing this wrap up, as I do not, in any way resemble a computer wizard. Please let me know if I have mistakenly left out or mis-linked your entry, and I will fix my mistakes. I hope didn't make too many.

I also hope that the starving students, hardup artistes, and all of us who are, from time to time, struggling a bit to make ends meet (yet somehow managing to wander the internet) will find sustainance and pleasure here. I, for one, intend to make use of these contributions. My earliest browsings lead me to believe that it would be a good idea to keep plenty of beans, tuna, rice, olive oil and pasta on hand. You certainly can make a lot of different things from these fine, not too costly pantry staples! There are a lot of other worthy ingredients and agile brains at work here too.

Note: Initially, I planned to divide the posts into many categories, to make the list handier. I found, however that some recipes fit in many categories, and others in none, really. So I have simplified the categories into 3 groups: 1. Vegetarian 2. Meat, Fish, Game or Poultry 3. Sweets. Be advised that the vegetarian category contains items which are not technically vegetarian (they call for meat stock, or some such) but could be adapted without much trouble, by vegetarians. I thought of having a pasta, noodles, rice category, but everything in it belonged somewhere else too. Have a good time browsing.

VEGETARIAN (OR ALMOST VEGETARIAN) FEASTS

Stacey of justbraise sent three recipes, one of which was this colorful and inexpensive pomelo salad.

Ulrike of Kuchenlatein made some excellent red lentil sticks.

Patl of Up A Creek Without A Patl made a whole wheat pasta with homedried tomatoes that looks beautiful in its pretty plate.

Baking Soda of Bake My Day made a winter carrot soup which I am planning on fixing for myself shortly.

anapestic made a complete dinner, of which these "Mesopotamian" Black Beans with Grits are the main course. Stay tuned for dessert.

Farmgirl Susan has the most luscious Garlic Lover's Bean Soup on Farmgirl Fare

zp of i hate the new yorker submitted two entries. This one for cream scones, without the cream, would be good for breakfast, or on the side with some of the other offerings.*photo below

From long ago, out of my own hippie past and the less distant past of my blog, I offer Digger's Cabbage soup (vegetarians can skip the pork chop), to feed a multitude for almost nothing, and another favorite:

Muhjadarrah, which I adore.

Recommended by a reader, rather than the redfox herself, my daughter's Lentil Snacks from the hungry tiger.

A classic Pasta with Shallots and Oil comes from lee, of Welcome to My Pantry, a woman after my own heart, who is big on preserving.

A number of submissions, not in the form of blog postings, offered some fine ideas in this general category. These included, and I quote:

From reader-friend Lynn D.:
Lentil Stew with Spinach and Potatoes
"I use water instead of stock, have successfully used whatever potatoes I have on hand (including yams), frozen spinach would do in a pinch or chard could be substituted (not kale, I think). I think the feta is essential, but you need very little; yogurt might do as well. I realize I'm not a blogger, but I can't help jumping in."

Lynn also sent a link to an excellent recipe for Pasta with Chickpea Sauce. She likes to top this with breadcrumbs toasted in olive oil.

From June, who has just now started her own blog (check it out), Risotto:
"I assume a store cupboard, with half used packets of things that have lost their labels. And may be past their sell-by dates. In which case risotto - if you have homemade chicken stock dilute it by half with water because otherwise it is too strong - and add anything you like. An onion certainly, some spring vegetables (Risotto Primavera), mushrooms (Ai Funghi), or some bacon ( I give up), or jerusalem artichokes ( oh yes - topinambours!), and all the way up the scale to scallops and lobster. But be sparing. Risotto is a minimal dish. Too much and it's a salad.

If you don't have homemade chicken stock use water, never a stock cube. Try to have it bubbling on another ring so you add the hot stock to the fried rice and onions, a ladleful at a time. Let the rice absorb the stock. Add another ladleful. Towards the end of the cooking time - about half an hour - it seems to take an age to get to the right al dente/creamy/soupy concentration. There is no right way, just the way you like it. Me, I like mine creamy."

or this solitary feast:
"... totally selfish, luxurious, toothsome, lipsmacking solitary dish fit for Lucullus, lash out on a bottle of Lea & Perrins ( keep the rest for Bloody Marys), grate enough cheese, mix in enough L&P, toast a slice of decent bread on one side only, turn it over, pile on the cheese mixture, and grill until bubbling. Eat all by yourself and swear you will never reveal the secret."

Cate, of Sweetnicks made both a macaroni salad and bean tostadas in this category. She rounded out the whole budget dinner with a Gorilla Bread. Catch a glimpse of that one in in the Sweets section below.

Denise of What I'm Cooking Now, submitted a Portabella Mushroom Stuffed with Warm Lentil Salad, a party dish.

Ramya, of Cooking within My Grasp" tells us that eveyone, rich or poor, will benefit from eating green gram sprouts, sprinkled with lemon, and tells us how to make them.

Kimberly of Music and Cats made one of my all time favorites, a beautiful Split Pea Soup.

MEAT, FISH, AND POULTRY DISHES

Stacey of Just Braise offered her Sole in Swiss Chard, and two other contributions noted here.

School Bloggie was inspired by the Jamie Oliver's way with ingredients, when she concocted this Chicken Wings with Roasted Veg, which is not only flavorful, but easy.

Strawberry of Scream for Sourcream Timbits spent a great deal of time making a perfectly gorgeous ciabatta, and then making it into a tuna sandwich to die for.

Tania, the cook behind the delightful Candied Quince, made an Herbed Bowtie Pasta With Tuna.

Lisa of La Mia Cucina, made the recipe that everyone asks her for, Linguini with clam sauce.

Pamela of Posie's Place used her market leftovers to create Thai Style chicken, Prawn, and Glass Noodle Soup. Mmm.

Pheasant does not usually appear among the poverty-stricken, but Emma, of the Laughing Gastronome has used leftover pheasant in her Pheasant Galette. And it could be made with leftover chicken, or any other roasted bird, if that's what you have on hand. I, however, am pleased to have a reasonable excuse to buy a pheasant, with my leftovers plan in place.

Another contribution from Stacey at Just Braise-some highly succulent-looking Pomegranate Molasses Shortribs with Broccoli Rabe.

From Third Shift in Las Vegas an arrangement of leftovers is plated beautifully, and tasty, too.

Little Bouffe, who is a bit of an expert at making something out of very little, made a delcious-looking and sounding chicken do-piaza (or chicken with double onions).

Sam of Becks and Posh made Crostini with a Chicken Liver Spread, an excellent starter, and she notes that chicken livers are only $2.00 per pound!

Riana of Garlic Breath made a celery mazoh ball soup with her leftovers. She even made her own mazoh meal.

Nina of Sweet Napa made a Chicken Adobo, which looks and sounds rich and flavorful.

SWEETS

This event coincided nicely with the Chocolate Lady's own annual using-everything-up-to-get-ready-for-Passover event. She literally emptied her cupboards and made these enviable"Bottom of the Bag Poppyseed Muffins"

Cate, of Sweetnicks, even made a Gorilla Bread to go with her complete budget dinner.

To finish off his complete dinner, anapestic made a Bread Pudding with Blood Orange Yogurt Sauce, which he calls, in true anapestic fashion, a "Red-Headed Stepchild of Something for Nothing."

I am very fond of Apple Crumble and this one, from Spicehut looks like a fine example.

Whew! I hope I got it all. Please let me know if I didn't. Enjoy.

Arriving just a wee bit late:

Lovely Steamed Chicken Buns from tokyoastrogirl at Tuna Toast look to me like they were worth waiting for.

and wait...I somehow failed to post the second of zp's contributions, which belongs with the fish dishes, "We Could Call Her 'Tuna'" thankfully not named after her little sister.* see photo below

Sam's first email was lost. It would have been a great pity to miss his entry from sweet pleasure: plaisir sucre. His beautiful poached pears were made from from what he had in the kitchen already. And he even used the poaching liquid to make another treat-go see.

Better late than...you know. Spanish Roasted Potatoes are courtesy of the Culinary Muse, who also explains why she loves her cast iron skillet.

Somehow I missed out on this entry from Kai, of Bucaio, my Filipina blogging-by-mail partner. Her delectable-looking Arroz con Tres Leches is a Panamanian Sweet.

I couldn't resist adding one more. Madeleine Kamman's great grandmother's Scrambled Eggs with Dandelions are so elegant and delicious, and they are practically free. Marie Charlotte was a skilled practioner of cuisine de misere, or says Ms. Kamman, the art of making "something from nothing"!

*And here we have a photo from zp, 5 months later. It has both of zp's contributions, in one picture. Got to love an attention span this long. Follow the *s back up for the recipes.

Comments

[Kalyn]

Nice job on this. It was one of those things I meant to do but never got to it.

[Sally]

I, too, saw this too late. And I have a recipe for Garlic, Rosemary Chicken that uses cheap chicken hindquarters that I buy for 49 cents a pound! Oh well. Good job on the roundup. The recipes look great!

[Baking Soda]

Wow, Lindy that's a terrific job you did. And look at all these entries! This a going to be a month of plenty for -almost- nothing! Thank you!

[Tania]

Thank you so much for dreaming up and hosting the event, Lindy. My stomach, wallet and I are going to enjoy going through these entries!

[Third Shift]

Hi,

Applause for a very nice round up. Thank you for hosting the event.

[Sonali]

Great recipes. Thanks for thinking of this theme & hosting it.

[Emma]

Great round up - thanks, I think these recipes are going to get a lot of use!

[Kimberly]

Wonderful on three counts, Lindy: your inspired idea, your beautiful round-up, and this marvelous collection of recipes. Thanks so much!

[Bakerina]

Oh, Lindy, this is just grand. Thank you so much for putting this together. I did try to think of some nice dessert to contribute, but between the weekend's jam adventures and the continuing laptop mishegoss, I just never got it together, to my deep regret. Could I persuade you to do it again in the not-too-distant future, so that I can come through for you?

[lindy]

Thanks all. It was fun. Now I'm reeling a bit with roundup burnout. So, bakerina, I'm not really ready to think about doing it again too soon! But we can always just go visit you for the best of food and writing.

It did occur to me while working on this that all baking is relatively inexpensive-even with the finest ingredients. And there's nothing more luxurious than a pie full of in-season fruit. Let the growing season begin.

[June]

You are a star, and a very hard working one at that. I am awed. I look forward to a long session with all these great ideas, and a fat bank balance.

[samuel]

Thanks for coming up with a wonderful idea and for hosting!

[Cate O'Malley]

Wow - awesome round-up! That must've taken forever to do...

[farmgirl]

What an absolutely wonderful job with the roundup, Lindy! Everything sounds delish, but I have to admit that I think the first thing I will make is your Muhjadarrah. I have been craving it ever since I first read about it. I know, I know, what on earth am I waiting for? : )

[Culinary Muse]

Lindy, great idea and great job rounding up all of these delicious sounding recipes. Now the real fun begins as we all get cooking!
best,
Karletta

[lindy]

Thanks, all. I won't be running out of ideas for supper in the near future!

[Lynn D.]

Thanks for a terrific roundup and your kind word. Kudos to Third Shift in Las Vegas and sweet pleasure for showing that frugal fare can be elegant and please the eye as well as the palate.

[marlynn]

What a lovely idea...can't wait to try some of these recipes.

[Rudolf]

This is excellent! Just what I needed for inspiration. I think I will make fried apples on toast. Inspired by what looks like oranges and celery on grapefruit slices, peeled.

My all time favourite recipe of my own invention when I was down to nothing is:

bread or bun
slices of onion
splash some vinegar ontop
add pepper/salt
(optional: good mustard if you have it, and you should! Put on first in that case)
it's quite delicious, believe me