November/December 2013

Wowwweeeeeee, somehow I convince myself every year that the holidays don't necessarily HAVE to be crazy--if I plan a little better and don't try to do too much--but each and every year they are (probably because I don't plan better, and try to do too much! ;)  That's ok, because every year is wonderful, in its own chaotic and quirky way.  I hope you all had a great month and are looking ahead to an amazing new year......I'm so, so excited for this one (and getting better at that "planning" I mentioned earlier!)

I'm glad to announce that this sweet little rascal has been cone--and disaster--free for 3 weeks now!  Bless that little face :)






RECIPES:

Simple Soup~

We were spoiled with amazing meals and leftovers for several of the last 5 weeks, but cooking always finds its way in.  We made simple soup from two turkey carcasses, and now have leftover ducks to tend to as well.  We couldn't let any of it go to waste.  All you need is a big enough pot and some patience, both for time and for the bones.  There are many.  There are also plenty of recipes offering vegetables and seasonings to add to your broth.  Last year I added nothing but noodles and garlic.  This year my sweetie took the reigns with a little more ambition, adding potatoes, other veggies and seasoning.  Either way, a huge pot of soup stored in meal size containers, either in the fridge or freezer, is a gift that keeps on giving!

Eggy Toast~

Where has savory french toast been all my life??  It probably wouldn’t be as good with all kinds of bread, but super hearty seedy wheat breads are amazing.  It’s the perfect I-don’t-quite-have-a-meal-yet finishing touch, and often ends up being the favorite thing on the plate.  

I use straight eggs, mixed in a bowl with a flat enough bottom to let them soak into the bread a little.  I like using butter in the pan because, well, butter is delicious, but so is coconut oil or olive oil.  We like it Drizzled with Mama’s Miracle Dressing, garnished with fresh basil (which Texas provides until it freezes!) or green onions.  Melted cheese is always a good idea as well.

Approximate price: $2

Grilled Kohlrabi~

There are very few vegetables that I just don’t know what to do with.  Usually there’s an intuitive sense about it and I don’t look many ingredients up, but this one finally became a must.  I’ve seen it, I know it; it even made it into a song I wrote about my dear chef friend Mary who tended to keep more things in her refrigerator than she could use in their prime, but I’ll be a monkey’s uncle before I figured out how to make it tasty on my own.

Turns out when you bake it in slices in the oven with some oil it’s pretty darn amazing.  It took a while to get tender, maybe 30 minutes, while collecting a flavorful layer on the outside.  I sprinkled them with salt and parmesan and put them back in for a few more minutes.  Really good. 

Approximate price: $3

CURRENT FAVORITE INGREDIENT: PARMESAN CHEESE

Speaking of parmesan......I had completely forgotten about it, and am regretting every day of my life that I did.  I think because it’s most often around when pizza is involved, and pizza has enough cheese on it already that it never seems necessary.  But how about other things that are NOT already caked with cheesy goodness?  Like baked kohlrabi, or pasta, or quinoa, or squash?  The answer to the question, “Should I put some parmesan on that?” has never once in our house been “No.”  I’m all about the little things that pack a big punch.

I know a lot of people would like to cook more meals at home, but don't feel that they have the time, energy, or knowledge to make it an easy and enjoyable experience.  I've put together a list of 12 ingredients that make up the majority of at least 90% of meals I make!  And none of them are more than a few dollars.  Awesome? Awesome :)

12 Things to Always Assure You Have a Meal~

black beans: I keep organic cans on hand, though cooking your own is great too

rice/quinoa: one of the main 4 bases I use, great for stir fries or side dishes

pasta: another main base to mix with veggies and/or sauces

some sort of pasta sauce: red sauce and alfredo are the basics, both also good for pizza

soup broth/canned soup: soup + eggy toast or plain warm bread + salad = yummy meal! 

canned tomatoes: great for adding to anything! Pizzas, pastas, grain or egg dishes

fresh veggies of some sort: Every meal needs some veggies. Build around what you have.

potatoes/yams: another good base, to be mashed, fried, baked, or hashbrowned

pizza crusts: I have yet to make my own, but a few bucks gets you homemade pizza!

cheese: Most things are better cheesy, primarily pizza.

good bread: I mostly put this on the list for eggy toast, and as soup's partner in crime

eggs: Frittatas, toast, mixed with rice/quinoa, and a staple for a simple breakfast 

That's it!  The most expensive things on there are probably cheese and eggs, and quinoa runs about $4 per lb for organic, but when a cup of it can be the base for a meal for two that's a pretty good deal! :)  I encourage you this year to redefine what makes a nourishing and fulfilling meal.....I bet you'll find that it's often less than you think.  Amazing things can come from simple endeavors, and fresh veggies always ensure distinct flavors.  I remain swooning over the dinner my sweetie just made for me, consisting of garlic roasted squash and broccoli, and a salad.  Trust me, I'm full.  

October: Black Bean and Tomato Basil Salad, Shredded Eggplant and Garlic Pizza, Avocados, and a (Whole!) Wall Calendar!

Happy Fall everyone!

The days are finally cooling down here in Texas and I'm tickled pink by the fact that I have a sweater and slippers on.  I don't necessarily need both of those things....but I'm kind of a wimp and I'm enjoying them!  The chickens are very happy with the sub-70 temperatures, with not having to huddle around the ice bath all day and all, though little Nana unfortunately is stuck with the Cone of Shame until the sore on her head gets better, and since one of the lead suspects here are mosquitoes she has to stay inside for at least two more weeks.  She's most definitely missing the back deck!

My beautiful babies! :)

So I've decided to do a little something different here, since different creative avenues and priorities are shuffling around and I'm noticing that not much of my energy is being directed here, despite the fact that I've always got new ideas rolling around and newly discovered delights to share.  I'm going to try doing a monthly post, around the third week of the month, highlighting whatever the recent recipes and endeavors have been.  Since Shit in a Pot is more a way of life than just a way of cooking I often have non-food related things that I find myself wanting to share, so I've been taking some time to get clear and organized on how best to do that.  Sometimes it's a cool house project I've been working on, or a creative upcycle, or just something awesome I found for dirt cheap at a thrift store or garage sale.  

All that, in short, is to say that I've missed you and think of you often.

Let's catch up! :)



RECIPES:

KALE AND ORZO SALAD!

I'm glad this one came together by the end.....my confidence was a little shaken by the realization that I had mixed green and orange--my personally infamous color combination! 

Main ingredients:

*grated sauteed sweet potato

*shredded carrots (raw)

*fresh kale (I left it raw because I was lazy--you could certainly cook it for a few minutes first!)

Seasoning:

*Garlic (always!)

*Flaxseed

*Honey mustard dressing

*Dijon mustard

*Bragg's

*Mama's Miracle Dressing

Super easy, and much like writing a novel, I had no idea what was happening 'til I got to the end ;)  When it comes to pasta just keep adding sauce of some kind until it tastes good.  (And be sure to make it taste good, 'cause a pound of pasta + stuff will feed you (and a loved one ;) several times over!

Approximate price: $5

SHREDDED EGGPLANT AND GARLIC PIZZA!

Ok, so I've made a lot of pizza in my day and we both agree this was possibly my best ever.... 

Main ingredients:

*Shredded (with a cheese grater) eggplant (from our local Farmhouse delivery!)

*Yellow onion

*Shredded tofu

*Tomato paste

*Cheese

Seasoning:

*Garlic

*Flaxseed (sprinkled on top, for a tasty rustic look)

*Cracked salt

Generally for pizzas I saute everything before putting it on the crust.  The ones we get only cook for 10 minutes, which is not much time to soften anything up. 

We had this on a Friday night while watching episodes of Blue Planet.....we're old and happy ;)

Approximate price: $7

BLACK BEAN AND TOMATO BASIL SALAD!

This has become one of my staples over the last few months (since fresh basil has been readily available in a small rogue forest in my chard garden!)  I sometimes have to go super creative or super simple for lunch because I’m never really in the mood to put much effort in during the day; this was a bit of both!

This salad is exactly what it sounds like.  A can of black beans, as many diced tomatoes as you desire, and as much fresh basil as you desire.  I use Mama’s Miracle Dressing mixed in to the batch, but you can also just use olive oil and some cracked salt for seasoning.  

It’s filling!  I promise!  And surprisingly delicious :)

Approximate price: $5

EGG AND AVOCADO SANDWICH!

Fresh avocados from our farm share delivery provide an amazing October treat!  They used to be one of the few things my sweetie wasn’t keen on eating, but he’s finally coming around.  I actually apologized to him last week for eating the last one while he was at work....never thought I’d see the day! :)

Eggs from the backyard are always a good breakfast option.  That morning I went for a medium fried egg between Whole Foods’ Seeduction bread with lettuce and a chunky layer of avocado.  Yummmmmmmmm! :)

Approximate price: $3

AVOCADO TOAST!

So apparently good toasted bread with a fresh avocado smashed on it sprinkled with cracked salt is really, really edible :)   

I had this for lunch with a salad and was really, really happy about it.

Approximate price: $2

HOUSE PROJECTS!

I am ALL about getting organized lately (and am accepting that I will be spending the rest of my life getting there)!  This is ok, because it's all about the small victories and improvements.  I'm pretty forgetful and I'm pretty visual, so I found myself really needing a calendar that I could see all of, all the time (though a small planner will be a good thing to procure as well ;)  

The part that looks like a real calendar is a wet erase template for the current month, and the rest is made from gridded scratch paper paperclipped to overhead transparencies.  (I recently discovered this as a way to make a daily chore list that I could check off each day, then erase to start over.)

Below the current month continues the rest of the the year and begins the next one, jumping up top come April.  When the month changes I'll just replace the new month's grid with last month's.

Ok, now I have NO MORE EXCUSES for forgetting things!  (Trust me, I will find some :P )  

FUN IDEA!

Read about what you're eating while you're eating it! (Or beforehand, if you need to be polite company! ;)

When Will was gone for an undetermined amount of time this summer I had a great time being creative and doing projects around the house (only one of them was vetoed upon his arrival home--that's not bad!).  

One of the things I started doing was reading about how awesome the food was that I was eating, either in The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters or magazines that had some sort of Super Food articles in them (I was inevitably eating something off the list--or at least had it in my fridge!)  What a boost, of morale and of vigor and overall feeling of health and well being!  And it just made me want to eat more good food :)

Here's to another month of happy eating!!! 

Garlic Egg Pizza

It was another “I want to make pizza, but don’t have anything to put on it” night, and it was the closest I’ve come to giving up!  But I didn’t!  Not with fresh backyard eggs in glorious abundance in our kitchen :)  

I got the oven preheated and cracked four eggs (and four gorgeous yolks) into a bowl with two cloves of garlic and mixed it lightly with a fork.  The only other thing I added was a spoonful or two of Mama’s Miracle Dressing to give it a little zingy goodness.

I put a little olive oil on the crust (which probably wasn’t necessary, but it didn’t feel right to leave it dry) and began pouring and spreading the eggs around it.  Four was too many, but I emptied the bowl anyway and clumsily watched it reach the edge of the crust and begin siphoning itself out onto the pan.  There was nothing to do but hurry up and get it in the 400 degree oven so hopefully it would harden up before the crust was entirely abandoned!  

Well, that didn’t work, due partially to the fact that the oven has a slightly raised center so it aided the egg slide rather than hindering it :)  I pulled it out after a few minutes and did my best to get at least some of the egg back where it belonged, also adding some green onion and shredded cheese.  I had sauteed up some onions and then successfully forgot to add them.  (They went with the carrots instead :)

By the time the pizza was cooked it was all I could do to scrape (some of it) off of the pan.  I swear egg is like a super glue adhesive....I haven’t even tried to clean the pan yet!  It can soak for another 24 hours...

So most of the crust didn’t come up, but what did come up was super yummy!  (I gave my sweetie the pieces that most resembled pizza, rather than a flat frittata ;)

Garlic Egg Pizza

Approximate price: $3

alfredo tofu and collard pizza

i make a lot of pizza....at least once a week.  i haven’t learned to make the crust from scratch yet (that’s like a real recipe!  yikes!) but it’s the most fun way for me to throw odds and ends together to make something that’s pretty darn hard to mess up.

i had suggested pizza, because we had an open package with one crust left that i knew wouldn’t last long, but even i was verbally skeptical that we had anything to put on it.  shame on me!  i know better......

i had gotten a jar of alfredo sauce at the store recently, and then remembered i had also gotten some tofu...what else, what else, i thought.....sunflower seeds....chard and collards from the garden.....carrots, no.....cabbage, no.....leftover okra and baked eggplant.....garlic.....green onions.....cheese.....

well that was more than enough to convince me!  confidence regained ;)  i sauteed a yellow onion with most of a package of tofu (saving just enough to be able to do a little something with it if i need to this week) and a little butter and bragg’s.  while that was cooking i went out and said hi to the chickens while i collected a few leaves of collards (making sure to thoroughly de-aphid them :).

i chopped up the baked slice of eggplant (not much but why not?) and added it into the mix with the leftover okra pepper stir fry from last night, making sure to remember a few cloves of minced garlic.  all that went on the alfredo dressed pizza crust and into the oven.

it was really good!  it had almost a sweet aroma to it, maybe from the butter and tofu combo?  i sprinkled a little ground flaxseed and cracked salt on top, and ready....set......eat!  :)

approximate price: $5

tuna pizzarella

stuff to use:

leftover tuna salad

mini pizza crusts

sooooooooo like a tuna melt right?

i spread it on the single serve pizza crust and covered it with some fresh mozzarella that also needed to be used, along with a few sliced cherry tomatoes (which probably should have gone under the cheese, but no biggie :)

into the oven for the time the package said and voila!  

tuna pizzarella

this would be a little weirder i think if it was a normal sized pizza crust, but the single serve actually made a lot of sense!  :) 

approximate price: $3

(cheeseless!) eggplant pesto pizza

so will has been doing pretty darn good in the kitchen since i've been gone!  i've asked him to be a guest writer for the month, so hopefully for the next few weeks you'll be getting an archive from me and a recent creation from him :)  i'm so proud ;)

for now:

i was going to stop by the store after work to get cheese for pizza, but a seriously apocalyptic looking storm was coming in so we skipped it.  cheese free pizza: i’ve faced bigger challenges.

we got a few different kinds of eggplant in our farm share this week.  one that looked like what i’m used to, a couple that were long and slender in a lavender shade, and one sort of in the middle.  i chose that one, slicing it into circles about 1/3 inch thick.  (for anything other than pizza i make them a bit heftier but wanted these to be easily bitable.)  i put them on medium low in the large pan with a bit o’ butter.

now that i’m thinking about it i remember hearing that it’s good to have your pan already heated up when eggplant goes in, or else it will just soak up all of the oil.  (but maybe that’s ok!)

i got the idea to make pesto for the sauce, and braved the torrential rain for a few chard leaves (AND to check on the babies, whom i had closed up in their roost in preparation of the storm...mama was terrified, but i think they were more annoyed at being cooped up before twilight! :)  

while the chard was getting a few long minutes in boiling water i chopped up a good handful of basil, a big clove of garlic, and grated two small yellow zucchinis into the blender.  i thought it would thicken the sauce up (regardless of knowing that anything in the blender has to have a certain amount of liquid or it won’t work!  stubborn :)

i also began heating up (though hardly necessary, since it was going into the oven) the small amount of okra tomato bean leftovers.  i didn’t want the beans, but it was a package deal.

i added the chard, along with a bit of the water to the blender, and gave it a go, adding olive oil and liquid ‘til it would blend (also stirring it with a spoon between whirls).

between all this the eggplant received all sorts of tender flips, a splash of bragg’s, and about 1/3-1/2 cup of water to make sure it softened up properly (enough to have a small layer in the pan).

oven was preheated and onto the pizza went pesto, okra tomato bean stuff, and eggplant rounds, placed strategically to minimize needing to cut through them.  i cracked some salt over the top and sprinkled ground flaxseed, which really made it look beautiful!  very rustic ;)

(cheeseless!) eggplant pesto pizza

i confessed to will later that i kind of wish he had walked in on me earlier, as those beans i didn’t want on my pizza got eaten off one by one as soon as they were spread on it.  it was a silly moment :)

approximate price: $7