Cook's Catalyst - Chapter 5 - Eating & Staying on the Budget

Chapter Five Eating and Staying on the Budget Soup was another good smell that came from my mother’s kitchen. I enjoy the process because it reminds me of my mother. Soup is a good chill chaser, everyone likes it and it is easy on the budget. You can plan soup, however letting it happen makes for happy surprises. Whenever I trim a roast, bone chicken or cut the meat from chops, the bits and pieces go into the freezer. When the need for soup hits, I take out my hoard of frozen ‘discards’ and make soup! And it doesn’t matter much about the combination. All you need is a pot of water, your odds and ends of meat, a couple of onions, three bay leaves, a pinch of peppercorns, a rib of celery, an old carrot, three or four cloves of garlic and a day to simmer it all. Slow cooking is the key to bringing out the flavors. When you use a combination of meats and bones, you get a good stock for vegetable soup, tomato soup or cream soups. If you are after chicken soup, use the leftover bits of chicken (including the skin) and throw in a small pork bone if you have it. Watch for the sales. A couple of chicken breasts provide an adequate amount of meat for chicken soup. Vegetable Soup is easy once you have the stock. If you are in a hurry, use a 16 ounce bag of frozen, mixed vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, freshly grated garlic and perhaps, a sliver of fresh ginger, finely diced. Noodles or rice will make it more filling. And, of course, you are already a master bread baker, so we don’t even have to make that suggestion to you! Chicken Soup needs freshly grated garlic to taste, salt, pepper and a bit of poultry seasoning. A pinch of dried dill is good, too. Big, fat noodles are welcome in this soup. Add diced vegetables of your choice or go with the frozen ones. Just before serving, sprinkle some finely chopped green onion over each serving. Cream Soup can use any type of stock. Decide on what kind of soup, cream of broccoli, cream of asparagus, or whatever sounds good at the moment. Take three medium-sized potatoes, peel and slice very thin. Dice one yellow onion and two or three cloves of fresh garlic. Chop up your main vegetable ingredient of choice. In a large soup kettle, heat three tablespoons of olive oil. Saute the onions until almost golden, add the potatoes, vegetable, garlic, main vegetable, and two cups of stock. Cover and simmer gently until the potatoes are soft. After it has cooled, put the contents of the pot through a blender or food processor. Put puree back in kettle, add three cups of stock, one cup milk or cream, and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and any other herb or spice that sounds good . . . it probably will be! Soup From a Jar 1/4 pound ground beef 1/4 pound sausage meat 1 onion, chopped 1 26-ounce jar your favorite spaghetti sauce 1 ½ cups water, approximate ½ cup red wine 1 pound frozen, mixed vegetables 1 regular-sized can white beans 2 or 3 cups cooked pasta - you decide! 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon ground, black pepper ½ teaspoon oregano Brown the ground beef and sausage until brown and crumbly. Use a large, heavy-duty cooking pot that has a lid. Add the onion and cook just until onion starts to get limp, about five minutes. Add everything else! If the soup is too thick, add more water. Bring to a simmer. Serve hot bowls of this hearty soup on those miserable, rainy days. Short tempers will start to lengthen and everyone will know mom still loves them. Offer it with bread to sop up the bottom of the bowl and salad for contrast and good health! Use Italian dressing, of course! Soup is very merciful! As long as it is hot, seasoned and accompanied by your homemade bread, your will get a rave review. Creativity is the main ingredient. Leftover vegetables, canned beans, croutons and dumplings all go to making your dinner memorable. Soup and bread is such a convenient meal. The bread is baked in the oven and the soup needs the top of the stove. Besides, turning on the oven means you can turn off the central heat and save and gain at the same time. As long as you are stocking up on those time-saving jars of prepared spaghetti sauces, keep the idea of casseroles in mind. The following is a relatively inexpensive but filling meal for those of us who still observe meatless Fridays. Actually, it tastes great on any cold day when you are looking for a comfort food meal with the family. As always, a chunk of your bread and a green salad will fill out the meal nicely. Baked Ziti 1 28 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce 16 ounces Ziti (This merely refers to the name of the shape of the pasta. Any type is acceptable.) 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese ½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese 1 good pinch of dried chili flakes ½ cup red wine Start a large pot of water boiling for the pasta. Meantime, saute the onions and garlic in a frying pan until limp and tender. Add the sauce. Rinse the jar out with the wine and add to the mixture. Stir in the chili flakes. Remove from heat and set aside for the moment. Cook the pasta until just cooked yet slightly underdone. The oven baking will complete that. Drain the pasta and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the sauce mixture and thoroughly combine. Toss with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Place in a large, greased baking pan. Top with the Parmesan or Romano cheese and cover with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and hot through, about 30 minutes. Let set five minutes before serving. It is so hearty, you might forget that there isn’t any meat in it. You can, however, add some browned ground beef or sausage if time, circumstances and the budget permit.