Updates - Pantry Clearance, Cooking Plans etc
As of today, it will be 4 months since I embarked on a pretty ruthless program of clearing out my pantry, fridge and freezer(s).
Except for a big bag of dried chickpeas, masa harina and chickpea flour, all of my baking ingredients and canned goods are in the kitchen cupboards. I am seriously considering transferring the contents of my upstairs freezer to the downstairs freezer and unplugging the older freezer. I can open the door of the pantry next to my fridge without having anything fall out. And, I've transferred several more herbs and spices from bulk food bags into labelled glass jars. I've even threw away some out of date baking materials. And I've saved some money as well.
I've decided to take a break from cooking for a while. However, I'll still be eating well out of my freezer. Between yogurt and harissa marinated chicken breast with couscous, chili con carne and pulled pork, all my suppers for this week are accounted for.
I picked up some submarine buns from the bakery for the pulled pork sandwiches which I served with canned baked beans and potato pancakes.
ETA: There's no real recipe for these potato pancakes but I wrote up what I did in case anyone is curious.
Potato pancakes (Latkes) - makes 3-4 pancakes
4 medium potatoes
~1/4 cup olive oil
~1/4 cup butter, salted or unsalted
salt and pepper to taste
Grate 4 medium potatoes on the coarse side of a box grater and rinse the shredded potatoes with cold water several times. Let the potatoes sit covered with cold water in a large bowl until ready to fry.
Using a potato ricer, squeeze the water out of the shredded potatoes, a handful or two at a time. (If you don't have a potato ricer, squeeze the water out of the potatoes a handful at a time and drop them onto a clean, linen weave dish towel. When you've removed as much of the excess water from the potatoes by hand, dry the mass by wrapping up and patting gently to remove as much of the rest of the water as possible.)
To fry the potatoes, heat one tbsp each butter and olive oil in a 9" cast iron frying pan, at medium high heat, until the butter has melted and is just starting to foam or bubble.
Divide the dried shredded potatoes into 3 or 4 portions and fry each portion by spreading out the potatoes evenly in the frying pan and pressing them down evenly to form a 'pancake'. The pancake should be no more than 1/2 an inch thick before being pressed down. (If it's too thick the potatoes may not fry through in the time allotted and, in fact, may burn unless you turn down the heat a bit more.)
Turn the heat down to medium and fry for about 6-8 min on one side until browned, salt and pepper the pancake, and then flip it using a plate as a support, and sliding the pancake back into the pan for another 6-8 min. Make sure the potatoes are tender before transferring to a baking sheet to hold.
Salt and pepper the second side of the pancake and store covered with foil on a baking sheet in a 325 deg F oven, until all the pancakes are done.
**For extra flavour, you can add 1/4 cup of sauteed diced onions to the drained/squeezed potatoes before frying. Mix in thoroughly.
Potato Pancake Wedges ... serve topped with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and a sprinkling of chives if you want to be very fancy.
I also bought a couple of 'Mexicans' for dessert. These cinnamon swirled donuts are huge and have a thick chocolate glaze on top. And you can't eat just one.
Subtle swirl of cinnamon through the donut dough
Last week I made a double batch of bagel dough and formed it into pretzels. Unfortunately the results weren't as successful as I had hoped, and I ended up having to toss most of the pretzels in the garbage due to uneven boiling before baking. The underboiled areas never dried properly during baking
Pretzel - 2 fast ways of shaping
Pretzels and pretzel breadsticks
Unfortunately most of what were supposed to be twisted pretzel sticks unwound during boiling
I also played with a couple of filets of sole and the rest of the bundle of asparagus from my lamb bbq. The resulting rolls-ups were tasty enough but are unlikely to be added to my roster of 'must make again' dishes.
Except for a big bag of dried chickpeas, masa harina and chickpea flour, all of my baking ingredients and canned goods are in the kitchen cupboards. I am seriously considering transferring the contents of my upstairs freezer to the downstairs freezer and unplugging the older freezer. I can open the door of the pantry next to my fridge without having anything fall out. And, I've transferred several more herbs and spices from bulk food bags into labelled glass jars. I've even threw away some out of date baking materials. And I've saved some money as well.
I've decided to take a break from cooking for a while. However, I'll still be eating well out of my freezer. Between yogurt and harissa marinated chicken breast with couscous, chili con carne and pulled pork, all my suppers for this week are accounted for.
I picked up some submarine buns from the bakery for the pulled pork sandwiches which I served with canned baked beans and potato pancakes.
ETA: There's no real recipe for these potato pancakes but I wrote up what I did in case anyone is curious.
Potato pancakes (Latkes) - makes 3-4 pancakes
4 medium potatoes
~1/4 cup olive oil
~1/4 cup butter, salted or unsalted
salt and pepper to taste
Grate 4 medium potatoes on the coarse side of a box grater and rinse the shredded potatoes with cold water several times. Let the potatoes sit covered with cold water in a large bowl until ready to fry.
Using a potato ricer, squeeze the water out of the shredded potatoes, a handful or two at a time. (If you don't have a potato ricer, squeeze the water out of the potatoes a handful at a time and drop them onto a clean, linen weave dish towel. When you've removed as much of the excess water from the potatoes by hand, dry the mass by wrapping up and patting gently to remove as much of the rest of the water as possible.)
To fry the potatoes, heat one tbsp each butter and olive oil in a 9" cast iron frying pan, at medium high heat, until the butter has melted and is just starting to foam or bubble.
Divide the dried shredded potatoes into 3 or 4 portions and fry each portion by spreading out the potatoes evenly in the frying pan and pressing them down evenly to form a 'pancake'. The pancake should be no more than 1/2 an inch thick before being pressed down. (If it's too thick the potatoes may not fry through in the time allotted and, in fact, may burn unless you turn down the heat a bit more.)
Turn the heat down to medium and fry for about 6-8 min on one side until browned, salt and pepper the pancake, and then flip it using a plate as a support, and sliding the pancake back into the pan for another 6-8 min. Make sure the potatoes are tender before transferring to a baking sheet to hold.
Salt and pepper the second side of the pancake and store covered with foil on a baking sheet in a 325 deg F oven, until all the pancakes are done.
**For extra flavour, you can add 1/4 cup of sauteed diced onions to the drained/squeezed potatoes before frying. Mix in thoroughly.
Potato Pancake Wedges ... serve topped with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and a sprinkling of chives if you want to be very fancy.
I also bought a couple of 'Mexicans' for dessert. These cinnamon swirled donuts are huge and have a thick chocolate glaze on top. And you can't eat just one.
Subtle swirl of cinnamon through the donut dough
Last week I made a double batch of bagel dough and formed it into pretzels. Unfortunately the results weren't as successful as I had hoped, and I ended up having to toss most of the pretzels in the garbage due to uneven boiling before baking. The underboiled areas never dried properly during baking
Pretzel - 2 fast ways of shaping
Pretzels and pretzel breadsticks
Unfortunately most of what were supposed to be twisted pretzel sticks unwound during boiling
I also played with a couple of filets of sole and the rest of the bundle of asparagus from my lamb bbq. The resulting rolls-ups were tasty enough but are unlikely to be added to my roster of 'must make again' dishes.